In the Kitchen With Kids and Kids at Heart

I’m in my happy place blending herbs and spices. For me, they embody the mysteries of the alchemical kitchen. With just a few bottles of bark, seeds, berries, and leaves, I’m transported to a magical school, learning the ancient art of spice concocting.

As a real-life professor of magical cookery, I’m encouraging you to learn more about herbs and spices this summer.

First Things First

Start by gathering your ingredients, equipment, and a sense of curiosity. Sure, you can go to the Food Coop and buy fresh whole herbs and spices in the bulk section—this is the perfect place to start. But if you want to preserve their magical properties, follow this three-part process.

Use Your Imagination

Let yourself be carried into the realms of lore. Read up on the histories and uses of each herb or spice you choose. Discover where it grows and what it looks like in its natural habitat. How is it used? Is there any folklore or mythology surrounding it? Does it have medicinal or magical properties? Some traditions even suggest certain herbs require moonlight to reach their full potential—explore these stories and let them inspire you.

Three Encouraging Books

The Complete Book of Spices by Jill Norman

The Complete Book of Herbs by Lesley Bremness

The Science of Spice: Understand Flavor Connections and Revolutionize Your Cooking by Stuart Farrimond 

Touch, Taste, Smell

Experience your spices. Rub herbs together, crush them, and take in their aromas. Try identifying spices without labels, or make it a fun game with friends and family by using blindfolds.

Collect special tins or jars to store your spices and design your own labels for them. Label making is an art form in itself and lends a personal touch to your blends.

Play

Yes, you! Nine-tenths of magic lies in the ability to play. A mortar and pestle is a classic tool, but a good electric spice grinder can feel like wizardry. I love my Secura grinder, which comes with two removable stainless steel bowls—one for wet pastes and one for dry spices.

Experiment with toasting spices before grinding them. I always toast cumin—it brings out a deeper, richer flavor. Grind up a spice or herb, then smell it. When tasting, try sprinkling your blends on popcorn with a little salt. Sometimes it takes a few minutes for the flavors to meld, so be patient and keep experimenting.

Of Ratios and Rules

Every magical endeavor has its rules, and spice blending is no exception. Start with whole spices. The oils in herbs and spices give us flavor, but those oils degrade. Throw away your old pre-ground spices with a few exceptions like ground cinnamon — they aren’t magical anymore! Everything else you should buy whole and grind yourself.

When starting out, conquer classic recipes first. Use excellent recipes and experiment later. Learn from experts and not from online amateurs. It’s important to learn how others combine spices and in what ratios. After you’ve blended from good recipes for a while, your own creativity will take over. Soon it’ll become second nature. Jill Norman’s book “The Complete Book of Spices” has all the recipes and ideas you’ll want, plus plant history and lore. Its Dorling Kindersley (DK) publication gives it the layout of a fabulous museum exhibit. I’ve spent many rainy days with a cup of tea lost in this wonderful book.

Keep It Joyful

Blend spices when you have free time to fully enjoy the process. Don’t rush, hurry, or otherwise mess up the experience. It should lead you back to your best self—the one who loved to muck about making mud pies. Keep your spice blends handy. Put them somewhere. You’ll see them often and remember to use them. You’ll want to use them up within a few months to enjoy their full magic.

Adobo

Latin American Spice Blend

Makes 1 cup

I’m keeping this one right next to my stove and putting it on eggs, in beans, soups, with veggies, fish or chicken ... .It's versatile with a herbal sweet heat. Nice.

Toast the cumin and cool. Blend all of the spices together and grind in a spice grinder into a powder. Keep the spices in a glass jar right where you will use them most. The blend will keep for a month or two, but it’ll be gone by then. 

¼ cup dried minced garlic

¼ cup dried minced onion

3 tablespoons freshly dried oregano

2 tablespoons cumin seed toasted

2 tablespoons coarse sea salt

1 ½  tablespoons white peppercorns

2 tablespoons freshly dried orange zest

2 tablespoons freshly dried lemon zest  

Berbere Spice Mix

Makes 1 cup

Berbere is a cornerstone of Ethiopian cuisine. This recipe tempers the traditional heat. It’s a versatile blend for various dishes from lentil stew (Misr Wot) to chicken stew (Doro Wat), and even as a seasoning for popcorn. Starting with whole spices and grinding them yourself is an extraordinary sensual experience.

4 teaspoons coriander seeds

2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

½ teaspoon whole allspice

12 green cardamom pods

8 whole cloves

2 large dried pasilla chilies, toasted, with seeds

6 tablespoons paprika

1 whole nutmeg, ground

2 teaspoons dried ginger root

1 cinnamon stick

1. combine all the spices except the paprika. Use a mortar and pestle to break up the cinnamon stick and nutmeg before toasting. Toast over medium heat on a griddle. Stir until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Grind in a spice grinder and sift.

