Spicy Shopping Trip

We've been back to the UK for a dutiful flying visit to my mum and the in-laws, the first time we've been back for 12 months mostly, because I've not been well enough to travel, and indeed, after the Tuesday to Saturday trip I was totally exhausted.  A 6am flight which meant leaving our UK base at 3am didn't help.

But we are back now, and I'm largely recovered thanks to a 12 hour sleep and with just a dull ache in most joints to remind me to take it easy for a few days.  It was a largely successful visit and we managed to do two of the three essential things (familial duties apart) that we aim for on trips to Britain, namely buy spices and go to a pub.  Having a curry fell by the wayside.



As for the pub, well it was only a chain, but I enjoyed a nice nostalgic pint of Brakspeares and there were a few bottles of real ale from proper small breweries to be had back at the house, too.

Hiking in this part of France is fantastic, but just how much better would it be with a pub or two scattered along the route!

But back to the spices.  I love France, I love French food and the French attitude to food and eating, but I love spice and heat, too. I can't think of many savoury dishes that won't be improved by a hit of heat or warming spice, but it has proved almost impossible to find more than the basics here, although that may be because we are in a very conservative and largely rural part of the country.  And when I do find a small packet of coriander or cumin seeds for example, the price is excruciating.  Searching online is a little better, although if you want anything more than curry powder, instant cooking  sauces (not cooking in my opinion!) or paprika you may be in trouble.  I was looking at one place this morning who advertise spices in bulk.  Fine if all you want is turmeric or paprika  - the full extent of their range - and the bulk packs are half the size I would normally buy and more than twice the price.  Plus carriage.

So for £28 (36€ at the current rate) I bought this lovely lot -

And if I'd left out the 500g of cardamom pods at almost a tenner it would have been better value still!  So in addition to the gold-plated cardamom, I'm now well-stocked up with kilo bags of ground turmeric, coriander and cumin seeds and dals  and more reasonably sized packs (500g) of curry leaves, black cumin, tamarind, fenugreek, brown and black mustard seeds, cinnamon bark and lots of other goodies.

Our next UK trip is penciled in for May 2015; I know the dal will be long gone by then but I wonder how much of the spice stash will still be with us?  Certainly curry night this Thursday will pack the first full fresh punch for quite some time.

But I must go easy on the cardamom.