Spice Mix
Lovage Salt
Take that dried Lovage and make some Lovage salt to season cooked dishes.
Use 1/4 Cup Coarse Salt (Kosher or Sea Salt is especially nice) to 2 Tablespoons crumbled, dried Lovage leaves. Mix together and store in an airtight jar.
For a finer mixture, pulse in a blender or food processor.
Use as a substitute for celery salt. Lovage salt makes a great gift for the cooks on your list too!
About Lovage:
Lovage is an ancient healing herb, mostly used for its diuretic properties in cases of water retention and urinary difficulties, and also for pain and swelling (inflammation) of the lower urinary tract, for preventing of kidney stones, and to increase the flow of urine during urinary tract infections.
The seeds, leaves and leaf stems have a strong, earthy, celery flavor that enriches soups and stews and is particularly useful in vegetarian dishes, with rice, vegetable stuffings and nut roasts. More info on this herb can be found at the Encyclopedia of Herbology.
Recipe: Homespun Seasonal Living
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Pumpkin Pie Spice is a blend of spices associated with the Fall season, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. It’s very easy to make.
To start, you’ll need all of three minutes and the following ingredients: 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg, 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice and 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves. Mix the spices together in a small bowl and take a little whiff. (Smells like heaven, right?) Store the mixture in a clean small jar or spice container. See? So easy.
You can customize your personal blend by bumping up the ginger and cloves, for a sharper, more robust flavor, or go light on those and amp up the cinnamon for a softer flavor. When you make it yourself, you can make it JUST right, and that’s worth doing at least once every Autumn.
Source: Betty Crocker
Healthy Heart Spice Mix
- 1 part ground turmeric
- 2 parts ground cumin
- 3 parts ground coriander
- 4 parts ground fennel
Directions:
Mix the spices and store in an airtight jar. When it is time to cook the meal, steam the vegetables. Melt a small amount of ghee in the pan, and add ½ to 1 teaspoon of the spice mixture per serving. Sauté the spices until the flavor is released. Add the vegetables, sauté lightly, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.
Source: Mapi.com
Immunity Boosting Spice Mix
Here is an ayurvedic spice mixture for enhancing immunity.
Ingredients:
- 6 parts turmeric
- 3 parts cumin
- 3 parts coriander
- 6 parts fennel
- 1 part powdered dry ginger
- 1 part black pepper
- ¼ part ground cinnamon
Directions:
Roast whole cumin, coriander, fennel and black pepper and then grind the mixture into a powder. Or dry-fry them, mix all the powdered spices well and store in an airtight container in a cool place away from direct sunlight.
For daily use:
Sauté the spices in ghee, heating until you smell the aroma. Immediately remove the pan from the heat to avoid burning the spices. and sprinkle or drizzle on vegetables, rice or other grains, or cook them in vegetables like a soup.
Or add steamed vegetables to the spice mixture while still in the pan and stir. Or sprinkle them on your food if you eat your noon meal out. Add salt and pepper to taste.
This spice mixture should be used regularly to flavor one dish for the main meal of the day to boost immunity and enhance digestion.
Emotional Balance Spice Mix
- 1 part ground black pepper
- 1 part ground dried ginger
- 2 parts ground coriander
- 3 parts ground cumin
- 2 parts ground turmeric
- 1 part crushed black cumin (for women only)
Directions:
Mix the spices together and store in an airtight container. Sauté small amounts in ghee to spice vegetables and grains.
Note:
Spices contain a lipid-soluble portion and a water-soluble portion, so ideally some of the mixture should be sautéed in ghee or a healthy oil such as olive oil and added to dishes, and some cooked in the liquid portions of dishes, such as by being added to soups, stews or sauces during the cooking process. Ghee helps transport the therapeutic value of spices to the different parts of the body, so ayurveda generally recommends including a ghee-spice mixture in at least one meal of the day.
Spices are like herbs: they work gently and gradually, with the benefits adding up over time and no dangerous side effects.
Source: Mapi.com
Cholesterol-Balancing Spice Mix
Ingredients:
- 3 parts ground turmeric
- 6 parts ground cumin
- 6 parts ground coriander
- 6 parts ground fennel
- 2 parts ground fenugreek
- 1 part dried powdered ginger
- 1 part ground black pepper
Directions:
Combine the spices and store in a sealed container. When preparing your meal, sauté a teaspoon of spices in a small amount of ghee or olive oil. Combine with vegetables or grains to give them a satisfying flavor and enhance digestion. Add salt to taste.
A word of caution:
If you have a Pitta imbalance, start first by cooling Pitta dosha. Follow a low-oil Pitta-pacifying diet until your Pitta is in balance. Then use this spice mixture to help lower cholesterol.
Source: Mapi.com
Allergen Season Spice Mixture
Support your body during allergen season with this tasty spice mixture.
Ingredients:
- 3 parts turmeric
- 6 parts fennel
- 6 parts coriander
- 1 part black pepper
- 1 part ginger
Directions:
Blend these spices together in bulk and store in a jar. When you are preparing a meal, place a small amount of ghee in a frying pan and heat it on medium. Add the detoxifying spice mixture, measuring out one teaspoon of spice mixture per serving of vegetables. Sauté the spices until the aroma is released, but be careful not to burn them. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add steamed vegetables, mix lightly and sauté together for one minute, or you can sauté the spice mixture in ghee and drizzle on cooked vegetables and grains.
Source: Mapi
Detox Spice Mix
Ingredients:
- 1 part turmeric
- 2 parts ground cumin
- 3 parts ground coriander
- 4 parts ground fennel
Directions:
Mix these spices together in bulk and store in a jar. When you are cooking a meal, place a small amount of ghee in a frying pan and heat on medium. Add detoxifying spice mixture, measuring out one teaspoon of spice mixture per serving of vegetables. Sauté spices until the aroma is released (but be careful not to burn). Add salt and black pepper to taste. Add steamed vegetables, mix lightly and sauté together for one minute. Or you can sauté the spice mixture in ghee and drizzle on vegetables or grains.
Source: Mapi.com
Ayurvedic Vata Churna
This is a recipe for a Vata Balancing spice mix, used in AyurVedic cooking. I make this churna in small batches and use it often in all my root veggie dishes and in soups as well. This spice powder has a robust deep flavor which perks up the dish and it tastes extra yummy when your vata is imbalanced. The specific spices used in this churna balance the vata dosha.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons whole fennel seeds.
- 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds.
- 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds.
- 1 tablespoon ground turmeric.
- 1 tablespoon dried basil.
- 2 teaspoons powdered ginger.
- 2 teaspoons salt.
- 1 teaspoon asafetida (hing)
Store in a glass jar and it will stay fresh for up to a month.
Source: Rhythm of Healing