Pairings

5 Minute Spiced Holiday Sauce

Let me guess–you’re in the middle of a holiday recipe bombardment and totally overwhelmed by it all. Or, you know the cooking routine and are just looking for a something that adds a little extra sparkle and pizzaz to your food contribution. In either scenario, you want this sauce. Why? Cake, ice cream, pie, custards–this [...]

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6 Must-Have Spice Blends for Camping Cook Kits

Road trips. Car camping. Backcountry backpacking adventures. If any of these resonate with you, then it’s an absolute fact you’ve faced the reality of creating yet another meal with an open flame, minimal ingredients, and a collection of those adorable little cooking utensils that the more masculine among us prefer to call “the mess kit.” [...]

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Basil: 5 Things You’ve Never Heard Of

So you know that part in Alice in Wonderland when Alice sees what appears to be a common rabbit hole? She peers in, then falls and discovers a deep world filled with amazing, wondrous, unpredictable surprises? Basil is like the rabbit hole. Yes, basil. It’s green, pungeant, fragrant and anchors the 8,000 equally delicious variations of [...]

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A Summertime Quickie: How to Make a Honey Spiced Ice-Cream Sandwich

We spend all winter dreaming of those long, lazy summer days. June arrives and…kapow! Swimming, biking, soccer, riding, BBQ, end of school-year activities, summer camps, festivals…it’s crazy! Yet, it’s all fun and somehow, those relaxed, lazy moments do weave themselves throughout the day. So here’s the situation: in order to enjoy more of those long, [...]

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3 Ways to Have Spices for Breakfast: 1 indulgence, 1 blend, and 1 surprise

Good morning sleepyhead! What’s waiting for you on the breakfast table? Spices? Why not? Increasingly, more studies are revealing the healthy benefits of spices. Plus a little change-up in morning food lineup for some a.m. motivation is always welcome. Here are 3 new ways to eat your spices in the morning. One is sheer indulgence. One [...]

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How to Grow Your Own Spices: Caraway Seeds

Do you love the idea of growing spices but are faced with the reality of 3-month growing season? We can all admit that cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla, saffron, ginger, and nutmeg all echo with the mystique of an exotic locale. No matter, there are spices you can grown in your backyard, even if your growing zone is better [...]

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Introducing the Exclusive Distillery No. 209 Spiced Gin Mini Cupcake

Guest Post by Amy Wolff, creator of FingerSweets I’m on a flavor quest…a cupcake flavor quest to be specific. Cupcakes, in my book, are a pure delight. Some food trend experts have declared that cupcakes are out of fashion. Based on the reviews and awards I’ve received I assure you that the word on the street [...]

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10 Awesome Coriander Combinations

Coriander. Used occasionally, it’s probably not one of your spotlight spices. But coriander is one of those few spices that moves effortlessly through each season contributing its versatile flavor to so many foods in its typical unassuming style. Some find it bright and fresh with a hint of citrus and tang. Others describe a subtle undercurrent of caraway, [...]

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The 2011 Spice Forecast

It’s January–time for lists, predictions, forecasts, and resolutions. It’s going to be a busy year so let’s get to it. Here’s the big news. Spices, in general, are one of the trends. The US Department of Agriculture reports that the consumption of spices in the United States has grown three times as fast as the population over the past several [...]

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20 Flavors for Cardamom

Popular in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine cardamom has an intensely fragrant aroma. Considered a warming spice it’s perceived to help generate internal body heat and is valued in cooler climates. In the West, cardamom is most often associated with Scandinavian baked goods. Oh, but there is so much more. I’ve always maintained that cardamom is the [...]