Spicing Up Our Lives

Must be a slow news day or my expectations have reached new all-time lows, but I am excited about the opening of a Penzeys Spices store in Scottsdale. I first read about Penzeys in Gourmet; they are a Midwestern company that specializes in a wide array of herbs and spices. The approach they take is quite folksy with recipes and tips on how to use these spices. The angle actually is quite sincere, unlike, say Wal Mart, when they show in their ads their “associates” using their products to gain the empathy of consumers. Last night, I saw an ad on TV with some Wal Mart “associates” pretending to be enjoying “Seinfeld” episodes as a pitch to sell the new DVD sets. It made me laugh out loud—not at Jerry-Jerry, but at Wal Mart.

Anyhoo, we are into spices here. We use a lot of rosemary and lavender sea salt (mostly from Eatwell Farms) that we purchased at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in SF. We also are partial to oregano (we have it growing in our yard) which has amazing body cleansing power and herbs de province. I foresee a major spending spree on Feb. 1 when Penzey’s opens.