The spice of life

Saturday was the opening day of the 9-day gun deer hunting season. It's a traditional big shopping day for deer hunting widows whose men take off for hunting camp. Since I happen to live at just such a place, my men go nowhere. They're here for the hunt and they have other men with them. Our farm was headquarters for nine hunters this year. Other than eating a lot of food, they really aren't much bother; they're just here being manly. Enough said.
I usually don't go too far from home either. This year was a little different. My daughter-in-law Alissa came along with Karl on Friday night. Wise one that she is, she opted to travel a bit farther and go visit her family for the weekend. I was happy to assist in that choice by driving her to Appleton on Saturday to meet her mom. We met at Penzey's Spices near the Appleton Mall. I love that store and always spend more time reading the recipes and smelling the spices than my shopping companions.
A long-time Penzey's devotee, my loyalty was recently reaffirmed when I foolishly tried another brand of pure vanilla. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't as expensive as Penzey's -- or so I thought. After complaining one too many times of an "off" flavor in baked goods, I finally decided that it had to be that bargain vanilla. My mother-in-law used to say that store-bought bakery often tasted "perfumey" which I frankly didn't understand. Now I do. That "off" flavor in Paul's most recent batch of chocolate chip cookies was more than just an odd taste, it was also the aroma. Perfumey is the perfect word.
That cheap vanilla was dumped out (which certainly knocks it out of the running for bargain of the year) and replaced with my absolute favorite Penzey's product. Pure Vanilla. It is so good. The size of the bag tells you that I found a few other little tidbits to buy as well. We love Chili 9000 and Bold Taco seasoning. Both have just the right amount of heat. And grated orange peel that puts me in the middle of an orchard each time I open it to add a tablespoon or two to a batch of cranberry bread (keep your grated orange or lemon peel in the fridge -- it will put you back in that orchard longer).
Unfortunately, I forgot to take my shopping list with me. I forgot the Bouquet Garni at the top of my list and the nutmeg for Christmas cookies. I may have to go back, or at the very least do a catalog order. And that's O.K. The catalog is nice to receive (this issue has a great recipe for Irish stew that was consumed with gusto by the aforementioned 9 hunters here Saturday evening), but it's not the same as walking through the store with the little black shopping basket, stopping to smell all the offerings and dreaming up the next great dinner -- or dessert -- for my family. The experience is the beauty of the store...and what keeps me coming back. This time, the return trip may be sooner rather than later.