25 Aug 2012 HOW TO: Spice up your life
by April Fortner
For a foodie, spices are an essential part of every meal, from crayfish jambalaya to Indian curry.
Parsley is easy to find, and garam masala may require perseverance, but a determined shopper can obtain herbs and spices at prices that won’t break the bank. Here are a few things I have learned about how to shop intelligently for spices.
Grow your own
Fresh herbs at the grocery store are around $2, and it goes bad in less than a week. If you grow your own, you pay around the same price but get fresh herbs all season long (sometimes for years)!
I can’t have a garden, so I bought a good looking (30 gallon) feed trough and filled it with dirt on my patio. I grow rosemary, oregano, basil, sage, tarragon and a couple of tomato plants in it – and it will last until the cows come home!
If you don’t want to purchase something large or expensive, start with a used butter tub and grow it on a windowsill. You’ll thank yourself later! Parsley and cilantro are super easy to grow, but we buy them freshly cut. They are relatively inexpensive.
Find a good herb shop
My husband found a jewel of a shop up in Missouri this year — Sandy’s Herb and Spice Shop. It carries dried herbs and spices at unbelievably low prices. We really stocked up! Fortunately, they tell me they will ship if you pay over the phone. I never realized just how much an ounce of basil was, but we got around a cup for just more than a dollar. Sandy obviously grows some of her herbs locally, but she carries exotic spices as well.
When shopping locally…
I often shop locally because thinking ahead isn’t always possible. When looking for herbs and spices that are hard to find in Conway, there are a few specialty shops I scour after checking out the grocery stores.
Comfort Foods International, a relatively new shop on Harkrider Street in Conway, is a great place to find sesame seeds for less and traditional African food, as well as all manner of yummy, exotic things. It is small, friendly and reasonably priced.
Liz’s Health Food Store on Oak Street is another great place to find things like garam masala (essential for Indian cuisine) and seaweed (for Japanese dishes). There is also a nice Hispanic grocery on Harkrider called LA Princesa Plaza that is great for chamomile, vanilla bean and other fantastic foods.
Spices and herbs are a great way to make an ordinary meal into an extraordinary one. It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. So grow some herbs, find a fun cookbook at the library, make a call to Sandy’s Herb and Spice Shop or check out our local variety. It’ll be delightful!
