Spice Hunters

This is our spice cabinet (Yes, it’s a bit of a mess.  Yes, the jams and jellies are taking over a bit.  Yes, it looks like I’m single handedly keeping the Clackamas Penzeys store in business.)

This morning, I was feeding Tum Tum in the living room, when I heard some clunking, giggling, and whispering in the kitchen.  Of course, I’m now in the habit of grabbing my camera., so I was able to get some shots of the girls.  They were very busy, playing “Spice Hunters”.  

Little Hen would reach up, grab a spice, open it, and she and Firecracker would describe what they smelled.   The Contintental Rub smelled like “Thanksgiving”; Rogan Josh, “India”; the cloves, “Mama’s tea”; nutmeg, “eggnog”, etc.  Then, Little Hen would read the label to find out what spice they had selected.  When they got to the paprikas (yes, I have several kinds), they declared that the spice hunt was a success, because they had found the “the treasure of the rarest, most valuable ‘pap-ah-reek-ahs’ to bring home to [their] people.” 

At the end, Little Hen said, “Mama, this cabinet smells like that spice store.  You know, the one with the kids’ coloring table, and all the good smells.  I love that place.  What’s it called?”  “You mean Penzeys?”  “That’s the one!!” 

I think this afternoon, we’ll do a little research online about real spice hunters, and the spice trade.  I think it’ll be a really interesting topic (and when would a kindergartener ever  get to cover this subject in public school?).