On Friday, I attended the dinner of the 26th Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference held by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. During a time when all I seem to see on TV are celebrities getting married or divorced – all on heavily-sponsored reality shows, of course – I was amazed at the  1,200 people there who cared more about the Earth and what we eat than they care about whether celebrity A wears the dress better than celebrity B (though in full disclosure, I wholeheartedly admit I do check out People Magazine as a guilty pleasure).

By the way, why are celebrities celebrities? By definition, we are celebrating them – for what? Making YouTube videos? Why not celebrate farmers? You know, the people who make it possible for us to eat?

The keynote speaker of the dinner was none other than Dr. Joan Gussow, “matriarch of the local food movement.” Dr. Gussow spoke to the crowd of 800 farmers and local food advocates over a fantastic dinner prepared by the chef of the Sheraton Imperial in Durham, NC with ingredients all sourced locally (the regular menu there tries to be as seasonal as possible). Yes, a locally-sourced, catered dinner for 800 people – hard work, but possible.

I sat next to a lovely young couple who was recognized as one of the new farmers – she and her fiance just bought some land after serving in the military and are starting a farm called Pitchfork & A Prayer Organics. They were there to learn and to share – and simply inspirational…I can’t wait to hear more from them and their journey to begin a much-needed family farm. Hmm…anyone have some urban farmland they’re selling?

Some of you have heard me speak about Dr. Gussow before – many people talk about her – she is one of the few individuals who speak truth to power. She spoke about the seriousness of our current situation – our broken food system, our messing around with Mother Nature with known but ignored or unknown consequences, our compromised health, our exploitation of the most vulnerable, our blinded rush without understanding limits to growth. As she spoke, I could not help but feel so grateful that I had the opportunity to be inspired by her as my professor – she changed the course of my career by challenging my thinking and pushing me to do something about our current situation (hence, hello, Zomppa).

She also was one of the first people who made it clear – in non-negotiable terms – that when it comes to the Earth and our food, messing around with one thing will mess up something else. We cannot eat in isolation, we cannot consume in isolation. You might be drinking a cup of coffee while reading this. Imagine the number of human beings and animals and organisms who were directly involved in allowing you to taste that coffee, not to mention natural resources used, from the coffee bean you chose to the cup you’re holding to the water you brewed with it to the coffee machine you used to the ability of your hand to lift the cup to your mouth to….

It’s overwhelming.

Yet, as Bill McKibben noted in his book Eaarth (please read this book), although there are politicians out there who either refuse to believe (or refuse to do anything about the fact) that our climate is changing or that toxic chemicals leached into the soil are affecting our species and other species, some bad sh** is happening. So it’s time to wake up, people. What you do and eat everyday affects everything else and everyone else. Your coffee appeared at your table not only because of your hard work and efforts, but others as well.

Dr. Gussow ended her talk on an optimistic note (as she always does after scaring the bejesus out of me). She noted that 20 years ago, there was no way that a head chef at a huge convention hotel would agree to or embrace catering a meal for 800 with locally-sourced ingredients, or that 1,200 new and experienced farmers could gather in a room talking about organic fertilizers without being viewed as subversive, or that people from all walks of life are walking away from the broken system and returning to the Earth.

So we are surely waking up – but we have to stop hitting that snooze button.

To help us wake up is an easy-to-make, easy-to-impress (I’m all about easy breakfasts) Mushroom Egg Bake (local eggs, local mushrooms, local tomatoes, local cheese, and muffins baked at the Whole Foods bakehouse in North Carolina…sorry, haven’t yet gotten to making my own muffins – though I should!).

Good morning.

Mushroom Egg Bake
Serves 4 (or 2 hungry people)

Ingredients
2 English muffins
1 tomato
1 cup sliced mushrooms (wild, Baby bella, or portobello – your choice)
1/4 cup cheese (or more or less if you want, Cheddar, PepperJack, Gruyere – use your imagination)
Chopped parsley
Thyme
Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
4 eggs

Directions
1. In skillet, saute sliced mushrooms with thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper (add whatever seasonings or herbs you want – that’s the great thing about this – experiment!)
2. Preheat the oven to 350F
3. Put one half of muffin in each of four small ramekins
4. Scoop sauteed mushrooms and make a well
5. Crack an egg in the well
6. Add chopped tomatoes
7. Add shredded cheese
7. Garnish with parsley
8. Bake
9. Eat
10. Thank our farmers

Food is truly the connector of all things (and people).

