Sure, by the time the Spice Girls came on the scene in the mid-ninety's, my mom could have been Old Spice, but she was always one spicy gal! I just didn't realize how spicy until I cleaned out her kitchen cabinets this morning.
It was like a walk down memory lane. She loved her friend Phoebe's homemade honey-mustard, bought the dried mustard for it and that must have been the end of that project. There was a bottle of Beau Monde seasoning that she had to have for some dish and I remember having to go to no less than four stores in Orlando to find. Little candy sprinkles left over from her annual Gingerbread House building with Lizzy. Bottles of Angostura Bitters that must have been used for some cocktail; probably Old Fashions. There was a can of stewed tomatoes which reminded me of when I was little and my dad would be out of town, our favorite meal was hash brown potatoes and stewed tomatoes. I don't know why. It just was.
Most will go into the compost pile though I know that as soon as I do that, I will read a post somewhere about some fabulous use for expired herbs and spices. Some I will keep because they are just cool.
I searched for expiration dates on a lot of the items and discovered that there were even better clues as to their antiquity than a date stamped microscopically on a label.
I was having more fun going through all these bits and pieces until I came across a can of tomato paste that had an expiration date that was also the saddest day of my life. That was the day my mom's spice ran out. I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me.
What I wouldn't give for another bite of her applesauce which was the best I've ever had. I would even relish a morsel of her saran-wrap encrusted lasagna, but that's another story.
I'll leave you with The Spice Girls. I think they say it best.
