Spice Mixes

Our spice mixes are made in small batches with our herbs picked fresh, with no chemical stabilizers or moisture absorbers. In humid Hawaii, the freshly dried herbs can sometimes get too moist after a month or so making them clump. If this happens just heat your oven on the lowest setting - usually around 170 degrees - then turn it off. Spread the spice mix on a cookie sheet (on top of parchment paper if you have some, makes refilling the bottles easy!) and leave in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Refill the bottle with a funnel, and your delicious spices will be good as new!

Garlic Pepper ~ Makes a great rub for the grill, and on garlic bread, fabulous on steamed/roasted/sauteed vegies, cooked in with rice and couscous. It also makes a great dip and salad dressing, see below for recipe.

Italian Herb Blend - Use in your favorite marinara sauce, with olive oil and/or butter for pasta, sprinkled on garlic bread, mix with oil and vinegar for Italian dressing, or add to a little olive oil for a delicious Italian style rub for beef, pork or chicken.

Pizza Seasoning - Add 1-2 teaspoons to one can of tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. Use on your favorite pizza crust, french bread or english muffin and top with cheese. Delicious as a dip for bread or mozzarella sticks.

Rosemary Pepper - Makes a fantastic rub for poultry, try it on garlic bread or mixed with olive oil/butter and serve over pasta. Stuff button mushrooms with goat cheese and sprinkle with this seasoning for an incredible appetizer - bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 400*.

Greek Seasoning - Add to olive oil and red wine vinegar for a fabulous Greek Vinaigrette. Sprinkle on garlic bread, use as a rub for chicken, lamb or beef. Add to ground lamb or beef (or a combo) for a great Greek burger. Add to eggs with spinach and feta for a perfect Greek Scramble.

Orange Tarragon Herb Blend - A pinch or two will take scrambled eggs and omelets to a whole new level. Great with almost any chicken or white fish dish as a rub, in a marinade or a sauce. Pasta and rice too, mixed with a little butter and broth.

Seafood Spice Mix - Use like you would Old Bay, good for boils, broils, poach or grills. It also livens up seafood stews, rice pots and fish salads.

Seasoning Salt - Wherever you use salt and pepper you can use our unique blend. Created for the Asian flavors of the Hawaiian Islands with green onion and a hint of citrus, this is great with grilled fish, pork, chicken, and beef. Also fabulous sprinkled on potatoes and rice, salads and vegetables. Try it with scrambled eggs and omelets, mmmm.

Island Curry - A mild curry with island spices, this blend will transform any dish you make into something special . It pairs fantastically with coconut milk, seafood, and chicken (see our Chicken Pilau recipe below). Great with tofu too!

Jerk Seasoning - The taste of Jamaican Jerk with the ease of a seasoning mix. Use as a dry rub on your favorite meat or mix with olive oil and a little lime juice for a wet marinade. Leave on for at least a day before cooking for best results, two days is even better!

North African Spice Blend - A unique and delicious rub for chicken, steak or tofu. Mix with olive oil and a little white vinegar for a memorable marinade. For a tandoori style marinade add spice blend to yogurt with a little olive oil and juice from half a lemon. I like to add this blend to homemade falafals, and it is wonderful in lentil soup (we make our lentil soup vegetarian with potatoes and spinach or chard). We are still experimenting with the wonderful tastes in this blend, so check back for more recipes soon!

Chile Powder - The classic taco seasoning, fresh and tasty. Beyond tacos, use it to flavor refried beans, as a rub or to flavor stews. See the recipe below for a fantastic and easy enchilada sauce too.

Italian Sausage Spice Mix - Love Italian sausage? You can make your own with this delicious seasoning blend using the ground meat or meat substitute of your choice. You can also use it to flavor marinara's and soups without adding the meat! We use about 1 1/2 Tablespoons per pound of ground meat for sausage.

Moroccan Seasoning - If you love gyros or shawarmas, you will love the flavors in this mix. Use straight as rub on chicken or mix with a little olive oil for a marinade. Equally good with beef and lamb. Mix with plain Greek yogurt, olive oil and little lemon juice for a creamy dressing, perfect with grilled vegetables like zucchini and eggplant. A traditional recipe is to take a few teaspoons full with a pound of ground meat, let rest for an hour or a day, and grill or broil in cigar shaped small patties for a fantastic kofta style pupu!

Cinnamon Toast Spice Mix- Simply the best - comfort food in a bottle! Thick, freshly toasted bread spread with a little butter and sprinkled with this cinnamon mix is just fabulous. Also great on yogurt, granola, oatmeal, vanilla ice cream... or Sierra's style, a dipping for her apple banana's!

Sierra's Popcorn Seasoning - If you are like Sierra and you love popcorn and you love cheese, this is your new favorite mix. Add a little butter and salt first if you want, but after the second or third bowl you'll find even the popcorn is optional, this is an addicting flavor. Sierra also loves this mix on her steamed veggies, and her friend Ben even puts it on quesadillas! Have you heard of Umami? This is the 5th taste: sweet, salty, bitter, sweet and Sierra's Popcorn Seasoning!

