I feel like I had a pretty idyllic childhood. I grew up in a time where one didn’t have to be as alert to things that we are today. My biggest fears were how to avoid quicksand, because they really made it seem like a big deal back in the 80’s! I had wonderful parents who were very involved in our lives to the very end and taught us so many things.

One thing that wasn’t taught much though was how to cook. Sure, we learned the basics and I can remember doing a lot of baking, but I never learned my way around the kitchen the way Mom did. She could peel a potato so effortlessly whereas when I peel one it’s a miracle if there’s any potato left!

Despite that, I have managed to turn into a pretty good cook over the years. There have been a few mishaps (do NOT ask for my eggplant lasagna!), my prep time is usually twice as long as it should be, and I won’t be beating Bobby Flay anytime soon, but over the years I’ve grown my repertoire and have successfully fed myself and others resulting in very happy tummies.

As is true of most people cooking meals, I tend to grow bored of the same recipes over and over. I like to branch out and try new recipes so that, if successful, they can be added into the rotation so the menu never gets too stale. Sometimes I want to really branch out and explore cuisines that I wouldn’t normally gravitate to, but then I have to buy so many extra things that aren’t in my pantry to accommodate this one recipe. What if I wanted to try making saffron rice but it costs me $20 just for ¼ teaspoon of saffron?! Or I buy a container of curry only to find out that I don’t like curry and now I have a whole thing of it!

That’s where the library has you covered! We are officially rolling out our Spice of the Month Club! Each month we will offer a tablespoon sized sampling of a new spice for you to take home and try out. We want to make it friendly for chefs of all levels of experience (if you use your oven to hide all the empty takeout containers…I’ve got you!) so some months might be more “basic” with the spice selection than other months. Supplies are limited so we ask that you take one spice per family in order to allow more people to participate.

When you pick up the spice, you will also get some information about it, and a couple of recipes for you to try. One of these recipes will be from our AtoZ World Food database. With AtoZ World Food you can explore food from around the world! This resource contains more than 7000 traditional recipes from 174 countries, along with thousands of ingredient, food culture, and reference articles. We will try to make these recipes as accessible as possible (meaning you hopefully won’t have to go out and buy a bunch of different ingredients), and occasionally we will make you think outside of the box with them (using a traditionally sweet spice for a savory recipe).

Samples will be available on the 4th Monday of the month, so starting on January 27, you can find these samples at the Reference Desk, located on the second floor. We’d love for you to share your experience with the recipes! Please email us at librarian@eauclaire.lib.wi.us with any pictures of your creations, different recipes using the same spice that you have tried, your thoughts for future spices, or your love for the Spice of the Month Club!

Bon appétit!

Disclaimer: Unless Bobby Flay decides to sponsor our Spice of the Month program, we regret to inform you that we will not be using saffron for any of the samples!