Hello.....I took your survey. I hope it helps you. I have been gardening for about five years and I love it.

Thanks everyone - Ancho it will be. I am a little confused on the chili / chile part. Both this spice packet and the bottle of plain old McCormicks chili powder have the ingredient chili peppers with 'i', plus garlic, cumin, oregano and paprika listed seperate. The recipe that I use this in is "for the Love of Cooking's" beef and bean enchiladas which is excellent. I don't put the peppers (anaheim and jalapeno) she calls for in the meat portion though. Controlling the heat in the peppers is so iffy and if there's too much heat it's ruined for me. I do put in the red pepper flakes but those I know how to control. Beth

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.

I buy from everyone. Best ground cumin I've found was from Gordon Food Service... and dang cheap. Under $10 for a 2lb jug as I recall. I think whole cumin has some flavor notes I don't get from ground so I buy that from Penzey's. My chili mostly has the ground cumin and I top note the cumin flavor with crushed seed. I've long been a fan of the super cheap black pepper.... as good or better then the common brand names. Penzey's addicted me to blending my own black pepper. I bought a mortar and pestle and pound my Malabar and Tellicherry into a custom blend. I have a shaker of the cheap stuff and any leftover pepper in the mortar goes into it. This has worked well so even when I'm in a hurry and just want a quick shake I get some of the good stuff. I love the smell and might have to crush some tonight for a good whiff. I've not found the pepper grinder I want so I'm crushing them until I do. It is working well enough crushing when cooking and putting the extra in a shaker so I'm in no hurry to find a grinder. Growing my own rosemary and cayenne peppers in my kitchen year round. Looking at some habenera strains on the Internet to try. The rosemary bush is 4-5 years old (?) and I probably should start over with a new plant. Found I like fresh rosemary in my salads and dried in my spagetti sauce. Cilantro I buy fresh in the grocery store and dry any I don't use in a couple days. Sometimes I need a little bit of a spice so I'll buy a jar from the grocery store. I bought a 2lb jar of cumin from the meat market because GFS is 30 miles away... not as good but it will have to do for awhile (extra whole seed to help it). I save the jars and refill them from my bulk packages. My dad has no choice but to buy pumpkin pie spice from the local Amish... they are the only ones with a 50lb bag of it. Dad helps bake 5000 pies for a local festival each year.... they always sell out. : ) lyra