Spices

I have to admit it, I have lots of spices in little bottles like these.

I buy them for recipes.  I buy them with the intent to cook something new or different.   It is always a hopeful, happy purchase.

Today, I came home with about 10 new jars of spices.  I didn't count them but it was a lot.  I bought  two jars at once for some of my favorites.  I hate that moment in the kitchen when I use the last of something or find the jar empty. 

Unfortunately, I bought two jars of rosemary today.  I use it a lot and I thought I was completely out.  I cooked a rack of lamb for Terry last night.   I had to improvise with the spices due to the lack of this key ingredient.    Too late for dinner last night,  I found a jar of rosemary in the pantry while I was putting my new loot away this afternoon.  It was in plain sight with the other new, unopened spices waiting patiently to be opened.  So now I have three. 

I hoard spices.  I feel unhappy, uncomfortable if I'm missing one of my go-to herbs or spices.

I just looked in my pantry and realized that I must be in the habit of buying a spice for a recipe when I already have one.  That's the case with nutmeg, turmeric and paprika.  I have 5 different kinds of paprika and I rarely use it because it doesn't seem to bring much flavor to the my recipes.  It does bring color though, so I can't count it out. 

There is also poultry seasoning and pumpkin pie spice.  I certainly don't need more bottles of these once-a-year flavors. 

I have to import and export certain spices that are better in the US or in France or simply unavailable.

French herbs de provence is much better than the overpriced stuff for sale at Williams Sonoma.  I buy big bottles of it at Monoprix.  When I check out with five or more bottles of herbs de provence and a few containers of sel de camargue, I'm sure the checker wonders what I am going to do with this vast quantity of herbs and salt.  A lot of it goes in the suitcase, for use in my US kitchen and for gifts to friends and family members who are "in the know".   Imports into France include ancho chili powder and smoked paprika from Trader Joe's. That's the one paprika that I love and it's almost impossible to find. 

I hoard spices in both countries.   Even though I cook differently, cook different things in each place, I use the same spices routinely so they are the jars that are stacked up in both places.   I once told Terry that we can't leave France for good until all the spices are used up.  That won't happen anytime soon. 

Is It A Pharmacy?

I was driving to an appointment yesterday in LA.  I needed to stop at a pharmacy and buy some Advil.  I had a headache developing from all the traffic and smog.

I saw the familiar sign and pulled into the parking lot.

This is the universal  sign that means "pharmacy"  in France. 

When the light is on, the store is open, when it's off, it's closed. 

CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreens don't exist in France.  The normal French pharmacy is very small.  Most of the things for sale are behind the counter so you have to ask for them; even Advil.

Back to LA.  I walked into the store.  It was kind of dark and not very welcoming.  No one else was in this store except me.  Finally a young guy, very shabbily dressed, walked out from the back room.  "Hi", he said.

Suddenly, I realized, I'm not in Kansas anymore.  I'm not in France.  I'm in a medical marijuana dispensary.

This is the sign that was out front.  Actually, it was a flag.  That should have been my first clue of impermanence. It was so familiar, but not quite the same.

I made my excuses and left the store. Laughing as I got into my car, I realized that I would never have had the courage to park and enter this kind of store.  So this was an interesting mistake.