Ode to Penzey's Lemon Pepper

Here is something I love. I’ve been putting it on everything, and inventing ways to use it even more, like this lemon pepper chickpea snack. Discovering their lemon pepper gave me one more thing to love about Penzey’s, and if you have never visited one of their stores or drooled over their catalog, well, it is time. Who would have ever guessed there could be such a difference in the world of spices, but once you taste Penzey’s cinnamon and then go back to the garden variety jar in your cupboard, it seems a bit like getting into a Yugo after driving a Porsche. Not that I’ve ever driven either, but, you know what I mean. It’s like that across the board with their spices – Janae, for example, can wax truly poetic about their peppercorns. (She lives within walking distance of a Penzey’s, lucky girl.) The best part is these delicious differences don’t really come with a bigger price tag than the spices at the grocery store. My only wish is that they would start offering organic spices. Hopefully someday.

The lemon pepper is fabulous on pizza, popcorn, salads, baked potatoes, you name it… To make these chickpeas, sauté them on medium heat in just a bit of olive oil and a generous sprinkling of lemon pepper. Choose a pan big enough for them to spread out in a single layer, and stir occasionally. Keep an eye on the heat – you want it to be hot enough to get them sizzling a little so they’ll slowly crisp and brown, rendering them nice and dry on the outside for finger snacking – but not too high or they’ll quickly blacken. Plop yourself down in front of a good flick and munch away!