Spicing up your life - Herb and Seasoning Blends

Kitchen Seasonings – Salts and Herb Blends

For your own culinary pleasure or for a great gift, you can make seasonings that match your tastes and beat anything you can buy!

I like to work with several types of seasonings, all distinctly different. Herb Blends, Seasoned Salts, Herb/spice blends and, possibly may favorite, Infused Salts.

Herb Blends are a combination of dried herbs. Once crushed or chopped, herbs lose their potency, so it’s best to only make a small amount of these at a time. You can add dried minced garlic or onion to some of these. The ingredients generally keep their individual characteristics which blends in the cooking of the food you add them to.

Seasoned Salts are a simple combination of salt and ground spices. Many dry rubs are essentially seasoned salts.

Herb/spice blends, made with dried herbs and spices, are great to have on hand for quick ethnic dishes. I keep a ‘Mexican’ blend to liven up chili or refritos.

Infused salts, are a combination of fresh herbs and garlic blended into salt, then dried, lending their flavor to the salt itself. These are incredible on grilled meats, fish, vegetables and many other dishes, as well as used right at the table.

For the following recipes do NOT use iodized table salt. Choose Sea Salt, Kosher Salt, Sal Gris or whatever you prefer. You do not want the texture to be too fine.

RECIPES:

Herb Blends - Here are 3 blends of herbs we grow, dry, and combine to brighten our meals. Several of these herbs are hard to find in the store.

FISH FEST:

Sprinkle Fish Fest over any kind of seafood before cooking. Also sprinkle with a bit of lemon pepper or a squirt of lemon juice.
Lemon Thyme - Wonderful fragrant perennial.
Lemon Basil - Another wonderful basil. Loves hot weather. Annual that you can harvest it repeatedly and it will rapidly grow back as do all the basils. Just remember to cut it above 2 new leaf shoots.
*Lemon Basil and Lemon Thyme are hard to find in stores, so plan ahead and grow your own if you want to try this blend.
Dillweed - The feathery leaves, not the seeds.

Oregano - Another hardy perennial. Greek is milder, Mexican stronger, use accordingly. We prefer Greek.
Sweet Marjoram - Very fragrant annual. Relative to Oregano, used with eggs, vegies and meats.
Celery leaves - I actually grow a specific type of celery that mainly produces leaves. You can save the leaves from celery (organic) you buy and dry them in a colander or basket after trimming from the stalk.
Garlic - Garlic granules or dried, minced, garlic. Garlic granules are slightly coarser than garlic powder, and are definitely NOT garlic salt. Store it in glass jar with airtight lid.
Onion Granules - this we buy as well. Both can be purchased from the bulk jars at your Co-op or Natural Food store as well as through spice outlet online..

ITALIAN SEASONING:

Add to tomato sauce for pasta, lasagna, or any tomato dish or sprinkle on pizza.
Oregano, Sweet Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, Garlic
See above for all of these.
Fennel Seed - We buy these, toast lightly in a small, heavy pan (we use cast iron) and then crush it slightly with a mortar and pestle.

MEAT TREAT:

Sprinkle over chicken, turkey, roasts, whatever, before cooking. Add 1 or 2 teaspoons to oil and vinegar with 1/2 teaspoon salt for a nice herb vinaigrette.
Rosemary - Easy to grow perennial in the ground or a pot.
Sweet Basil - Hot weather annual, easy to grow, pick repeatedly to keep from flowering and it will grow back.
Thyme - The regular sort, varigated or plain, perennial with tiny leaves.
Bay Leaves - Mediterranean Bay (the kind you get in stores) is milder. If you use the west coast native Bay Laurel, use it sparingly.
Garlic – (See above)

PREPARING THE HERBS (if you grow your own):
All the herbs listed here are harvested early in the morning after the dew has dried off of them, and hung in bunches by their stems in a well ventilated place out of direct sunlight. I like to use a rubber band to hold the bunch and a twisty-tie from vegetables I purchased at the store, or string, tied on to hang them by. The rubber band conveniently stays tight as the herbs dry and the soft stems of basil and others shrink in diameter. Woody stemmed plants such as rosemary and thyme have no problem. As to the bay, I just prune off a very small branch full of leaves to dry . Herbs dry well inside a perforated paper bag, keeping them out of direct light.
When dry, strip the leaves from the stems and store as whole leaves in airtight containers (we use glass jars) in a cool, dark cupboard. When you make a blend or use the herbs directly in cooking - that is the time to crush or chop them. Once broken they will lose their aromatic and flavor qualities faster.
(By the way, you can save the stems and bundle them, tie with cotton or jute string, and throw on hot coals when grilling for herbally flavored smoked meats. You can also place them in the cavity of poultry when roasting)

ASSEMBLING THE BLENDS:
This is the inventive part. I never measure anything unless I have to, and cannot begin to give you exact measurements for any of these, but I do have some "rules of thumb".

In all the blends use equal amounts of the large leafy herbs (basil, oregano, dill, celery).
Grind these coarsely with a herb grinder (there are many styles, I like the Mouli Parsmint best - shown in photo) or chop with a knife.

Thyme and rosemary are more compact, use only ½ to ⅔ the amount of one of the others after grinding. You can run the rosemary through the grinder as well.

To ½ cup blended herbs add 1 or 2 large bay leaves, ground, and/OR 1 Tablespoon garlic granules and/OR 1 Tablespoon onion granules, or 2 teaspoons fennel seed, as called for. (If you use bay laurel, use less).

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, then store in an airtight container until used. Best used within 6 months.

Herb/Spice mixes

Great in beans, stews, casseroles – you will find many uses.

Cajun Mix  - Good in red beans, Hopping John, shrimp, eggs, be creative!

1 Tablespoon white pepper, ground

1 Tablespoon black pepper, ground

1 Tablespoon onion granules

2 Tablespoons sea salt

1 Tablespoon dried thyme leaves

1 Tablespoon dry mustard

¼ cup paprika           

1 Tablespoon dried oregano leaves

2 Tablespoons cumin

2 Tablespoons sugar

Combine ingredients, putting dried herbs through herb grinder (see herb blends). Store in airtight container. Best used within 6 months.

Mexican Seasoning –Great in chili, enchilada sauce, refritos, fajitas and more. From Sunset  Recipe Annual cookbook (recipes from 1989, published in 1990)

¼ cup chili powder

2 tablespoons EACH: ground cumin, ground coriander, dry oregano leaves, dry basil leaves

1 tablespoon EACH: dry thyme leaves, garlic powder

¾ teaspoon cayenne

Stir together ingredients. You can grind dry herbs as noted above. Store in airtight container. Best used within 6 months.

Seasoned Salts

The simplest of all to make. Just measure and blend. Store up to six months in an airtight container.

Everyday Season Salt - Use as for any commercial Seasoned Salt. Use on everything from salads to scrambled eggs, meats of all kinds.

Ingredients:

¼ cup Kosher or Sea Salt

4 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder (NOT garlic salt)

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon ground red pepper

Directions:

Place all ingredients in airtight container. Stir or shake until combined thoroughly. Best used within 6 months.

References: Drying herbs: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry/herbs.html
Storing herbs & spices: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/store/texas_storage.pdf 

Type ‘A’ Grilling Rub (An ‘overachiever’ - good on anything! From Weber grill newsletter)

This recipe makes around 2 tablespoons. I often quadruple it to have enough to store for other occasions.

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon granulated onion

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon granulated garlic

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground black pepper (freshly ground if possible)

Directions:

Combine ingredients. Press rub into all sides of meat or fish and refrigerate for 1 hour prior to grilling. To intensify flavors.

Store in airtight container. Best used within 6 months.

Infused Salts

Use to “salt” roasts or meat for grilling of all kinds from pork and beef to chicken, game birds, and duck. It’s also great on vegetables of all kinds, dried beans, popcorn, potatoes, eggs, etc.

Ingredients

• 4 to 5 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3/4 cup kosher salt, sea salt, or other non-iodized salt
• About 2 cups loosely-packed, pungent fresh herbs such as sage, rosemary, thyme, savory, or small amounts of lavender, peppercorns, citrus zest, chive flowers...
• (For Tuscan herb salt use a mix of fresh rosemary and sage)

·       Hand-Chopped Method

·       Cut each garlic clove lengthwise through the center, remove the sprout (if any) in the center and set aside for other cooking.

·        

·       Mound the salt and garlic on a cutting board. Use a chef’s knife to mince the garlic, blending it with the salt as you work.

·        

·       Place herbs in a mound and coarsely chop them. Add the herbs to the garlic salt and chop them together to the texture of coarse sand.

·        

·       Spread salt on baking sheet and leave near open window for a few days to dry. Or in preheated oven (low) with heat turned off for a few hours. Store in clean, dry jars.

·       Food Processor Method

·       Prepare garlic as noted above In the work bowl of a food processor, combine the garlic and 2 tablespoons of the salt. Pulse until the garlic is chopped medium-coarse. Add the herbs and continue pulsing until the mixture is the texture of very coarse sand. Transfer to a sheet pan and toss with the remaining salt.

·       Dry as noted above. Store in airtight container in dry, dark place. Keeps almost indefinitely!

Musings on Unseen Enemies

Humans are an odd lot. We can approach the same situation with terror, disdain, flippance, acceptance, complacency or curiosity... sometimes all at the same time! Sometimes our instincts serve us well. Others, well, there are a whole series of jokes and videos based on ‘watch this!’.

Often the situations that cause this cascade of reactions are ones that make us uneasy. Ones we may be fearful of or that we don’t understand. Something new and confusing. I believe that we are faced with situations like this everyday at some level or another and we ease into handling them without too much anxiety. Locating a new address, figuring out a new appliance, trying a new food, meeting a new person...

