Spice grinding

Ive got a mortar and pestle (2 actually: one for dry solids, the other for things more wet).
Nowadays, I only use them for things that my my grinder doesn't do well with (namely, large, dry leaves like bay leaves).

I've got an old Cuisinart Grind Central Coffee Grinder that I was given several years ago which I've repurposed into a spice and grain grinder (after discovering the joys of a burr grinder, but more about that in another post).

Now, this may sound strange, but what I like most about using the coffee grinder is the lack of particle consistency. When grinding grains such as brown rice and barley for about 45 seconds, I'm left with particles ranging in size from a half a grain down to a very fine powder. I like this because I'm a huge fan of textural variation in my food. As I enjoy all of the dishes that combine into a single meal to have varying, but complementary flavors, I also love when a -single- dish has textural variance. The different sized in my pulverized grains lend different properties - chewiness, smoothness and liquid and flavor absorption.

I also make my own spice mixtures, and again, the varying textures make for lovely combinations (especially when I am grinding dried garlic. MMM!)