11 October 2011

a bit of spice in my life

I have given up on ever finding the spice jars I like.  They used to sell them in 'safeway' as two packs and I would buy a pack every so often and then just before I had enough they stopped selling them!! How rude!! they could have asked if I had enough first surely!!

So then I found some teensy preserving jar type one at a discount store and I bought four thinking that I could always go back.........*bzzzzzzzzzzzzz* no, that was obviously too difficult for them to get their head around and they stopped stocking them!!

Alas, I searched high and low, online and offline to no avail.  but last week I found a set of spice jars on a lazy susan type plastic holder going super cheap at Harris Scarfe (a shop that doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up, if it lasts long enough LOL) and raced into the big smoke Launceston and bought a set.  I ditched the holder and kept the jars.  They are not my ideal but better than nothing.

This sorting and relabelling got me wondering as to what sort of herb and spices everyone else keeps and how/where you keep them.
Currently I have:
hot paprika
onion salt
turmeric
ground ginger
basic curry powder
chilli flakes
poppy seeds
sesame seeds
garlic flakes
chinese five spice
italian mixed herbs
basil
oregano
bay leaves
cumin seeds
ground cumin
ground coriander
garam-marsala
cardamom pods
mustard seeds
whole cloves
whole nutmeg
ground nutmeg
cinnamon sticks
ground cinnamon
ground allspice
mixed spice
Himalayan rock salt
black pepper corns

So what sort do you have and what do you do with them??

bottom shelf are the original jars, middle shelf are my latest soon to be out of stock jars and the top are the cute little ones.


A yummy way to use some spice in your life!

Sunday was a particularly wet and cold day here so I decided a warm and comforting dessert was in order.  I have loads of apples as I have been buying them by the box for juicing so I decided on baked apples.

I washed four apples and cored them almost all the way through.  I think you could also half them and scoop the seeds out and then cover with the sugar mix just as well.

In a small bowl I combined:
a shake of nutmeg and cinnamon ground
about 1/2c of brown sugar
1/4c shredded coconut
1/4c flaked almonds
1/4c goji berries

I then filled the apples with this mix, pressing it in really well then I topped each with a dollop of butter.   
I put them in a baking dish and added about an inch of boiling water then put a lid on.  
You can use foil if you have it.
I cooked in a pre-heated 160c (fan forced) oven for about 15 minutes then took the lid off and cooked a further 15-20minutes.  Just check the apple is soft but not mushy with a skewer.
Spoon some of the water mix over the top and then serve with your fave accompaniment.  
We had vanilla bean ice-cream with ours and they were scrumpelish! 
I made my filling up from what I had in the pantry but you could experiment with all sorts of mixes and I used goji berries because I had no sultanas and they were lovely.
ps.  I had left over mix that I have stored in an airtight container and will use for muffins or something down the track.









No comments: