Thursday Recipe - Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

My daughter loves this mix of spices. It's great in pumpkin pie or with sweet potatoes or mixed with sugar and used on cinnamon toast. It's an easy one, since the spices usually come pre-ground so you just have to stir it all together.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

1/4 c. cinnamon
2 T. ginger
1 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. allspice or ground cloves
1/2 t. cardamom

Stir everything together. Store in an airtight container. Use instead of cinnamon in recipes.

Feel free to mix up the proportions to make it what you like. I'm not a big fan of nutmeg or cloves so I keep those to a relatively low proportion. I do love ginger, so I use more of that. Cardamom is a very strong spice and can easily overpower anything so keep it on the low side in this mix.

Thursday Recipe - Chinese 5-Spice Mix and 5-Spice Cookies

More playing with spices. Looking for new ways to mix together the flavors I've already got. I've tried a few 5-spice blends from the store but wasn't impressed. With this one, using some whole spices makes a huge difference in the flavor. Not sure how to grind them up? Invest in a little cheap coffee grinder. They cost $10-$20. Just make sure you label it "spice grinder" and use it only for spices. It works wonders.

Another tip for getting great flavors out of whole spices is to toast them before you grind them. To do that, warm up a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the whole spices and cook just for a minute or two until they get really fragrant. Pull them off the heat and let them cool down just a little before you grind them. The flavors will be more intense but be warned, they won't keep as long once you grind them so use this tip only for things you'll be using in the next day or two.

Just a note on whole spices - you can usually find them at any grocery store. If they aren't in the baking aisle, try looking in the hispanic or ethnic section. I found a nice size bag of star anise for a really good price in the Hispanic section. Look around, spend some time exploring what your local stores have to offer. Don't be afraid to try new things. The worst that will happen is you'll end up with something inedible and have to start over. Which really isn't that big of a deal. Don't be afraid of failing. Even if the cookies are ugly, they may still taste great.

On to the recipes!

Chinese 5-Spice Mix

3 star anise
12 whole cloves
2 t. whole black pepper
1 t. fennel seeds
1 t. ground cinnamon

Measure everything into a spice grinder. Pulse on high until the mix is a fine powder. Store in an airtight container for up to a month. Makes about 1 1/2 T.

For more flavor, try toasting the whole spices first.

Chinese 5-Spice Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. white sugar
2/3 c. brown sugar
2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
2 t. Chinese 5-spice mix
2 eggs
2 c. quick-cooking oats
1 c. whole wheat flour

Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add vanilla, salt, baking powder, 5-spice mix, and eggs. Cream until very smooth and light. Stir in oats and whole wheat flour. Mix together. Set aside for 30 minutes to let the oats soften and absorb any extra liquids.

Scoop by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 9-10 minutes.

If you want more spice in your spice cookies, feel free to add extra cinnamon or ground black pepper.

Thursday Recipe - Garlic Salt and Ranch Dip Mix

Okay, it sounds simple. And it is. But how many people pay premium prices for stuff that they could easily mix up on their own? My spice cupboard has everything I need for these. If I mix them up myself, then I have the convenience of the pre-mixed seasonings but without the things I don't like in the commercial mixes.

So here goes.

Garlic Salt

1/2 c. salt (sea salt, kosher flaked salt, or whatever fancy salt you want)
3 T. garlic powder
1 T. dried parsley
1 t. dried herbs, optional (if you want to fancy it up a bit, use oregano, marjoram, basil, thyme, rosemary, chives, or any of the green herbs)

Put everything in a shaker bottle. I just re-use the one already labeled "garlic salt" that I finished off a couple of years ago and keep re-filling. Shake it well. Store in a cool dry place.

If you like a finer grind on everything, put it through a small food processor or spice grinder.

Ranch Dip Mix

1/4 c. freeze-dried onions
1/4 c. dried parsley
2 T. garlic powder
2 T. salt
1 t. ground black pepper
1 t. dill weed

Mix everything in a small food processor or spice grinder. Store in an airtight container cool dry place.

Ranch Dip

1/2 c. sour cream
2 T. ranch dip mix

Mix together then refrigerate for an hour to let everything blend.

Dairy-free version: Use 1/2 c. mayonnaise instead of sour cream
Ranch Dressing: Make the dip and add 1/4 c. milk. Shake well.

Thursday Recipe - Curry Powder, aka Garam Masala

This is easier than I thought it would be and it tastes so much better than the commercial curry powder. I've heard recipes where you are supposed to buy all the spices whole and toast them and grind them yourself and it sounds way too complicated for me. For this recipe, some of the spices are whole because that's how they come, but I don't worry about toasting them. I grind them up in a mini food processor then stir in the powdered spices. It still tastes great.

The best part is that you can change the proportions and spices to suit your personal taste. This is my new favorite spice mix. Use it just like you would curry powder.

Garam Masala/Curry Powder

1 T cumin, ground

2 t. cardamom, ground or whole

1 T. black pepper, ground

1 t. fennel seeds

1 t. mustard powder

1/2 t. cloves, whole

1 t. chili powder

2 T. turmeric

Dash allspice

1 t. paprika

1/4 t. nutmeg, ground

1/2 t. cinnamon, ground

1 t. garlic powder

2 t. ginger, ground

Grind fennel seeds and cloves. Add spices. Mix well. Store in an airtight container.