A New Love and a Penzeys Surprise

Every year it’s the same for holiday and birthday gifts. I drop hints all year – not too subtle, either. “Here is a great gift idea if you can’t think of something,” I say and he nods. Then there is some panic as the date nears and he admits, “I just can’t think of anything for you,” until I write it down and hand it to him, often with a coupon or at least a picture.

This year before Christmas, I just printed out some pages with photos and locations, or clipped-out catalog illustrations, of things that I wouldn’t mind having. “Just choose something and keep the rest for the future,” I said.

And so it was that on Christmas I was “surprised” with a Food Saver, something I have been pointing out at Costco every time we walked past for the last three years or so.

Shortly after Christmas, we had a friend stay a couple of days and I cooked a batch of chicken picatta, making extra to freeze for future meals. I decided to try out the new Food Saver and since our friend said that he and his wife had used them for years, I asked for a demo. (I’m much more of a hands-on learner than trying to do something from a manual.) It was really so simple. He and Gary went off on an errand and I stayed at the kitchen counter, madly sucking air out of the packages. In fact I kept looking for more stuff until the cat hid under the bed!

Our friend was so impressed with the unit that when he got home they went right out and bought a new one to replace their 15-year-old relic.

This is one gadget that will save food AND money in the long run!

AN ADVENTURE in SURPRISE

I admit to being a sneak thief. Yup, and from my daughter even. When she stayed with us for a while when moving from the Great Lakes area to the West Coast she had her mail forwarded to our address. After she had gone she received a Penzeys spices catalog, and I found it so interesting and tore so many recipes out of it that I didn’t tell her I had it. This went on for a couple of years. I figured “don’t ask, don’t tell” and unless she asked about it, she wasn’t missing it.

There aren’t any Penzeys shops in Eugene – in fact, I was unaware that they have open shops until we spent a few days in Portland a while back. While we were waiting for our son to have his lunch break so he could join us, we took a walk around the NW area where he works, visiting some of the galleries. As we crossed a street I looked down the side street, spotted the Penzeys sign on a store front, and stopped cold when I reached the other side.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Look!! A Penzeys I said.”

“What’s that?”

I explained. “Well, let’s go take a look,” he said.

“It’s dangerous,” I told him. “Very.”

“Oh, let’s just go,” he replied, taking my arm. Of course I went willingly.

The moment we entered the store though, he said “Oh no!” (Well, he said something stronger but that conveys the idea.) It was quite large for a spices shop, with every Penzeys product in every size.

In fact, I had seen an offer for their new “Raspberry Enlightenment” that had caught my attention – anything raspberry catches my attention. Purchase a small amount – I think it was $15 – worth of other stuff and you could have it free. Of course, my coupon was in the catalog at home on the table since I didn’t expect to find a store.

I picked out a couple of things. Gary, who had been wandering around, came up to me with a grin on his face and handed me a recipe card for ginger cookies (there are lots of recipes around the store). When I went to pay, the proprietor asked if I had the coupon for the Raspberry stuff. I explained that it was at home, and about my theft of the catalog. “Oh – you can have one anyway,” he said, so I fetched a jar of it. Then I was a tad short on the purchase, and he forgave that, too. Nice place.

As for the Raspberry Enlightenment, it is touted as a great addition for meat, pasta, veggies – but I never get that far. It’s also great on English muffins, pancakes, and most especially on plain Greek yogurt. It takes so little to get so much flavor! They should have named it “Raspberry Intense.”

In our next phone conversation I fessed up to my daughter and she said dismissively, “Oh, no big deal, Mom. There’s a store close to where I live.” And here I was feeling guilty for two years.

I have my own subscription now and I’m still tearing out recipes, and enjoying my purchases. This month there is a free jar of cumin if you come into a store, but I’m not going 120 miles to get one. You may have a Penzeys near you though, and if so get acquainted with it! There is a world of flavors in there. And  Raspberry Essence…um, Intense…er, Enlightenment.