SOME LIKE IT HOT
Spicy Stateline business flourishes.
WRITTEN BY MARNIE MCARTHUR
PHOTO BY JACI GOODMAN
Why be bored with bland cooking? Meet Diane Weidinger and spice it up.
The master gardener and cooking teacher has turned her knowledge and passion for plants into a thriving herb and spice business. It all began when she discovered Ras el Hanout, an exotic top-of-the-shop blend of 30-plus spices sold by Moroccan spice merchants.
In fall 2010, Weidinger was preparing to teach a cooking class for other gardeners in her Stateline, Nev., home. Lavender already was a popular cooking herb among the group. As she researched recipes for ingredients to intrigue their plant-loving palates, she found that Ras el Hanout contained not only dried lavender, but dried rose petals as well.
“I was ecstatic!” Weidinger says.
This discovery planted the seed for Heart Rock Herb & Spice Co., a home-based business where she prepares 45 original blends and offers cooking classes on how to use them.
HERBS WITH HEART
Heart Rock Herb & Spice Co. got its name from the hundreds of heart-shaped rocks Weidinger has found and collected for years, many unearthed while planting her hillside garden. Those who know her recognize a heart as big as all Lake Tahoe. Weidinger donates many hours and splits 10 percent of yearly net profits between two nonprofit organizations. They include Bread and Broth, where she serves as director and volunteer cook for a program that feeds the hungry in South Lake Tahoe, and the historic Thunderbird Lodge where she coordinates the activities of volunteer gardeners.
“I believe in farm-to-table and the concept of slow food,” she says. “But, most of us don’t lead slow lives. Still, we want to put fresh, favorable meals on the table every day. We can do this by using spice blends that meld many flavors to create an ingredient more subtle and interesting than the individual components. No more boring chicken!”
SPICE LESSONS
In her classes, Weidinger talks about herbs and spices with the enthusiasm of someone who knows how they grow.
“Herbs are the leaves of plants (cilantro, parsley, mint),” she tells guests in a recent class. “Spices are everything else –– seeds (coriander), bark (cinnamon), buds (cloves), and rhizomes (ginger).
Why is saffron so expensive?
“The labor involved to produce just one pound of saffron is mind- boggling,” she says. “Nearly 50,000 to 75,000 blossoms from the fall-flowering purple crocus (C. sativus) are required. The flowers must be hand pollinated and the three fragile stigmas from each flower hand harvested at dawn before they wilt in the heat. Then they are oven-, smoke-, or sun-dried to fix their unique flavor. Luckily, only a small amount is needed in cooking.”
Weidinger is full of tips and helpful information. When you use spices, “step out of your comfort zone,” she advises. “Start with a little; you can always add more.”
But more isn’t better, especially if the spice is old. Using double the amount when a spice is past its prime won’t add more flavor. And what if you over-spice?
“Add a peeled potato to draw out the excess,” she says.
How do you know if a jar of spice in the market is fresh?
“You don’t,” Weidinger says. “The only sure way is to buy in small quantities and use them. If dried spices have been in your pantry for more than a year, it’s time to toss them! Red spices like paprika are the exception. These have a six-month shelf life, a bit longer if kept in the refrigerator.”
Weidinger buys herbs and spices for her blends from San Francisco Herb Co. She turns them over four to six times a year so the blends always are fresh. She also selects ingredients for fragrant potpourris and bath blends, combining herbs and spices with Dead Sea salts and essential oils.
Discover the allure of spices, spice blends, and recipes by joining one of Weidinger’s cooking classes for adults or kids. Or sign up for the Spice of the Month club on www.heartrockherbandspice.com.
Marnie McArthur writes about food, wine, people, and places in the Reno-Tahoe region. Her spice quotient hovers at three on a scale of one to five, and it’s inching upward.
