Local Vendor – Teeny Tiny Spice Company

nick-thora-ed-maddy-squareBy Colleen Lyons
Connecticut native Thora Pomicter never planned to start a company; she was an English major in college and a stay at home mom for years. Always passionate about cooking, she wanted to make the process simpler. This lead Thora to making pre-made spice blends, and after many compliments from her friends, she, and her husband Ed, decided to create Teeny Tiny Spice Company. Now, Teeny Tiny Spice Company products are available in roughly 140 stores around the United States and on Amazon.

This past year, Thora and her family relocated from Vermont, where she spent 30 years, to Harrisonburg, where they set up shop next door to the Friendly City Food Co-op, and the partnership has worked very well since. She raves about how supportive Friendly City Co-op has always been of Teeny Tiny Spices and credits them for playing a huge part of integrating her family’s company into the Harrisonburg community.

Thora says her favorite part of owning Teeny Tiny Spice Company is tapping into her creative side when creating new spice blends, even though it can sometimes come with a lot of trial and error. The blends work great on everything– burgers, meats, fish, any type of vegetarian dish– in casseroles, egg dishes, chilies, bean, soups, and sauces. You are only limited by your imagination.

She recommends the Ethiopian Berberé blend, since it is her favorite with the heat and richness. It’s particularly tasty on sweet potatoes because the combination of hot and sweet is so tasty.

A visit to the Teeny Tiny Spice Company website recipe page will give a dash of inspiration to your cooking. Here is a recipe the Pomicter’s say is a favorite of theirs. You may want to add less spice the first time, depending on your heat preference.

 

Quick Barbeque Sauce

Better than anything in a bottle, you can quickly whip together as much of this barbeque sauce as you need. It can be used on fish, meats, or even tofu. Vary the spice blend to bring an exotic influence to your grill or smoker. Makes 2 cups.

Ingredients

6 oz. Tomato paste

½ C Cider vinegar

½ C Water

1/3 C Maple syrup

2 T. Teeny Tiny Spice Co. of Vermont® Ethiopian Berberé (or your spice blend of choice)

  • Combine the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer together for 10 minutes to meld the flavors.
  • Add more water if needed to achieve desired consistency.
  • Season with salt to taste.

 

Colleen Lyons / Guest Blogger
Colleen majored in communication studies at James Madison University. She graduated in May of 2016 and plans to move to Boston and work at a public relations agency. She enjoys writing, travelling and spending time on the beach.