My Favorite Things of 2020 — Part One– Products and Gadgets

2020 was not a year that allowed me to go out and find new foods to try and new gadgets to explore.  However, I did find a few things I absolutely loved even in the midst of the pandemic. 

Primal Palate Seasonings and Seasoning Blends

I have 29 small batch spice blend recipes on the blog and dozens more waiting for the small batch treatment so why on earth would I buy spice blends.  The first time I purchased a few Primal Palate Spice blends it was because they  were a small company I had heard of and I wanted to support them through the pandemic.  I was also very bored with my meals and was dying to try anything new.  All the rest of the times I have ordered from Primal Palate is because they produce a damn good product.  So much so I have ended up buying a jar of all 18 of their spice blends to try, both the vanilla and almond extracts,  5 of their single spices and 3 of their salts to experiment with.  I probably won’t keep all 18 spice blends on my shelf but I will always  keep a bottle of my favorites in the pantry.

If you are wondering what to do with all the spice blends, check out the recipe section of Primal Palate’s website.   They have tons of recipes using their spicate blends.  The ones I have tried have been really good.  Or you could be like me, most of the time, and just grab a random bottle and sprinkle it over everything.

Furikake

I know you are all probably going “What the heck is that?”  I was in the same boat when I first read about Furikake in one of the cookbooks I bought this fall.  Furikake is a Japanese seasoning blend that was used on rice.  I am told it was originally created as a calcium supplement. It is now as common on the Japanese table as salt and pepper. The blend contains sesame seeds, some kind of seaweed, and some kind of dried fish.   It wasn’t something I was going to buy but when I found it when I was at the Asian market  looking for some other things, I couldn’t resist trying it.  I am glad I did it’s amazing on everything, eggs, vegetables, popcorn, chicken, pork, beef as well as rice.

Spinddrift Sparkling Water

I am not a fan of sparkling water.  I read something that compared it to drinking static and most of the time I don’t think the comparison is inaccurate.  However,  I keep trying new brands of sparkling water because I want to find something I enjoy besides tap water when I am on my next Whole 30 and give up my diet Dr. Pepper and Arnold Palmer Half Tea Half Lemonades.

I tried Spindrift because they offered a sampler pack of all their flavors this summer.   It was one can of all their flavors except their newest flavor, pineapple, you got two of those. I figured if I wasn’t crazy about them it wouldn’t be too hard to finish them up.

The good thing is that Spindrift isn’t so heavily carbonized that it tastes like static. It also has distinct flavors to each different type of flavor. I think that is because Spindrift flavors their seltzer with actual fruit juice instead of just natural flavors. My favorite flavor, to the surprise of no one who knows me, is the cranberry-raspberry.

Gourmia 7 Quart Air Fryer

I put of buying an air fryer for along time because I wasn’t sure I would use it enough to make spending the money.  I just don’t fry a lot of things. My other concern was the size of the basket. Most I had seen were not even big enough to feed one person much less two or more.

On my 50th birthday I was strolling around Best Buy and saw a 7 quart Gourmia air fryer. It looked big enough for me to cook enough food to feed me at one time and it was on sale. It came home with me that day.

My only complaint about my air fryer is that I didn’t find it sooner.  Air fryers are much more versatile then it seems on the surface. I have baked muffins and cookies, made steak, lasagna, casseroles, tons of vegetables and so much more. Pretty much anything you make in the oven can be made in the air fryer if you can find a pan that fits in the basket. I am absolutely amazed at how often I use it.

Primal Palate Spice Blends — A Review

In Monday’s post, I said I have only been making simple meals lately. One way I have been keeping it simple is by using the Primal Palate spice blends I bought a few weeks ago.

I bought the spice blends because I was getting bored with my meals. Usually, when that happens I go to the library and get a new cookbook or head out to the farmers markets or my favorite natural food stores to pick out a new ingredient. The pandemic closed those doors to me so I decided to try ordering something new on line.

I chose Primal Palate because it is a small company that works with the Whole 30 program. If I am buying food it’s going to be stuff that is useful on any future Whole 30s I do.

I am really impressed with this company and its product. Here is why.

Things I Like:

1. The spice blends come in glass bottles with shaker lids so they are easy to use and clean and refill when you are finished with the blend.

2. The openings are large enough to fit a standard 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon.

3. Every spice blend uses organic spices.

4. The spice blends smell amazing. Spices that have no smell, have no taste. When you remove the seal on each blend you don’t even need to bring your nose to the bottle to smell how good they taste.

5. They are versatile. One reason I started adapting spice blends for small batches is because it doesn’t make sense to buy a big bottle of a spice blend to use a small amount for one or two recipes then have the rest go to waste. I have found not only can you use Primal Palate spice blends for the specific recipes for them on the Primal Palate website, it is easy to use them for just about anything. I have used the spice blends for salad dressings, marinades, in soups, on several types of meat as a Rub, and over vegetables. I am sure I will discover more uses for them as time goes on.

Things I Don’t Like:

1. Most of the spice blends contain salt. This is my only and very minor complaint. The added salt in the spice blends can lead to overly salty food if you aren’t careful.

I am extremely happy with my purchase so much so I bought 6 more Primal Palate spice blends to play with and I will buy more bottles of my favorites as I run out. Will this mean I no longer adapt small batch spice blends? Of course not, there are dozens of spice blends out there to adapt and play with. However, Primal Palate spice blends will also have a place in my kitchen from now on.

This is not a sponsored or affiliated post. I recieved no compensation for my review. I love the product and thought it might be helpful to those of us who are experiencing food fatigue due to all the cooking from home we are now doing.