Spices

While I was doing all of my holiday baking last month, I needed some clove powder.  I didn't have any and didn't know where to buy it (read: too lazy to go out and look for it).  We had a whole bag full of whole cloves because we use them in curries, which led me to a thought: Ground spices are just spices ground up.   Revolutionary thinking!  So I took my blender and using the attachment that we use to grind coffee beans, I ground the cloves.  Instant clove powder.  I did the same with cinnamon sticks when I ran out of cinnamon a few days later.  

Before and after

I had to put the cinnamon through a fine sieve after because my blender couldn't get it fine enough. 

  

There's no turning back now.  The freshly ground stuff was infinitely better than any powder you can buy.  I was surprised how much of a difference it made.   And it makes for some extra special baked goodies.  Yum!