Penzey's Spices - I Like It!

Last week I had some errands to do that took me to Sandy Springs. A few of my chef colleagues had been saying how much they loved Penzey's Spices and had mentioned there would be a store opening soon in Atlanta....and, in the shopping center where I had an errand, was the new store!

So I had to go in. Now, I was prepared to not be swayed from buying my spices at either the DeKalb Farmers Market or the Buford Highway Farmers market. But I am very impressed by two things with Penzey's Spices:
(1) The fresh taste and smell of the spices and (2) The small size containers available. Most of the spices and rubs are available in sizes 1 oz or less.

Make that three things: the prices.

The small size jars are around $1.00 and some change each. And, the small sizes are perfect to me because ideally you should replace your spices every year since after that time, they start losing their flavor.

The selection was really good. And, I don't know if it was because the store has just opened, but they were giving a box of (4) free small jars with every purchase. And inside was a coupon worth $5.00....I'll definitely go back and use that! I spent about $8.00 and came home with seven different spices and some salt. Not bad!

Last night's dinner was an assortment of roasted vegetables (cleaning out what we had in the refrigerator) and roasted turkey. I used the French blend on the turkey and it was really delicious.


Think about it: You can buy a jar in the spice section of the grocery store and spend anywhere from $4 to $6. Or, make the trip to Penzey's Spices on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. It's in the shopping center with Trader Joe's.

I think you'll like it! I do.

And Now, Raspberry Jam

I was at my local Kroger store on Monday afternoon and I guess someone had over-bought raspberries but they were selling them for 50 cents a carton. They are normally about $2.99 each so this was a real bargain. I bought 20 cartons Monday and returned yesterday and bought 20 more. At the normal price of raspberries, making jam would be expensive, almost prohibitive since each 1/2 pint jar of jam uses one carton of raspberries. But at 50 cents each, why not?


Monday afternoon I got to work making jam. I used 8 cartons per batch. I got my lids boiling, crushed the berries, added the pectin then sugar, filled and sealed the jars, and had beautiful jam.



I got about 30 jars of jam and have a few cartons of raspberries left over....today I'm going to figure out something to do with them and take to our monthly book club meeting tomorrow night. Raspberry tart anyone?

Finger Limes

Last week, I visited my son who lives in Los Angeles. My first stop after landing was the Farmer's Market at the 3rd Street Promenade. It was Wednesday, the market day, and I headed straight there. When I lived in Los Angeles, this was one of my favorite things to do and one of my favorite markets there.

I happened upon something I had never heard of: Finger Limes. The vendor let me sample one and I had to have it! They were selling the carton for $10 each or you could buy the limes 2 for $1. I bought four.


Later that night, Alex had a friend over and I cooked dinner for the three of us, sauteed red snapper and vegetables from the market. We "played" with the limes as a topping for our fish.





Finger limes originate from Australia and are now being grown in California. They're shaped like a small pickle. When you slice them open, squeeze from the bottom, and out comes this citrus caviar! When it's in your mouth, it pops like citrus pop rocks! So much fun and delicious and so exciting finding a new food! It was really good with the fish and added to our dinner conversation.

We had a great visit and it was also good to be back at one of my favorite markets on a beautiful day in Los Angeles.

Spices and Spice Jars

Several years ago, I became obsessed with these cute little 1/2 pint jars. These are the old kind with the metal tops and the porcelain insert. I began searching for them at antique shops and shows and bought a lot of them on eBay.

I wanted them to store and display my spices. Here they are in their spot on the back of a door in my kitchen. It's a great convenient spot and I can always see how much I have of any given spice. Did I say I love these jars? I think I have about 40.

Of course I have them all lined up in alphabetical order.









I buy my spices at the DeKalb Farmers Market. Notice that I paid 77 cents for this tub of sage. Sure beats paying $3.99 at the grocery store for about 1/5 this amount! When I buy a new supply of a spice, I label the top of the jar with the date so I'll know its shelf life. I don't let a spice sit for more than a year because by then it has lost its flavor and punch.

My little spice jars, just another thing that makes me smile when I use them!

Graeters Ice Cream

Oh my, you have to try this ice cream. Last weekend, we had a girl's weekend here in Atlanta. A friend was here from Kentucky and was talking about this ice cream, Graeter's. She said, "you have to try it, you can buy it at Kroger". So, yesterday I went to see if I could find it. Kroger had about 8 different flavors but I chose Vanilla and Coconut with Chocolate Chips.

It is really, really delicious! Creamy, and almost like homemade, fresh churned, only thicker and creamier. The chocolate chips are more like chocolate chunks, big bites of creamy chocolate. The vanilla is really rich....a little will do!





The way they make it is an interesting process that you can read about at graeters.com. They make two gallons at a time in French Pot style containers. Yum!

In the Kentucky, Ohio, etc areas, apparently they have storefront locations. You know that has to be good!

Thanks to my friend Donna for sharing this great new find! I have to pace myself though. The first ingredient is cream and it has about 300 calories for 1/2 cup. Enjoy!

Bakelite and Salad On The Porch

We had another lovely dinner on the porch last night.....salad with grilled chicken, greens, red bell pepper, cucumber, tomato and homemade vinaigrette. So good.



I have a great set of bakelite forks, knives and spoons that I got from my mother-in-law. They had belonged to her mother. My husband says he remembers using these when visiting his grandmother. I love this stuff! When we cleaned out my in-law's house several years ago, this was one of the things no one wanted....except me. I have many, many pieces from that clean out day and love them. Whenever I use something that belonged to my husband's grandmother, he tells me what he remembers about it from his childhood. Makes for great dinner conversation.

Our salad was the perfect meal for a hot evening. We often just have a huge salad for dinner. It's a great way to use up items from the refrigerator and also eat lots of fresh vegetables. And I like to set the table nicely so when we do have the rare occasion to sit down and have dinner together, it seems a little special.

We both cleaned our plates.