Chili powder is flying off the shelves at the Milwaukee Public Market's Spice House kiosk these days. Couple it with fresh cumin, garlic, basil and oregano, and you've got yourself one of the saving graces of a frigid Wisconsin winter: a batch of warm, home-cooked chili.

"Pretty soon we're going to sell insane amounts of the corned beef spice blend," says Latrice Laack, a passionate foodie who has worked for The Spice House for three years. As St. Patrick's Day, approaches, those packets of corned beef spice you find in grocery stores, she says, don't cut it.

In reality, most people purchase their spices from grocery stores as they are needed for one dish or another and use them until they're gone. For most people, one 4-oz. jar of coriander is enough to last a lifetime. But according to Laack, a ground spice only lasts about eight months to a year before it starts to lose its potency and flavor.

"Spices go bad so quickly, and this is not a generally known fact," she says. "The thing about the spices at the (grocery) store is that they are getting much better in quality and not sitting in warehouses as long, but the advantage of coming here is knowing that your blend was made a few weeks ago and also having someone to talk to about what you're making and suggesting new things to try."

Name an ingredient, and Laack will rattle off a laundry list of interesting and creative dishes to make, and point to toward specific spice blends to liven them up. If you have the time, it's truly an edible education.

"I'm really passionate about food," she says. "How can you not get in on such an amazing social experience? You need food! I started taking home different spices at night to try new things and learn about flavor combinations -- see what works and what doesn't. Every time you cook something, it's an experiment. I feel like a scientist."

If you shop at The Spice House at the Milwaukee Public Market on the weekends you're likely to see Laack behind the counter.

Owners Tom and Patti Erd spend most of their time at their Evanston, Ill. location, which they opened in 1997, five years after purchasing the business from Patti's parents, Milwaukee spice pioneers Ruth and Bill Penzey.

The Erds went on to open a third location in Chicago in 2001 at 1512 N. Wells St. and won the "Good Eating" award from The Chicago Tribune food section in 2002.

The Erds are spice experts. Patti's done several interviews with Michele Norris on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," was featured as the spice expert on the PBS show "Real Simple" and served as a spice expert at the most recent International Association of Chefs of Police conference in Chicago. Their innovation shows in their fresh and unique blends.

But The Spice House offers more than just bulk spice. You'll find various dry concoctions for homemade salad dressings, chai mix, and just about any dip you can add sour cream to. Other cool items include candied ginger and bags of dehydrated garlic.

"Who doesn't hate chopping the garlic, the shallots, the onion?" asks Laack. "You just add water or a white wine vinegar and it rehydrates in minutes."

Now that The Spice House has a Milwaukee Public Market locale, it's become an integral ingredient for the Market's many cooking classes and demonstrations. The Market's Web site lists each month's community cooking events.

"The demonstrations are really informative because they go through each spice that is used, where it's from, how to use it," says Laack. "They choose dishes that are simple, but complex at the same time. It's empowering to know that Tandoori chicken is easy to make."