Smoked Brined Trout

Trout is such an underrated fish. It's hardly fishy and has such a mild, delicate flavor. This makes it perfect for our brine. Our Northwest Forest Brine is forward with spices like juniper, California bay leaf, and fennel; infusing the flaky trout from the inside and out. As if this flavor bomb wasn't enough, we heat-smoked the trout to make it really taste like the Cascade Mountains. This brine does more than keep our trout juicy, it also helps preserve it making it a delicacy, hot or cold. Feel free to use any fresh trout available in your area. We always suggest buying local, the fresher the better!For a tasty salad we dressed the trout in a sour cream-Lemon Herb Pepper dressing. Then we added it atop a mound of peppery arugula for a complete meal. Enjoy it on toast with some thinly sliced radishes!

Learn more

Cedar Plank Za'atar Salmon

Who doesn't love a recipe with only a few ingredients but a TON of flavor? This salmon is bold, smoky, flaky, and delicious. Enjoy it hot and fresh off of the plank or the next day in a tasty salad. We liberally sprinkled some Syrian Za'atar on a couple of sides of sockeye salmon. Then we hot smoked them for 30 minutes, finishing the fillets with fresh lemon. What makes this salmon extra special is the flavors in our Syrian Za'atar. Citrusy sumac harmonizes with the toasted sesame seeds, coriander, and cumin. The fattiness of salmon is perfect with these nutty and warm flavors. We've had dill on salmon plenty of times, now's the time to fall in love with some za'atar smoked salmon!Check out our Sumac Cauliflower Steak with El Greco Spelt Salad for an amazing pairing for your leftover Za'atar Smoked Salmon.

Learn more

Chicken Nigella Caesar Pasta Salad

Our Nigella Caesar makes chicken breast juicy and brown nicely. It's also a delicious sprinkle and makes such an easy homemade dressing, only needing water and oil. This dressing is awesome to have on hand, not just for a twist on a traditional Caesar salad, but also as a marinade and sauce. In this recipe, it gets used both ways — to marinate our chicken and to coat the pasta salad. We used some summer staples like fresh tomatoes, cucumber and arugula to bring it all together. We also dabbled with some lentil gluten-free pasta for some extra protein, but feel free to use your own favorite pasta. Enjoy this salad warm or as cold leftovers, if you have any!

Learn more

Green Za'atar Frittata

This recipes takes about 3 minutes and only dirties a couple dishes. Through out the year, this recipe evolves with whatever is in season and whatever veggies I have in my fridge. The foundation is always a light spritz of olive oil on my plate or bowl, eggs and a 2 minute cook. Once my eggs are 3/4ths of the way cooked, I load them up with veggies such as leftover tomato sauce and arugula. I finish the open faced omelet for another minute in the microwave and give my frittata a generous sprinkle of whatever spice I'm craving. Here I used our Green Za'atar, that has toasted sesame seeds, dill, oregano and sumac for a kick of tartness. Surprise your family with a perfectly cooked frittata that took as long as making your cup of joe.

Learn more

Harissa Grilled Chicken Wings

Chicken wings are a perfect game day dish, and our winning strategy scores with bold flavor! A quick toss in a Harissa dry rub followed with a saucy glaze combining butter, Moroccan Preserved Meyer Lemon Paste, vinegar and honey brings the platter to the table without much fuss and they are absolutely delicious. The bold, toasty flavor of Harissa has mild smoky heat that goes well with all your favorite dipping sauces. Grilling gives that great char flavor and their moist, meaty texture is always a crowd pleaser. Buffalo and blue cheese have met their match!

Learn more

Shrimp Fajitas

Few dishes make an entrance quite like fajitas. Their loud sizzle and wafting steam is mouth watering and a crowd favorite. For a quick and easy meal, we seasoned shrimp with some of our Fajita Taco Spice. This blend has taco staples like cumin, paprika, onion, garlic and black pepper. Not surprisingly, this blend has consistently been one of our best sellers for decades. What makes our Fajita & Taco Spice special compared to the standard store-bought packet is that it is salt- and preservative-free. We grind it fresh, keeping the flavor and brightness of the tomato and guajillo chile. Colorful bell pepper, sweet yellow onion, and juicy gulf shrimp make for fantastic fajitas. Now, treat yourself to taco night because you earned this! Cheers!

Learn more

Caribbean Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple upside down cake has been a cherished dessert for generations, with fond memories going back before the 1950's. We decided it was about time to give the recipe a bit of a facelift while still keeping true to the its roots. What we ended up with is a cake that's fruity, bold, and more flavorful than ever. A melody of allspice and bay leaves give this upside down cake a vibrant Caribbean flair, although the true star of the show here is long pepper. The pine cone-shaped spice is gingery and has notes of cardamom and black pepper. This flavor in the gooey caramel at the bottom layer of this cake is simply other-worldly. Buttery, fluffy, fruity, spicey — this is everything you'd want wrapped up in one drool-worthy dessert!

Learn more

Tabil Plantain Chips

At the shop, we are frequently asked, "what spice is underrated?" The Tunisian blend Tabil is our go-to answer. It's a simple blend consisting of caraway, garlic, chile flakes, and coriander. All of the spices get toasted to bring out their nutty, umami notes. We took green (under ripened) plantains to another level by thinly slicing, then frying them until crispy. Once done, we added a mixture of Tabil, salt and a little bit of brown sugar. This snack is addictive and full of flavor. These are delicious with a dip like hummus or as a crunchy topping on rice and beans or a salad. Have fun playing with this blend - it's bold, savory flavor has found its way into most of our daily staples.

Learn more

Galaxy Pops

While ice pops are a classic, summertime staple; these are simply out of this world. They naturally get their starry night color from Butterfly Pea Flowers. This recipe was inspired by our Butterfly Pea Flower Horchata. Horchata is a Mexican rice milk beverage that is traditionally flavored with cinnamon. We made these pops a little richer using sweetened condensed milk to add creaminess. Additionally, we took some of the rice pudding base and pureed butterfly pea flowers that have a slight green tea flavor. A galaxy-like effect was created by pouring the creamy white horchata mix on top of the beautiful, deep blue, butterfly base. These pops easily freeze in Dixie cups as a mold. For the green Martian pops, we used some basil and lime juice. Treat yourself to one of each! They're sure to be the star of your hot summer day.To make this a completely vegan/dairy-free recipe, substitute cream of coconut for the sweetened condensed milk in the horchata mix.

Learn more