Spice It Up!

I am a huge fan of really good spices. My mother-in-law introduced me to Penzeys a few years ago, and after just a few smells of her spices I was hooked! What a difference it can make to a recipe to use fresh, aromatic flavors instead of the older run-of-the-mill grocery store varieties that usually don't even have that much of a scent. Now, you may be thinking that spices cost a fortune, especially when you're trying to establish a collection for various cooking and baking needs, but Penzeys is very reasonable. In fact, they're actually much less than McCormick or even the organic blends in the baking aisle, especially if you buy a larger package than just the standard 1/4 cup jars. I buy many of their straight spices and blends and store what doesn't fit in the jars in the deep freeze. It stays fresh that way and I always have a back up.

It costs even less if you don't replace all of your spices at once (besides, that's kind of silly and wasteful). I slowly upgraded my collection, and every time I placed an order I allowed myself one new flavor to experiment with, such as a sweet curry powder, white pepper, or Smoky Seasoned Salt, and, as an added bonus, they usually throw in a free sample of one of their specialty blends! I pay shipping, but you can check their site to see if a retail store is near you.

No, I'm not working for them or anything; I have found I cook even more than I did before because of how wonderful they can makes dishes taste! Try just one (like cinnamon), and you'll see what I mean!