We’ve written about water for last year’s Blog Action Day, but some recent movies have got me thinking again about water, and wanted to share them.

View of Manhattan from Roosevelt Island

I recently watched the documentary No Impact Man. This guy Colin Beavan takes his family on a one-year quest to have no impact on the environment – meaning walking, biking, scooting everywhere, no electricity, no new clothes, no toilet paper, and of course, no water in plastic bottles. While many of us don’t live in places like New York City where it’s a bit easier because of the accessibility of farmer’s markets within walking or biking distance, the documentary makes one question what each of us can do to lower our impact.

Georgia Aquarium

For anyone who talks about caring about the environment or where their food comes from, check it out (streaming on Netflix) and the follow-up initiative, the No Impact Project. In any case, the Beavan’s taking their no impact to the nth degree really raises how far we have become as a society in how we treat our food and drink.

Waters of the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Town, South Africa

If you’ve ever drank water (duh), you need to watch Tapped, a documentary about the bottled water business. Winner of multiple awards, this movie examines some startling information, not only about how much we consume (29 billion bottles purchased by Americans alone in 2007), but also the terrible consequences of the business. A few notes:

• Everyone – EVERYONE, YOU, ME – will have an issue with having accessible, clean, drinking water by 2030. That’s not so far away.
• Only 1% of the Earth’s water is drinkable.
• Groundwater rights depends on the state, so big companies own water rights in small towns, like Nestle (which owns Poland Springs) in Maine.
• Though the International Bottled Water Association (yes, there is one) says they only take .02% of available groundwater, critics say by doing so in small areas, fish populations get depleted…among other things.
• 40% of bottled water is filtered tap water. (My way is cheaper!)
• Places nearby refineries making plastic bottles have higher rates of birth defects and cancer. In Corpus Christi, refinery workers are forbidden to let citizens know they have a right to clean air and water. Air and soil are contaminated. Birth defects are 84% higher than the state average.

Jellyfish at Dawn, Wilmington, NC

Wait! It gets better! Have you switched out of individual bottled water because of BPA and stuff? You might still drink water at the office from the water cooler, even filling your aluminum bottle with it. Well, it turns out that most 5-gallon bottles have BPA, and these low doses of estrogen can lead to cancers of the breast and prostrate, ADD, diseases of the liver, ovaries, uterus, low sperm count, and it goes on and on…. So you might think you’re safe refilling at the water cooler, but think again!

The movie is streaming on Netflix (oh, Netflix, how I love thee). See the trailer here:

The smart guys at McKinsey recently came out with a key report, Charting Our Water Future. They are part of a group, the 2030 Water Resources Group that comprises of some big business, including the Barilla Group, The Coca Cola Company, Nestlé (yes Nestle), New Holland Agriculture, SAB Miller, Standard Chartered, and Syngenta.

Folks are starting to recognize this issue more and more. University of Canberra in Australia is discontinuing sale of bottled water by World Water Day 2011. World Water Day (March 22) theme this year is: Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge. Find out here what you can do.

Essentially, something’s gotta be done because we’re all going to be effected – whether you want to know or not.

Check us out on Simple Lives Thursday!

Alice writes about the garden on Growing Gardeners, and his is her newest update. Thanks, Alice, for all that you do!

I just created a presentation about the evolution of our school garden at George Watts Montessori. (I can’t wait to tell you why I was doing that, but that will have to wait for another post.)

To show what we’ve accomplished, I delved into the 5 biggest ways the garden has contributed to the students’ health and academics:

A proud grower of carrots

1. Kids are tasting more vegetables and fruits — and learning how to cook them. Tasting what’s growing in the garden is so essential, but it’s also a challenge to incorporate into the school day.

At schools like Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, Calif., they have kitchen and garden staff who work together in figuring out what’s ready to harvest and cook with children — and then do it during set-aside blocks of time. If you’re not lucky enough to have that arrangement, you have to fit in tastings somehow.

