Ham Sandwich Indicted!

Of the various obsessions I have pending at any given time, a constant (at least for the past year or so) has been Penzey's . I've mentioned it in the past, and if you haven't had the chance to check one out, or go online, you really must--it's a fantastic store, offering up almost every spice, out there, along with some nice boxed spice sets. (They make great gifts!) My most frequently used spice is their Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon. Sweetholyjesus it's awesome--rich, heady, maybe even decadent in it's aroma and taste. I find myself putting it in all sorts of dishes, just to see how it will perform. Usually, it performs fantastically. The other wonderful thing about Penzey's is their mail-order catalogue. It's great because if you sign up for it, you almost always get a coupon for a free spice or seasoning with each issue (this time around, it's Cajun spice mix). It's also great because they have really homey, all-American interviews with

This is what mon jardin looks like right now. Well, actually, this is what it looked like two weeks ago, when we actually had some snow on the ground. I can't decide if it looks kind of sad and desolate, or cozy and tucked in--waiting until planting season in just a few, short months. I'll go with the latter, as the former thought makes me want to pack up and move to the Islands. For my loyal readers out there, you'll notice that Ham Sandwich has been pretty quiet lately. The insanity of the holidays, coupled with a general lack of inspiration, has kept me from posting anything of interest. Not to say that it hasn't been a great season of wacky food misadventures, because it has... For my coworkers, I made a bouche de Noel as a Christmas present: If you're thinking "wow, that's so impressive...I could never do that," thanks, but trust me, you can. If you can read and follow the recipe on the inside of the Libby's pumpkin puree label for making