Herbivore, Part Two

For whatever reason, I've been thinking a lot about my dream job, to own a spice shop. I had previously written this post about it. I imagine that my little shop would be either in Bay View or maybe downtown. It'd have one of those tin ceilings, which I adore. The decor would be vintage and it'd be obvious (to those who know me and my sense of style, anyway) that it was mine.

I thought of a really great idea the other day. Each week, I'd feature a certain spice or herb. I would showcase a recipe utilizing that spice or herb each day, and I'd have samples for the customers to try, just so they could get a feel for the versatility of said spice/herb. For example, maybe someone doesn't like oregano. But...they're cooking a mediterranean-style meal, so they're curious about what they could use instead. Marjoram has a similar flavor profile, but it's a lot milder. They could taste it for themselves and see if that'd be a better option for them. Have you ever thought of adding coriander to your Mexican-inspired dishes? Did you know it's actually ground-up seeds of cilantro? Makes sense now why it complements Latin dishes, right? In fact, just recently, I made a dinner with dried thyme. Never having really used dried thyme, I tried it out. I liked everything about what I made, except for the thyme. Now, had I known that prior, maybe I would have opted for fresh thyme or even saved myself a few bucks and left it out altogether.

I also think it'd be really cool to have a "make-your-own-marinade" corner of my store. I could help people put together flavor combinations and maybe even do workshops once-a-month, where customers could learn about the herbs and spices and why some combinations work and others don't. They'd be able to create several marinades based on their taste preferences or certain flavor profiles.

Maybe I'd even branch out a little bit and have an in-store oilery. For instance, did you know that extra virgin olive oil is best for salad dressings and marinades, while pure olive oil is what you want for sautéing and stir-frying?

I need to get some investors...