Flavored Salts: Bacon

Though I made five different flavored salts at once, I will be doing a post for each flavor separately.

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Bacon Salt

Ingredients:

  • 1 package thin cut bacon, cooked, cooled and crumbled
  • 2 cups Kosher salt
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Also needed:

  • food processor, coffee/spice grinder
  • small rubber spatula
  • jar with lid, large enough to have room to shake the salt, or a mixing bowl
  • a larger funnel or canning funnel would also be handy

Note: the bacon needs to be cooked until very crisp, then drained of as much fat as possible.  I find the easier way to do this is to cook the bacon in the oven.  Line a baking tray (a 13×9 inch jelly roll pan works well for this) with aluminum foil and top with an oven safe cooling rack.  Lay your bacon slices out on the rack.  It may take some finagling to get them all to fit!  Cook the bacon in a 350F oven until dark and crisp, flipping the slices about half way through.  Once cooked, place the bacon on paper towels to get rid of any surface fat.  Go ahead and crumble it up with the paper towel in the process.  Leave the bacon on paper towel to cool completely – I left it overnight.

Step 1: using grinder or processor, pulse the bacon pieces in batches until they are quite fine. 

Note: the bacon may quickly become paste-like, and stick to the sides.  Use the rubber spatula to scrape it off in between batches.

Step 2: measure 2 cups Kosher salt into a jar.

Step 3: add the bacon bits to the salt and shake.

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I should have used a bigger jar!

Note: it may be necessary to use a mixing bowl to combine the salt and bacon.  Use your hands to rub the bacon into the salt and break up any clumps, then transfer to a jar, or divide into small gift jars.

Due to the fat content that may still be on the bacon, this salt is best stored in the refrigerator.  

Links for all five flavors made:
Rosemary Lemon
Scarborough Fair Garlic
Mushroom
Raspberry Wine
Bacon

Flavored Salts: Mushroom

Though I made five different flavored salts at once, I will be doing a post for each flavor separately.

flavoured.salts.five.mixes

Dry salts are made with a basic ratio of 1 tsp flavors to 1/4 cup coarse salt.  Feel free to adjust to your own personal tastes!  For the salt, you can use Kosher salt, pickling salt, sea salt, or any coarse salt you prefer.  I used Kosher salt, which is fine enough to not need further grinding, but coarse enough to maintain a nice texture.

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Note: you can use any dried mushroom you prefer for this mix.  I used a gourmet blend from Costco. 

Mushroom Salt

Ingredients:

  • dried mushrooms
  • Kosher salt

Also needed:

  • food processor, coffee/spice grinder or mortar and pestle
  • jar with lid, large enough to have room to shake the salt
  • a larger funnel or canning funnel would also be handy

Note: you will need about 4 tsp powdered mushroom for 1 cup of salt.  I used quite a bit more dried mushroom than needed for my 2 cups of salt.  After grinding it down to a powder, I measured out what I needed for the amount of salt I had, then put the rest into a sealed jar to use as flavoring during cooking.

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Step 1: grind the dry mushrooms to a powder. 

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Step 2: measure the Kosher salt into a jar.

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Step 3: measure our your mushroom powder and add it to the salt.  Cover and shake thoroughly.

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Step 4: Label your jar and set aside for about a week, out of direct sunlight, to give the flavors time to meld, giving the jar a thorough shake on a regular basis.

If desired, measure out portions of the combined mixture into gifting jars.

Links for all five flavors made:
Rosemary Lemon
Scarborough Fair Garlic
Mushroom
Raspberry Wine
Bacon

Flavored Salts: Scarborough Fair Garlic Salt

Though I made five different flavored salts at once, I will be doing a post for each flavor separately.

flavoured.salts.five.mixes

Dry salts are made with a basic ratio of 1 tsp flavors to 1/4 cup coarse salt.  Feel free to adjust to your own personal tastes!  For the salt, you can use Kosher salt, pickling salt, sea salt, or any coarse salt you prefer.  I used Kosher salt, which is fine enough to not need further grinding, but coarse enough to maintain a nice texture.

While choosing herbs to go with garlic in this salt, I found I had plenty of parsley, thyme and rosemary.  I couldn’t resist.  I had to get thyme, as well.  Hence the name, Scarborough Fair Garlic Salt.

