Without (much) thinking...

I am normally the kind of person who takes a long time to make decisions. It's not that I don't like making decisions. Some decisions I like. I like to decide who I listen to, I like to decide between action or romantic comedy, for example. It's just that sometimes I like to take my time to make decisions; to know what I am buying, to what I am agreeing to. Réfléchir, the french say.

The gem of our Parisian quartier is the pedestrian zone. It's where bicycles, people, push-chairs and dogs mix on the street and attempt to do daily life - be it eating in a sidewalk restaurant, taking clothes to the drycleaners, shoes to the cobbler, buying a wine for dinner or picking up their daily bread at the boulangerie. Sometimes it's orderly, sometimes it's an urban obstacle course. 

I was walking past the gorgeously decadant moorish inspired salon du thé when I spied the window display. The épicerie was half price - everything was half or less the original price. How could I not go in and check it out? Everything tempted me. Everything seduced me. There were spices that I knew and bags of powders I had never heard of.  Everything went to my head and before I knew it...

...I was walking out of the salon du thé with two generously sized bags that I had very little idea what to do with. No consideration, (well not too much) and no matter that I didn't have a recipe in mind. 

Spices for vegetable couscous and zaatar. I've seen and/or heard about both of them before but they've never made an appearance in my cooking.

Well, I've started looking for some delicious ways to use my new spice mix and herbs. If you stick around, I'll share what I discover.