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 [...]
Last week was summer’s swan song and I sent it off with a pile of fresh fruits paired up with fun spices. This week I’m buttoning up the season the same way I started it: immersed in the horse world. Four years ago the barn where I keep my horse began hosting a horse show [...]
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.” [...]
Buried. That about sums it up for most of the country these past few weeks. What are you supposed to do when there is this much snow? You play in it!! Spinning the freestyle way (I tried to embed the video but all I can give you is the link. Sorry.) You cozy up by the [...]
You knew it was coming. It’s basically mandatory that a publication dedicated to spices put up something related to gingerbread during the holidays. Last year it was the world’s most ultimate dark, sticky, chewy gingerbread. This year you deserve a break from the scurrying, baking, wrapping, shopping, and writing. Sit back and enjoy the show. Here [...]
“It was the aroma. The exotic scent of spices: rich, alluring, and almost magical. A scent that would sometimes overpower the freshness in the air and sometimes subtly mingle with it to create a tantalizing bouquet. A scent that would always bring me back to my childhood.” Author: Christina Arokiasamy Such is the introduction to [...]
Boo! I’m going to deviate from the typical spicy format to wish you Happy Halloween and autumn wishes. This time of year never fails to leave me speechless and completely fulfilled on the natural beauty and seasonal excitement. I’ve lived in Central, Southern and Northern California. Spent a year in Grenoble, France. Now I’m in Upstate [...]
Have you met nigella? Chances are yes, but the spice was probably traveling incognito. Charnushka. Black cumin. Black onion seeds. Black Sesame seeds. This spice goes by many different names which is too bad because it really merits its own pedestal. The seeds are black as midnight with a distinct edge running across one side. In their [...]
Earth Day. Earth Hour. Is that enough attention to the topics that have relevance to us every day? Biodiversity for example. That’s the focus of this post, or rather, spices and biodiversity. Biodiversity is on the decline. Not good. From a purely selfish point-of-view scientists are concerned we’re losing plant and animals species that could bring great [...]
One of the wonderful things about spices is their ability to transport you, even if for just a few bites, to anywhere in the world. Food is culture. It reflects the geography, flora, fauna, stories, and history (e.g. look at the presence of cardamom in Scandinavia). How it’s eaten, where it’s served, what it is: everything is a culmination [...]
Free Tea from Twinings 
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Apple Pie Spice Blend: Make Your Own
