Variety is the Spice of Life

My project this week is to look at my spice cabinet.  What a mess!  Purest say that you should clean out your spice cabinet just like you would a refrigerator.  Check, evaluate, and out with the old.  Spices are said to lose their flavor over time.  I'll be honest.  Some of my spices I have had longer than I would like to admit and I do use them, however, having old spices really is a symptom of a lack of awareness. I don't know about yours but my spice cabinet shouts chaos to the point that something must be done.  I spend more time trying to locate a spice than I would like.   

This spice cabinet just screams for help and recognition.  I vow to do my best to remedy the situation.

Is variety really the spice of my life?  What exactly are my spices saying to me?  Am I missing out in the taste bud lottery?  I decided to line up my spices and take inventory.  How long have I've had it?  Do I use the spice often?  For what?  Was it for a recipe I needed 1/4 tsp and then never used it again?  Why?  Was it a gift?  Did I buy it during an inspirational trip to the spice shop?  If the label is faded, I probably should throw it away.

 

The logical step is to make a list of seldomly used spices and incorporate two of them into my meal plans over the next few weeks.  If I do not get around to using them before the end of August, they will be pitched no matter what.  One practical thing to help me assess this situation is to store the ones seldom used separate from my common everyday spices. After I create some flavorful treats for my family using the sadly forgotten spices, I will move them to join the everyday common ones.  The flavors must be memorable and add spice to our lives in a positive way to be deemed worthy of keeping and to move to the I love this spice status.  Using this system will validate the spices that just don't cut the mustard.  No longer will they find a home in my overcrowded cabinet if they are still on the exiled shelf waiting to be acknowledged.  After all, if I fail to incorporate them into our diet in the next 3 months while I am aware of my need for more spice in my life, I doubt if I will need them anytime in the next few years.

This little project should prove to be interesting and possibly a bit more challenging in the summer months when the availability of fresh herbs is plentiful.  On the other hand, now is as good as ever to add flavor to our lives, simplify, and recognize our lack of spices used on a weekly basis.  Hopefully, my cooking will emerge into an expanded world of flavor.

Once I have this spice situation under control I probably will to head straight to the spice shop and add one or two new flavors to our pallets in a quest to spice up our lives in a whole new dimension.  For now, my plate is full.  What is your spice cabinet saying to you?  Perhaps you will join me in spicing up your life.  Who knows what tasty treats we will conjure up in the next few months.