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 use the granulated garlic for soups and stews and dried beans. It is super easy and had a good fresh garlic taste that holds up to long cooking in the crockpot. I use fresh for stir frys and pasta and quick cooking stews. I also like the granulated garlic for salad dressing--it is basically dried garlic granules so they rehydrate in the dressing if you store it for a while. But you can also grind it for a powder. I also keep it on hand for times when I am out of fresh. I like that it comes in a small container so I use it up before it looses all its punch. I also keep dried onions around for the same reason, not better than fresh but they add their own layer of flavor when you're out of fresh or are cooking something for a long time. Another thing I get from Penzeys is vanilla sugar, which I love in Chai but I'll bet would be good in coffee if you like that kind of thing. It makes a good gift for a chai lover or sweet coffee drink lover. You can make your own, but I rarely have time to just fix dinner let alone do much homeade gift making anymore. I buy vanilla beans in bulk from Penzeys when I need them, but that is rarely anymore these days. I used to make my own homeade chai but not anymore. The only other thing I would use the whole beans for is vanilla bean marmelade, which I don't think I will have time to make this year, but is great if you're into gourmet marmelades. I also like the sandwich sprinkle, although I hardly ever sprinkle it on a sandwich. It is just a good all around seasoned salt, I use it in soups and salads when they need to be punched up a bit. I got a seasoning gift pack from my good friends, boy was that nice. The two that I use all the time are the Mural of Flavor and the Tuscan Sunset. I have to say I really don't like the Sunny Spain, it tastes oddly acrid to me. Also I don't use the Bavarian very much but that's because I am a vegetarian and I do mostly Mediterannean cooking. I may give it to my mom next time I'm home because she does pork chops a lot cause my dad loves them. It might be good in some kinds of bean soups, but again, when I do a bean dish it is mostly a Mediterannean style one, so I haven't used up the Bavarian seasoning very fast, even though it is good. Another unusual item they sell thru Penzeys is dried Cilantro. It is no way as good as fresh, or even frozen, which is how I do cilantro these days, but if you're out and are in a pinch, (which is me most of the time) it is at least something to add for some amount of flavor. I bought a bunch of pumpkin pie spice and apple pie spice for a chai mix experiment and I still have a lot, but when I finally use it up I'm going to try Penzeys. Same with the cinnamon. I also second their chili powders, they have an amazing array. They have a lot of curry powders too, but I am not that much of a curry fan so can't speak to them. When I do make curry I usually do my own spice blends.

Hi. Just an update on the fabric for my window treatments in the kitchen. I received a pretty nice size swatch of the Patna Paisley Spice as discussed in this thread with a picture attached above. Those who responded back felt that the pattern would work well in my kitchen. We hung the swatch in various locations and we do love the fabric and it definitely works well on the side of my kitchen with the window located near the back door but doesn't seem to work as well on the window above the sink due to placement near the cabinets. There doesn't seem to be enough contrast when put up against the cabinets - in fact the fabric seems to match the cabinets too much.. Please refresh your memory with the pics I posed above.. With that said, since we love the fabric so much, I was wondering if you thought I could add a separate solid fabric (possibly dark brown/bronze) to the Patna Paisley fabric to add some contrast. If you look closely at the picture posted of the fabric, you will see that there is a little bit of that color running through some of the paisleys now, but not near enough. Since we plan on making relaxed roman shades, I am wondering if there is a way to add some other fabric to our design. Maybe sew some solid brown fabric to the bottom of the shade where it curves? Or maybe there is some other area in the design that we could add the brown. What do you think? I just think we need a little more "pop" and I thought the brown might do it since there are many bronze accents in the room. Thanks to all for your responses.. This post was edited by frank1203 on Mon, Feb 10, 14 at 6:19

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.