Tag Archive | Penzeys

Penzeys

Sep9
Another lovely morning at the pond, with Wren, Biko, and Topaz snoofing around underfoot as I enjoyed a latte and pastry, both seasoned with Penzeys cinnamon, and pure vanilla extract.
Most of my lunches get a dash of Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle somewhere, like this smoked gouda and avocado toast. I made the refrigerator pickles with their Pickling Spice, and the salad dressing with their Chip & Dip Seasoning.
An essential aprés-lunch nap…

For today’s lunch I decided to try the vogue ‘chopped salad’ trend. I like my salad pieces small, but I resist some of the food fashions, like ‘smashed’ this and ‘burst’ that, so I hadn’t tried this one yet. It looked so simple on Instagram. They laid some lettuce on a cutting board, piled on a few other things, and started chopping. There was mention of a recipe but who needs it? I piled cherry tomatoes, red onion, artichoke hearts, feta, olives, basil leaves, half an avocado, and some garbanzo beans on top of the lettuce, a dollop of mayo, a dribble from both the artichoke and the olive jars, and shook some Penzeys Za’atar on top, then started chopping.

It was messier than I’d expected, but I persevered, using a dough scraper to contain stray vegetation. Whilst chopping I thought often that it would have been easier just to chop some ingredients separately as usual, tear the lettuce, drop in whole olives, beans, pickles, and tomatoes, making a normal salad and tossing with dressing, and could all this sloppy effort really make a better salad?

I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked the even distribution of flavors and textures, more surface area thoroughly coated with the makeshift dressing, and the uniform pieces which enabled me to eat a smaller forkful packed with flavor. Still just a bowl and a cutting board to clean afterward. Thumb up on this trend, I’ll probably do it again. And of course the ingredient variety offers endless possibilities.

I’m grateful as always for Penzeys. If you don’t know Penzeys and you love to cook, or love to share your love through cooking, check them out. Just in the past two days of meals shared above, I used six different Penzeys seasonings. Every day I use their spices at least once, and I enjoy reading their staunchly patriotic emails. Yesterday’s brought a link to this marvelous video of VP Kamala Harris entering a Penzeys store in Pittsburgh. The customers didn’t know she was coming. It’s worth a minute forty-five of your time.

When the video went viral, it ticked off Fox & Friends, on which one host read aloud from Penzeys webpage About Republicans: “Going forward, we would still be glad to have you as customers, but we’re done pretending the Republican Party’s embrace of cruelty, racism, COVID lies, climate change denial, and threats to democracy are anything other than the risks they legitimately are.”

Penzeys’ manager Bill counted that as a win. He wrote the next day, “There you go. Friday starts like a normal day. Saturday the future President of the United States hugged our customers in our Pittsburgh store. Sunday the words I so wanted every Fox viewer to hear being read on Fox, by Fox straight to all their viewers. What a weekend.”

An essential aprés-dinner nap…

The Right Tool for the Job

Aug19

I’m always grateful for the right tool for the job. This morning seemed perfect to plant some fall seeds: There was rain last night to moisten the soil, and more rain expected over the next few days. We’ve likely got a couple of months or more til the first freeze, and some of the crops I planted can go into early winter under mulch. I got my handy planting ruler and set to work putting in lettuce, mixed greens, cabbage, carrots, and beets. Though I watered them in this morning, I’m grateful for a lovely rain this afternoon because nothing nourishes them better. Once they start to sprout I’ll cover them to keep the grasshoppers from devouring everything. Hope springs eternal. We’ll know more later.

Months go by without a ruler crossing my mind, and today two very different rulers popped out of hiding. Long before my dad was a Colonel, he was an engineer. His sister married an engineer, so my Uncle Charlie who recently passed away was also an engineer. Cousin Melinda was telling me about her father’s slide rule and I said it sounded like my dad’s, which I kept because… well, because I liked it. She sent a picture of her brother holding their dad’s slide rule, so I got the Colonel’s out of its nice leather case to compare them. Just alike! Down to the location and color of the name. We guessed maybe they were both Army issue… or maybe they just all looked like that from the 1940s. Wren thought it looked like another toy for her to add to her collection on the floor.

