New Use For Old Spices

In the vein of spring cleaning, here's a new use for old spices. Instead of simply trashing stale spices, line them up on the counter with a bowl, mixing spoon, measuring spoons, and spray bottle (less messy, plus adds longevity to the project), then let your kid go to town. The more variety (color, smell, shapes, e.g., cardamom pods) the better. Laurel loves pretend playing that she's making a stew or science experiment, we get entertainment mileage by repurposing a household item that we'd otherwise toss, and if you're feeling particularly pedagogical, you can build in some math moments via measurement.

After a recent round of spice play (we have a big bin of old spices that we keep for this purpose; they're gradually getting used up), Laurel plated up a serving of her mystery mix and served it to Jon for lunch. Yummy, no?