Your guide to everything in the authentic world of spices.

Cooking with Fresh Herbs: 3 Ideas

The green gateway to freshness; that’s spring for you. Enter herbs. What’s unique about spring is that cooking with herbs works with what’s fresh growing now…asparagus, strawberries or rhubarb anyone?…as well as adding a refreshing shot of flavor to the stalwart staples from winter such as potatoes, carrots or even frozen vegetables. It’s time to think of [...]

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Spice Yourself Skinny with Simple Southwestern Roasted Vegetables

4 Signs of Spring: Flowers. Windy Days. Spring Skiing. Getting Ready for Bathing Suit Season! Chilly rain one day…a wet snow shower the next followed by a surprise shot of warm sun that lasts all of two hours before disappearing into the cold night. We want food that keeps us warm [...]

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More Gingerbread Road Show: A Perfection of Confection

Making gingerbread houses takes a certain breed of person. Creative. Patient. Methodical. Not sure about you but I’d get sick just from snacking on all the candy decorations. So let’s add self-disciplined to that list. But here’s the kicker—who doesn’t absolutely looooove gingerbread houses during the holidays? Occasionally the universe aligns and we make them [...]

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Thank You

The holiday posts, in all their chocolate, peppermint, gingerbread, spirited spiced-out glory are a comin’. But for now it’s time to take a deep breath and enjoy the slow pace of Thanksgiving. The Monthly Spice Sherpa offers a collection of some great Thanksgiving, late autumn recipes, tips and DIY fun. But for now it’s time for [...]

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Food Fraud: A Quick Guide to Sneaky Spices

Here’s the scene: you want to bake. Your cookie recipe calls for the distinct taste of nutmeg. You open your nutmeg jar and carefully measure out your tablespoon of…coffee husks. WTF? Welcome to food fraud. Ok, so the above example is a bit exaggerated but not not entirely implausible. Chances are that adulterated nutmeg would more likely be ground [...]

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How to Conquer Grocery Prices…with Spices

Grocery prices are back on the climb, thanks to yet another record setting drought and heat wave this summer. This reality coupled with, which for many is the back-to-school season and the result is a nation of households with some pretty tightly pinched food budgets. Were you aware that not only can spices can help you lower [...]

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What Spice Pairs Well with Blue?

Rough summer. Stunning blue skies, time in swimming pools, relaxing in Lake Placid, happy kids. And one singular heartache of an epic proportion. About 1100 pounds worth. My beautiful, athletic, feisty off track thoroughbred became very sick. Turned out she had a pre-existing condition that was even too big for her stoic nature and huge [...]

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Enchilada Sauce for Impatient Cooks

Do you want the liveliness a bold Mexican dish made from scratch but aren’t in the mood to sacrifice half your weekend chained to the stove to make a singular sauce? Here is a sauce that gives you the aroma and flavor you want along with the flexibility to use it however you please. A Speedy Molé Sauce Too? A quick cooking molé [...]

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National Earth Day: 3 Ways Spices Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Earth Day. This is probably my 8th attempt to start this post. Why? Because despite my M.S. in Environmental Science any feeble attempt I make to stitch together the dependency of natural systems (which includes people shocker!) on a relatively dependable weather cycles simply can’t be done in a little post on spices. But [...]

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Homemade Easter Egg Dye

You don’t have to go far on the web to find recipes on how to make natural food coloring. I’m simply taking it one step further. Instead of the usual beets and onion skins let’s open the spice cupboard. Making homemade Easter egg dye with spices intrigued me for several reasons: Convenient ingredients. Easy process. Promise [...]