I have no clue how to use this ‘simple analog computer,’ but it’s a beautiful tool: elegant, smooth, precise, and clearly at one time the right tool for a variety of mathematical calculations. Closer examination of the tool revealed the manufacturer’s name (Keuffel and Esser Co, NY, founded in 1867 by two German immigrants); a serial number I think (660673), and the model number, 4081-3. I’m grateful for Wikipedia where I learned that K&E manufactured slide rules from 1891 – 1975, when pocket calculators rendered them obsolete. I also learned that “The K&E 4081-3 Log-Log Duplex Decitrig was a mainstay for engineering students and practicing engineers in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s.” (I’m enjoying exploring the value of Curiosity, #40 on the List.)

And finally, among many other things today, I’m grateful for the first ripe tomatoes from the garden. I sautéed some garden green beans with chopped onion and walnuts, added everything to a pile of torn romaine, and topped it with a yogurt-mayo dressing using Penzeys Creamy Peppercorn base. So simple, so delicious!

Stuffed Gnocchi

Aug5

Even before coffee I picked three more baskets of apricots in the cool morning air, using the step stool to reach some of the higher, riper fruits. Up at the very top the birds have left only pits on stems. Topaz has added my coffee and kindle time to her morning routine, settling in for a cuddle as I read for the past few days. I’m grateful she’s becoming more affectionate in her middle age.

I was chasing this western tiger swallowtail butterfly all around the pot when little Wren strode through. Getting a shot like this makes me ridiculously happy. If this were the only image I had to show for today I’d be very grateful.
But then I got this one and was doubly delighted.
Potato gnocchi stuffed with mushroom-cheese filling…

I’m grateful tonight for so many things, including Zoom Cooking with Amy: Gnocchi Ripieni edition. We both started yesterday, making the dough and filling ahead of time. I only got as far yesterday as baking the potatoes, which I scraped from the skins and refrigerated, then grated cheddar on and baked the skins for a snack with Penzeys Chip & Dip seasoned sour cream. What a great instant dip! So simple, so delicious!

This morning I mashed the cold potatoes and added flour, salt, an egg, and a few dashes of fresh nutmeg to make the dough. I also sautéed the mushrooms, and after they cooled blitzed them with the cheeses to make the filling.

Remember, don’t crowd the mushrooms! I just learned this wisdom recently and since then have added mushrooms to the skillet a few handfuls at a time, waiting til each batch cooks down a bit before adding the next.

Once we had our zoom drinks made, we quartered the chilled dough, and rolled each quarter, then chopped it into 15 gram rounds. A half teaspoon of filling in each, then pinched them closed and set on a tray to chill in the fridge for fifteen minutes, as we continued chatting while shaping and filling the rest of the dough.

When the second tray was filled, we swapped out trays and cooked the chilled ones in batches in boiling water until they floated. (Later I put the second tray in the freezer, and will bag the gnocchis tomorrow, to pull out and cook for next Boyz Lunch.)

As my second batch boiled I drained the first batch and kept them warm over the gnocchi water. Then we sautéed them in butter and olive oil, and at the end I added a couple tablespoons of the hot starchy water to the skillet and swirled to make a silky sauce. The recipe calls for “a pinch of parmesan.” Whoever heard of a pinch of parmesan? I grated a generous amount and topped the bowl, then we sat down to dine together.

I’m grateful for every chance I get to cook with my precious friend.

All the Elements

Apr29

I’m grateful that despite the feeling that spring would never come, it did! The little red tulips are starting to open, the first dandelions are blooming, and the air was almost balmy today as I worked outside tidying the patio for outdoor living again.

