There certainly is a limit to my homemaking aspirations, for example I would never bother with brewing my own beer or making Cheddar Cheese, but spice blends, although conveniently pre-jarred, are probably much better homeade, with a little added personal touch.
It's a rainy day today, a beautiful warm rain, plumping up dull brown grass and saving me a little herb garden watering time. And so, after many weeks of salads, barbecues and other low heat emitting food preparations, my girls asked for a big pot of Chili for our family dinner. I was happy to be able to oblige, as Chili is easily made with common pantry items. But this happened to turn into the perfect homemade spice blend opportunity, as no Chili Powder was to be found amongst my spice rack.
A little googling later, I discovered just how easy this task would be:
Using a coffee grinder, I zapped a few small red chili's into fine powder, then added equal amounts of dried oregano, cumin powder, coriander seeds and paprika. (About 1/8 cup each.) These are, I am sure, entry level Chili spice blend making skills... but my Chili is smelling pretty tasty as it simmers away in the kitchen.
I am left wondering if toasting the spices before cooking would bring out the flavour even more. Or what those secret ingredients are master barbecuers win competitions with. If you'd like to share your wisdom, I would love to hear from ya!
2 comments:
Sadly, I don't have my own chilli powder recipe. But I have found a wonderful taco seasoning recipe that is much better and healthier than the salty mixture you can buy at the store for $1.09.
Taco Seasoning
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Add ½ cup water to ground meat, allow water to evaporate and seasoning to permeate every bit of meat before serving.
Thanks Wanda! I will most certainly give this a try!
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