Ingredients:

  • parsley
  • sage
  • rosemary
  • thyme
  • dehydrated garlic
  • Kosher salt

Also needed:

  • food processor, coffee/spice grinder or mortar and pestle
  • jar with lid, large enough to have room to shake the salt
  • a larger funnel or canning funnel would also be handy
flavoured.salts.scarboroughfair.garlic.1

Step 1: measure out the herbs to match your quantity of salt; about 1 tsp of each herb per 1 cup of salt (feel free to adjust to taste)

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Note: I used a coffee grinder on the dried garlic slices and the rosemary leaves to grind them to a fine powder.  You can skip this step by getting all pre-ground herbs, instead.

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Step 2: measure out the salt (I used 2 cups, here).

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Step 3: add the herbs to the salt, cover and shake thoroughly.

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Step 4: Label your jar and set aside for about a week, out of direct sunlight, to give the flavors time to meld, giving the jar a thorough shake on a regular basis.

If desired, measure out portions of the combined mixture into gifting jars.

Flavored Salts: Rosemary Lemon


Though I made five different flavored salts at once, I will be doing a post for each flavor separately.

flavoured.salts.five.mixes

Dry salts are made with a basic ratio of 1 tsp flavors to 1/4 cup coarse salt.  Feel free to adjust to your own personal tastes!  For the salt, you can use Kosher salt, pickling salt, sea salt, or any coarse salt you prefer.  I used Kosher salt, which is fine enough to not need further grinding, but coarse enough to maintain a nice texture.

Rosemary Lemon Salt

Ingredients:

  • lemon zest
  • dried rosemary leaves
  • Kosher salt

Also needed:

  • food processor, coffee/spice grinder or mortar and pestle
  • jar with lid, large enough to have room to shake the salt
  • a larger funnel or canning funnel would also be handy

Step 1: measure out the lemon zest and rosemary leaves (see note below).

flavoured.salts.rosemarylemon.1
Dehydrated lemon zest and rosemary leaves.

Note: For 1 cup of salt, you will want about 4 tsp ground rosemary/lemon mixture.  I made mine using 2 cups of salt, so I used about 3 rounded tablespoons total (1 Tbsp = 3 tsp) of the lemon zest and rosemary leaves, to get approximately 8 tsp after grinding.

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Lemon zest and rosemary leaves, ground together.

Step 2: grind the rosemary leaves and lemon zest together, to a fairly fine powder.

flavoured.salts.kosher.salt
Two cups Kosher salt.

Step 3: measure out your salt into a jar.

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Kosher salt with rosemary, lemon zest powder.

Step 4: add ground rosemary and lemon zest to the salt.  Close the jar and shake thoroughly.

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Step 5: Label your jar and set aside for about a week, out of direct sunlight, to give the flavors time to meld, giving the jar a thorough shake on a regular basis.

If desired, measure out portions of the combined mixture into gifting jars.

Links for all five flavors made:
Rosemary Lemon
Scarborough Fair Garlic
Mushroom
Raspberry Wine
Bacon

Abandoned

Usually, when I do my morning rounds, I stick to the inner yard and the garage.  Every now and then, though, I go farther afield and check on the septic field and the sheds in the outer yard.

Today was one of those days, and it took me past the old Farm Hand tractor that’s still sitting among the collapsing outbuildings.

You know how you walk past things time and again, look at them, but don’t always “see” what’s there, then suddenly something that’s always been there, catches your attention?

I had one of those moments today, when I saw this.

Continue reading

Sunrise, sunset

Ooof.

What a long day today – and it’s not even 6pm as I write this!

The girls and I planned to head out early to the city, which meant I was out earlier than usual to do my rounds.  The outside cats did not seem to appreciate me coming out so early to feed them! :-D The sun wasn’t even up yet, but what a beautiful sky! Continue reading

One Year Ago Today: the disaster of the movers

Things have been pretty quiet around here, lately.  We’ve been slowly decorating the house for Christmas, wrapping a few gifts, getting my husband to a medical appointment.  Tomorrow, the girls and I will be making a trip into the city.  Pretty boring and domestic stuff.

Thinking back to last year, I have really learned to appreciate boring and domestic! Continue reading