Newsletters

Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us …..  on 7th July this year we celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening of Herbie’s Spices.  When we opened the doors of our little shop in the chilli-red terrace in Rozelle, little did we know that it would become a destination for local, interstate and international cooks and foodies.  Our business plan all those years

We took a break over the Christmas/New Year period, and arrived home, tired and jet-lagged, to a mostly empty fridge.  It was definitely a moment to appreciate our hero spice mix, Lentil and Dhal Spice, which pulled together a delicious, easy meal using pantry staples and surviving silverbeet in the pot outside our kitchen door.  What did we eat? This: SPICED RED LENTIL AND

This time last year, we thought the worst of COVID-19 was behind us.  We know now that it was just the beginning of another annus horribilis thanks to the Delta strain, but our changed conditions seemed to bring kindness and humanity to the fore.  As always, food has been a comfort and a blessing.  We’re coming to you a little earlier than the new

Home Made Pizza Like so many Australians, we have had plenty of lock-down time during winter.  Our fabulous local pizzeria closed for a time, and we had to make our own pizza – not so difficult, really.  Here’s a simple dough recipe: mix 400g white bread flour with 1½ teaspoons of dry yeast and 1 teaspoon Italian Herbs.  Dissolve ½ teaspoon of salt in

A world-wide annus horribilis is drawing to a close, and all we want for Christmas is a better year ahead. For many, time spent in confinement has been a time for reflection, communicating with loved ones, and cooking up a storm.

Rose Harrisa Mackerel Spring is a time always associated with flowers.  Cauliflowers, broccoli and broccolini, even cabbage and kale, are all flowers, and it occurred to us that one could make a culinary bouquet by adding rose harissa to these flowers.  We started the experiment with rose harissa sprinkled on cauliflower cheese, then progressed to rose harissa stir-fried with broccolini, and broccoli florets tossed with rose

Due to the current situation with many of you isolated, we felt it would be appropriate to break with tradition and send this to you ahead of the Winter Newsletter. It feels as though this year has been cursed in many ways, however we can’t go back and start again, so it seems the only way through it is to endure day by day,

Our Best Wishes The start of this New Year and new decade has been memorable for all the wrong reasons, and our hearts go out to all those who have been directly and indirectly affected by the extreme weather and terrible fires.  A fire that started in the same road as our factory mercifully went in the other direction and left us with just ash

What kind of meal do you think of when you hear the word “curry”?  The origin of our English word is Kari, meaning a spiced sauce.  The English took the idea back home from the colonies, and the classic Madras curry – well-balanced and flavoursome - became a staple in the English household.  The French, meanwhile, had colonized the Pondicherry area on the south-eastern

NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2018-19 Food safety … food security … everyone hears the term, but unless you’re in the industry, you don’t quite know what it means.  So let us fill you in on just what is involved in keeping your herbs and spices the way you want them to be.  Certification by HACCP is the first step.  The letters stand for Hazard Analysis Critical

Curry What do you think of when you hear the word Curry?  Does the image of a big pot of a protein swimming in lots of delicious rich gravy, served with rice and pappadams, come to your mind?  When a curry powder is made, it is basically a spice mix, just as Baharat, Chermoula and barbecue blends are spice mixes.  Don’t let yourself be

This time last year, we were considering another visit to India, after several years’ break from taking groups to that wonderful, ever-stimulating continent. Well, it happened, it was great fun, and we’re back. Highlights must include the hair-raising cycle-rickshaw ride through the old town of Varanasi; the vibrant, thrilling Holi day of colours; a visit to a small government school outside Deogarh, where one teacher

What was your stand-out food experience over the Christmas season?  We had an American-themed Christmas lunch for our staff at our place, and everyone was blown away by the pork ribs.  (And speaking of our wonderful staff, were you all happy with our service in the run-up to Christmas?  The girls were super-busy and worked very long days to make sure everything went out on time.)