Seedy Seasoning Mix

My post this month for “In My Kitchen“, a monthly blogging party organized by Celia from the blog Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, is going to be a short one.

I’m not in my kitchen as we are vacationing in Key West with family. I’m enjoying a week without any cooking but with much feasting on glorious fresh fish and shell-fish from the Atlantic and Gulf oceans.

Please use the link to read wonderful posts from talented cooks in kitchens around the world. It’s a fascinating glimpse into other food cultures, and seasonal cooking from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Key West

My brother made me this wonderful salt-cellar in his workshop and brought it as a gift. It’s made from a mix of maple, oak, cherry and walnut.

It will certainly enjoy pride of place when I get home.

I have a few new cookbooks and have already made some wonderful dishes from each of them.

New Cookbooks

I’ve been using a mixture of seeds with many of my vegetable dishes to add extra crunch. I call it Seedy Seasoning Mix.

Seedy Mix

So far I have used it with zucchini, green beans, and roast carrots (to be posted later this week).

Seedy Seasoning with Zucchini

Green beans with spinach and seedy mix

Roast Carrots with Garlic Mayonnaise and Seedy Mix

And lastly, I’ve discovered a trick for making a sugar-free (at least refined sugar) teriyaki sauce. The magic trick is dates; blended with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and water.

Teriyaki Sauce

Hello from Key West, I will be home next week and look forward to catching up with you all.

90 miles to Cuba

Green beans with spinach and seedy mix

The seedy mix will add a crunch to many vegetable dishes. The green colors in this dish are very peaceful and the seedy mix adds flavor and crunch. The inspiration for this recipe came for the cookbook “Seven Spoons“. It is based on an Indian green bean subzi or vegetable dish. Feel free to use the black mustard seeds called for in the original recipe, or add some black mustard seeds to the seedy mix. I think that would be rather nice and I might do that next batch.

Green Beans with Spinach and Seedy Mix

1 lb of green beans, trimmed and cut into 4 inch pieces if large
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 package of baby spinach or a large handful, washed and dried
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons of seedy mix
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When boiling, add the green beans and blanch until bright green but still very crisp. For my beans that was 4 minutes.
Green Beans – blanched
Drain the beans in a collander and run cold water over to cool. Spread out on a fresh tea towel.
In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and saute gently for about 5 minutes until softened.
Add the garlic and continue to saute, stirring, for another minute.
Add the drained green beans to the pan and cook until tender, perhaps another 2 to 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat in the pan and add the spinach. Stir until wilted.
Add the seedy mix plus salt and pepper to taste.
Seedy Mix