7 Spice Cupboard Tips: The Eye of Newt MUST Be in There???!!!

Organized chaos, yes, eye of newt, no.

I guess I could have some in there somewhere. God knows I buy more herbs and spices annually than most small countries import in a decade. A good spice shop is as intoxicating to me as a shoe store must have been to Imelda Marcos. My problem is, aside from storage issues, is that I keep herbs and spices as  souvenirs of my travels and am loath to toss some things out.

Now mind you, I know they've lost any vestige of tasty oomph long ago, but that sweet little can of harissa reminds me of that cramped shop in Morocco we found between flights and that creepy man following us. Even though it's a little rusty, I can't part with it. There is also a little packet of gelatin sheets from the Chelsea Market that I've used some sheets from once and that tiny vial of black squid ink that keeps getting pushed aside. My spice cupboard DOES look as if there should be Eye of Newt in it. There isn't any; used that one up...yup, right.

There are also a few sentimental items in there, several types of natural vanilla product samples including a killer double-fold extract, made and given to me by my sweet son-in-law who passed away far too young, nearly a year ago. He worked for a flavoring company, and you always knew when he walked into a room from the scent of vanilla wafting around him. I use the stuff he gave me sparingly, to make it last, often in things I make for his little girls so there's a little of their Daddy in it, but...

Yes, I do have regular culinary dried herbs and spices that do get used up often, and that do get tossed out and replaced if it's been around for a year or so. Or if I can't remember how long I've had it because I neglected to write the date on the jar or bag with a marker.

Even though it does look like chaos in the picture, it really isn't. Some tips for keeping your seasonings in top form:

• Never keep your dried herbs and spices in a warm or bright place. Never over the stove or on open shelves unless your containers are light-proof. Heat and light kill the flavor faster than accidentally spraying your favorite rosebush with weed killer. Don't do either...

• Get a little set of shelf "steps". Called a tier organizer, mine has 3 levels. They are inexpensive, so get 3 or 4, they are worth every penny. If you put these into your cabinets, it lets you see what's in the back row without having to move jars and bottles around.

• Never buy more than you will use in a year unless you are willing to toss it when it starts to not have any scent, or begins to taste or smell "off". Giant containers at club warehouses are rarely a bargain unless you use a LOT. We buy a variety of cinnamon we like at Costco, since we add it to fruit nearly every day.

• Place "like" items together. Baking extracts in one section, Mediterranean spices in another, general spice mixtures together, flavored salts in one area...you get the idea.

• Put things back in the same spot every time you use it. This really speeds the cooking process so you are not searching shelf by shelf for the thyme or the turmeric. The corollary here is to also add herbs or spices that you use frequently to your shopping list before you run out. Keep the supply chain going.

• Date everything, with a marker when you get it or open it. So you won't find a jar of dried rosemary from the year you had your first baby, now that you are about to produce your third.

• If you buy a spice mixture, an herb or spice, and you don't like it, either give it away or toss it. Otherwise, it'll live forever in your cabinet, like the asafoetida I bought 4 years ago for an Indian recipe. It's still there. I can't always take my own advice. Sigh.

Copy Cat Blog: Compound Vinegar with Lovage, Thyme and Garlic

Vinegar with Thyme, Lovage & Garlic

Ok, this is probably the third blog where you’ll see this vinegar, but it was so beautiful when I saw it on Marisa’s blog “Food in Jars” and then again on “Lottie and Doof”, and well, I have a big old chive plant in the middle of the veg garden. So if I'm going to be a copy cat, the least I can do is borrow a topic from the big bloggers.

Chive Blossom Vinegar

But there’s more. I really want to talk about compound vinegars. That’s the old-fashioned name for flavored vinegars. This is the Chive Blossom vinegar from my garden’s chive blossoms. And we’ll make a different kind here today too.

There is nothing like dressing a salad in the dead of Winter that’s scented with fresh basil from last July’s Farm Market. Or that beautiful pink chive vinegar in a cruet on the table. Making flavored or compound vinegars allows you to be completely creative and make something totally unique. Try unusual combinations of herbs or spices that appeal to you; you may hit a winner. At this time of year, late Spring, the fresh herbs and aromatics available  are fabulous.

The simplest way to make seasoned vinegar is just wash and dry whatever it is you’d like your vinegar to taste of, pop it in a jar, cover it with vinegar, put the lid on it and store it in a dark coolish place for a few weeks and then enjoy the flavored vinegar. The acid in the vinegar preserves the vegetation (herbs, chilies, garlic and the like) you’ve put in there and the vegetation flavors the vinegar. If you’d like to speed up the process, just heat the vinegar to just below a boil and pour the hot vinegar over your herbs in a clean glass jar or bottle. You can certainly vary this even further with the addition of spices like black peppercorns, mustard seed, coriander, cloves or whatever makes your taste buds happy.

A chopstick helps push the herbs into the bottle.

It’s wise to pick fairly unassertive vinegar to start out with, if you want the flavor of your additions to really come through. I like white wine vinegar, and plain unseasoned rice wine vinegar. You can use cider, red wine or sherry vinegar, but they need bold additions to co-exist with their bold tastes.

Just needs the vinegar added,
 and then we wait...

The Non-Recipe for Thyme, Lovage and Garlic Vinegar

I’ve kept this batch simple. I’ve simply added homegrown fresh thyme, a few bruised, peeled garlic cloves and a perennial herb called lovage from my garden ( it tastes a lot like celery) to white wine vinegar in a nice Italian glass bottle I got here. Use a chopstick to push the herbs into your bottle or just use a clean glass canning jar. Pour the vinegar over to cover. Store for a few weeks in a cool dark place. You can strain out the solids before you use the vinegar if you wish. Yum in salads, recipes, and if you are brave with seltzer as a cooling beverage.