Smidge’s Spice Blends

Hey smidger’s…

I believe that spices are the foundation to any recipe. Since today’s post marks the foundation to the new smidge, today’s post is going to be all about my favorite spice blends. I am going to give you five of my most used spice blends.

Sure, anybody can go and pick up a spice blend from the grocery store, but if you’re like me, they just seem kind of bland. If you’re like me, you like bolder flavors. I list ingredients in parts, so you can make as much or as little as you want. I use a teaspoon as a part but you can use whatever you want. You will notice that there’s no salt listed. I salt as I cook so I don’t use salt in my blends. If you feel like you need salt, start with a half part and adjust accordingly. Personally, I just salt as I cook, so consider yourself warned…

Follow me as I take you on a spicy trip to some of my favorite places in the world…

Cajun Seasoning

I am from Louisiana, so, of course, I have my own cajun blend. It has a secret ingredient that you don’t see in many cajun spice blends.

• 1 part White Pepper
• 1 part Garlic Powder
• 1 part Onion Powder
• 1/2 part Red Pepper
• 1 part Paprika
• 1 part Ground Black Pepper
• 1 part ground thyme
• 1/8 part ground clove

Spanish Spice Mix

There is a little Spanish restaurant in New Orleans that my wife and I love. They make an incredible paella and their tapas appetizers are to die for. I got really nosey one day when we were eating and looked at what spices they had in the kitchen. This looked like what they used in most of the dishes. The only thing missing is Saffron. It is expensive and only really needed in paella. I will teach you a cheat later.

• 1 part Onion powder
• 1 part Garlic powder
• 1/4 part Cayenne
• 1 part Paprika (smoked if available)
• 1/2 part White pepper
• 1 part Oregano
• 1 part ground Rosemary or thyme

Mexican Spice Mix

This one is pretty easy. I tinkered with it for a bit and finally have one that I think is pretty authentic. If you are going to use it for ground meat for tacos, I would add a part of beef bouillon and a little flour to thicken it up.

• 1 part Mexican oregano
• 1 part ground cumin
• 1 part garlic powder
• 1/2 part onion powder
• 1 part ground chipotle pepper

Jerk Spice Mix

My wife fell in love with a Jamaican jerk wing that was an appetizer in a local restaurant. She looked around and tried several jerk recipes that just didn’t do it for her, so we came up with this. I will let her give you one of her fall back dishes in a later post.

• 2 tbsp Coriander
• 2 tbsp Ground Ginger
• 2 tbsp Brown sugar
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon clove
• 1/2 teaspoon dried orange peel (if available)
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Italian Seasoning Mix 

If you have any Italian in your family, then you have a family Italian seasoning blend. I have Italian on my mother’s side. I slightly modified my great grandmothers seasoning blend. If you are making meatballs, add one part of dried fennel seed. You would not believe what it does to the meatballs.

• 1/2 part basil
• 1 part marjoram
• 1 part oregano
• 1/2 part ground rosemary
• 1 part ground thyme

Whew! I know that I have thrown a lot at you, but I swear it will be worth it as we go along.