At our school, the tastings have happened as a school-wide “celebration” — like Harvest Feast or Green Smoothie Day — and also as an individual classroom activity. This year, for example, classrooms gathered lettuce to make salads for a mid-afternoon snack and harvested broccoli for a recipe a teacher brought in. Other classrooms nibble from the plants as they pass through the garden on their way to recess.

What can you make with spinach and strawberries (both grown in our garden)? Green smoothies!

This spring, we’ll be trying something new. More about that in a future post…

2. Kids move more. Outside in the garden, kids can stretch, soak up some sunshine vitamins, and have a sensorial experience, thanks to all the smells and textures in the garden.

But the biggest boon to students’ health? The .25-mile walking path that we installed as part of the garden expansion.

Many classes run the track before starting recess. It’s one way for teachers — and not just the P.E. coach — to help kids reach the daily recommended levels of physical activity, 60 minutes. A growing body of research shows the connection between physical activity and academic performance (not to mention the health benefits of exercise).

So anytime a teacher encourages a run around the track, she’s helping kids get smarter.

A class does a lap before recess begins.

3. It’s a learning lab. I’ve told you before about the garden-based curriculum we’re using at George Watts Montessori. But teachers don’t always need customized lessons to encourage learning outside. Journaling, measuring, making real-world observations, conducting experiments, gathering specimens — it’s all possible in a garden.

Students can witness what happens when they don’t water young seeds enough, or how slowly their compost heap decomposes. It’s like this Chinese proverb puts it: “Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I’ll understand.”

4. It brings food equity to our community. We have enough space in our garden now that we produce more than students can taste during the school day. So we’ve been able to think about how to share food.

Some weeks (with the help of the school’s counselor) we send home fresh vegetables to school families in need. Over the summer, everything we harvested was given away to families at a weekly Garden Giveaway Day at the school. At last spring’s Great Tomato Giveaway, every family who wanted one got a free potted tomato plant, along with a list of ways to cook and eat a tomato.

And recently, over winter break, 20 or so students and their families came to the garden to harvest spinach and carrots. We took loads of it to our downtown soup kitchen, Urban Ministries, so the chef could turn it into a meal.

5. It builds community. This means a lot of different things to me. It can mean a small group of parents coming together to work on the garden beds, or the entire school community coming together to celebrate Rootfest. Or it can point to the many connections our school has made via the garden.

So far, we’ve forged partnerships with urban gardening groups like Bountiful Backyards and SEEDS. We’ve worked closely with the nutritionists from DINE for LIFE who serve public schools. We’ve helped and been helped by Duke students who want to make a difference in Durham. We’ve collaborated with other teachers and parents throughout the public school system. We’ve received grants and in-kind donations from organizations like Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, NC Beautiful, Whole Foods, Burt’s Bees, Cabot Farms and our own school alumni group Friends of Watts. (And our PTA continues to provide the critical financial and volunteer support that sustains this program.)

With all those people and organizations helping to lift up our students and lift up our school, we’ve accomplished a bazillion times more than we would have alone.

Sunflower

Do I know at what price my seafood consumption pays for the environment and for the wild animals who live in the waters?

Jellyfish at the Georgia Aquarium

I’m always a little perplexed by those who say they won’t eat meat because they don’t want to eat animals or hurt the planet, yet seafood is often an exception….

Seafood. Frutas del mar.Frutti de mare. We don’t call four-legged animals we eat “landfood,” yet we think our oceans are forever overflowing.

Salmon at Jaleo, Bethesda, MD

If you eat anything from the seas, do you know how it’s caught? Is it endangered? Is it sustainable? If you eat any kind of fish or animal from the waters, I highly recommend first reading Four Fish by Paul Greenberg.

Four Fish by Paul Greenberg

One of the best written and clear books I’ve read, Greenberg investigates the fishing industry and what “seafood” and sustainability means through the four fish that have characterized much of our “seafood” today: salmon, cod, bass, and tuna. Being from New England, cod, lobster, and clam chowder were givens. We ate like there was no tomorrow.

Sea bass

But Greenberg warns otherwise, and investigates which fish are more sustainably raise, fish that have had less fame – tilapia, Kona Kampachi, carp. He also makes it clear that wild fish are not “seafood,” there for our consumption, but like any creature, deserves to fulfill its destiny. Francis Lam from Salon interviewed Greenberg via email recently, and you can read the transcript here.

