October 14, 2008

Welcome back to civilization, BigSis! I know last week was really rough on you!  Even though you are supposed to take it easy for a couple of weeks, I am glad to have you back posting on the blog! Your Sunday Supper looked yummy! HA! Sorry, I know that bland diet is going to get old. Especially since you can't use any of your spices!

You are just full of trivia! I didn't know that about Christopher Columbus! I guess I wasn't paying attention in class that day. You always were a better student!

I can honestly tell a difference in the Penzey spices.  I made a big pot of chili last Halloween and used the Chili Con Carne spice for the first time. I invited a bunch of neighbors over (since I CANNOT make a small pot of anything) and I received so many compliments from everyone.  The Chili Con Carne spice contains all these ingredients: ancho chili pepper, tomato powder, ground cumin, Mexican oregano, garlic, coriander, onions, red and green bell peppers, Tellicherry black pepper, allspice, cilantro, and cloves. It is so far on the top of my list. You really don't need to add much of anything else to your chili other than this one spice. I do add just a little Cayenne pepper, but that's it.

Here's a list of my other favorites:

• Original Taco Seasoning

• Southwest Seasoning

• Lemon Pepper

• Shallot Pepper

• 4S

• BBQ3000

• Sandwich Sprinkle

Next time that I'm in town visiting, we'll have to go to Penzeys! Since we usually only have one night before I go to SisMama's house, we may have to forego a trip to the MAC counter and visit Penzeys instead. On second thought?

~LilSis

October 13, 2008

Although October 12th is the “real” date that Christopher Columbus is credited with discovering America, we're celebrating it today and we have more than the obvious reason to celebrate it. Did you know the whole mission of the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria was to try to find a shorter route to the spices and silks in the Orient? True, Columbus and his crew stumbled upon a spot in the Bahamas and claimed it for Spain, but just as exciting (arguably) is that Columbus introduced the capsicum to Europe and that's spelled “pepper” to you and me.

What would cooking be like without peppers? Without spices? I say it would be boring. Since my favorite cuisines are Mexican and Italian, I can't imagine a New World without spice. And I can't imagine a spicy world without Penzeys.

I talked about my love for Penzeys a little bit last week in my Sunday Supper post.  Oh how I love me some Penzeys!  Even when I'm on a bland diet and can't be a very spicy girl, I just like to think about Penzeys and imagine the reunion we'll have soon.  They have a retail store here in Dallas where you can wander around and smell every item they carry.  If you aren't close to one of their stores around the country, don't despair!  You can order online or download a catalog if you prefer to browse their products offline.  My experience is that the Penzeys products are all fresh, all high quality, and all powerful so you need to use less of them. I love that you can buy the cute little baby jars of items that you never use up, so you aren't invested in a ginormous bottle of cloves or allspice that will get old before you need it all.

Plus, they have a huge assortment of proprietary spice blends that you can't find anywhere else.  And they do really cute gift boxes.  What's not to love about this spice haven!  Oh, and as a bonus they have great recipes on their web site.  I'm eying this one for Banana Bread.  It has buttermilk instead of higher-fat sour cream, plus it uses their Baking Spice which I've almost picked up a couple of times.  It's one of their special blends with cinnamon, mace, anise and cardamom.  Sounds like a great fall addition to my spice cabinet.

What are my favorites?  Let me see if I can whittle the list down a little bit.

• Mexican Vanilla

• Cinnamon

• Southwest Seasoning

• Lemon Pepper

• Shallot Pepper

• Freeze Dried Shallots

• Ground Chipotle

• Toasted Granulated Onion

• Salt-Free Mural of Flavor

• Sandwich Sprinkle

That's my Spice Hall of Fame for today, but tomorrow it may change. Hey LilSis, I know you have a different list of Penzeys loves since I turned you on to them.  What are your favorites?

~BigSis