(Please feel free to ignore this post if food doesn't make you swoon. I deeply love food, and am highly motivated and entertained by it.)
Tomorrow is game night with my siblings. My sister in law and I offered to make dinner. (Okay so I volunteered her to help me.) I am making a Moraccan Lentil Stew I had at a friends house that is to die for and she is making naan bread. YUMO! Today I was shopping for ingredients. First Walmart. If you have read this blog at all you know my feelings toward the store. Safron - $15.49. It in an envelope, in a standard size seasoning container. The weight states.03 oz. Now I had been told that safron is expensive, but I am starting to realize that this is probably traded illegally. I mean who puts a spice in an envelope in a spice jar? I kept looking.
The next store is Smiths (They have cereal on sale as well.) No luck, same senerio higher price.
Now one of the few perks of where I live is that there are three, yes three middle eastern food stores within a few blocks of my house. I try the closest first. I open the door and am barraged with the smells of every good spice known to man. All the spices are in bulk right next to the entrence. I don't know if it was deliberate but it definitely made me want to give them lots of money to have those smells in my home. It was also encouraging that most of their spices are much more reasonably priced than I find at standard grocery stores. Unfortunately they are out of safron (which is kept behind the counter). Fortunately they have tahini which is a seasame paste for making hummas (Yum number 2).
On to Middle Eastern Market number 2. The wonderful lady at the cash register only had a 4"x4"x.5" container of safron...for $39.99. But she told my about store number three.
Finally at a Pakistani store (I only know this because the lady at the previous store said the owner was Pakistani) a nice middle aged gentleman gives me a sellection of safron, all from behind the counter. I bought two teaspoons for $6.00. I have never cooked with saffron before so I dont know which spice is responsible for which flavor when I have eaten middle eastern food. But I must say this had better be worth all of the effort.
On, the up side, I think I will be shopping at these stores more often. I love the smell!
4 comments:
Mmm. Saffron ...
Actually just kidding, cuz I don't have a clue what it tastes like. But saffron just sounds expensive ... like a fine metal or a luxury clothing store you'd find in NYC. And if it costs that much, guaranteed it tastes good. (right?). Anyway, I'm looking forward to it.
Good luck with your new food adventures! At my house I giggle the whole time I am making something I never have before because it is just so exciting.
Have a fabulous New Year's!
Yes, Saffron is ridiculously expensive but I heard worth the flavor--I always see Food Network & PBS Chefs cooking with it. You should try Spoons n Spice, I've seen them have A HUGE variety of spices and they have a lot more exotic things than I've seen anywhere else. It's on 4700 S 900 E. Take it from someone who spends her time drooling over stores like these. :)
Hey i am making a morrocan lentil soup for dinner tonight. No Safron in my recipe but I did have a similar experience looking for Cardamom (not quite as expensive but tough to find) and it called for something called Garam Masala which I have yet to find. We'll see if the soup turns out. If not I may need your recipe...saffron and all.
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