What’s in this year’s Counting Down to Christmas?
If you missed reading a sample of this year’s Counting Down to Christmas you can find it included in this post. On 26 November we’ll start our A Pinch of Spice series with daily emails counting down to Christmas.
A spice or a herb or a ?
After all my research and writing about spices you’d think I’d be able to quickly define the difference between a spice and a herb or other flavour.
Spices add flavour to food. The tricky thing is that many other things add flavour to food, so what actually is a spice?
The common definition appears to be that spices are dried parts of plants such as seeds, bark, stalk, fruit or flowers. They’re often ground into a powder. Herbs can be fresh or dried and tend to be from the leaves of plants. The Merriam-Webster dictionary outlines the challenges of definition.
What spices and herbs are included?
By my definition above in our series we have included seven herbs, twenty three spices and one ‘something else’ that I’d still personally classify as a spice but is very much open for interpretation.
If you’re participating in this year’s Counting Down to Christmas you definitely don’t need a spice kit to enjoy the daily emails. The idea of a pinch of spice bringing a bit of flavour and zest to our food, applies to the food for thought of the daily emails. The smelling or tasting of spices is an optional sensory extra.
If you would like to include the smelling or tasting of spices, chances are you’ll be able to open your pantry and you’ll find a few of your familiar spices are included. Maybe I haven’t included your favourite spice in the daily writings, but we’re focussing on adding a pinch of spice, a pinch of flavour, a pinch of thought into our daily lives throughout Advent.
If you did want to make sure you have all the spices I have included, ahead of time, I’ve decided to share this list here. There’s still time to find some of the more obsure herbs and spices or have them delivered. Many will be able to be purchased from your regular supermarket but I’d suggest a visit to your local Asian or Indian supermarket to get some of the other spices on the list.
We’ve sold out of our A Pinch of Spice kits. For those subscribers who purchased A Pinch of Spice Kit to accompany this year’s Counting Down to Christmas, just over half of these have now been delivered. The remainder will be out for delivery Monday morning.
The heady scent of spice
For several hours last weekend in our living area, the mixture of smells of thirty one spices and herbs filled the air. We had to open doors and windows due to the intensity of the scent. Spooning hundreds of teaspoons and half teaspoons into envelopes made me appreciate that it is really true - a pinch of spice is quite enough to add flavour and smell! You really don’t need packets and packets of spices to make an impact.
Sometimes I get these wild ideas and have to act on them. Making up and selling these kits was a wild idea. After I started writing A Pinch of Spice I couldn’t let go of the possibility of making an accompanying kit. I really had no idea how long it would take to put together. I have learned a lot in the last few weeks. Even though not much sleep was had for a few days, I’m definitely pondering an accompanying kit for next year’s Counting Down to Christmas… maybe one that will be able to be delivered internationally though… and slightly less labour intensive!
The kits turned into a treasure trove of packaging within packaging. I’m not going to reveal all here… but here’s a few photos from the weekend’s work.
The spices went into their packets on Sunday and by late Sunday evening/ early Monday morning, the doors and windows were open and our house was filled with the heady scent of herbs and spices.
By the time the boxes were all packaged up it was dark and I forgot to photograph them before getting them ready for the courier. My youngest was generously donating time and energy and enthusiasm to the task and he ended up sending me to bed at 3am and finished the last few boxes. The final stack of boxes will be on the courier Monday morning and should be to the purchasers by Wednesday.
Are you subscribed?
If you subscribed last year your subscription and have not resubscribed this year then your paid resource has either expired or will do so in the next few days. There’s one more free post to come and then unless you’re a paid subscriber you will not receive the daily emails.
To subscribe to this year’s Counting Down to Christmas you can do so by clicking the Subscribe button below or by going to our Kereru Publishing website and purchasing a subscription there.
It’s not too late to gather a group of friends or family together and buy a group subscription. It’s recommended you do this through our website.
If you’re not sure if you’re subscribed for 2022 please feel free to contact me to check.
Looking forward to getting started on our Counting Down to Christmas
On the journey
Caroline
Thank you for all the hard work for this beautiful idea I am so looking forward to this next few weeks
When I received my spice box I started to imagine your process. I wasn't far off!!! (I thought about your lable writing / printing / sticking / photos / packets/ tape!). Yes - already love that you're planning an int'l package next year!!!!