This the season for pumpkin spiced everything. Truthfully I like pumpkin spice. I like the flavour of it. I find LOTS of people think they like pumpkin spice. Truth is, they like sugar. It’s been a fabulous marking ploy calling it “pumpkin spice”. If you look at the label of any prepackaged or mass produced pumpkin spiced product the sugar is off the charts.
This spice blend is so easy to make, and it will keep for months. I put it in waffles, my version of bullet proof coffee, smoothies, if you eat grains you can put it in oatmeal. If you love it as much as I do, you’ll find places to put it! I worked at a Juice bar for a short time and I put it in warm almond milk and it was delicious!
I like to grind my own spices for optimal freshness. The second the spices are ground, whether in your kitchen or in some factory around the world, the spices are oxidized and start to lose their flavour. I can’t stress enough the flavour difference between fresh and the commercially ground stuff in the stores. It’s literally night and day! I specifically remember the first time I ground my own cardamom. It blew me away. Grating your own nutmeg will also change the game. Grinding your own cinnamon is a totally different animal compared to stale commercially ground cinnamon. Give it a go! Unless you make your own dried ginger, it will be very hard to find whole dried ginger, so don’t worry about grinding that, go with the store version available.
I buy my whole spices from the grocery store. I prefer organic ones because they don’t have pesticides. A lot of spices don’t grow in Canada so they are imported and who knows that chemical additives are added in other countries. I don’t buy my spices from bulk stores as the bins are opened and closed all day long, leaving them stale and less flavourful. Also bulk terrifies me because of possible cross contamination with peanuts. In my head some careless person goes around switching scoops for giggles.
I’ve had my same $10 spice grinder from Zeller’s for a decade and it works really well. It might actually be a coffee grinder. As far as I’m concerned it’s the same thing. I know there are very high end ones what you can use for medicinal roots and herbs etc, but it works and I cheap out where I can.
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp fresh ground cinnamon (6-7 sticks depending on size)
- 2 tsp grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground allspice berries
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves (approximately 12 cloves)
Instructions:
I grind or grate each ingredient separately and add to a bowl. Once I’ve ground my spices, I pour the blend back into the spice grinder and give it another wiz just to incorporate.
This will store in a sealed jar for 6 months. (I found a ziplock in the bottom of my lunch bag and used it 8 months later and was still good, less flavourful, but good!)
Food Uncomplicated 