And it wasn’t even filled to the top:
I went to my favorite spice store not long ago for the first time in a year and stocked up. They have free smells of all their spices. I bet I was in there an hour! Usually I take my kids so they can get a sensory, foodie experience, but I was in Heaven just being there alone. Here’s a closer look at my (over!) $100 purchases:
You’ll find some of these spices highlighted in my favorite recipes:
- Ranch Dressing
- Homemade Guacamole
- Chicken Noodle Soup with Traditional Stock
- Turkey Chili Topped Turkey Burgers
- Homemade Refried Beans
Why is it that when I ask my very favorite food sources if they’re interested in sponsoring KS, they always say they don’t need advertising because the word of mouth is so good, and they want to keep their prices low? 
I guess I know how to pick ‘em (and tell you about them anyway)!
So what’s your vice? Is there a store that tempts your foodie side until you hit triple digits?
Note: The course to help couples naturally prepare for pregnancy and take charge of their fertility launch Monday with an inviting and informative session. Donielle is accepting students through this Friday, so if you’ve caught yourself thinking, “Aw, bummer…I missed out,” you’re not too late! Click here for the syllabus and registration information.
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Omgosh! Which spices/dried herbs did you get?
.-= Sarah @ OneStarryNight´s last blog ..Pink and Green in Nature =-.
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Tons of stuff, but a new venture was “Balti” seasoning (Pakistani) and Epazote, which I haven’t figured out how to use yet. Supposed to be for beans…
Katie
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Oh, yeah, Penzeys. My pantry’s stuffed with Penzeys. My faves are the Greek and Bavarian blends, and also Pasta Sprinkle and Northwoods. Their chipotle is awesome. Actually almost everything I’ve had of theirs has been fantabulous!
.-= Krystal´s last blog ..Home =-.
[Reply to this comment]
Amanda Reply:
July 15th, 2010 at 8:45 am
The Greek Seasoning is all purpose in our kitchen. We’re open to putting it on everything! Turkish Oregano is a staple. Oh, and for a wonderful dip we use the Turkish Blend and mix it with strained Greek Yougurt , the kind you’d use to make tzatziki…it’s so yummy it makes you want to lick the bowl:) Our next adventure is to use the LAMB Seasoning. I get so excited just thinking about my Penzey’s spices…and hungry too!
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Oh, I LOVE Penzey’s Spices!! The smell in that place is WONDERFUL to say the least! We have one here too. My favorite blend of theirs is Adobo. I also love Sunny Paris. Both come without salt. They have lots of blends without salt. I just add my own!
JenE
http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/shophome.html
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Adobo makes my guac what it is!
Katie
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Impressive! Did I see epazote in there?
.-= Holly´s last blog ..Wishing For a Produce Fridge =-.
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Katie Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 11:10 pm
What should I do with that one?!
Katie
[Reply to this comment]
Holly Reply:
July 16th, 2010 at 10:58 am
Well, Katie…good question! I’ve never seen it dried. When I lived in Mexico, it would always come fresh. I know it’s used in beans and soups, as well as in fish and pork dishes. You can also do a dish with epazote, cheese, and nopales.
.-= Holly´s last blog ..Is this what you want Are you sure Maybe you wanted something else =-.
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I’ve never been in Penzeys. Although we have one here. We have a place that has the “Wall O’ Herbs” – they claim 700+ Herbs, Spices, and Teas on that wall. It’s like heaven. And it’s ALL bulk. So if I am trying a new recipe, I can buy 2 TBL of some weird obscure spice and not have to worry about blowing the budget. Their teas are really wonderful as well. And I can make up my own herbal tea blends with all the different stuff they’ve got. (They’ve got some excellent blends already, too.)
The place I spend a ton of money though, is always Trader Joe’s. Not everything there is super great (although I’ve been told they guarantee no GMO products!). But there are just enough different, interesting, foodie items. I always spend more than I mean to when I go in.
.-= Diana´s last blog ..Friday Finds – June 25 =-.
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 11:10 pm
Diana,
Katie
WISH we had a Trader Joe’s somewhere near! Bulk would be awesome – I do hate the “will I really use/like this?” risk.
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I like to get my spices at The North Market. I can’t afford to buy all of my food there but the food stalls that sells spices sell them at a song! Who knew that paying for spices in a bottle was so much more expensive than the same spice in a little plastic bag?
