Why send pics to IVAN?! / Mrs. Dash Salt-Free Seasoning Blend

Hey, cool stuff! Randal sent a bunch of us pictures from his trip to San Francisco and the surrounding area! Although I have to wonder: why the heck is he sending it to IVAN?! I didn't think the two knew each other.... oh well, to each his own! Cool pictures, heh. That reminds me, I should ask Ivan about his parents - but that could get awkward as he doesn't know me that well. Maybe not, I'll see. But I will definitely give out certain birthday cards this weekend! (Karen Lew, Chrystal, Lily, Hannah L., etc.)

I also had a Bookworm game in which I tied my record for not having to scramble letters till Level 25. However, the scramble didn't do me any good because I died very shortly thereafter! Stupid letter "U" stuck in an inconvenient position among the tiles... and now I'm bouncy. This is not going to be good if I want to sleep earlier! UGH!


Mrs. Dash Salt-Free Seasoning Blend

So here's the challenge with this clone recipe: Not only do we have to get the right ratios for nearly 20 different spices, but we also have to come up with a way to get the same lemony tang that makes the real Mrs. Dash the tasty salt-free seasoning blend we've come to know and love over the years. Sure, we could use powdered citric acid that is sometimes found in health food stores, but not everyone is going to have that scary-sounding ingredient readily available. Then we still need to figure out the "lemon juice solids" part. Ah, but wait, there's citric acid and lemon juice solids in Kool-Aid unsweetened lemonade drink mix. It's perfect! Add a little of that drink powder to the spice blend, and we have a clone that in a blindfolded taste test could fool even Mr. Dash.

1/4 cup crushed dried minced onion flakes
4 teaspoons crushed dried vegetable flakes (Schilling)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried orange peel
2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried savory
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon Kool-Aid unsweetened lemonade drink mix
dash crushed dried rosemary

Crushing the vegetable flakes with extreme prejudice.
1. Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and stir well. As you stir, crush the leafy spices for a finer blend.
2. Store the spice blend in a covered container or a sealed shaker bottle. Makes about 2/3 cup.

Tidbits

It's best to use a mortar and pestle to crush these sometimes tough little onion and vegetable flakes to about the size of rice, before adding them to the mix. But if you don't have one of those handy kitchen tools, you may also use the back of a spoon and a small bowl - plus a little grease. You know, the elbow kind.