What's up with Elisabeth & George?: It's like an apothecary in my house!

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

It's like an apothecary in my house!

I received a shipment of herbs and spices yesterday. Yummy!
I kept opening the packages up and sniffing.

Regin wasn't as in to all the smells as I was, but he was enjoying helping me unpack the box.

Right away I put my spices to use. I made savory spinach/cheese/garlic muffins (mmmm!) using spinach, onion, and garlic powders; I made us some soothing herbal teas; I sprinkled some Cornish hens with lemon peel powder (and salt, pepper, and butter) and roasted them for dinner; and then I made some chamomile chai before bed.

One of the things I was most excited to use was the pure ground vanilla powder. I really don't care for vanilla-scented things, but this little packet smells AMAZING! And there is no sugar mixed with it and it's not suspended in glycerin or alcohol; it's 100 per cent pure vanilla. It's also way easier to use than vanilla beans.

So I'm a little vanilla happy. It's going in our teas and pancakes and... everything!

I'm eager to order more now. It was so cool to receive all these beautiful aromas in a box. And a lot of these large packets are cheaper than those little grocery store jars, and they are organic! I can't wait till our stuff from Penang arrives next week and I can put these in my glass spice jars.

Maybe I should be an herb/spice vendor. Reem, you should totally order some of these as research for your book! (It's set in part in a spice merchant's home. Doesn't that sound fantastic?)

2 comments:

Erica said...: Where did you order your items from? In Seattle there is a place called Market Spice. Its floor to ceiling with herbs/spices. I love it.; 3/04/2009 11:38 PM
Elisabeth said...: Oops! I forgot to write that. It's Mountain Rose Herbs. I'll put up a quick post to let everyone know.

I heard there is a local spice shop that is pretty cool, but I can't remember what it was called now. I wonder what they're prices are like.; 3/06/2009 8:25 AM

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How we're doing right now.

April 6th, 2009
Oh man, moving back home has been quite a transition! For Regin especially. It has taken him three months to return to being fully, or almost fully, potty trained. But we're home and happy to be with friends and in an environment where things are easier.

But of course, not everything is easier. George's first day back to work he learned that the company was exiting the business and he and all the other people that work on that product (including all those people he trained in Penang) were told to look for other jobs.

His last day was March 31st. No time for that cozy little 'sabbatical' though; after he finished his last day of work, his family called and told us they are coming (from Florida) for a visit on the 10th! This would be no big deal (other than being terribly exciting) if we were fully moved back in, but of course, until now, we've had VERY little motivation to fully unpack! So now we're preparing the house at warp speed!

You know, I do miss Penang. Hard to say what I miss exactly, because I know it's more than our friends there, but I feel a certain pang. And all the time we were there, other than missing family, friends, easy living, and snow, I never once actually missed 'Colorado.'

When we got back to Colorado, I expected to have a new and complete love for the place. I do appreciate some things a lot more, especially visual things. I see beauty where I didn't before. But it hasn't been the feeling of home that I expected, and I still have some of the same issues with the place. But what I do love IMMENSELY and will always love IMMENSELY is the people we have here. And it's been absolutely amazing to see how Regin has picked right back up where he left off with his loved ones here. There's no doubt in my mind that he somehow remembers them.