Cooking with condiments

Last night, I trotted over to my friend's house for chili and cornbread. Darcey Howard is not only an accomplished, stylish business owner, she's a mean cook. I always admire folks who can whip up incredible dishes from stuff they have tucked away in their cupboards and fridge. Darcey is one of these talented people, to say the least.

As I was leaving, I suddenly remembered that she loves to collect condiment and spice packets during her travels. Beyond ketchup, mustard, and mayo, I wondered what sort of packets she picked up so I asked her to show me her stash. Out of the fridge came a large plastic container chock full of Sriracha, lemon juice, taco sauce, Tabasco, sweet and sour sauce, wasabi, chopped onions, honey, relish, peanut butter, and Nutella (amongst other things).

My jaw dropped.

As Darcey sorted through these treasures, she showed me which packets came from Germany and displayed a wide variety of taco sauces (girl likes her Mexican and Asian food, if her condiment collection is any indication).

Darcey once told me she wanted to experiment with the different packets, perhaps making pad Thai with a few (peanut butter, honey, Siracha, soy, and vinegar) or a spicy shrimp glaze with another group (sweet and sour sauce, ketchup, lemon juice, and horseradish). I'd love to see this sort of kitchen McGyver action go down and I have every confidence that Darcey could whip up some seriously tasty vittles with these packets as her only seasonings and sauces.

What could you imagine cooking up with condiment packets?