Yet recent reports, like Treehugger and Guardian’s pieces by Lewis Smith raise concern about whether MSC is rushing too label certain fish or sea animals sustainable when they may not be.

Rights to animals in the water and what constitutes as our food is coming to a head, literally. Do you remember that report of Gordon Ramsey getting doused with gasoline for investigating illicit shark fin trade? I love Gordon Ramsey!! Sorry for the digression…but he rocks.

An important video to watch is End of the Line (also streaming on Netflix. Netflix, I love you!). Check out their site and join the campaign to protect our “seafood” before we can no longer “see” anything in the ocean. See trailer here:

If we pay more attention to the animals that come from the waters, we may start hearing better news. Recently, Barry Eastabrook of Politics of the Plate noted that haddock stocks have been replenishing. Marc aka  Mental Masala wrote a great piece on Ethicurean on what some restaurants in San Francisco, i.e. Fish and Chez Panisse, are doing. Follow fish2fork (on Twitter too) which is a “campaigning restaurant guide for people who want to eat fish – sustainably” – done by the folks who did End of the Line.

Seafood is a misnomer. Animals in the oceans are wild, roaming animals, and we need to recognize and honor their place, especially if we ask them to give their lives for us.

Zomppa’s Egg Noodle Soup

Egg Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 Pack of egg noodles
½ medium size onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 ½ medium sized tomatoes, chopped
10 large mushrooms (choose your kind/you can also add meat if you like) sliced
1 cup of frozen peas
Baby bok choy/spinach chopped (as much/little you like)
7 cups of vegetable stock (you can add more if you want it soupier)

Instruction

1. Heat a large pot on medium heat. Add the oil and sauté the onions and garlic till translucent
2. Add ½ tsp of salt
3. Add mushrooms, saute for a couple of minutes
4. Add tomatoes, sauté until it becomes into a nice thick sauce
5. Add  frozen peas and then the vegetable stock
6. Once it starts boiling add the noodles, cook per the package instruction
7. Once the noodles cook, add the bokchoy/spinach, and voila it is done! Add salt for seasoning
8. Serve nice and hot! Should you have any leftover roast beef it would go well too!

Check us out on Two for Tuesdays!

Since then, we have had the honor of sharing with you our thoughts and views on food, recipes, travels, musings. Most importantly, we have met and gained a lot of wonderful foodie-friends! So thank YOU for your encouragement, support and friendship.

To learn a bit more about us,  check out our Contributors page.

In addition to year 2 of new blogs, stories, and recipes, this weekend was a happy birthday to other new phases of lives.

Cake from my sister’s shower – baked by a new baker in Massachusetts!

Happy Birthday #1: new contributors
With two new regular contributors, the Zomppa ladies bring their multiple voices from different perspectives. We have vastly different experiences and come from all backgrounds, representing every continent (except Antarctica – anyone out there?), ethnicities, religions, professions. Some are married, some have babies, some are single, some have pets, some have plants. What brings us together is our love and passion for food, and belief that, well, food is more than what we eat.

We always welcome new voices from guest contributors, so please let us know if you are interested!

Happy birthday #2: new soon-to-be-life
In addition to Zomppa, happy birthday number #2 came in the form of celebrating soon-to-be-new-life. I’m about to be an aunt for the first time. The Kid decided to keep his gender a secret until Friday (first boy in my family! Yes, my poor dad in a house full of five women….). So months ago, my little sister (aka Monkey) decided on a surprise baby shower – the theme: “It’s Under Wraps.” Get it?

Teresa and Mary, two of the most gorgeous, kind-hearted people I know, hosted. Teresa is one of my sister’s best friends and her sister, Mary, is one of my oldest friends from high school). Confused yet?

Long story short, we spend the last couple months devising a secret shower, complete with a menu of all appetizers “under wraps” (everything had to wrapped, rolled or stuffed like well-kept secrets or swaddled babies).

Unfortunately, due to another set of events , the whole thing almost fell apart because of happy birthday to #3. So instead of the menu I wanted, thank goodness for Whole Foods and their prepared foods section. I was still able to make my smoked salmon pinwheels, but adapted a few items: including sopressata wrapped with Parmagiano-Reggiano, stuffed tomatoes, orzo pasta stuffed in pita, and chicken sausage hoagies. This was topped off by Italian sodas and one of the best cakes I’ve ever had – not too sweet but perfect – baked by Mary’s friend.

