Guest Blog!: Spice Rack

Another guest blog from our favorite fellow foodie and running buddy! Enjoy!!

Spice Rack

Some people are planners when it comes to home-cooked foods.  They like to sit down with cookbooks, decide what meals to prepare for each day of the week, then make up meticulous lists of ingredients to purchase at the store.

I am whatever is the complete opposite of being a food planner.  Most of the time, when I walk into a grocery store I have no idea what I will be buying.  I wander through the produce section picking out whatever looks tasty, is on sale, or I haven't bought in a while.  Then I'll wander through the meat and dairy section, grabbing enough quantity and variety to get me through the week.  If I have time, I'll then wander up and down the dry goods aisles looking for interesting new sauces, snacks, and treats. 

Usually during this process I come up with a couple general meal ideas, at least sufficient to round out one complete dish for the week.  I fortunately have a near perfect memory of my pantry and fridge contents, so I rarely forget essential items or buy too many duplicates (what can I say, I think about food a lot).

One of the big things that enables me to cook this way is having an arsenal of go-to flavor combinations.  I know that I can turn any piece of chicken into an Asian dish with some soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and sriracha.  Likewise, I can go Italian (tomato, basil, oregano, balsamic or white wine vinegar), Mexican (cumin, chili powder, cayenne, oregano), Moroccan (see recipe below), Indian (berbere, curry powder, and coconut milk), or BBQ with spices and a small handful of other staple ingredients.

  

Spices and dried herbs make up a huge part of my cooking.  I am a huge fan of Penzey's spices because they are so much more flavorful (and sometimes more cost effective!) than the grocery store varieties.  My birthday present may have been a mini shopping spree at Penzey's... where I may have walked away with more than 10 different spices.  If you go there, buy the bags, not the glass jars for maximum cost effectiveness!  My favorites are the chipotle powder, Penzey's cinnamon blend, and the Galena Street bbq rub.  Yum.

Moroccan spice rub

This is the only spice blend I mix up ahead of time to keep on hand - it's fantastic on both meat and vegetables. 

3 TBSP Sugar

1 TBSP Salt

1 TBSP paprika

1 TBSP cumin

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cayenne pepper (spice wimps like Briana may want to cut this to 1/2 tsp)

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp coriander

dash of peri-peri / berbere (optional - very spicy!)

For maximum tastiness, use on meat that is naturally juicy (boneless skinless chicken thighs are excellent).  It's best when the rub has a bit of a chance to caramelize, but use caution because it burns easily!  I tend to saute the chicken on the stove top until mostly cooked, then add liberal amounts of spice rub for the last few minutes of cooking. 

Also great on baked chicken wings, grilled lamb chops, mixed into turkey burgers, and sprinkled on diced or mashed sweet potatoes!

- Cindy