Have you spiced up your life today? Many people find this is their favorite time of year but cannot quite figure out why. It might be the chill in the air or the scent of pine in the decorations. For others the kitchen provides the sensations. Fresh baked goods and root vegetables with the scents and flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg cloves and allspice. For years women’s magazine articles have noted that if the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, forget the pricy perfumes and dab a little vanilla on the pulse points.
Busy lifestyles can make baking a once in a while thing rather than every day, but you can still have some spice in your daily life. Do you love the holiday flavors that are on the grocery store shelves this time of year? Do the prices make you think twice, after all it could be a lot to spend if it does not taste as good as it smells? Remember those partially used bags of flavored coffee from last year?
Several companies offer small bags of coffee good for a pot or two. Boyer’s Coffee Located on North Washington in Denver offers these on the grocery store shelves. Their holiday selections this year include Jingle Bell Java, Peppermint Crème, Chocolate Cherry, Eggnog and Pumpkin Spice. Your Arvada Starbucks will have their Sampler Package of coffees on a one day special of $9.95 on Monday 12/5.
There are several choices to add spice to your morning brew. There are some flavored creams for the season. Some are liquid and found in the dairy case, others are dry and on the shelf by the coffee. Coffee Mate and International Delights both have coupons out for you to try flavors like Brown Sugar Maple, Gingerbread, Vanilla spiced Rum or White Chocolate Raspberry flavors.
For a truly inexpensive way to spice up your coffee it is likely that everything you need is already in your kitchen. A few shakes from that canister of Pumpkin Pie Spice or Apple Pie Spice on the beans or coffee before it is brewed is a great way to change up your coffee. Pumpkin Pie Spice typically contains cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Apple Pie Spice will often have cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Both will have as much as twice as much cinnamon as any other spice. A check on the store shelves has shown that even on sale spices are pretty expensive. By purchasing the pie spices you will save a lot of money.
Other items in your spice cabinet that will spark up your holiday coffee might include Cinnamon Sugar, Vanilla, Peppermint or Hazelnut extract. Maple Syrup, Brown or Turbinado sugar are also great additions to your morning brew. These are best used sparingly directly into your coffee cup.
Purchasing your spices from bulk containers will save you money. There are now bulk spice bins at the newly remodeled King Soopers at 80th and Wadsworth as well as the Sunflower Market at 77th and Wadsworth, Arvada.
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