When the issue faced is large and may have dangerous results and, in particular, can be predicted ahead of time it is hard not to go through the extremes of these reactions. Whether it is a big storm like a hurricane or tornado or that can cause floods or other damage, or bad wildfire conditions that raise our insurance rates (if we can get it) or cause power shutoffs, or a new virus spreading out from it’s point of origin, the longer we have to prepare the easier it is to react emotionally rather than rationally.

If you know me at all, you know I am an infinitely curious person. I am fascinated by our new technology and how it has enhanced our ability to know what’s happening in the atmosphere or underground or in our bodies. I am interested in where things came from and the long term history that shows what has happened in the past and offers clues to the future.
You may also know that I have long been intrested in community emergency response, working with EMS and communications, and emergency preparedness. I study up on this stuff and find it useful and fascinating.

So I look at the immediate issue of the response to this new health threat and am amazed at the tools we now have to help us recognise, predict, and prepare for it. I am fascinated that we have the statistics in real time to show us the pattern it takes as it travels around the globe and how the actions taken in different places affect it’s spread. I am dumbfounded by some of the responses people take (toilet paper? I just don’t get it!), worried when they are terrified (this could take a while, save your energy), and alarmed when it’s not taken seriously.

This is not going to be easy in any case, no matter how intriguing it is to watch. The medical response folks and organizations around the world are not ‘crying wolf’ for fun. The economic engine that depends on us gathering and spending and working in close contact is going to take a hard, if temporary, hit. And the organizations we have put in place to keep us safe are in the hardest place of all. Like the weather forecast - they want us to prepare for the worst and expect the best. If the storm doesn’t arrive as predicted we blame them (as if there are not enough variables in the atmosphere to make any prediction a close, but not 100% guarantee). And in this case, if we do a good job and it doesn’t become a massive disaster we tend to blame the emergency organizations and not pay attention to future warnings. It’s human nature.

So here’s the thing... we have the choice of preparing and being wrong about the severity and/or having the virus mutate and peter out, preparing and having it be bad but contained, or not preparing and it petering out after a lot of folks get sick and a number of them dying or not preparing and having it be disasterous.
Because of the amount of distance travel in the modern world, this genie was already out of the bottle, likely by the time it became active, last December (and, no, that flu you had in America or Europe back in November/December was not COVID-19 unless you had just come from Wuhan, China). People who had been exposed but not come down with symptoms had likely left the region before the seriousness had been accepted. As the serious nature of this new disease has become clear the world started working to contain it as best as possible.
But here’s the thing: This is a NEW (novel) disease. Unless you have it now you, me, NOBODY, has anti-bodies to this. So pretty much everyone will get it. And you will either be sick or be a carrier.

I know too many wonderful people who fit the high-risk category to feel good about this.

Stuff to know:
This is NOT AIRBORNE (like measles). This is spread by droplets - That is, if an infected person coughs or
sneezes, droplets spray out up to 6 or 7 feet (unless they are wearing a mask or cover their cough with an elbow or tissue). These droplets attach to what they land on. They will stay active on that surface for a few days.

If you get residue from these droplets on your skin they will not necessarily infect you, but you will be able to pass them on to things (or people) you touch. If you get them on mucus membranes (eyes, nose, mouth) they can infect you. I don’t know about you, but I tend to rub my eyes a lot, this could infect me if I get a germ on my hands. Anyhow, this is why you want to wash or disinfect your hands a lot.

Just because we are facing this new virus doesn’t mean we still won’t catch colds, have allergies flare up, or get the more common flu. If you get sick that doesn’t necessarily mean you have the COVID-19 virus. But be aware. If you are concerned, call your medical provider and go from there.

If we work now to slow (not prevent, too late for that) the spread of this virus it will help us be able to serve those who become desperately ill with it. If it moves fast and too many are gravely ill at once we create a situation where healthcare workers will be forced to choose who gets treatment and who has to wait, no matter what the outcome.

And remember, if this does become part of our permanent future, over time we will all have some antibodies,  and treatments and vaccines will become available. With luck it will become another malady like the common flu. Still deadly, but something we can deal with.

Please everyone, be patient and take care of each other. It may be a pain, but it will pass.

Starting all over again

We’re just touching base after a 7 year hiatus to say we’re planning to start writing on this BLOG again.

Much has happened with us, as in the rest of the world in those passing years. We sold our business and are living with continuous major roadwork. We have been posting our musings in briefer form on facebook. We have become more involved in volunteer work from food preservation to Emergency Medical Services and Emergency Response Team and citizen science projects.
And much has remained the same as we continue to live on our off-grid, mostly self-sufficient mountain homestead.

Many of the things we wrote about starting in 2008: the environment; staying healthy; voting, are more important than ever. If you haven’t read our BLOG before, please consider looking over our earlier posts for things you might be interested in.

Staying home here while this coronavirus/ COVID-19 social isolation period is in effect is easy. It is important to have a place you are comfortable for those times. And a stack of videos and/or good books.