.-= Condo Blues´s last blog ..I Greened My SunScreen =-.
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Actually, since I am still new to eating and making and feeding my family “real” foods, when I go to Central Market (similar to Whole Foods), I tend to get a little carried away. And being used to doing the coupon clipping and such, its still a bit of sticker shock in how much I can spend there. BUT, before doing couponing, we were spending even more than I am know at Super Walmart or Wincos (both considerably cheaper than regular stores) and still not knowing what to have for dinner. At least now I know which dirrection I am heading in for the week. And I don’t buy more than I know I will use for a lot of perishable goods. I try to cook extra to freeze, can, preserve…but being on a budget and not able to buy a lot of quantity of what I need, its a little here, a little there.
Saw someone above mention epazote. I am surprised, most people don’t know what it is when I mention it. My husband is from Mexico, and we use it in some dishes…yumm, chilaquiles. It is really a great herb. I just got some organic seeds so I can plant my own.
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 11:12 pm
Erin,
Katie
Got a recipe for those chilaquiles? I’d love to try it!
[Reply to this comment]
Erin Reply:
July 15th, 2010 at 12:09 am
Its not a precise recipe, such as 1 cup of this or that, but then again, non of my Mexican recipes really are. If you want, I could email it to you and then you can make it and blog it. First, though, I will share this, in Mexico, every region makes dishes differently, some people make red chilaquiles and some green-we make green. Some have cheese in the tamales-I have never had a cheese tamale, but my sisters-in-law and mother-in-law make great green salsa chicken ones. I am very self-taught. I watched people we lived with cook, my mother-in-law (when I am in Mexico) cook, my husband too (and he sure cooks good). I would love to share the recipe with you all. Once I learned the basics of Mexican food and cooking, I found it quite easy. Its not hard to cook authentic, delicious, and healthy Mexican food, and to get a little creative along the way (I certainly have made up a recipe or two-and they ended up being a hit).
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I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Penzey’s! We haven’t made it downtown in a while though so I have several empty jars rolling around my spice drawer.
.-= Elizabeth´s last blog ..2nd Pregnancy Its just not the same =-.
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I’ve been slowly converting most of our spices over to Penzey’s. We have one in Portland, but it’s a bit of a drive for us, so I mostly just order online every 6 months or so. They always send along a free sample so I end up with more to purchase each time.
.-= Julie´s last blog ..Now That’s a Mouthful =-.
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 11:13 pm
Julie,
katie
My mom mail orders and gets all those fun samples!
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Penzey’s! Penzey’s!! PENZEY’S!!! Oh how I love this store! It’s on my way to Bob’s Red Mill Factory store, my other addiction and I can spend a whole day just going to these two stores!!! Of course the Asian superstore is also near these two, so I spend an hour or so wandering the aisles, getting strange looks for Asian grannies who stare in amazement at the 6 ft tall white girl
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Fried Rice =-.
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Erin Reply:
July 15th, 2010 at 12:14 am
That used to be me in the “mexican/latin markets.” I got curious looks all the time. Now I don’t even notice. Sometimes, I even think it is hilarious. Certainly no blending in when I travel to Mexico either. I stand out in every way….white….blonde…blue eyes….and boy do I turn into a lobster without sunblock…got used to it too (not the sunburn, I mean the stares). I swear one of these days someone will whip out a camra to capture the moment that the white girl from the US was in their small town north of Mexico City…lol
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PENZY’S!! My favorite part of a visit to my family in St. Louis. Hoping to get over there next week before we exit the Midwest.
.-= Emily´s last blog ..Impossible =-.
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Katie, I’ve thought about ordering from Penzey’s before, and there’s a store about 45 min away, but do you know if their stuff is irradiated? We’ve been gift recipients, and yes, the stuff is really good, but I’m curious as I think I read in NT how most places irradiate their herbs.
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Anita Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Hi Annie,
I looked up Penzey’s about irradiation, & came up with this-
(courtesy of mothering.com)
Any spice sold at Whole Foods is not irradiated.
Also, Penzeys does not irradiate and they have wonderful fresh, flavorful spices and herbs, but not necessarily organic.
I think this is a very important point to note, before buying.
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Annie,
Katie
I have asked at Penzey’s corporate, and they assure me “no.” So pleased about that!
[Reply to this comment]
Annie Reply:
July 15th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Wow, Katie, thanks for asking!
