Hot sauce on popcorn may taste too-good-to-be-true, but this zesty-crunchy snack has real roots on the streets of Mexico in the form of palomitas con salsa.
Bland and buttery no more — here’s the trick to putting hot sauce on popcorn for the most flavorful results.
Antioxidant-Rich Herbs and Spices Add More Than a Flavor Boost
Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN, discusses the latest hot topics in the field of diet, nutrition, and cancer every week in a column called HealthTalk published by The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR). On January 23, 2012, Karen shared some encouraging information about the health benefits of cooking with spices and herbs.
Q: Can cooking with more herbs and spices really add a significant amount of antioxidants to food?
Photo (cc) by Flickr user geishaboy500
A: Yes. Research has shown for some time that herbs and spices are concentrated sources of natural compounds that are strong antioxidants.
Now a small preliminary study shows that blood antioxidant levels increased after people ate a meal with large amounts of added herbs and spices. This study used a mixture of rosemary, oregano, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, garlic, paprika and turmeric.
Try our recipe for Jasmine Rice with Turmeric and Lime.
These herbs and spices are among those with the most research documenting the content of their protective compounds. The amount of herbs and spices added up to more than six teaspoons per person, which is substantially more than most of us typically use in cooking, but it did not reduce enjoyment of the meal’s flavor.
Sevenfold Spice got its start in the luckiest way possible. A man ran into the kitchen at the restaurant, and demanded to know what spices had been put on his toast– and where could he get more. Turns out, the guy was a distributor for a chain of Wyoming convenience stores. And Sevenfold Spices had its first customer, before there was even a business!
The eight gourmet spice blends of Sevenfold Spice originated as JD tried to create consistency at the various restaurants where he worked. Everyone measures a little differently; a spice blend helps a recipe taste the same, no matter who cooks it. But these days, the goal of Sevenfold Spice is to make life easier for home cooks. Just a shake of a mix covers your seasoning needs, and you don’t have to spend time wondering if certain spices go together.
There are three other reasons Sevenfold Spice has the best spice blends: No preservatives, no MSG, and no silicon dioxide. JD is proud of offering ingredients that are pure. Silicon dioxide is used in other spice blends as an anti-caking agent, but has also been linked to some diseases. Without silicon dioxide, Sevenfold spice blends with fine powders (Mexican Spice, for example) might clump a bit over time. “Just mix it up and you’re back in business,” says JD “And next time, eat it faster!”
After years of working unfulfilling jobs – including stints in the oilfield and construction industries – JD wanted to give cooking school a try. He decided to attend a culinary instruction program. He finished his apprenticeship at a local country club. He loved streamlining the cooking process and creating food with flavor. And blending spices was a natural extension.
He developed the Master Spice Blend while working the kitchen at a country club. It contains 14 ingredients, and is the base of 3 additional Spice blends – Mexican, Habenero, and Garlic Spice Blends. The Burger Blend came to be in the back of a local bar and grill, and is the base of BBQ, Lemon and Italian Spice Blends.
Some of the blends were created for restaurants, some for family members (JD has 6 brothers and 4 sisters!), and some have even better stories. The Lemon Blend came to be after a fishing buddy challenged JD to make a spice for fish that was better than anything at the store. It’s great on any seafood, chicken, and even buttered noodles!
Sevenfold Master Spice Blend
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