"Life is like a grapefruit. It is orange and squishy, and has a few pips in it, and some folks have half a one for breakfast."  Douglas Adams

Recipes:


Mulligatawny

2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter
1 tablespoon Black Dog Farms Garam Masala
1 tablespoon Black Dog Farms Island Curry
2 tablespoons flour

1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1 potato (I like yukon gold)
1 small head of cauliflower
1 box or bag of frozen spinach
1 cup cooked rice (I like short grain brown rice, jasmine works well too)
1 can coconut milk, well shaken (about 14 oz)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Heat olive oil and coconut oil or butter in a heavy, large pot over medium. Add onions and carrots., saute until soft. Add garlic and saute for another minute.

Stir in Garam Masala, Island Curry Powder, flour and a generous pinch of salt, coating the vegetables, saute for 2 minutes (if too thick, add a touch more olive oil). Add a small amount of the chicken stock and stir to remove any clumps formed by the roux. Add the remaining chicken stock and turn heat to medium high. Bring the soup to a boil, stir in the remaining vegetables, and reduce heat back to medium-low. Partially cover and cook for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes and cauliflower are soft. Add the rice and cook for 5 minutes more.

Turn heat to simmer and add coconut milk, stirring to mix thoroughly. Be careful not to heat too high or for more than a few minutes or the coconut milk might split. Add salt and cracked pepper to taste.

This is a fabulous, easy soup to make. If you prefer meat soups, this is also good with chunks of chicken - a great way to use left overs or a rotisserie.


Creamy Garlic Parmesan Peppercorn Dip/Salad Dressing

1 Tablespoon Garlic Pepper Seasoning
2/3 Cup Mayonnaise
1/3 Cup Plain Yogurt or Buttermilk
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 to 1/3 Cup grated parmesan cheese
pinch of salt if desired

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour before use. If using as a dressing and you want it a little thinner, add a spoonful of water at a time (or milk) until desired consistency. If using as a dip and you want it a little thicker or richer, substitute the yogurt or buttermilk for sour cream. Kids of all ages love this recipe!

Chicken Pilau

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, thighs work great
1 1/2 Cups white rice, uncooked
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 cup chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1 Cup coconut milk
1 Cup chicken broth
1 diced onion
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapenos more or less to taste
2-3 Tablespoons light vegetable oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons Island Curry Seasoning
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
Chop chicken into 2" pieces, place in plastic bag or bowl with Island Curry Seasoning, onions, garlic and jalapeno. Marinate for 1 hour up to overnight. Heat oil in frying pan and cook chicken and marinade ingredients until lightly brown, does not have to be all the way cooked through. Put chicken broth, coconut milk and liquid from tomatoes in a measuring cup, add water if necessary to reach 3 cups. In a large pot with lid, add liquid ingredients and bring to a simmer. Stir in rice and remaining ingredients, top with chicken mixture and cover. Cook until rice is done, 20-30 minutes, stir together and serve. The blend of flavors in this dish is amazing.

Easy Enchilada Sauce

2 Tablespoons Chile Powder Seasoning
2 Tablespoons flour
4 Tablespoons light vegetable oil
2 Cups chicken or vegetable broth
Heat a medium or large sauce pan with the oil, stir in flour and mix constantly for 2 minutes. Stir in Chile Powder and mix for another 2 minutes. Slowly add room temperature or warm broth, stirring constantly. When it is smooth, simmer on low for 20-30 minutes until thick, stirring occasionally as needed. That's it! This recipe is easily doubled for a large batch, or halved to use as a sauce for tacos. Our kids like this so much we often use it for a soup base and add corn, zucchini, potatoes, rice, whatever we have on hand, serve with cheese sprinkled on top.

Mexican Soup

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons  butter
2 sweet Maui onions, chopped
4 -6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 green bell peppers, roughly chopped
6 small corn tortillas, tear into pieces (about 1¼ cups)
1 tablespoon Black Dog Farms Chile Powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
8 cups chicken stock or broth
(1 teaspoon salt if using homemade broth or water)
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or 1 serrano/jalapeno if you like a little warmth

Garnishes:

Crushed tortilla chips
Fresh cilantro
Chopped cooked chicken
Diced avocados and/or tomatoes
Crumbled Cotija or Feta cheese
Lime wedges** (really makes the broth!!)

Directions

Heat olive oil and butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onions and green pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and just starting to brown, about 15 minutes. Add garlic (and hot pepper if using) and cook for one more minute.

Add corn tortillas, chile powder and cumin and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, a few minutes more. Add chicken stock, salt and cayenne pepper if using, and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes, then puree in blender in batches, or use an immersion blender until completely smooth). Stir in chicken if using, then ladle soup into bowls and add your favorite garnishes.