Good to know. It would be ideal if they were organice, too. I hadn’t thought of the concentrated residue that someone mentioned previously. Katie, only my husband’s been to our Penzey’s store, but he said he didn’t see anything in bags – only in the little jars. I wonder why? I bet the cost would be lower for the bags. Anyone order from mountainroseherbs.com? I really want to start a local coop as they give bulk discounts. Anyone interested near Dulles, VA? (menueys at gmail dot com 
[Reply to this comment]
Emily, I’m in St Louis. I would like to check Penzey’s out. Where are they? The place I could blow BUNCHES of money is actually in Oregon…and their spices are totally outstanding in quality, too–Azure Standard co-op! I have a package on the way from them, even though they don’t service here & I had to pay UPS shipping. But the stuff I got is not all that readily available around here, unless I want to pay Whole Foods prices. And I don’t.
[Reply to this comment]
That is a ton of spices! Which ones did you NOT buy?
.-= Primal Toad´s last blog ..I Am Going Nuts About Nuts Nutrition Part 2 =-.
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
You’d be amazed at how many things I did NOT buy.
Katie
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I love the idea of free smells! We don’t have a local Penzey’s but there’s a wonderful spice store in Cambridge that is adjoining my absolute favorite homemade ice cream store. I like to “double dip!”
.-= Ellen´s last blog ..BPA — It’s not Just for Dinner Anymore =-.
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My favorite part about that first photo is that if I didn’t know any better I would think you were buying some illegal stuff!
.-= Stacey´s last blog ..Hiatus =-.
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The only problem I have with Penzey’s is that they are for the most part not organic…and they often use table salt rather than sea salt in the mixtures…and some of the spice blends have things in them that I couldn’t easily identify….
Since the herbs are concentrated when dried – I think knowing how they are processed and treated is important….
Just my two cents…
I planted epazote last year – be careful that stuff takes over…I had to start feeding some of it to the chickens – we couldn’t use it all lol
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love penzys! their vanilla is awsome and whole nutmeg is a must!
.-= Annette´s last blog ..feel better banana muffins =-.
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Hi Katie,
I know you’re a busy girl & all, but I’m a bit surprised to see the packets of dried Onion there. No offense intended, but how hard is it to chop an onion these days? I get how convenient it is, but I don’t believe the top nutrition is there in the dried products, as compared to fresh.
Those onion tears are not in vain:,,,,) http://health.learninginfo.org/onion-nutrition.htm
Also, some herbs are SO easy to GROW (parsley, basil, thyme, to pick a few), & then again, you can be sure you’re getting the POTENT LIVE medicinal benefits from the herbs.
Money can buy a lot of good things, but I think we’re losing ‘the plot’ here. Back to basics, I say.
I do love the work you’re doing; just a point to note about real food:)
[Reply to this comment]
Heather Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
There are things in which dried onion tastes better than fresh, that’s all. I figured out a dirt-easy french onion dip that takes about 30 seconds to make, and it uses dried onions and garlic pepper. I throw a good sprinkle of dried onions into scrambled eggs (& a sprinkle of garlic pepper–um…we eat a LOT of fresh onions and garlic, too, but garlic pepper is definitely the most reached-for jar in the spice cabinet). Etc.
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 11:46 pm
Anita,
Fresh is certainly best, but dried are awful nice to have around “just in case.” I rarely use the dried onion, but a few salad dressing recipes I frequent call for it. Fresh onion would mean I have to refrig my dressing and solidify the EVOO. In Michigan, with zero south facing windows, I can’t grow herbs year round! Plus…my basil plant that was doing so awesome got buggy. It’s pretty poor looking now. My parsley and thyme are doing well, but again – winter will come soon enough! We all do what we can, and dried herbs def. have a place in my kitchen. I can’t keep up with fresh and would waste a ton of food and money if I tried to buy them when I needed them.
Thanks, Katie
[Reply to this comment]
Heather, I’m from the St. Louis area and had never heard of Penzeys. I checked their website and there is one on Manchester road.
After reading this post, Katie, I’ll definitely have to go check them out. I buy my herbs from our local health food store which sells Frontier Herbs from bulk bins.
