spice jar love

One of the most exciting wedding registry gifts for me was a plethora of clear square spice jars.  It’s not just that I love all gifts, I happen to believe good spices are a big part of what makes food delicious.  (Along with fresh, organic ingredients that is…) I obsess over the freshness and quality of my herbs with the zeal of a zealot.  My favorite herbs are those I’ve grown and dried myself, but until I have a bigger yard I’ve been buying most of my herbs in the bulk section from the natural foods co-op.

culinary joy

a spice obsession

It’s a highly interactive experience.  I love perusing the rows, lingering over the contents of clear jars.  The herbs are generally bright green, or red, or a shade of whatever color the plant was before harvest, a sign of freshness.  I can open each jar and investigate, deeply inhaling the essence of different spices. The smell of cinnamon being shoveled into my little bag is a whiff of heaven.  The strong whiff of chipotle has me yearning for homemade chili.  Peppermint jolts my senses awake, and I dream of the honey I will add to it for tea.  Engaging with the herbs this way is an experience.

colorful herbs are a sign of freshness and quality

I can get as much or as little as I like of each herb, and the price is much cheaper than if I were to buy all those different spices in jars.  The quality is great, too.  They are all organic or ethically wild-crafted, so I can feel good about what I’m eating, and not have to worry about ingesting pesticides or whether water/soil/air was harmed in the growing of the herb.

I have some bigger sized jars in my cabinet for my herbal teas, which come from the bulk spice section too.

A note about the labels: On my first attempt I bought file folder labels and wrote all the names on with a calligraphy pen.  Beautiful, but the Modge Podge smeared the ink.  What worked better was a permanent marker sealed with Modge Podge!

let’s get cooking!