Last week seemed to become “Herb Week” at my house. The boxes of dried plants I found at my backdoor made both me and my pantry very happy.

I had a lot of questions on my Facebook Page about what herbs and spices I order and where I order them from, so I thought y’all might like a detailed look into my herbal kitchen.

This 25 pound box came from Mountain Rose Herbs – one of my favorite places to order my herbs and spices.

I’ve ordered from them for a few years now and usually do one large order every spring to re-stock the pantry shelves and get ready for the summer skin care needs and the falls immune boosting needs.

Tips for ordering

• Find a friend that would also like to order. The shipping can get pricey ($35.00 this time, but it was a heavy order!) and it’s nice to be able to split bags of herbs as well.
• Figure out an approximate amount of spices or herbs you’ll go through in a 6-12 month time frame. Their quality is great and everything I’ve ordered from MRH has been really fresh, fragrant, and flavorful. The longer you store your herbs and spices, the less fragrant and flavorful they will be. So don’t order all the basil you’ll use for the next decade.
• Check the store containers you have at home and don’t order more than you need. Seriously. My very first order I bought a full pound of basil, oregano, and an obscene amount of bay leaves. I did not realize that my little containers in the cupboard had only a half ounce or so in them, so I had enough basil and oregano for like…two years. I still have bay leaves and they actually need to be tossed out for fresher leaves. So even though it seems cheaper – don’t order more than you need.
• Double check your order before submitting to make sure you’ve got ground spices when you want ground, or whole, or minced, or whatever you want – make sure that’s what you ordered.

My recent order:

• Seasoning Salt – we use this on burgers, potatoes, steaks….basically a better version of the Lawry’s seasoning salt that Todd used to have me buy.

• Chili Powder Blend – one of my favorite chili powders! This has a much stronger flavor than the ones sold in most stores, not spicier, just stronger, so you use much less.

• Pumpkin Pie Spice – a great tasting spice for flavoring pumpkin pie, baked oatmeal, etc.

• Basil Leaf – one of my top nine “must have” herbs! If I can put basil in it, I do.

• Cumin Seed Powder – another necessity in our house for tacos, chilis, and soups.

• Paprika Powder – a good spice to have around for our mexican dishes.

• Smoked Paprika Powder – never tried this one before, but I have a few recipes that are calling for it.

• Minced Garlic- I use this one, it seems, almost daily! And the consistency is great, not cut to large, but not ground.

• Minced Onion – where the garlic goes, the onion goes, and again it’s not cut to large or small.

• Cinnamon Sticks (sweet) – I thought I ordered it ground….and while I do use sticks occasionally, I definitely don’t need 8oz of them! (as a side note – always get “true cinnamon”, never Cassia – we’ll talk about that very soon)

• Oregano – again – one of my favorites and used almost daily. And so much more flavor than the old stuff at the stores.

• Cacao Powder, raw – this goes in the “because I can” category. It’s tasty, raw, and fair trade – you can’t get better than that!

I also ordered a few different medicinal herbs.

• Nettle Leaf – great for cleansing and I use it often in my teas. Also anti-inflammatory and helps to lower blood pressure.

• Rosehips – I add these to most of my teas are an immune booster because of their vitamin C content.

• Chamomile – for a calming tea, and it has chemicals that are anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and antiparasitic.

• Milk Thistle – a really good healer and cleanser of the liver.

• Calendula  Flowers – perfect for skin preparations, this herb helps to heal the skin, promote collagen production, and treat infections.

• Plantain -  another great one for skin cuts and rashes as well as bug bites because of its antibacterial, and anti inflammatory properties.

I also ordered:

• Spice Jars  – I was desperately tired of my mix and match jars in the cupboard – most of them reused store containers.

• Evening Primrose Oil – I bought it for skin use – as a moisturizer. (it works miracles on the bumps on your arms)

• Glycerine – I plan on using this to make some beauty products and liquid soap.

• Castile Soap – a non scented soap for natural cleaning and personal hygiene products.

• 4oz Tincture Bottles – love these bottles with the dropper in them – great for tinctures. (coming soon….)

So that is the beginning of my bulk herb order, I’ll get the other half up in the next day or so to show you the other herbs I bought for making tinctures and medicinal teas.

Everything in this post was purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs, a company I highly recommend.

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