Penzey!

Woo Hoo! WooHooHoo!     Going to Penzey tomorrow! I love Penzey's spices!

While dear Richard was bowling last night, I went through my spices to see what I was missing so I could prepare for holiday baking. I knew cinnamon was on the list as I used the last of it in applesauce and dumplings, along with some nutmeg seeds, but I didn't realize what all I did need. I made up a list and when Rick came home, I said that if he wanted cookies, we'd better be making a trip to the Philadelphia area. There are only two Penzey stores in Pennsylvania; one is in the Philadelphia area and one is in Pittsburgh. He said, "Well, we may as well go on Saturday morning."  

I called my MIL this morning after I got to work to tell her we were going....she's rummaging through her spice cabinet to see what she needs and will give me a list tonight. I know she'll want vanilla...she only uses Penzey double-strength vanilla. I make my own vanilla with bourbon (and a bottle of vodka, too) and vanilla beans. I started a bottle of each back in July, so I'm good there. 

PENZEY! 

Where is the one in Philly? I'm in Montgomery county. Would love to take the train and go there!

It is in the Chestnut Hills area of Philadelphia.

8528 Germantown Avenue is the address

I'm sure if I lived near one I would be there all the time! Have fun.

AbbysMom said:

I'm sure if I lived near one I would be there all the time! Have fun.

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I know I would be there! And so would Rick. He loves to open the sample spice jars and just inhale. It's a very smell-worthy store. 

So I have my spices again and they will last me a while. What I don't use that often, I bought in jars. Those spices that I use very regularly I bought in 4 ounce bags.

Dundicuts (from Pakistan) - are like our Scotch Bonnets (they're hot, but oh so good!). A small 1-ounce bag will see me for a good year or so.

Turkish Oregano - 4 ounce bag

Vietnamese Cinnamon - 8 ounce bag (I use a lot of cinnamon and 8 ounces may see me through for a year)

Chili Powder - 4 ounce bag

Hungarian Sweet Paprika - 4 ounce bag (I love this stuff, so much more pungent than the California style paprika. I use it in many bbq sauces)

Shallot-Pepper - 4 ounce bag (wonderful on fresh veggies and in omelets and frittatas)

Tellicherry Peppercorns - 4 ounce bag

Spanish Smoked Paprika - 4 ounce bag (I love this stuff, too, and will often add a bit to foods for a rich, smoky taste, It's really good stuff. Just open the bag and inhale. I love to throw some in my crock pot beans and in many of my bbq sauces that I throw together.)

Celery Flakes - A small jar. I don't use flakes that often, but sometimes they come in handy for soup 

Marjoram - A large jar

Cayenne - A large jar. I'm always amazed at how much cayenne I use. I always say I'm not one for really hot sauces and such, but I go through a lot of cayenne in a year.

Minced Garlic - A large jar. I don't use a lot, but it comes in handy when I'm out of fresh garlic.

Large jars of Chicken Base and Beef Base. I like to use bases sometimes, just to add a bit of oomph to some dishes. A wee little bit goes a long way.

Two 16 ounce bottles of Double Strength Vanilla.  Vanilla is expensive, which is why I make my own. But I was buying a bottle for Rick's mom, and he told me to go ahead and get a bottle for myself, too. That way, I'll have it on hand.

So it was a very productive day. We had a good time. We'll go back to the store again....it's in a really nice section of Philadelphia. I'd like to go back down and just walk around town. It's a pretty neat town. Although parking was a bit of a nightmare.

I wish we had a spice shop! I'd practically live there!!!  I love cooking with spices, and while I can get pretty much any ethic spice, where I live, it involves having to go to a number of different ethnic specialty shops. So I don't bother.

Penzey's is awesome!  We have a few stores here in California, but none nearby.  I've bought from them online.  I LOVE Spanish smoked paprika.

Sounds like a nice haul!

Have you ever tried gourmet balsamic vinegars and oils? That's my latest addiction.

I had a raspberry-fig balsamic vinegar that would knock your socks off, it was so good! It was just delicious on asparagus. And I made a lot of salad dressings with it, too. I bought it at a food festival a few years ago and I should have gotten more than one bottle. I like different dipping oils and when we go into Williams Sonoma, I usually come back out with a couple different bottles.

My latest craze has been for vinegar and I've been on this kick for a few years. I love Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar (we originally bought some at a farmstand at Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada and now when my brother and SIL go to Niagara Falls, they bring me a bottle back). I like to use it in salad dressings. I'm always looking out for new vinegar. I have a good Maple Vinegar for salad dressings, too.

I enjoy experimenting with salad dressings.

We have an "olive bar" here. The shop is filled with flavored balsamic vinegars and oils. Incredible. I bought a dark chocolate balsamic vinegar to put over vanilla gelato and raspberries! It was soooooo good!!

Dark chocolate balsamic vinegar?   I'm just sitting here shaking my head in awe....we don't have anything like that around here.

I bet it won't be too long before you do! They are opening up like crazy around here. This is one of the ones not too far from me:

http://olivedelmondo.com/

Check out all the flavors!

I so didn't need to see this site! I may have to place an order for the dark chocolate balsamic and the fig. Maybe the dark espresso, too. They have coconut white balsamic!!! I have white balsamic, but it's just the regular stuff....good though.

http://olivedelmondo.com/blogs/recipes/9864520-roasted-hasselback-potatoes-with-garlic-infused-olive-oil   recipe for hasselback potatoes looks delicious! I wouldn't mind trying it with chipotle olive oil

Mushroom and sage olive oil sounds good, too.

Thanks, Karen!

I have the fig, coconut, maple, espresso, lemongrass mint, cranberry pear, 18 year and honey ginger vinegars. I will vouch for all but the honey ginger. It's a bit too gingery. The 18 year is great. A little drizzle on a salad is all you need for a dressing. I have a fair amount of the oils as well.

The supplier is Veronica Foods. There is a list of stores where they are available in this article:

http://www.truthinoliveoil.com/great-oils/north-america

AbbysMom said:

I have the fig, coconut, maple, espresso, lemongrass mint, cranberry pear, 18 year and honey ginger vinegars. I will vouch for all but the honey ginger. It's a bit too gingery. The 18 year is great. A little drizzle on a salad is all you need for a dressing. I have a fair amount of the oils as well.

The supplier is Veronica Foods. There is a list of stores where they are available in this article:

http://www.truthinoliveoil.com/great-oils/north-america

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Ooohhh, how do you use the maple vinegar?  

A Penzy's opened down the road from me about a year ago. LOVE that store!! I get the catalog where they often offer free spices (sometimes with a small purchase) and its a great way for me to try new spices

Winchester said:

 
It is in the Chestnut Hills area of Philadelphia.

8528 Germantown Avenue is the address

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Thanks! I'm only 15 min from there!

I'd go back in heartbeat; the worst part was trying to find a parking spot. If we could get a good place to park, I would have loved to have had the time to walk around the town. There was a Kitchen Kapers store right there and I really wanted to check it out, but again, not a lot of time. I was happy to get my spices, though, and it was fun. We should meet there sometime!

Meeting up would be wonderful.