jkom, that's funny, my mother loved pickled pigs feet, and their similar product, pickled pigs knuckles. The person who taught her to eat them? My Aunt Amy, whose real name was Yoshiko and who came to the States with my Uncle Chuck, he met her and married her while he was in the service stationed in Japan. I always liked liver, although I seemed to be an oddity among my friends for it. I still like liver with bacon and onions, although I seldom eat it now on the advice on my doctor. Peppi, all of those things are also available here, and none are considered particularly odd. In fact, Jiffy muffin mix is made here in Michigan, and I've always got canned salmon, canned sardines and canned smoked oysters in the pantry. I don't particularly like the oysters, but Elery loves them. I don't really like headcheese much either, truthfully, but I can get it and I've eaten it. Ashley still likes the Mrs. Grass' chicken noodle soup in a box as well as the Vienna sausages in a can. So, although I'll eat liver and headcheese, I think "non-dairy creamer" is weird, how can it be creamer, but be non-diary? I haven't figured out yet what exactly Cool Whip is, but my brother eats it frozen, like ice cream. Annie

I find spice blends helpful in cooking low sodium foods for my husband. I like Tony Cachere's Salt Free blend and Penzey's Mural of Flavor along with its Adobo, the Singapore, and the Jerk. I also like Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Salt Free Seasoning. My favorite Chili powder blend is Grandma's, but it's becoming harder & harder for me to find. And I'm another who likes Sun curry powder. I found my favorite and most used blends quite by accident and in an unexpected store. I discovered several really good salt-free blends at Cost Plus World Market. I've been using their Chicago Chop & Steak blend for grilled meats. The Thai Spice blend is great sprinkled on Asian inspired dishes. I've used the Greek Mediterranean blend on roasted asparagus and chicken. I like it a lot better than Cavender's Salt Free Greek seasoning or Penzey's Salt Free Lamb seasoning. I've used the Garlic Pepper blend on all kinds of things, including last week's rib roast. The Cal Mex & the Fajitas blends are great for Mexican inspired dishes. The Jerk Chicken & Fish blend is tasty too. And the Key Lime blend has a spicy & tangy citrus kick to it. To tell the truth, I wasn't expecting much, but I'm really impressed with the flavors.

We've been using this one since David posted it-- great on ribs & the guys at Camp love it on venison roasts & turkey legs--- Diane Home Cookin Chapter: In a Jar Dustcatchers Crafts ,dressings, dips & spice blends Memphis Rub =========== 1/4 cup paprika 1 tablespoon firmly packed dark brown sugar 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons accent (MSG; optional) 1 teaspoon celery salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 to 3 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon onion powder . Combine all the ingredients in a jar, twist the lid on airtight, and shake to mix. Store away from heat or light for up to six months. Makes about 1/2 cup. Enough for 2 racks of ribs. posted by Lake Guy and a couple favorites at our craft show sales: Pseudo Bay Seasoning 1 tbsp ground bay leaves 2 1/2 tsp celery salt 1 1/2 tsp dry mustard 1 1/2 tsp black pepper 3/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/2 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp red pepper 1/4 tsp ground mace 1/4 tsp ground cardamom Combine all ingredients: store in an airtight container. ============================================== Lemon Herb Rub 4 1/2 tbsp. Basil 1 1/2 tbsp Celery seed 3 3/4 tbsp Oregano 1 1/2 tbsp Basil 1 1/2 tbsp Powdered black pepper 1/2 tsp Granulated garlic 1 1/2 tbsp Granulated onion 1/2 tsp Lemon rind, grated Diane

A friend gave me a boxed set of four Penzeys spice mixes--the Tuscan Sunset, Sunny Spain, Mural of Flavor, and Bavarian. I must say I didn't like the Sunny Spain--too heavy on the lemon peel for my taste and also had some kind of chemical aftertaste, so I dunno, maybe I got a bad jar. I mixed it with some garlic salt seasoning someone gave me in order to use it up. I loved the Tuscan Sunset and of course the Mural of Flavor. I still have the Bavarian seasoning. It's not bad, but mostly a meat/pork or potatoes thing, neither of which we eat very much. Maybe I should give that to my mom, since that's about all my dad does eat, other than bread! I used to use the Penzeys pasta blend as my go-to Italian mix but right now I'm just using McCormick that we got at the grocery store. And I forgot about Penzeys sandwich sprinkle. That was my go-to "dash" seasoning until I started getting Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb. Funny, I seemed to use the sandwich sprinkle on everything BUT sandwiches! I don't order from Penzeys as much anymore, they have switched to a new small glass jar, which is great for the environment since it is recyclable, but it doesn't fit in my spice rack! So I save the old plastic jars and just buy the bulk spices to fill them up again. I might be willing to do another order one of these days though, when I start running out of my favorites. Oh Jessy I forgot to mention that Tajin seasoning you gave me, it is the bomb! It's my secret chili weapon! Would probably be good in Thai and Indian too, to give it a kick. And I do use and love the Aleppo pepper. I like Aleppo and cayenne for my chili heat. I can't get into the chipotle, it's taking me forever to use up my little jar. Same with the hot hungarian paprika, it is too acrid for my taste. A friend gifted me with some mild paprika direct from her trip to Hungary, that is great! Who'd a thunk it, paprika with flavor! I'm going to have to look into some of the jarred curries for Thai and Indian. A friend gave me a jar of thai red curry paste, it's not suppoed to be firey hot, we'll see. I'm trying to pare down my condiment shelf in the fridge, it is over the top! I have some cilantro chutney I got but it is super hot so it is taking me forever to use that up too, since I just use a tiny dab in things. Same goes for the jar of black bean sauce. And I seem to have an inordinate amount of caramel sauce, but that's another story . . .