A lot of people on the forum like Penzey's for spices.
I prefer The Spice House.

I buy pulses at the grocery, but if I need something they don't have and cannot get to a larger store, this place usually have what I need.
http://www.myethnicworld.com/c-34-dried-beans.aspx

Here is a link that might be useful: The Spice House

sarinav, I get my spices from Penzey's because they have a store about 50 miles from me and I don't pay any shipping that way. I've never tried the Spice House but I would if I found one anywhere instead of on-line. I understand that the Spice House is run by a sister of the Penzey's family.

Dried beans (pulses) are pretty easy for me to find, since Michigan is one of the top suppliers of dried beans in the nation. We are the top supplier of dried beans to Europe, and we send 90% of our cranberry beans to Spain, Italy and Portugal. Mexico gets most of the black beans, but our biggest crop is navy beans.

I get dried beans from Carlson-Arbrogast farms, about 30 miles away from me in Howard City, and they grow a lot of varieties. I have a bag of a new variety they got from Latin America, Mayacoba, in the pantry, I'll be trying those after I finish up the black eyed peas that Elery is making for New Year's Day.

Depending on your location, I think I'd try to find dried beans locally, the shipping could be prohibitively expensive on what is such an economical food.

Annie

Penzeys AND Spice House Fan. I also grow a large number of herbs/spices.

When it comes to dried beans, grow-your-own is always a good choice. I also purchase some from a local organic farm. I occasionally purchase pinto beans from a bulk bin at Wal-Mart because they seem to be good quality, fresh, and have a quick turn-over for a low price. They are generally nice and creamy-colored. Avoid purchasing dark pinto beans - that means they have some age on them.

- Chana Dal - Bob's Red Mill - www.bobsredmill.com

- #10 cans of a variety of beans for long-term storage:
Emergency Essentials - www.beprepared.com
Honeyville Grain - http://honeyvillegrain.com/

- Vermont Bean Seed Company - http://www.vermontbean.com/

-Grainlady

Am I the only skeptic here?

BB, there is no link or selling of items, so I'm taking the high road. ;-)

Annie

There was quite an interesting thread on Home decorating about
this:
"I've seen it done before on these forums. There are terms for it, such as social media optimization and viral networking. You create interest in a product or company by repeated discussions on internet forums.

Some of it is done directly, signing up and immediately linking to a site. Some people will sign up, post two brief replies on threads, then link to their site. Others go at it for months and years.

There are on-line organizations that will pay you to promote a product on-line. My ex-husband worked with one for a while and got some expensive toys for free doing it."

Anyway here's the link to that thread.
If this is just an innocent question, I really do apologize.

Here is a link that might be useful: Home Decorating thread about spam

I had the same thought......
But! Innocent until proven guilty!

Deanna

I like the Spice House. Penzey's is good too but I find the Spice House website a bit more user friendly and I like their packaging on the bagged spices - they use a double zip lock. They have almost every spice I want except a few of the more obscure Indian ones.

I've found local ethnic grocery stores are good for getting a variety of pulses and those few spices. I've found a small Indian grocery that has lots of the lentil varieties. Also a mid-East grocery for chickpeas, bulgar and such. The prices at the ethnic stores are usually reasonable. I find the Chinese and Korean grocery stores a bit more of a challenge because on some of the packaging one really has to hunt for the English, but their fresh produce sections have a variety items that the regular grocery doesn't like fresh lotus root and the quality is quite good.

Well, one of my New Year's resolutions is to try to curb my cynicism a little. :)

Besides, I'd forgotten all about Bob's Red Mill, and I bet they would have something I've been looking for, so I got some use from the thread. :)

For your help I would suggest you to contact Evergreen Exports quality spices and indian pulses supplier and exporter from India.

Here is a link that might be useful: Spices Exporters

For most people, spices they can purchase at the grocery store are often good enough. Then they often sit in the cupboard for years and years and soon impart not much more than a dusty taste and slight flavor to the food they are meant to season.

I don't know any of you personally, not your cooking or shopping habits so please don't take anything personally.

I personally would rather buy small quantities, 1/2 to 1 ounce at a time and replenish often.

I have found bulk fresh spices at ethnic markets and ethnic grocery stores. They are often cheap enough that I take out what I can use and give the rest to friends.

I am also lucky in that I take a class across the road from a local Spice House and so have frequent access to their selection and I have to honestly say that whether or not you are skeptic, once you've cooked and baked with their, or Penzy's spices, there is truly no going back.

No matter how viral you think this is, it's because it's true LOL

Any skeptics want to send me a shopping list. I'll be happy to send out some samples. Oh, and BTW, if you buy something from either vendor and are not happy with it they will replace it free of charge.

Quality Spices is a brand name, aka Rani, and I buy them at a local Indian market that is also a wholesale distributor here in Los Angeles. Since it is capitalized in the heading, I assume that this is what the OP is referring to.