One project I’ve been contemplating was moving the phoebe platform and clearing off the old nests. I was so happy to see a phoebe fluttering around and checking it out a couple of weeks ago, and sad that no one moved in. I’m grateful I can still climb a ladder and wield a screw gun; even though I pre-drilled into the joists I still couldn’t get a couple of the screws all the way in, but it’s solid enough to hold a nest.

Here’s the side of the old nest that they used for three years, building it up each time. They like a particular kind of niche for their nest, where it’s protected above and on the sides, to prevent jays or magpies from getting to their chicks, which I think happened one time. I hope that moving the platform over so there is one wide and protected ledge will encourage them to try again. Meanwhile, someone else used their old tall nest for storage and maybe warmth over winter…

As usual, I was grateful for so many things today. I was grateful to spend a quiet morning outside, and then to come inside for a belly laugh and long-distance exercise session with my cousin. I was grateful for a cheese sandwich for lunch and for all the elements of it that came from across the hemisphere to coalesce in my little house in this moment in a delicious blend of homemade sourdough, mayonnaise, Havarti cheese, wild-caught Alaskan smoked salmon, organic romaine, and avocados from Mexico, seasoned with Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle and who knows where all those spices came from.

I’m grateful for this beautiful handmade red wineglass I used to save for special occasions–until I realized that every evening I’m alive and cooking is a special occasion. Like so many things in my house, this glass holds not only what it’s designed for but the story of its provenance and some meaningful connection: in this case with the dear friend who gave it to me for my fiftieth birthday, at a party that’s a story in itself. Each moment interconnects with every other.

I’m grateful for a healthy dinner of kale and walnut pasta, with garlic, mushrooms, fresh lemon juice, and grated parmesan, seasoned with salt, pepper, and Penzeys Revolution blend. I’m grateful for Penzeys’ integrity and activism as well as their spice blends, which is one reason I mention them so often. They just concluded a 50% off sale on all spices starting with B and C, as well as $1 ‘Fox Point not Fox News’ special, in acknowledgement of the misogynistic work environment at a certain cable network. It takes real … nerve for a retail business to be as politically upfront as Penzeys.

I’m grateful for all the elements of my meals today, and for all the people and energy and resources it took to get the ingredients from the far-flung corners of the globe to the shelves of my refrigerator and pantry, from the unknown walnut and lemon growers to the Italian pasta makers to my patient personal shopper who works for cookies. I’m grateful for the friends I see in person and those I see online and those I haven’t met yet, as well as those I mostly see in the tangible recollections that populate my home.

Plagiarism: Special Election Day Bulletin

Nov8
   Maybe no political party is as virtuous as it wants to claim. But there was a time when the Republican party could at least bill itself as the party of financial responsibility, small government, defending democracy, supporting the troops, paying your bills, family values and even telling the truth. These values are now gone from the Republican party. And they didn’t fall, they were pushed.

Maybe until now you’ve stayed with the Republicans hoping once Donald Trump was gone the Republican party of old would re-emerge. But two years later it’s clear even his sizable loss didn’t open the door to the party returning to its values but instead somehow managed to only accelerate the decline.

Every political party through history has had its more extreme elements, but few have allowed the extremes to seize power and control the agenda. You saw with your own eyes what they did to Liz Cheney for keeping her word and honoring her oath to uphold the Constitution. This isn’t just not your father’s Republican party anymore, this isn’t your Republican party either.It’s been said elections have their consequences. Part of this is who gets elected, but equally important is how our votes define who we are as people. Who are you? What do you stand for? Do you really want children to have to carry their rapist’s children? Do you really want no exception for abortion to save the life of the mother? Do you really want gay friends and family members to fear for their marriages? Do you really want birth control to be a conversation between a woman, her doctor, and her local politician? No, of course not.

So maybe this is the day you stop voting for all these things you don’t believe. Maybe today’s the day you stop waiting for a miracle and simply admit you are done with the nonsense, done with the cruelty and that you really just aren’t a Republican anymore.

