Like fireworks, spices often come in colorful tubes and add a needed spark to boring small claims court potlucks. Zest up lonely racks and cabinets with today's Groupon: for $12, you get $24 worth of spices, oils, and vinegars at Basiks at Home redeemable either online or at the physical location on Park Meadows.

Brother and sister team Anne Shomberg and Otis Mehlberg create their fresh, flavorful spice blends in small batches to render home cooking simple, healthy, and tongue-tantalizing. Each gourmet spice symphony enlivens platters without the addition of artificial ingredients, sugar, gluten, MSG, or exuberant triangle players. Begin with the Basiks' original blend ($12 for four-ounce tin), an all-natural mix of Mediterranean sea salt, garlic, basil, Spanish paprika, and citrus peel designed to spruce any dish. Or spice a few cider brews with the holiday mulling blend ($12 for four-ounce tin), which doubles as a fragrant potpourri or still-life muse. Basiks also proffers signature and infused extra virgin olive oils like tuscan herb and light blood orange ($20 each). Mix oils with aged balsamic vinegars in traditional, pomegranate, and blackberry ginger flavors ($20 each) for an easy salad dressing or exotic bread dipping experience.

Reviews

Gulfshore Living, Bonita Living Magazine, and Gulf and Main mentioned Basiks at Home.

• Unusual ingredients help the Basiks at Home blends stand out from others you might find at the supermarket. – Beth Luberecki, Gulf and Main
• Helen Basik, the Fort Myers chef whose herbs Marie pairs with her olive oils, sells tins of seasonings. – Karen T. Barlett, Gulfshore Life