We are so lucky to live in a time when most every food is available to us every day of the year. Yet as much as we appreciate the year-round bounty before us, there is nothing that compares to summertime for good food. There is something about flavor at its very best that brings joy to life. Finally, the time has come when sweet corn really is sweet, when purchasing tasty tomatoes does not require taking out a second mortgage, and when lettuce is no longer just a flavorless holder of salad dressing, but a bright burst of deliciousness all by itself. This is the time of year when putting out a seasonal seasoning catalog really is the most fun.

      The last couple of catalogs we've focused a bit more on our blends, with the launch of the hit seasoning BBQ 3000. Seasonings are wonderful, so easy to use and so tasty. Yet at the heart of our really good seasonings are our great spices. So for this catalog we are putting a special focus on four great spices that make the very most of great summer flavor: Black Pepper, Dill, Chipotle, and Cinnamon. Along with the focus spices we have some really delicious recipes including Fresh Corn Salsa, New Potatoes with Dill, Zucchini Pancakes, Carrot Cupcakes and mouthwatering Peach Pie.

<cont>

And with so many of you having BBQ 3000 in your kitchens right now, we did make room for two new recipes using this new grilling favorite - BBQ Beef Roast and Crockpot BBQ Chicken.

      On the store opening front it looks like there should be a few more west coast locations in our near future. I am not too sure how it happened exactly, but somehow we have become lopsided in our store locations with only two of our thirty-nine stores in the Pacific time zone and seven east coast stores opening since our last west coast store. As I write this, I am just starting back from a family road trip out west. We actually got as far as Imperial Beach, a city south of San Diego right on the border, and then headed up the coast from there. On the way there and back we saw some very good locations for future Penzeys stores. It always takes time to work out the details so it will still be a little while before we will be announcing new openings, but they are on the way. We featured the people of Imperial Beach in the last issue of our Penzeys One magazine. I loved their stories and their recipes from working on the magazine. But something about actually meeting them in person has me convinced that we need to get more stores open out this way.

      From a distance everything seems so different, close up is the place to be. Have a really great summer,

Bill