SHOP PRODUCTS
Houzz Logo Print
lpinkmountain

My new spicy life!

lpinkmountain
9 years ago

Shout out here to the wonderful CF members who have been a blessing for my life! About a month and a half ago I posted a cry for help due to the fact that I was setting up a new kitchen and needed spices, yet couldn't justify buying them in large quantities seeing as how it was just me cooking and my budget was limited. Although I was only looking for maybe suggestions of some online places to order spices in small quantities, in typical generous, generous CF fashion, three members volunteered to MAIL me extra spices from their stash and I ended up with THREE beautiful and special care packages of spices from Ruthanna, Teresa and Lascatx!!!

Here's a photo of just a portion of the bounty!

I'm in a real pickle, because now I have to cook up a bunch of spicy food to make sure this treasure doesn't go to waste. I am open to suggestions as long as they don't involve beef since I don't eat that, (sorry Texans it just doesn't agree with my taste and tummy, nothing against cows, I love 'em!). I mostly eat inexpensive proteins, very little seafood or pork but on occasion if I can find inexpensive varieties, (and that is mostly from cans unless it is fresh Lake MI fish) occasionally some bacon or chicken. I love all vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, tofu, fake meats, etc. Don't do quorn, seitan or tempeh though, they don't agree with my tummy either. I seem to do OK with soy based TVP.

So far I have made a great Mexican-style stew with the hand-made cocoa nib rub that Lascatx sent me. I also did a pork loin roast and braised chicken breasts with her barbecue and espresso rubs when I was back at my Allentown house and was cooking for BF. I left those rubs with him. I have a tiny kitchen here in my MI apt. Don't ask about the details, it's too complicated and is still in flux. All I know for sure is I am cooking again and it's summer and everything is in season and yummy and I need to cook at home to save money. That's the other criteria, I need inexpensive ingredients.

I've got extra ginger and lots of ground pepper varieties like pasilla negro, aleppo, cayenne and ancho. I think I need to do more stir frying for the ginger, but those peppers--I really need to get creative for that! I make some version of a chili-type stew very frequently and occasional enchiladas, but I need to expand my repertoire!

As some of you may know, I left CF about a year ago because I wasn't cooking much and reading about it just depressed me. I was dealing with a huge amount of negative stress at work, nagging minor health problems and a lot of upheaval in my life. Reading and posting to CF was not fitting in with my life then. I have a new job and new kitchen and I need to try and cook at home as much as possible due to new economic conditions! I'm still not reading or posting much because life is still hectic and stressful and my cooking is usually along the lines of "nachos" or a pizza made out of pita bread or an english muffin for dinner. Plus my camera bit the dust and the borrowed one I have is barely functional. But I am venturing back, just very low profile which is how I like it for now.

Comments (7)

Sponsored
Michael Nash Design, Build & Homes
Average rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars254 Reviews
Northern Virginia Design Build Firm | 18x Best of Houzz