Spice of Life

My favorite area health food store is Dean's Natural Foods in Westgate Plaza. Yes, Honest Weight has pretty much all of the same stuff and I've never really done a price comparison between the two stores. And I like Honest Weight too. I just don't see Honest Weight as a health food store. I still go to Honest Weight every so often but I just like Dean's.

Everyone there is very friendly. There is one woman that works there, I should find out her name, that greets you with a warm hello. When you say, "Hi, how are you?" back to her, the response is, "Reasonable." Wouldn't it be nice if we were all reasonable?

Dean's is where I get most of my spices. They might have a little less space dedicated to seasonings than Honest Weight, but I like the set up at Dean's better. It's more relaxed,  they have little bags with stickers already on them to label the spices, and I think the spice prices are quite fair. Need a tablespoon of allspice, buy just a tablespoon of allspice. It will be cheaper and better than anything you buy in a supermarket. Plus you won't have a spice you use once and throw the rest away in 6 or 7 years. I stopped in earlier today to pick up some spices. 

I picked up some oregano and granulated garlic just to have more of both in the house. The granulated garlic is great. I also picked up some bay leaves, yellow mustard seeds, allspice, and coriander (I already put the granualted garlic in a jar - it is potent stuff). Quick spice buying tip - put the date on the label so you know how old the spices are.

I mixed up some salt, cure#1, and brown sugar in the bowl on the left. Most of the spices I bought today are in the bowl on the right. I rubbed one of the last roasts I have in the freezer with the spices. Not exactly the traditional corned beef, but I think it will work.

It will get tucked away in the fridge for at least a week before it gets cooked. This is the first time I dry rubbed a corned beef. The few other times I've used a brine.

I loosely followed the Serious Eats recipe. Here's the Serious Eats write-up and recipe. We'll see how it goes. At the very least, I hope it comes out reasonable.