Spice and herb thingy I've been doing.

[Skidmore]

If you have an Aldi store in your area, they sell spices and herb mixtures in grinder bottles. Pepper, sea salt, and various herb combinations. I've bought a few of these grinder bottles and kept them once the contents have been used. They are particularly nice since the grinder mechanism is removeable and the bottle and grinder can be cleaned and reused again. I've been refilling the bottles with different mixtures of herbs and spices bought from a store that sells bulk spices and dried herbs--organic when I can afford it. For example, I have one bottle I fill with Herbs de Provence and another with an Italian blend and yet another with a spice mixture used in Cajun style cooking. Then, of course, the ones for pepper and sea salt I replenish with those ingredients. It is nice to have a grinder nearby with the right mix of seasoning.

[Duer 157099]

1. Excellent idea

I keep my eyes open for that sort of thing at thrift stores, because I like grinding certain things (besides pepper) fresh, such as whole coriander seed. It's hard to find good ones that you can easily clean and refill, though, so if you found them, stock up!

[hippywife]

2. Good thinkin'!

I'll check them out next time I go to Aldi's.

How are the burns healing up?

[Skidmore]

3. My face is healing pretty well. I have a stubborn couple of small

burns on my chin and one up on my left cheek that turned out to be a little deeper than surface. My face is no longer swollen and it took about a week for the sunburn effect to go away although the skin felt different to the touch. I apply aloe vera still. I think it helped a lot.

[hippywife]

4. Glad you're on the mend.

I'm sure the aloe is very helpful.

Last weekend, I emptied out an old thing of those Christmas decorating sprinkles, washed it and let it air dry. It has like six separate compartments. I'm going to try to put some things in it but the top doesn't come off so I'll need a tiny funnel. LOL

[Skidmore]

5. That sounds like a good idea too.

You know, I'd bought peppercorns that came in a grinder container at Hy-Vee earlier and was frustrated that the top doesn't come off so it could be recycled by refilling it. Anyway, I found these grinder containers at Aldi and you can always use salt and pepper so I figure I could get several of those. If I do combinations of the seasonings I use most, I could possibly gain some cabinet space too. I know it is a lot cheaper than buying grinders from a kitchen store. I do need to get some labels and some good sturdy tape.

[hippywife]

6. Amen to gaining cabinet space!

I have one whole cabinet devoted to only baking ingredients and cooking spices. I even have most of my flour in a set of those old spun aluminum canisters on the counter and still the cabinet is so over full that the middle shelf is bowed and I practically have to take every spice out of it to find the ones I want! LOL

[Skidmore]

7. We have a coop nearby that carries lots of organic food products, including

a very nice section of bulk spices. I've been gradually getting rid of the commercial spices sold in regular stores packaged in hard containers. If I go to this shop, I can measure out several ounces of whatever spice or herb I want into these resealable small baggies they have. I have a large plastic Rubbermaid type container that a pilaf mixture came in at Cosco which I use to store these little packets of spices and herbs in until I need to use them. They stay fresh. I've really made some headway in creatin shelf space. Goal is to get down to using the grinders for application and replenish as needed from the reserve stock in the container.

[hippywife]

8. You know what a friend of mine did?

She used one of the large drawers in the cabinet under the counter. You know the large drawer you usually keep your larger cooking utensils? It's full of her spices. They are all laying down flat and all are immediately visible. I thought that was a really great idea! Of course, she has a much larger kitchen than I do and can afford the space.

I wish I had a place to buy more bulk spices. It's limited even within our coop.