So what next? If you are in a spot where you feel safe to do it, I’ve heard from customers making the leap and telling the world the Republican party is no longer for you can be quite freeing. People will be excited to have you on our side.

For those of you living more complex lives in less liberal communities with all the scary bits about what Republicans have become, there’s something to be said for starting out with a slightly stealthier approach. Maybe borrowing a page from the LGBTQ+ rural teen handbook and living a double life for a while is your safest bet. Ultimately this is more about who you are than about who others see you to be. Today who you vote for is far more important than who people think you voted for.

I know this isn’t easy, but I think you may be surprised just how many of your old values have found a new home in the Democratic party. At the heart of conservatism is the belief in passing on an at least as good of a world to future generations as the one we inherited. To achieve this we must preserve the environment, education, and equal rights. To think, the Republican party was started to end slavery. Times change.

Please don’t let yourself be locked into continuing to vote for what you don’t believe in. Both our nation and our planet face serious issues that can’t wait another decade to be addressed. You being among kindred spirits where you no longer have to hide your empathy and compassion just to fit in is the first step toward preserving what’s good about this world. Come join in. You are welcome. Plus, our side has the tastier treats 🙂

Thanks for giving this some thought,
Bill

bill@penzeys.com P.S. Please forward this to everyone you know of who is far more kind than those you think they will be voting for. Thanks!       Penzeys Spices12001 W. Capitol Drive | Wauwatosa, WI | 53222 USview this email in your browser
 

With all the encouraging words out there from so many compassionate and wise leaders, this mini-essay from Penzeys exec Bill struck me as the one I wish I had written. Everything changes, all the time. The Republican Party has changed, dramatically, from the one I was raised to believe in. And I have changed. I’m not the same person I was yesterday, much less five, twenty, forty years ago. It’s no only OKAY to recognize the changes in ourselves, our beliefs, our perceptions, our needs, it is essential to our growth and maturing as a sentient being. If you haven’t already, please vote for women’s rights, human rights, and the rights of all those beings without human language who are being decimated by loss of habitat through destruction, poisoning, and other effects of human greed. Recognize our interdependence with each other and all beings, and vote for a real future: vote for love.

Opportunity

Aug8

I had several opportunities today to be my best self. I took them all, gratefully! Living in solitude, I don’t get a chance every day to do something kind or helpful for someone else. So much of my mindfulness is all in my head. But today was a day full of happy, healthy connections. One of these was a Bonus Boyz Lunch. Yesterday’s savory squash blossoms cooked pretty well: I let them thaw for about an hour, but think it would have been better to fry them straight out of the freezer. I stuffed today’s blossoms with a surprise sweet mix: ricotta, confectioner sugar, and chopped basil. They complimented each other on the plate.

A cheese, bean, and chicken burrito anchored the lunch, with guacamole, salsa, and sour cream; squash blossoms; and beans sautéed with generous sprinklings of two Penzeys spice blends. We didn’t really need dessert, but I tried to make ‘dalgona,’ a whipped coffee that should have turned out like a pudding. It failed miserably, so I poured some into bowls and topped with chocolate ice cream, and they were happy. We were all happy. It was another opportunity, for equanimity, for making the best of a bad situation.

As I write, there is a grasshopper crawling around on the orchid in front of me. She’s a female ready to lay eggs. I just can’t bring myself to kill her, or throw her to Wren, nor can I toss her outside where I’m sure she’ll spawn dozens more. Without the Phoebe families of the past few years, the garden is dangerously deep in grasshoppers. I’ve noticed a dearth of birds of all kinds in recent weeks, and I’m not the only one in the area bemoaning the uncanny silence. Where have all the birds gone? Higher ground? When I use the new Sound ID feature of the wonderful Merlin Bird ID app, I record more overhead jets than bird calls. Mostly I’ve recorded magpies, jays, and the two common hummingbird species. I’m grateful for the opportunity this app gives me to identify and log birds in my pocket computer, and for the few new birds I’ve heard, including the Ash-throated Flycatcher, and the Western Wood Peewee.