2. Next, prepare the chilies by breaking them into small pieces. Discard the stems but keep the seeds. Toast the chilies until fragrant, about 4 minutes over medium heat. It's important to do this in a ventilated area to avoid irritation from the chili fumes. Grind the toasted chilies, including the seeds or without. The seeds will increase the heat! Use a fine mesh strainer to sift them.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the paprika, ground chilies and spices.

4. Store your Berbere Spice Mix in an airtight container. It will keep for up to 3 months.

Beef Köfte Stew with Sumac

(Köfte are meatballs)

Serves 4

Sumac water, made by brewing sumac powder as you would for tea, adds a tart flavor to meat dishes. You can buy sumac powder in the bulk section of the Port Townsend Food Coop. I like the onions to sweeten and even add a little date sugar at the end to counterbalance the sumac. With the flavorful köfte, which is another name for meatballs, and a little heat from red chilies, this dish hits the spot. Serve it alone or ladled over rice.  

For köfte (meatballs)

1 lb ground beef

½ teaspoon whole allspice

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon peppercorns

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds

1 tablespoon dried onion flakes

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

For stew

⅓ cup dried sumac powder

1 quart water

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons brown sugar

½ cup tomato paste

¼ teaspoon cayenne

Sea salt to taste

Begin

Read the recipe and gather all ingredients and equipment.

Preheat a large heavy-bottomed skillet on the stovetop.

Prep the onions and garlic and make the sumac water.

Make the Sumac Water

You are basically making sumac tea by pouring 1 quart of boiling water over the sumac powder, using a French press or Mason jar. Brew the sumac until it’s called for in the recipe and then strain it through a coffee or tea filter.

Make the Köfte

Measure the spices and salt together and grind them into a powder using a spice or coffee grinder. Add the spice mix to the ground beef and mix until combined, but don’t overwork the meat. Divide the meat into two large balls and continue to divide until you have 12 balls of about 2 tablespoons each. Using your palms, roll each ball into a torpedo shape and lay on a plate.

Saute the Onions

Turn the heat under the skillet to medium high. Add olive oil, let it warm up, add the onions, stir and cover with a lid for 5 minutes, allowing the onions to sweat. Take the lid off, stir and continue to cook the onions for another 15 minutes, stirring. Don’t let them burn. Reduce the heat if needed, but allow them to sweeten. After the onions are soft, add the sugar, garlic and tomato paste and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Simmer the Köfte in the Sumac Water

Lay the köfte on top of the onion mixture. Pour the strained sumac water over the meatballs. Put a lid on and simmer for 12-15 minutes at a medium low heat, about 215F. You want to see bubbles rising, but slowly. Open a köfte to check for doneness. You shouldn’t see any red, but it should still be moist. Remember to taste, adding more heat and salt as needed.

Serve hot.

Chortle Seasoning Salt

Makes 1 cup

Chortle is somewhere between a snort and a chuckle, and this seasoning salt is perfect for popcorn and your favorite movie. It’s also great on eggs and roasted veggies.

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

½ teaspoon decorticated cardamom

½ teaspoon black peppercorns

1 tablespoon coriander seed

1 tablespoon cumin seed, toasted

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

¼ cup dehydrated onion flakes

¼ cup nutritional yeast

⅓ cup coarse sea salt

Toast the cumin. Using a spice or coffee grinder, grind all the spices together and then regrind a second time adding the salt. Store in a jar or tin in a cool, dry place. Seasoning salts are good for 6 months before they lose their potency. 

Camelot Seasoning Salt

Makes 1 ½ cups

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon white peppercorns

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon fennel seed

1 tablespoon coriander seed

2 tablespoons dried seaweed flakes

2 tablespoons garlic powder

¼ cup dehydrated onion flakes

¼ cup toasted hulled sesame seeds

¼ cup sumac powder  

⅓ cup coarse sea salt

Toast the sesame seeds. Using a spice or coffee grinder, grind all the spices and seeds together and then regrind a second time adding the salt. Store in a jar or tin in a cool, dry place. Seasoning salts are good for 6 months before they lose their potency.

Cameo Seasoning Salt

Makes 1 ¼ cups

This seasoning blend plays a cameo role — small but memorable. It’s perfect to add to a pot of soup, sprinkle on fresh tomatoes or rub with olive oil into roasted potatoes. 

Using a spice or coffee grinder, grind the spices together and then regrind a second time adding the salt. Store in a jar or tin in a cool, dry place. Seasoning salts are good for 6 months before they lose their potency.

1 ½ teaspoons red pepper flakes

2 dried bay leaves crumbled

¼ of a whole nutmeg, crushed

½ teaspoon black peppercorns

½ teaspoon whole allspice berries

½ teaspoon decorticated cardamom

2 teaspoons anise seed

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoon dried ginger root

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

2 tablespoons ground turmeric

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

3 tablespoons sweet paprika

¼ cup dehydrated onion flakes

⅓ cup coarse sea salt