Do you know about the other spice aisle?

Sometimes a recipe calls for a spice that you don’t have on hand and would otherwise never use.  Instead of spending $5-10 on this spice from the traditional spice rack aisle in the grocery store, check out the ethnic food section.  Most stores sell smaller quantities of spices in little plastic bags for a fraction of the cost.

Example:

On a recent trip to the store I needed to buy more curry powder for my curry chicken with cashews. This is not a spice I use a ton. Spice Islands and McCormick were selling it for approx. 3.99-4.99 per oz. (typical containers are around 2 oz.) Hello $8 I don’t want to spend on this recipe for 1 ingredient.

So, I went to see if the ethnic foods section has any curry on hand –they did.  It was only 1.99 per oz., which translated to about $1.50. What a deal. ONe packet had approx. 3 Tbs.

They also have little packs of whole cloves and nutmeg for like a $1, which I know some of you will need for your holiday cooking.  Name brand will charge you like $10 for cloves.  Crazy!

 Whenever I have milk that’s about to go bad, or we’re going to leave on vacation before we can finish the milk, I make pudding. Super easy and almost as satisfying a dessert as ice cream. Follow the directions on the box, and don’t forget the whipped cream!

If you’re feeling a little more adventurous and have never made pudding from scratch (JELL-O Cook & Serve does not qualify as homemade) you have to try this recipe from Everyday Food Magazine: Vanilla or Chocolate Pudding You can use this basic recipe to create a variety of desserts. The peanut-butter chocolate parfaits are soooooo good –you’ll love them! 

Want something else to do with those overripe bananas besides banana bread?  Cut them in fourths (they blend easier when they’re small) and freeze them.  Use the frozen pieces in a smoothie –the frozen texture of the banana really gives the smoothie a nice frothy consistency. The frozen bananas come in especially handy when you want to use fresh fruit in your smoothie and still have it icy cold, without the addition of extra ice. They’re also great for relieving teething pain :)

Directions:

Cut bananas to desired size. Place on a small cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax. Put in freezer. Take out after a few hours and store in a freezer bag.

*this is a good practice for almost any fruit that you can't consume before it spoils (nectarines, blueberries, mango, strawberries).  Throw it in a freezer bag and use it for a smoothie.

Want to make your meals taste substantially better?  STOP using table salt to season your food. Instead, consider using a kosher flake salt as your every day salt.  Sure, you could spend $12 for 6oz of fleur de sel, but a better value is a 3 lb box of kosher salt for $5. Not only does kosher salt taste smoother than table salt, which is way too harsh and bitter, but it distributes itself better and covers more surface area because of its larger shape. Morton is my favorite.

If you are a Food Network fan like I am, you’ve probably seen that some chefs use high end salts, like grey salt. I thought I’d see what all the fuss was about and I picked some up (found it for a great price at Marshall’s in the food section –who’d have thought?).  It has a moist texture and really brings out the flavor in foods. Anyways, it is pretty spectacular, but unless you have a separate salt budget, it’s probably not going to be your every day salt. I use it for special occasions or when I’m using expensive ingredients, like a nice cut or meat, fish, or heirloom tomatoes.

Any thoughts?