You might not know this, but at our house we love spices.
Now, we get our spices from a variety of sources, but we do love to visit Savory Spice Shop in Boulder. It’s on Broadway, just a few steps off the Pearl Street Mall. I love the smells that hit me as soon as I walk in the door. I love that they have recipes places throughout the store, with amazing ways to use their spice mixes. I’m pretty sure I never would have made Marrakesh Chicken or any form of Vindaloo without a recipe.
As luck would have it, Michael is friends with the owner, Dan Hayward. And on a recent trip to Boulder (I dropped off my new dobro at Woodsongs Lutherie for a setup), we decided to swing by. As luck would further have it, Dan was in that day… and picked out a set of fabulous spices for us to use in our travels:
Meet the newest members of our spice world! It’s been fun to try these guys out.
Cuban Island Spice. We used this as a dry rub on chicken legs and offered some to our CrossFit coaches, Doug and Kristi. Kristi said they’d already eaten dinner, but Doug scarfed down a chicken leg. With good reason – they were delicious! Cuban Island Spice is kinda citrus-y, kinda earthy. Extremely awesome. The chef tells me that garlic, lime, and cumin are the biggest notes, all well balanced. Can’t wait to use this one again.
Jamaican Jerk Seasoning: we put this on eggs and it was awesome. There’s just a bit of heat from Scotch bonnet peppers in there. We’ll be using the crap out of this jar at our going-away bash and pickin’ party this weekend.
Cook County Charcoal seasoning: The name caught my eye – I grew up in Cook County. Made from coconut husks (what this has to do with Cook County is beyond me… I never knew we grew coconuts there). It has no smell. But the taste! Salty and smoky. It’s like a barbecue rub but without the added sugar. We haven’t used this one yet and I am eager to try it out.
Mapuche Style Merken Seasoning: (‘Murica!) Haha, it’s not a ‘Murican spice or anything, that’s just how you pronounce it. It’s a bit like a standard chili powder, but with citrus-y burst from coriander and this trippy addition of oregano. We made turkey/vegetable/black bean chili with this spice instead of standard chili powder. My friend Justin joined us for dinner that night and the results spoke for themselves: no leftovers.
This week is the first in years that Michael and I get to have dinner together – get to make dinner together – every night. We might have to make another stop at Savory before we hit the road!
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2 responses to “Spice World”
Thanks for the heads-up on facebook about a new blog post.
That notification sent to followers of the blog would be nice if you can do it.
Posting a notification on facebook works as well.
We love you guys and hope this journey is all you hope it is and more! We would love to have you in our humble home if you make a trip near the “fly over” states. By mid August we will have tons of organic vegetables to share and I am putting up pickles this week! Heirloom tomatoes, green beans, carrots, leafy greens, herbs, peas, cucumbers, squash, and more! Except corn. I get sick of looking at it so I’m not growing it! There is an apple tree next door so you can also stash some of those away too! Yes, yes this is a bribe. So come, come to South Dakota, because Minnesota is right next door!