Wednesday, June 5, 2013

SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

About 7 years ago my mom, who was a docent at the Phoenix Art Museum, heard from another docent about a wonderful store that only sells spices.  Knowing how much my husband enjoys cooking, my parents gave him a gift card for his birthday to Penzey's Spices.

It is the one and only time that I've ever been OUT-SHOPPED by my husband!

Don't misunderstand me; it is a wonderful store!  But after an hour-and-a-half of wandering around, reading about the difference between herbs, spices & blends, and opening the jars and sniffing them, I was finished.  And so I sat down on a bench and waited for him.  And waited.

He spent his entire gift card and when we came home with all the new bottles I was surprised to find that I wasn't familiar with over half of the ones he purchased--ones like Fenugreek, Maharajah Style Curry, Sate', Mace, Chipotle', Tandoori, and Epazote.

Fast forward 7 years and its the only place we will buy spices anymore.  I know it sounds strange but trust me.  Smell your bottle of cinnamon and then smell my jar of Vietnamese Cinnamon.  The difference will astonish you!

Here is a gift box my sister and I were putting together for a wedding gift.  We had so many favorites we were having a hard time deciding on what to give!
 
(And just in case you're wondering, the price is really not too much more than a bottle you'd buy at Fry's.)
 

1 comment:

JLJ said...

You recommended Penzy's to me a while ago and we are hooked too. The flavors are so much fresher and intense. A few years ago I sent my mom a gift box for Christmas and now whenever she comes to AZ for a visit we always have to stop at Penzy's. She knows you can buy online or through catalog but I think there's something special about wandering the shop, smelling the samples.