Making your own spice mixes is a great way to get creative with your gift-giving. These mixes all make enough to keep for yourself and still share with a friend. Easily doubled or tripled to make more gifts. Best of all, it’s fresh, fun, and inexpensive.
Simon and Garfunkel Mix
Whether you grew up on folk music or not, the familiar strains of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme are quite soothing. The smell of this spice mix is also soothing. It conjures up comfort food and the holidays like nothing else. Perfect on your roast turkey, seasoning the mashed potatoes or brussel sprouts, or in the savoury bread pudding recipe we’ve got coming up.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp rubbed sage
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp granulated garlic
Steps:
Mix all spices together in a small bowl.
Chinese 5-Spice Powder
This isn’t a common spice blend, but once you try it you will have a hard time resisting its mesmerizing taste. In Chinese restaurant cooking it is commonly used on meats, and it does make a fantastic rub for beef and pork. My favourite uses for it are on vegetables like roasted cauliflower or kale chips, or in apple pie in place of the cinnamon. Trust me, that unlikely combination is heavenly. You can play with the proportions if you like, but this is the combo that I like best. Pick up the hard-to-find spices in an ethnic market or spice merchant. If necessary, buy the spices whole and ground in a dedicated spice grinder.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp ground Sichuan Peppers
2 tsp ground fennel seeds
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp ground star anise
Steps:
Mix all spices together in a small bowl.
Chai Spice Mix
This intoxicating blend is warm, spicy, and just a little bit different from the typical winter spice dominated by cinnamon. The addition of pepper, cardamom, and ginger bring a little heat and change the taste. Use this spice mix in the Chocolate Bark, Hot Cocoa, or substitute it for the spices in pumpkin pie or apple desserts. It’s also great in chocolate cake.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp ground cardamom
2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp allspice
1 tbsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp ground ginger
Steps:
Mix all spices together in a small bowl
