Welcome to The Spice Paige!

2011-09-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

This is the first post in my new food blog! I love to cook and explore new cuisines, especially spices not commonly used in the States. A good deal of my childhood memories revolve around food- the gathering, the creation and, ultimately, the meal as a celebration of this labor.

In honor of the love of cooking my parents instilled in me, I decided to create a blog and share my spice adventures. To get started, I'm sharing some pictures of my spices and masala dabbas (Indian term meaning spice box). The first picture is a wooden box from World Market with pre-filled Indian spices.

The second is my masala dabba. Clockwise- coriander seeds, whole cloves, brown mustard seeds, star anise pods, cracked cardamom seeds, brown cardamom and in the center, ground chili powder.

Growing up in California, my parents always had a garden even if it was in pots on the deck. We had access to local produce, ranch-raised meats and seafood caught fresh off the coast by our friends if not ourselves.

I didn't know how spoiled I was until I moved away and couldn't find the right chilis for chili rellano or had to buy basil in a tube because fresh wasn't an option in winter. I couldn't just run outside and pick a few leaves for tonight's pesto.

This is my spice cabinet. I have it sectioned off by type- baking, seeds, indian, asian, italian, salts and so on.