spices

Visions of Sugarplums

Do you believe? In sugarplums that is? Sugarplums are the things of fairy names and sweetened childrens’ dreams on Christmas Eve. An old-fashioned confection made with a potpourri of holiday spices, dried fruits and nuts, held together with molasses, honey and powdered sugar–sugarplums are very real. In these sweet hours before Christmas I’m going to give you a sugarplum [...]

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Giveaway: The Karma Sauce Company “Smokey” #2

What do you get when you combine a December trip to the Mayan Riviera with the holiday season in Upstate New York? You get an unexpected holiday gift (yes, you! If you win). A bottle of warmth and flavor that, like a vacation, will taste completely unexpected in the most delightful kind of way. Have you ever heard of the Karma [...]

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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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Spice Coupons. Spice Samples. Spice Freebies.

With the holidays approaching and all the gifts you want to give who isn’t interested in saving a little cash? Now match that thought to the fact that I get a lot of email. Mountains of it. Announcements, offers, articles, articles, merchant updates –a lot of this is junk but there are the occasional bits of treasure. And these bits, my [...]

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10 Spiced-Out Holiday Beers

Show of hands please. Who can’t find something to love about the late autumn, winter transition? One week you’re admiring leaves bathed in colors of golds, butterscotch, ochre, and bronze–the next–you have the austerity of empty branches decorated with snow. Ocean dwellers admire the change of light over the Pacific, and the desert offers up its own magic. It’s [...]

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Green Tomato Mince: What Is It and How to Make It

This is the spice season…is it not? While Spice Sherpa has some cool stuff on tap for you in the coming month, (A giveaway! A spice freebies section! Spicy gift guides!), today’s post spotlights a simpler, more wholesome, and frugal time. And it all starts with the cold weather. Quick 10 second diversion: if you were anticipating [...]

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Seasoned Kale Chips: The Addicting Version

Want a snack that doesn’t sabotage your healthy intentions? Here’s your cure: seasoned kale chips. These little delights are salty, crunchy and utterly addicting. Addicting is good because kale chips are stuffed with nutrients, vitamins, fiber, protein, calcium and iron. Eat your greens? Heck yeah! Now you have a couple of choices. You can purchase kale chips at the [...]

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7 Summer Fruits and Their BSF (Best Spice Friend)

So September is here, school has started and summer is over…not! Certainly the farmer’s markets and local growers agree. Stalls are still packed with berries, peaches, nectarines, watermelon, cucumbers, cantaloupe…all those summer goodies that are the epitome of soft, warm days and stretched out time. Are you with me? But seven weeks!! That’s how long the virtual [...]

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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, [...]