IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS!

Do you remember that iconic scene in Father of the Bride where Steve Martin has a meltdown in the grocery store? I’m sure you do. He’s wearing a too-small, navy blue, ruffled-front tux, and suddenly making impassioned speeches in the aisle on the subject of hot dogs being sold in packs of eight, while buns are sold in packs of twelve. And yes, I realize that this email may come off as a sort of spiritual twin of that particular rant - but rest assured that I’m not wearing a too-small navy blue tux while I do it!

Would you like to know my very own, particular, grocery-inspired fury? Well, here it is:  spice jars with an opening that is too small to fit a teaspoon into, let alone a tablespoon. Who decided this? Who on earth determined that under no circumstances should a measuring spoon fit inside a spice jar?? It does seem to be a conspiracy that reaches to the very highest levels because every single spice brand rigidly adheres to the principle of a tiny opening with zero chance of a teaspoon getting in there.  

So what are you supposed to do when you need 1 Tb. of oregano but only your ½ tsp spoon fits inside your jar? Well, you could patiently dip into your jar 6 times to get your oregano allotment, or you could just hold out your tablespoon and try to shake the right amount of oregano into it - making a big mess whilst also not getting a precise measurement. And yes, ok, fine - with oregano that might not make a huge difference to the flavor profile if you accidentally overdo it. But what if it was cayenne??? 

Now, I do have enough self awareness to realize that I could quite easily run away with myself and write a very boring, twelve-part essay series on all the things wrong with spice storage, and I’m sure everyone would be clamoring to read it because it’s obviously a very gripping topic. But I’m limiting myself this time to merely this one simple thing. The stupid size of the opening. Surely this is a frustration to other people? I can’t be the only crazy person who finds this to be an outrageous situation? 

For many years I dreamed of how I would solve this problem someday. Every time I stood at my stove, puffing paprika all over the stovetop as I measured it (inaccurately) into the sauce, I dreamt of having a fabulous, square, stackable, labeled, CUTE set of spice tins that had an opening big enough to dip a whole tablespoon into. I had them all designed in my mind for AGES before I finally managed to turn that idea into a reality in my kitchen.

And you know what? For all the time I spent mentally designing these tins, the actual experience of cooking with them is EVEN BETTER than I imagined! The other night I was making what turned out to be quite fabulously good sheet pan turkey kebabs (recipe below) - and you know what was amazing? Reaching into my cupboard and pulling out eight separate tins, lining them up, measuring out what I needed from each one - a teaspoon here, a quarter teaspoon there - with absolutely zero wasted time running conversions in my mind and trying to do everything with whatever spoon was small enough to fit in the opening.  And then simply popping all the lids back on (the lids are labeled as well, so you always know which lid goes on which tin) and setting them back into the cupboard in their neat, stackable rows. Absolutely brought me so much joy  - and yes, I realize that’s hilariously petty. Practically hot dog bun level. But sometimes it’s the little things!!