Issue Date: March 3, 2001
Cold nights, hot spices
When winter has you dreaming of beaches and tropical drinks, it's time to take your palate on a trip to the tropics with hot Mexican salsas, sultry Indian garam masala or a fiery Thai curry. Fortunately, you can find what you need without leaving home. Start your adventure with gourmet grocer Dean & Deluca (deananddeluca.com). Choose "Fine Foods," but skip past all those expensive chocolates and truffles; make a beeline for "Herbs & Spices." Here you'll find an alphabetical collection of every spice imaginable -- with photos. Order garam masala in a 1.5-ounce tin for a reasonable $3.25. Or splurge on an entire collection of Indian spices you've never tasted outside of restaurants.
If you don't mind herbs that arrive in a plastic bag, you can save more money by shopping at The Spice House (thespicehouse.com). This Midwestern chain of spice stores offers garam masala at only $6.54 for 4 ounces. Would you rather have Thai curry? At Importfood.com you can get authentic ingredients, including fresh herbs.
-- Christina Wood
My Web: Christopher Rice
Movers, shakers and their bookmarks
Second-generation writer Christopher Rice (Mom is author Anne Rice, Dad is poet Stan Rice) is just 23, but already out this month is
his second novel, "The Snow Garden" (Talk Miramax, $23.95), a thriller about a college campus murder. Where he surfs:
For research, his search engine of choice is northernlight.com. Rice used Northern Light's "NL Research" function to find detailed images of Hieronymus Bosch paintings, which play a role in his new book.
The aspiring screenwriter turns to moviefone.com to find out what's playing near his Los Angeles digs. "I look up movie reviews, buy tickets." It leaves more time for him to come up with plots of his own.
-- Michele Hatty
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