My Name is Alise and I am a Vanillaholic.

HELLO ALISE!

So after my recent blog, I went on a spice and vanilla rampage. One evening last week, I just could not sit still. So I ran to the Spice House in Evanston. Here is a list of my booty.

• 4oz. Vietnamese Cassia "Saigon" Cinnamon
• 4oz. Natural Cocoa Powder as opposed to Dutch-processed (Gale Gand from Tru only ises natural stating that she prefers the stronger taste of cocoa. - I agree!)
• 2oz. Crushed "Caribe" Red Pepper Flakes for JB's pizza
• 2oz. "Salt Free" Cajun Blackening Seasoning
• 2oz. Freeze Dried Shallots - I love these in scrambled eggs!
• 4oz. Salsa Seasoning - WARNING: Do not breathe in while using this product - it contains jalapeno powder
• 4oz. Mexican Vanilla Extract
• Huge bottle of Nielson Massey Vanilla Extract
• Huge bottle of Sonoma County Co. Almond Extract - both the these were from TJMaxx. I will let you know if they are good.

I went home and laid them all out on the countertop, arranged them, stood back and sighed with contentment. :-)

Spice House Tip on avoiding the "fishy" smell in your kitchen:
When cooking fish, place a slice of bread in with the fish while cooking. The bread absorbs most of the smell and you can just toss it after cooking. Thanks!