Patti, that was a great box! Annie's an awesome swap partner! Well, I received my box from Christy today, and I'm almost afraid to list all of the wonderful goodies, because you all will be green with envy ... BUT, here's the list anyway, LOL! Read 'em and weep! Chili flavored dark chocolate bar (just enough heat to keep me from eating the entire bar at once, LOL) Pepper saver container Mini pepper mill and extra peppercorns Tabasco sauce Shopping list shaped like a chili pepper Plastic seed bags (I always need these, especially this time of year, when I'm harvesting seeds) A roll of plastic stretch tie for staking plants She sent me a TON of seeds, some were "spicy" and others were on my wishlist: Pepper 'Tollie's Sweet' (on my wishlist) Pepper 'Tam Jalapeno' (I have been wanting this one forever!) Pepper 'Chervena Chushka' (also on my wishlist) Pepper 'Topepo Rosso' (yep, this one too!) Pepper 'Sheperd's Rams Horn' Oregano 'Wild Zaatar' (wishlist item) Basil 'Greek Dwarf' (yep, another one) Basil 'Fine Verde' (I know, it's unbelieveable ... I had to update my wishlist because she filled so many of them!) Basil 'Purple' Cilantro 'Slow-Bolt' Herb Mix 'Wild Italian' Rocket (Arugula) (this one is new to me, but I can't wait to taste it) Radish 'Purple Plum' Radish 'Giant of Sicily' Radish 'Philadelphia White Box' (another wishlist item) Non spicy wishlist items: Carrot 'St. Valery' Cucumbers: Crystal Apple, Richmond Green, Thai Green, and Yok Kao Beans: Marvel of Venice, Yellow Indian Woman Squash 'Sweet Dumpling' Pumpkin 'Rouge D'Etamps Tomatoes: 'Costoluto Genovese, and 'Costoluto Fiorentino Lettuces: 'Ruby' and Silvia (a red-leaf Romaine) Did she spoil me, or what? Thank you, thank you, Christy! You are a sweetheart!!! Bonnie

Thank you, Annie, for that tip ... my kid loves almond-cookie, so I will get the almond extract. Thank you, Cloud_Swift, for the info. on Spice House to save money. Thank you, pkramer, for that tip on Rosemary indoor. It died on me last winter. I grew up near Grand Rapids MI. Now I'm in Chicago's suburb, zone 5a, much colder than zone 5b in MI. What I grew in the summer was probably Russian Tarragon ... no smell whatsoever. The right thyme also makes a big difference ... so I make sure that pinch off a leaf to sniff before buying the herb. I'm lucky to have a sage brush that survived zone 5a winters for the past decade. I sun-dried the sage leaves in the fall ... great flavor, no sage-spice can beat. One year I used Organic Spice's Hunter Herbes de Province, that gave good flavor to all my soups. Then I bought some cheap brand recently, and it stank up my entire pot. I bought "Imitation Vanilla" last year, and it had a weird & odd chemical smell, so I threw the whole bottle away. The real vanilla is what matters. A friend gave me Organic Extra virgin Coconut oil Nutiva brand. I used 2 tablespoon of that in making granola. The fresh coconut smell perfumed the entire house, and the granola was absolutely delicious. In contrast, the coconut milk I bought from Trader's Joe, or Oriental Market has this "soapy" flavor from stale coconut, or else it's so loaded with sulfites or potassium sorbate(chemical preservatives) ... that I break out in rash. I quit using coconut milk a long time ago ... so glad to find Nutiva's extra-virgin coconut oil with the most intense, delightful fresh coconut essence. This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Fri, Jan 10, 14 at 23:33

I love my pull outs on either side of my cooktop. I keep seasonings for cooking on the right one and all my baking spices on the left. The baking zone is to the left of the cooking and it is very handy. There are deep drawers to the left of my baking spices. One holds my canisters of flour and sugar along with my big food processor and many measuring cups. The one under that holds mixing bowls, rolling pins and all my other misc. gadgets. My big KA sits on the counter in the corner, always ready for action. The pullouts were made by my cabinet maker. They are adjustable, full extension, soft close and like the insides of all my cabinets are lined with easy to clean melamine. About the third or fourth time I used this set up, I had one of those pure, joyful moments, realizing how much easier and faster it was to make something. It's fun not work any more. Nancy

I like creole seasoning a lot, and I use jerk seasoning too (especially in one hearty mixed chicken, fish & vegetable stew that I make, or on chicken.) Can't really name a brand preference for either - I had one jerk blend I really liked from the grocery, but never found it there again. I like generic curry powder in a particular chicken salad recipe too - it isn't strong. Two other blends that I have become very fond of, in small quantities to add a little zing to a variety of dishes, like pea soup, vegetables, meat - are two that were passed on to me by a neighbor. They received them as gifts from a family member returned from Africa: Zanzibar Hot Curry and Zanzibar Chilly Pilipili Hohoo (really, that is the label on the container!) I have enough to still last a long time, good since I don't know if I could find them locally - even though we have several markets that cater to African immigrants. Other than those, I tend to just add herbs/spices as the mood strikes me and don't make my own blends. I tend to dislike a lot of southwest-ish blends though.