The Diamond In The Chandelier

As I mentioned before, we had a busy and fun August, first traveling to Michigan, then welcoming two sets of house guests on successive weekends. That pretty much used up August. Both house guests brought wonderful gifts - Jeanne brought us a jar of her sweet-tart pomegranate jelly, sublime in taste and color. She even brought goodies for Cora, dog lover that she is.

Our second set of house guests, Annette and Dave, brought us a pair of flavorings from a company that is new to me.  Two envelopes of seasonings, Italian Black Truffle Sea Salt and Bajan (rhymes with Cajun) Seasoning from the West Indian Island of Barbados.  The company is called Savory Spice Shop from Colorado.

While Dave and Annette were with us, we had several meals flavored with the truffle salt and, folks, I have to tell you that stuff is magic. Pure magic. It was great on lamb, subtle but powerful. We sprinkled it on corn on the cob and it mixed with the butter to add the most amazing flavor-heightener! We ended up sprinkling it on almost everything and loved the way it enhances each taste. It smells like truffles even when the bag is closed, but it doesn't overpower any food with its truffliness - it just enhances their own particular flavors. If you've never tried truffle salt, you are missing a treat. I found myself thinking, "Baby, where have you been all my life?"

We haven't yet tried the Bajun Seasoning, but we have high hopes for it, too. If you visit the Savory Spice Shop website, you can read the story of this uniquely Barbadian rub/paste.

What I particularly liked about this company is that you can order as little as a one-ounce packet, not only to try new flavors without making a lifetime commitment, but also so you can keep your spices fresh and fully flavorful by buying smaller amounts more frequently. I have an entire drawer full of spice bottles that I bought to try once and never have used again. I don't throw them away because, well, you never know and they were expensive, but I'd love to have been able to just purchase enough for one go-around and then decide if we were going to be friends.

The diamond in the chandelier here is Truffle Salt. Get thee some today. You can thank me later.