Spice Spice Baby

I always love talking food with Abi. It's become one of our things! “I’ve got this in the fridge. What do you think?” “I made this for brunch last week, you would have loved it!” We talk about everything food, so I was really surprised when she was surprised that I had been making my own spice blends. It seems like something that we would have talked about. Like most things, they were created out of necessity. I didn’t have the spice I needed, but I had the components so bada bing, bada boom - Spices Blends. I really didn’t think it was all that special, because I needed to cook so I made what I needed. 

Baby Sis was born during the holiday season, and Christmas breakfast is very special to me. After a C-section during a pandemic, I couldn’t do the Big Breakfast I/my mom would normally do, but I was determined to have a little razzle dazzle. I had planned for shrimp and grits. I was going to be following Beyond the Pot’s recipe and had gotten all the groceries together. It wasn’t until I started cooking that I realized we didn’t have any Tony Chachere's. So I hit the interwebs like I always do. Found a couple of recipes and then married what made sense to me. It was perfect. We would use it to make a sheet pan Shrimp “boil” and anything else I wanted to make “Cajun”. I used that same blend to season salmon for a dinner I made for a friend and ended up sending her home with the rest because she liked it so much.

It wasn’t supposed to be a thing, because for me, it wasn’t. It wasn’t the first time I needed to make my own spices. Rotisserie for chicken, Southwest for chili and Tex-Mex, or recreating my sister’s Garlic Basil veggies. I needed it so I made it. It wasn’t until my friend said that she “needed” it too that I thought about producing them to share with all my Franns. As you probably have gathered, I don’t really think about sharing the things I’ve created. I’m not typically the person looking to start a business venture or post a tutorial. The conversation usually goes, “Look I made this!” “Oooo, this is noiice! This all you?” “Yeah, it wasn’t that hard.” “(Insert the business idea)”. My mom was GOOD for this! She would see a thing and find so much vision in it.

 A few years back I started making home decor, for no other reason than I didn’t have a lot of money and I needed home decor! Coffee table, canopy hanging for my bed, and wall sconces. (My dad’s a carpenter). Well, my mom saw those sconces and her brain got to whirling! “You and your dad can host a class at the community center! (where she organized programs) It could be a daddy/daughter class…” She’s got all the logistics worked out! I kind of cringed, because why would anyone want that?! Honestly, it was just the dance of our relationship. We never actually hosted the class, because I wouldn’t agree but she often thought people needed what I had to offer. So this project is somewhat in honor of her memory! The thing I made that I allowed myself to see more in! And because my mama LOVED a good meal with great company.

So I’m excited to be able to share these spices with each of you this summer! While I’m getting the blends ready, Abi will be taking us on a flavor journey! She’ll be sharing recipes featuring each of the blends, so you’ll be ready to use yours! Hopefully to be enjoyed in the company of your best franns.