Spice Blend Round Up

Yesterday, a lady who was in  my line started telling me  “hey, look at the bird.  Look at the bird.”  I thought she was a customer who had heard me tell others I had parrots and was kidding around with me.  I looked where she was pointing and sure enough, there was a little sparrow sitting underneath the cart.    It flew off so I yelled at one of my coworkers to watch were it went and make sure no one stepped on it or bothered it till I could get there.   For some reason the first instinct is to run and get a broom and try to sweep it out.  Then after that doesn’t work, there next step is to come and get me because I have parrots I must know how to deal with wild birds too.

In this case, I do but it’s mostly just common sense.  A bird who feels threatened is going to fly up and stay high to get away.  A bird who isn’t feeling threatened is going to stay as still as possible so as not to attracted a predators attention. When the bird goes still is when you can find  a way to gently pick the bird up and take him outside.   That’s what I did.  I took off my vest and gently approached the bird, telling him I just wanted to help.  As soon as I got close enough I gently dropped my vest over him and scooped him up and headed for the door.  I am sure people thought I was nuts walking around talking to my cupped hands but I just wanted to reassure the little guy I meant him no harm and was taking him somewhere he would be safe.  I put him down in the bushes.  He looked at me then flew away.  I felt like I had done a good thing.

I have been making a lot of spice blends to give as gifts lately.  It’s a pain looking through about 350 recipes to find the recipes I need ( I found some of my recipes are not indexed.  I am working on that.) so I thought I would gather them all in one place.

Spice Blend Rougnd Up

• Difficulty: Easy
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Everything Bagel Spice (Whole 30)

Adobo Seasoning (Whole 30)

No Sugar Added Spice Rub for Pork (Whole 30)

Afgan Spice Rub (Whole 30)

Dry Rub for Chicken or PorkDry Rub for Chicken or Pork

Homemade Taco Seasoning (Whole 30)

BBQ Dry Rub For Pork

Mrs Dash Garlic and Herb Copy Cat (Whole 30)

Italian Spice Rub For Chicken and Pork (Whole 30)

Bengali 5 Spice Blend (Whole 30)

English Style Madras Curry Powder (Whole 30)

Coriander Scented U

ntoasted Blend (AKA Curry Powder) (Whole 30)

Chili Powder (Whole 30)

Poultry Seasoning (Whole 30)

Fajita Seasoning (Whole 30)

Italian Seasoning Blend (Whole 30)

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Hamburger Seasoning (Whole 30)

 

 

 

 

 

Greek Seasoning Blend (Whole 30)

In case you were wondering, I got the package from my mom yesterday.  When the mailman knocked at my door I may have squealed, I was so excited.  I may have a 47 year old body but I have a 5 year old brain.  That 5 year old brain is excited by unexpected presents from my mom.

For Christmas last year, my mom gave me the gift of making me a pot holder for every month of 2017.  My September pot holder was in the box, as well two pillow cases she made to match the quilt she made for my new bed earlier this summer.

There was also a Prefered Savings coupon book.  The book features buy one / get one coupons to restraunts throughout Fargo, West Fargo and Moorhead.  I’ll get to try a lot of places I wouldn’t otherwise get to because of the expense.  My inner foodie is looking forward to that.

Thank you for the presents, Mom.  They brightened up a rather dreary Monday.

Greek Seasoning Blend

• Difficulty: Easy
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1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp Basil

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp thyme

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp onion flakes

1/2 tsp dill weed

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp rosemary

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients, mix well.  Store in an air tight container.

 

 

Pumpkin Breakfast Sausage (Whole 30)

I think my mom is trying to kill me.  I got a text from her at 11 am on Saturday saying she sent me a package. It should be there Monday and I should watch for it.  That was it, no idea what she sent or why.  You would think after 47 years of knowing me she would know I am very curious about stuff and it drives me absolutely crazy not knowing what is coming in this box!!!!! And it is still a day away!! UGGHHHH!!!

