Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket and A Balanced Diet

Among my presents at Christmas was a jar of Moroccan spice blend. It was from my mum. A home-made mixture of ground cumin, coriander, paprika, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, turmeric, chilli and nutmeg.

It’s delicious and has real oomph. It’s one of the foods that’s saved me while I’ve been super-busy because it’s instant flavour.

I haven’t had to muck around with sauces, individual spices, stock or slow cooking. I haven’t needed to think, plan or do extra shopping. Instead, one spoonful of my Moroccan spice blend and layers of taste and complexity are added to whatever I’m cooking.

How I’ve used it

• I’ve added it to roasted vegetables
• Mixed it up with yoghurt in dressings
• Used it to flavour Kalyn’s egg muffins.
• Cooked it up with lentils and vegetables
• Sprinkled it over cooked rice and steamed veg
• Dusted tofu in it prior to stir-frying
• Used it in a quick lentil soup
• Stirred it through warm cooked chickpeas with chunks of tomato and fresh herbs

I love this mixture, but you don’t have to use this particular blend. You also don’t have to make your own. But having a pre-made spice mix or other means of adding instant flavour to food, can be a dietary saviour.

I’m down to the last few teaspoons and I don’t have the recipe! So as soon as I post this, I’m going to be emailing mum!

What’s this all about?

This is the first in a series of posts about the foods which save me when I’m super-busy. It’s a companion piece to my post on how I make it easy to eat well.

Photograph by Whirling Phoenix under the terms of a creative commons license.

13 March, 2008