[Reply to this comment]
Heather Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Thanks, Martha! I’ll have to check that out. BTW, I’m trying to get an Azure Standard drop organized for the St. Louis area. They have one in Springfield, so I just have to find out if the truck comes this way when it leaves Springfield. And get enough people. I’m just barely off of I-64, but on the east side, in O’Fallon. Someone else that is interested may have a more central location. If you know anyone, please give me a holler!
[Reply to this comment]
Brook Reply:
July 15th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
Heather,
I would be interested in a central drop off in St. Louis since we live on the west side.
Brook
[Reply to this comment]
Martha Reply:
July 17th, 2010 at 12:42 am
I’m on the IL side of the river, but I’d drive over to MO for Azure Standard. I’m with a United National co-op right now but I’ve heard Azure is cheaper and better.
[Reply to this comment]
Brook Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 2:10 am
Hi Martha,
For some reason the responses were going to the wrong E-mail. Hopefully it is fixed now. Please E-mail me with your E-mail address and maybe we can work something out!
Brook
.-= Brook´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at =-.
[Reply to this comment]
Martha Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:39 am
Brook,
Sorry. I can’t find your email address. Mine is m then the underscore symbol then seest @ hotmail. com
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Penzey’s is amazing!!! They’re the only brand in my herb/spice cabinet. We received a wedding crate as our very first wedding gift, and have been hooked since, converting our entire families and lots of friends! Since we’re a few hours away from the Portland, OR location, we put in a mail order from time to time and love the free samples and the coupons they’ve been putting on the covers of their catalogs.
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There is a Penzey’s within walking distance of me and I have never been there! I think I am afraid I will buy the whole store.
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Hi Katie! I have a penzeys near me, but I have never been in for fear that the spices were not the healtiest or they were irradiated. If YOU go there, that is good enough for me! Thanks for the recommendation by leading by example! I LOVE spices! So gonna visit there this week!
.-= alex@amoderatelife´s last blog ..Food Matters and other Food Rules =-.
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I love Penzy’s! I generally do mail order. Their Cinnamon is amazing!
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I’m also in St. Louis and love Penzey’s! Their Mexican Vanilla is so awesome!
.-= Our Nifty Notebook´s last blog ..Happy 4th of July =-.
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Love Penzey’s spices! Their spice blends are great. The kids love the taco mix and my dh buys the BBQ 3000 blend by the lb. They keep my cinnamon addiction going by offering several types. Money well spent
.-= Penny´s last blog ..Chickpea and Lentil Salad =-.
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Penzey’s is awesome – I drool over their catalog everytime it comes in the mail. Fortunately for me the most convenient (not closest) store is over 3 hours away which we stop by when visiting my MIL.
Last time I bought some vanilla beans so I could make my own vanilla, along with chicken and beef soup bases (less salt than bouillon).
We leave that store and head to a local food market (Brennan’s) where we get to sample all the in-season fruits. Yum! They also sell some wicked salsas, dried fruit and cheeses (also for sampling) – I could spend a lot each time we go there.
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Hi Katie!
We were in GR over the weekend and I saw Penzey’s on Alpine Ave., and I remembered that you had posted about it, but I didn’t get a chance to stop by.
I’m wondering, can you tell me what is so great about their spices – besides the great selection? Why do you buy your spices there? I’m just wondering if it’s worth it to me to make a point to stop by there the next time I am up in MI.
Thanks!
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 12:59 am
Emily,
Katie
I just love the smells! It is nice that they are not irradiated, they have good coupons in their catalog, and the prices are pretty good. I’m totally not an expert, but I’m pretty sure their quality is top notch. Great question!
PS – Actually, you just need to stop by and visit ME!
[Reply to this comment]
I thought you might like to see my post … http://snipssnailsandpuppydogstails.blogspot.com/2010/08/todays-gifts.html…since I mention you! I didn’t have glass jars, so hopefully next time I can buy bags.
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Brook – YUMMY! Just looking at the pics makes me drool…
Katie
[Reply to this comment]
Try going to an Asian, Indian or Middle Eastern store for spices. The prices there are a fraction of the cost at Whole Foods or Penzeys and you buy in bulk, so you can take something home and try it before stocking up.
Those are also terrific places to buy unrefined sugar (jaggary), coconut oil and ghee and reasonable prices.
The ladies who work in the Indian store I go to are extremely child-friendly and very good about answering questions.
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
October 6th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
I am on the lookout for one in our local area – thanks for the reminder!
Katie
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