Day One-Twenty-Four - The Spice of Life?

I bought some shrimp at the grocery store on Friday and froze them.  I had planned on grilling them and making some sort of grilled shrimp salad then I came home and it was still 106 degrees so I couldn't face standing over a grill even for the 6 minutes it would take to grill some shrimp.  Today, I have to thaw them and cook them.  But now I am not sure that I want a grilled shrimp salad.

I say I have to cook them today because I finally ran out of the pimento cheese that I have been eating for every meal since Friday.  I suppose I could eat something else.  But anything would require some effort on my part and since shrimp is my favorite food, I would rather put effort into shrimp than something else.  I love cooking something new that I haven't made before.  The problem is that when you are looking for a new recipe there is practically never any chance that you will have all of the ingredients it calls for.  If there are 20 ingredients listed in the recipe I will have 18 of them.  There could be 3 ingredients and I'll still be missing one.  And how can I always be out of the one random spice that a recipe calls for when I have sitting in my spice cabinet right now the following:

Black Pepper (Empty) 1
Bay Leaves 1
Cinnamon 2
Ground Coriander 3
Imitation Brandy Flavor 1
Chili Powder 2
Ground Cloves 3
Cream of Tarter 2
Crushed Red Pepper 1
Ground Nutmeg 1
Cinnamon Sticks 1
Parsley 2
Almond Extract 1
Whole Nutmeg 2
Poppy Seed 3
Mint Extract 1
Ground Ginger 1
Sage 1
Fennel Seed 1
Sesame Seed 1
Ground Marjoram 1
Ground Oregano 1
Ground Red Pepper 1
Juniper Berries 1
Imitation Butter Flavoring 1
Poultry Seasoning 2
Garlic Powder 2
Celery Seed 1
Curry Powder 1
Onion Juice 1
Tarragon 2
Rosemary 1
Rum Favoring 1
Slap Ya Mama 1
Chicken Bullion Cubes 1
Dill Weed 1
Cayenne  Pepper 2
Vanilla 1
Cilantro 2
Baking Powder 1
Table Salt 2
Baking Soda 2
Montreal Steak Seasoning 1
Old Bay Seasoning 1
Gumbo Fillet 1
Whole Pepper 1
Ground Mustard 1
Ground Cumin 2
Imitation Coconut Extract 2
Aniseed 1
Marjoram Flakes 1
Paprika 2
White Pepper 1
Ground Turmeric 1
Pumpkin Pie Spice 1
Allspice 1
Yeast 2 (one jar and three envelopes, I'm calling it 2)
Sea Salt 1
Basil Leaf flakes 1
Herbs of Provence 1
Tony Chachere's Seasoning 1
Beef Bullion Cubes 1
Cocoa 1
Garlic Salt 1
Lemon Pepper 1
Peppermint Extract 1
Seasoning Salt 1
Various bottles of food coloring 22
Various bottles of cookie sprinkles 7

I know that all of this is in there because I just inventoried my cabinet.... then I took the picture of all of this crap sitting out afterwards.....  How can one person collect so many spices and then still not have what she needs when looking for a new recipe?  The two most upsetting things in the list are the Ground Coriander and the Ground Cumin.  These upset me because I recall looking for both of these on several occasions and then going to the store specifically to buy them because I assumed I was out.  So now, I have 3 jars of coriander and 2 jars of cumin.  I say jars, because these aren't little tiny spice cans.  They are big jars!

I don't know what's up with the poppy seeds.  I think I have put poppy seeds in muffins once.  But for some reason I have gone to the store at least 2 other times and thought to myself, "I must have poppy seeds" and bought them.  I totally get why I need that much paprika.  I'm from Texas.  It is impossible to make deviled eggs, potato salad, pork 'n bean salad, pea salad or any other weird mayonnaise based salad without sprinkling some on top when I am finished.  They would take my native Texan status away from me if I tried.  So, I must always have a spare jar of paprika for emergencies.

I'm a Tony Chachere's girl.  I've been using it in practically everything I cook for years.  But a while back someone suggested that Slap Ya Mama was better so I bought some and gave it a try.  Don't fall for it people!!!!!  Stick with Tony Chachere!  If I am not mistaken, I count 6 different extracts / imitation flavorings.  I use the coconut regularly when I make this coconut Weight Watchers cake that I love.  And of course Vanilla gets used every time I bake.  But the others are anybodies guess.  What would have ever made me buy fake butter flavoring?????  I think my body must have been taken over by aliens when that happened.

You might be happy to know that after I finished taking this inventory, I combined any open jars of the same seasoning that I could.  There were only a few that had enough gone from them to combine, but I am now down to only one jar of whole nutmeg and one bottle of coconut extract.

I don't know what possesses me to keep an empty can of black pepper in the cabinet.  Maybe I put it back in there in hopes that it the pepper fairy would come by and refill it.  She didn't.  When I put everything back in the cabinet after I completed my inventory a few minutes ago, I put it back in again.  Like the little bitch would fly by this time and fill it.  So, I am going to have to go to the store today and buy some black pepper.  Of course, I will probably leave the store with two more jars of coriander to add to my collection.  Wish me luck and have a nice Sunday!