Time for a Taste of Something New - Penzeys Spices
Time for a Taste of Something New - Penzeys Spices
Time for a Taste of Something New - Penzeys Spices
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Arizona Dreaming – Harvest 2020<br />
There is so much that is so cool about living<br />
the life <strong>of</strong> a cook. Sharing tasty food with the<br />
people in your life, seeing the happiness it<br />
brings and then watching the good things that<br />
happen to people who feel happy opens your<br />
eyes to the world <strong>of</strong> kindness we live in. Once<br />
you understand cooking <strong>for</strong> what it is, an act<br />
<strong>of</strong> kindness, it can bring such great balance to<br />
your outlook on life. And the kindness <strong>of</strong> cooking<br />
knows no bounds, it happens everywhere.<br />
Do the math and it is easy to see that <strong>for</strong> each<br />
story that makes the nightly news there are a<br />
hundred million acts <strong>of</strong> kindness that happen<br />
every day in kitchens in homes across the globe<br />
as cooks spread their love.<br />
But sometimes I look at the news and these<br />
days it makes me sad. Are we really going to<br />
leave unchecked the companies whose reckless<br />
pursuit <strong>of</strong> billions have so damaged our<br />
economy and our environment, and instead let<br />
our frustrations be redirected at the people who<br />
have spent their lives doing our unwanted jobs<br />
<strong>for</strong> dollars an hour? In our need to restore our<br />
sense <strong>of</strong> self-control are we actually going to<br />
reward politicians who are not working to bring<br />
us together, but instead are <strong>for</strong>saking America’s<br />
beautiful 234-year history <strong>of</strong> diversity? These are<br />
decent people’s lives, real loving families where<br />
children will be separated from parents, where<br />
grandparents will be separated from grandchildren<br />
<strong>for</strong> what possible gain?<br />
The other morning I was driving my sixyear-old<br />
daughter to her weeklong summer<br />
woodworking class and she asked me how you<br />
get people who have stopped caring to care. We<br />
had watched a movie over the weekend where<br />
people simply stopped being nice. She was<br />
thinking about how to change that. Not sure<br />
myself, I asked her what she thought could be<br />
done. After a moment’s imagination she came<br />
up with: “You get people to care by spreading<br />
your happy feelings.”<br />
The Arizona I know has plenty <strong>of</strong> happy feelings<br />
to spread. We all owe a debt to the past <strong>for</strong><br />
those who bore the costs <strong>of</strong> our families’ arrival<br />
in this country, but it is the people <strong>of</strong> Arizona<br />
that are bearing our share <strong>of</strong> the costs. From<br />
my travels with my family around the state, and<br />
through our store in the Phoenix area, we have<br />
been introduced to an Arizona so different from<br />
what we see on the nightly news. Each day in<br />
the kitchens <strong>of</strong> the homes across Arizona, we<br />
know <strong>for</strong> a fact there are millions <strong>of</strong> acts <strong>of</strong> kindness,<br />
and these acts revolve around the flavors<br />
<strong>of</strong> Mexico more than influences from anywhere<br />
else. From the initial responses to our cooks survey<br />
(please take it if you have not already, see<br />
page 37), Americans love the food and flavors<br />
<strong>of</strong> Mexico. In the answers to the question on the<br />
types <strong>of</strong> cooking you do, Mexican is on more<br />
people’s lists than any other type.<br />
It is the flavors <strong>of</strong> Mexico we choose to share<br />
around our dinner tables with our families and<br />
with our friends. Arizona even takes America’s<br />
love <strong>of</strong> Mexico’s culture <strong>of</strong> food to the next<br />
level. We see Sweet Chilies, Cumin, Mexican<br />
Oregano, and Chipotles on the shopping lists <strong>of</strong><br />
our Arizona customers far more than our store<br />
average. Through our customers we see how<br />
over the years the culture <strong>of</strong> Mexico has moved<br />
past being just an influence from our neighbors,<br />
to being a part <strong>of</strong> how we define ourselves. In<br />
a magic that flourishes in America like nowhere<br />
else, all the hugs and smiles and laughs<br />
and tears we have shared over the years have<br />
brought us together, and we have yet again<br />
become one people.<br />
From all these experiences, from all these<br />
emotions, we have come up with a wonderful<br />
new blend. We call it Arizona Dreaming. It is the<br />
great flavors that originally came from south <strong>of</strong><br />
the border, but are now a part <strong>of</strong> who we all are,<br />
combined in the way that the people <strong>of</strong> Arizona<br />
love to use them. It has no salt out <strong>of</strong> respect<br />
<strong>for</strong> the heart-healthy style <strong>of</strong> cooking so many<br />
Arizonans enjoy. It is the perfect blend <strong>for</strong> the<br />
flavorful foods <strong>of</strong> the harvest we are sharing<br />
right now, but I also hope that in its deliciousness<br />
Arizona Dreaming gets us thinking about<br />
what we want our future harvests to be. That<br />
its inspiration gives us the encouragement to<br />
figure out the seeds we need to plant now to let<br />
an even brighter future grow. Give it a try and<br />
be happy.<br />
As always I would love to hear what you’re<br />
thinking. Email me at: bill@penzeys.com.<br />
And once again thank you <strong>for</strong> taking the time<br />
to spread your happy feelings,