Sustainably Spicy

Take a quick look at your spice cupboard. How many are expired or much older than a year old? How many are unique spices you needed a 1/4 teaspoon once for a recipe, or a unique spice blend that isn't in your regular cooking repertoire? (I'm looking at you, cajun seasoning that's in the back of my cupboard and 5 years old...)

It turns out many spice mixes are made out of different combinations of the same dozen or so common spices. Want to try a new cuisine? Make your own spice mix on demand. 

This is a great way to rotate your staple spices more often, and not acquire as many specialty blends. For example, Greek, Italian, and Cuban cuisines can all use the same oregano. This will reduce the stale spices you throw out (or reluctantly use up), the number of total containers used, and the number of total containers you need to fit in your cupboard.

Check out this ah-mah-zing Everything Bagel mix (seriously, put it on avocado toast). All of the ingredients are things that I already have in my cupboard, but may not use frequently. For example, I may want sesame seeds for the occasional Asian recipe, or poppy seeds for muffins, but I don't cook those recipes enough to go through the individual ingredients. So, I take this bottle, make my own "everything" mix, and refill it. The sesame and poppy seeds get used up, and I don't need to buy another bottle of everything seasoning.

An added benefit: if you are using the same base spices you can save $ by buying bulk and refilling. You can either simply get larger containers (hello, Costco) or look for stores that offer bulk bin refill (example, PCC). During COVID, PCC isn't allowing you to bring your own containers, but you can use their baggies, which are ultimately much less waste than another spice jar. Then, use any container to store the raw spices or mixes. It could be a leftover plastic sour cream tub (just get some labels!), or a small glass storage container, or even previous spices jars (hey, it's previously labeled and may even still have the sprinkle top).

Here's one of my go-to favorite mixes. It's a knockoff recipe from Red Robin's seasoning salt, and just like Frank's Red Hot sauce, "I put that s*!t on everything!". It's a household staple that goes on anything from fried eggs to roasted potatoes. It packs a ton of flavor, and it's 1/3 salt. Pro tip: when you make your own blends, you can customize them to your preference or dietary needs.

• 1/4 cup Sea Salt
• 1/4 cup Smoked Paprika
• 2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon Dried Basil
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Sage
• 1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon Celery Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar

Measure out all of the ingredients. 

 

Below is pictured a small Pampered Chef bowl I love because it doubles as a storage container (lid not pictured) and a measuring cup (1 cup bowl with 1/4 cup markings). 

 

Simply shake or stir to combine, and viola, the perfect seasoning salt. So much flavor from the paprika, garlic, and other herbs (yuuuummmmmm). 

 What is your favorite mix or recipe to use up spices?