Do you get yourself a present for the holidays? I usually try to get a little something for myself for either my birthday which is just before Thanksgiving or for Christmas. Nothing major but a lipstick, pair of socks, or something in the under $10 range. Yes, I’m not just cheap with others. I’m cheap with myself too. LOL.
This year I wasn’t really sure what to get, but then I got an email out of the blue. I don’t even know how she found me, but as soon as I read the email I squealed. I’m a sucker for those subscription service boxes, and I’ve gotten a few in the past that are fitness themed or have ingredients to whip up dinners. LOVE those, sigh.
This one should have just been titled “Adrianne’s Favorite Thing Ever That Comes In A Box” box. This subscription service is by RawSpiceBar and it’s a monthly package of three different spice blends… themed to a different region each month! OMG, I know right?! It’s SO me! I never even knew this existed but knew immediately that I needed this in my life.
I pretty much replied “YES!” with one hand while I was surfing their site to explore with my other. One quick click on the International tag for my recipes, and you’ll find a plethora of Thai, Mexican, Italian recipes and then some. There are even a few Korean and Middle Eastern ones. So I’m all about trying new flavors and experimenting in the kitchen.
When I saw the past regional themes that were listed on RawSpiceBar‘s site, my brain almost exploded. There were so many regions I’ve never heard of and definitely haven’t tried. So click click pow and I had to give this a whirl. Each box comes with three spices, with recipes on how to use them, and also the background of each dish. This month’s box was filled with Norwegian spices.
There’s one for a sweet dish (hello cookies!), one for a savory side dish, and one for a meat main dish. There are also more recipes on their website on how to use them. You know how I’m always making dishes my own and rarely stick to a recipe, so I liked having several options so that it kickstarted my brain. I may do some off road recipe exploring, or I may actually follow a recipe.
LOL, OK. I couldn’t even type that last part with a straight face. The odds of me following their recipe are pretty much nil, but we’ll see. The Kid and I are going to be making cookies as the first fun and I’m thinking about the side dish of potatoes for Christmas dinner. I’ll definitely post what we come up with and let you know what we think of the new flavors. I wonder if Norwegian food is like Swedish food or maybe German. Hmmmm.
Here are a few things I like about the boxes:
- They’re affordable at just $26 quarterly. Way less than the other subscription boxes I’ve tried.
- It gives me a chance to try cuisines that I’d never try on my own. Yes, I could google but odds are that won’t happen.
- It’s something fun and a chance to spend time doing something I love in a new way.
Here are a few things I wish were different:
- The spices are a blend and they include what’s in it spice-wise, but not how to mix more of your own later if you wanted to.
- The envelope has a weight amount listed on it but not a measurement like X teaspoons inside. The recipes use an entire envelope and serve 6-10 people. I usually wouldn’t make that many servings at once, so I had to measure the entire envelope to figure out how much was half.
Sorry, I know those last two things are me being picky. Both of them aren’t huge issues and possibly I could email to ask for the blend ratios. I just haven’t tried. All in all, the pros to me way outweigh the things I wished were different. I even like that I can’t pick a region but have to go with what they send. It gets me to try new stuff and not just the stuff I gravitate towards.
Check out RawSpiceBar and see what you think. You can get a quarterly subscription for $26 per quarter, or an annual subscription for $88. They also have gift subscriptions if you know someone who’d love this kind of thing. If you sign up, you can refer a friend and earn free boxes as well.
Disclaimer: I got my Norwegian spice box for free but I really did squeal like a kid at the chance to try this out and the thoughts above are my own so far. I plan to continue with the monthly boxes purchased with my own money. If you sign up using the links on this site, I get a small percentage in return. You are always welcome to go directly to their site and purchase without clicking through my site.
Happy spicing!
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