A couple of years ago, a friend of mine went to India. She brought me back a beautiful array of spices, most of which I had no idea how to use. Thanks to an Indian cookbook, and lots of devoted hours, I've gotten the hang of it. A bit necessary as well, as an entire drawer of our kitchen is devoted to housing them. I thought about alphabetizing, but I'd never do that.
I've got the "begin of the semester" tingles. I'm not sure if it's the double espresso or the cold walks to campus, but my "History of Food in America" course is something else. Something gooooood. And last week, we learned about spices.
Do you know that the spice trade basically started all overseas exploration? That the 3 most commonly desired spices were cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves? That the Portuguese were the first to inflict violence on the Middle Eastern tradesman who believed in fair and peaceful interactions? Do you realize that economic botany is thought to be the first "real science" and has influenced the entire realm of scientific methodology?
Me neither. So tingley, like a nice tumeric.