While I am waiting for this box to show up, I made these really yummy pumpkin breakfast sausages.   I know it sounds weird but it is really, really good.  You know what eslse is really weird?  In the last month I have posted 3 savory pumpkin recipes and only 1 cranberry recipe of any kind.  What the heck is going on with me this year?

I am sending you directly to the blog this recipe came from because I made absolutely no changes of any kind to this recipe.  Even if you don’t want to make the sausages you should still visit Physical Kitchness.  She is funny, informative and has really good recipes whether you are on a Whole 30 or not.

Pumpkin Breakfast Sausage

Vanilla Chai Baked Oatmeal

This has been a very exciting week.  I am starting a new project and the pieces are all falling into place very, very  nicely.  Some time in January, 2018, I will be giving a Whole 30 cooking demonstration at Natural Grocers.  Ever since I started blogging 3 1/2 years ago, I have wanted to find away to teach people how to cook.  The cost of renting a place to cook, the cost of ingredients and incidentals and the cost of advertising the event have always put it out of my reach.  Knowing I really couldn’t afford to do it, I really just quit thinking about it.

Last week, after an incredibly encouraging conversation with one of my online friends, I decided to try finding a place to do this one more time.  I went into Natural Grocers and asked about renting their kitchen space.  About 5 minutes later, I had a potential place to cook, a potential budget and a belly ache, I was so excited.  I still have one hurdle to jump, I need to submit a proposal to the corporate office and they have to accept it.  The lady I was talking to at the store was really excited about the idea and said it shouldn’t  be a problem getting my idea accepted.

I am proceeding like this is a done deal and starting to develop my presentation, make a handout and deciding what I want to cook.  I could use your help with this.  If you have any questions about the Whole 30 ask them in the comments.   I will answer them to the best of my ability here and use them to help me draft my presentation.  Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

• Difficulty: Easy
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from Running With Spoons

1/2 cup rolled oats or flaked grains

2 TBS oat bran

2 TBS flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cloves

1 TBS maple syrup or brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a l cup baking dish with cooking spray.  Place dry ingredients in the baking dish and mix well.  In a small bowl, combine vanilla and milk and mix well.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Serve with additional milk and sweetener, if desired. 

Salisbury Steak (Whole 30)

This post is for Teresa and her son, Carson.  Recently, Teresa told me how she and her son, Carson, make A Solitary Feast a part of their weekly menu planning.  Hey Guys,  thank you for letting me know how you make food from my blog.  It means so much to me to know that.  As a food blogger, I get views and comments, so I know people are visiting A Solitary Feast.  I hope they are cooking my recipes but I don’t often know for sure.  People cooking my recipes is why I do what I do.

Carson, your mom says you would like more recipes with ground beef.  I prefer chicken and pork but I’ll make a deal with you.  If you find some recipes you think you would like,  print them out and send them to work with your mom, I will do adaptions of them for you and put them up here.  You are going to have to deal with the vegetables though.  I have come to really like vegetables and need them to be healthy so they are always going to be part of my cooking.  However, I will try to incorporate more of your favorite vegetables if you let me know what they are.  I also challenge you to try new vegetables and let me know what you think.

Salisbury Steak

• Difficulty: Easy
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adapted from The Domestic Man

1/2 lb ground beef

3 TBS lightly beaten egg

1/4 cup almond flour

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/4 tsp onion powder

2 1/2 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 cup beef broth

1 1/2 tsp coconut milk, optional

1 tsp arrowroot

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the beef, egg, almond flour, salt, half the pepper, mustard powder, and onion powder in a small bowl; mix well but be careful not to over mix. Form the mixture into 3 patties.  Place on a baking sheet and bake 25 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a small pot, add the mushrooms, broth, and remaining pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the mushrooms shrink a bit.  Add 1 teaspoon water to the arrowroot and stir it together.  Add to the broth and stir until it thickens.  Place steaks on a plate and top with gravy.  Serve immediately.