For shower gifts, I pushed a bit of my agenda…I made reusable lunchbags out of old burlap coffee bags I got from Counter Culture Coffee. I included bulk items: quinoa, chocolate covered almonds, oats, cherries, sunflowers, and an Odwalla bar…trying to push healthy, economical, and environmentally friendly eating on the new mom and friends!

Although I didn’t get to make everything I wanted to, I have included a couple recipes of EASY party recipes that you can make ahead of time but sure to delight.

Happy birthday #3: new house
I didn’t get to really cook because of happy birthday #3 to new beginnings. After over 30 years, my parents decided this was the weekend to move from my childhood home to be closer to my preggers sister. Instead of hanging out and enjoying the last night, however, I spent 48 hours with 2 hours sleep moving, lifting, moving…I’m still recovering. It was kinda nice to clean out, but wish I had more time to enjoy seeing the old toys and childhood memorabilia before tossing them out.

What a weekend. New beginnings in so many areas – scary sometimes but in the end, always good.

Happy Birthday, Zomppa!

Quinoa Stuffed Pita

Quinoa Stuffed Pita
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 TB olive oil
1/2 cup chives, chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
Salt
Pepper

1. Toast quinoa in oven or skillet for a couple minutes (adds great depth)
2. Heat oil over medium heat in skilled
3. Add chives and cook until soft (about 1 minute)
4. Add quinoa and stir for a couple minutes
5. Meanwhile, bring broth to a simmer in a separate pot
6. Add broth to quinoa, season with salt and pepper
7. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes until quinoa is tender
8. Add in cherries and pecans

Parmagiano-Reggiano Stuffed Dates
1 chunk Parmaginao-Reggiano
Dates
Marcona almonds

1. Simply put the three together

Smoked Salmon Pinwheels

Smoked Salmon Pinwheels
1/2 package whole wheat Lavash bread
8 oz. smoked salmon
1/4 red onion
1/2 bunch dill
4 oz. organic cream cheese spread

1. Spread cream cheese with hands on Lavash bread
2. Add chopped dill
3. Add chopped red onion
4. Add smoked salmon
5. Roll and slice

So who was St. Patrick? Known as the patron saint of Ireland, he was actually born in Britain and was taken captive by Irish raiders. Subsequently, according to biography.com, he became a Christian missionary, but rather than try to eradicate native Irish beliefs and culture, he honored and incorporated their traditions into Christianity (i.e. the sun – an Irish symbol – onto the Christian cross, now the Celtic cross, the three-clover shamrock and the Holy Trinity).

St. Patrick recognized the uniqueness of culture, which is dynamic. A recent New York Times article raised an interesting question whether there is such a thing as an “ethnic” or “culture” diet. We’ve heard about diets by blood type, but what about by ethnicity? Author Nicholas Wade talks about certain genetic selection that have to led to differences, such as lactose tolerance in northern European as opposed to many Asians. Sarah Kagan of Epicurious also chimed into the debate. What do you think? Are the Irish genetically disposed to milk and corned beef?

While you’re considering this question, I thought I’d offer my own twist to the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage. I went to my local Whole Foods, where master butcher Jeremy has been curing his own corned beef…yum.

How could I resist? I’m on this orzo kick and love how the salty beefiness soaks into the fleshy mushroom.

Twisted Corned Beef and Cabbage

Twisted Corned Beef and Cabbage

1/2 lb. corned beef brisket
1 cabbage
6 peppercorns
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 bunch cilantro
2 bay leaves
2 cloves, whole
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup orzo
4-5 cups stock (vegetable, chicken or beef)

1. Cover corned beef with stock
2. Add cabbage, mushrooms, peppercorns, garlic, bay leaves, cloves pepper and stock
3. Bring to boil
4. Skim off foam and reduce heat. Simmer for 2 hours until meat is tender
5. During last 15 minutes, add orzo and chopped cilantro, cook until orzo is tender

Not traditional, but as St. Patrick did, incorporate, integrate, and celebrate.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Valentine’s Day is coming up…need something to spice it up? This year, Valentine’s Day is also Chinese New Year (it comes on a different day every year so it’s a bit of a moving target), so I get to cheat.

