Terra Americana

This mix is spicy rather than hot, add cayenne or crushed red pepper if you want to heat it up a bit.  Soups and salads love this seasoning.  Perfect for spicing up fish, poultry, veggies, corn bread,  etc. 

Ingredients:   Paprika, Parsley, Onion, Garlic, Kosher Salt, Oregano, Cayenne Pepper, Coarse Ground Black Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper and celery seed.

Sizes

Bottle (6 oz.) $8.00 USD Pound (16 0z.) $12.00 USD Sample (1 tbsp) $2.00 USD

Driving along the dusty back roads of Texas, on our way to Louisiana, we stopped for some refreshment at the first and only place available. It looked the most unlikely place to find a clean glass of water, never mind a cold beer and a wonderful meal. That menu helped us to form the opinion that the best things in life are the least expected. The proprietress, a sun-drenched Indian woman, sat with us for a bit after we finished our meal, telling us of her life long love for cooking. After 60 years of preparing meals, she had found a few short cuts which she shared with us. One was that any meal can seem grand with only the simplest of ingredients and the right blending of spices.   This is our translation of her favorite spice blend, we hope that we’ve done her justice.  

Recipes for our Picante Passion

TORTILLA STRIPS

• 2 tsp PICANTE PASSION    
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 8  6” corn tortillas

Brush olive oil over one side of each tortilla and sprinkle with PICANTE PASSION Cut each tortilla into ½“ wide strips. Place strips in  single layer on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at 400ºF until strips are crisped and golden. If desired, shred Monterey jack on strips, bake until melted.

Veggie & Tortilla Dip  

• 1 tsp Picante Passion
  
• 1/3 cup chopped tomatoes, mashed avocado, sour cream, plain yogurt or cream cheese
  

Blend thoroughly.  Best when left to sit 1 hour before enjoying.

Photo Credit: Julie Cecchini

Fabulous with poultry, fish, vegetables and beans.  Try mixing it with soy sauce for a simple marinade and oil, vinegar and sesame paste for a truly memorable dressing or marinade.

Ingredients: Ginger, Lemon Peel, Curry Powder.

Sizes

Bottle (6 oz.) $8.00 USD Pound (16 0z.) $12.00 USD Sample (1 tbsp) $2.00 USD

Today, new worlds are being discovered by astronauts in vessels that our well tuned technical minds cannot even comprehend.  What effects their discoveries will have on our culture are yet to be seen.  Hundreds of years ago the adventurous Portuguese were the first to set out to explore new worlds and conquer untamed oceans in what we now consider simple boats.  What they brought home from their many adventures were spices-then considered to be more valuable than gold and gems.  Anyone now visiting this colorful and picturesque country will taste the effects of those discoveries in the cuisine.  One sunny day last January we stopped at an outdoor café in a cove where many vessels set off on their journeys.  As we lunched a wonderful meal of curried chicken over mangoes and greens we were entertained by the parrot shown affront, who is surely the descendant of one that might have returned with Magellan from the fabled spice islands.

Recipes for our Lemon Ginger Curry

CURRIED CHICKEN  WITH MANGOES & GREENS

• 2  chicken breasts, sliced
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tsp LEMON GINGER CURRY    
  
• 3 cups baby spinach     
  
• 1 med mango, sliced

Mix curry & yogurt, combine with chicken.  Cook in a clay oven at 350º for 45 min., start checking after 30.  If you don’t have a clay oven, spread in a baking dish and place in brown shopping bag in oven to keep tender. Serve cool chicken over greens and mangoes.

VEGGIE & CHIP DIP

• 1 tsp Lemon Ginger Curry
• 1/3 cup sour cream, plain yogurt or cream cheese

Blend thoroughly.  Best when left to sit 1 hour before enjoying.

Photo Credit:  Julie Cecchini