I get to restart my resolutions and celebrate TWO New Year’s (what kind of cheating were you thinking of?). Whatever I f***ed up the first time around on the 1st or didn’t get around to (like cleaning my house), I get to do now. I actually love purging and throwing things out (grew up in a house of packrats), and look forward to this time of year when I literally throw out the old to make room for the new and good.

I started with my kitchen.

I realized I had some old, old spices that I had lugged with me from when I was living in Manhattan years ago. They had all but lost their identities. The parsley had gone from a vibrant green color to a dull gray…

The cardamom pods went from fragrant green to a washed out tan…

The chili went from vibrant red to a deep chimney brick.

It was time to spice up my spices.

Now I love spices. I love to cook with them, eat them, look at them. All kinds of spices, though I do have some of my favorite go-tos (i.e. basil, chili, coriander, cumin, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme).

Several years ago, I realized how much spice I was wasting buying those store-bought bottles, spending a fortune only to use a little bit and then the rest goes stale. I found these little metal tins on-line, some some double-sided magnets, and the bulk spice aisle.

I have never looked back. I keep my spices on the side of my refrigerator and use peelable stickies on the back so I know what they are. Since my I knew my spices had likely or were going stale. I tossed everything out, took my tins and went to Whole Foods. Why do I go there? Because:

• Some of their spices are organic
• Buying bulk is SO much cheaper (less than $1.00/tin to fill most of these) and I don’t end up with a huge bottle that will go stale in a few months
• I can bring my tins and fill them directly and they take out the weight – so I don’t waste a plastic bag and I don’t have that hassle of pouring it into a bag, then into the tin, and then having a little too much over to toss out and it ends up cluttering my shelves.

Some things to keep in mind if you want to store your spices like this (or use all metal and label on front):

• Keep spices away from direct sunlight
• Keep spices in airtight containers
• Keep them dry
• Keep them in alphabetical order (or some other method, but not by color or usage…(if you put cayenne, chili, and paprika next to each other, you may easily pick up the wrong one!)
• Be careful if your refrigerator gets too warm on the side because that can affect the quality and taste of quality
• Don’t keep them over the stove (heat and steam can affect them)

How long can spices keep? Rule of thumb is that whole spices can keep far longer than ground ones. Whole spices that are freshly ground also have give a greater punch, and so are great to have on hand. Keep a mortar and pestle and a spice grinder (automatic or manual – like this little one from Turkey) nearby. This way, you can quickly grind spices that often do best when freshly ground – like coriander – their flavor just pops. Nutmeg is also good to have some whole when you just need to zest a bit.

Sometimes, though, you just don’t have the time to grind spices, so ground ones are great to have around. They just don’t keep as long. Some say 1 year, others say 2-3 years. It depends. If the ground spice has sat around for awhile and you’re not sure if it’s stale, gently shake, open the container and sniff. If it’s lost the flavor or color, it’s probably too old. If the spices are not as fresh, you may have to add more than the recipe requires. Toasting them slightly before cooking also can help to refresh the flavor.

Are spices good for you? You’ve probably heard it before – yes! For example:

• Cinnamon: can lower blood sugar (1 tsp equals 1/2 cup of blueberries!)
• Cumin: help digestion and bloating
• Paprika: can lower risk of cancer
• Rosemary: prevent damage to blood vessels
• Turmeric: has curcumin, which inhibits cancer cell growth

For more information, check out Corinne Lutton‘s article or Fitness Magazine.

How do you cook with spices? So many ways! It can be as easy as sprinkling some cinnamon on your oatmeal. Cooking with spices can be a more affordable and healthier way to flavor your food without lots of oil or butter. Mixing and matching the same spices can also give you a totally different flavor profile. A fabulous way to use spices is to drink them, especially on cold days. I found a fabulous Masala Chai mix, but it’s easy to do your own. ZomppaTsering has an easy, fabulous Chai recipe here.

Regardless of how you use them, it’s always handy to have a few favorite spices on hand to enhance, add, and alter your flavors. Life, after all, is yummier with a bit of sugar and a lot of spice.