Savory Spice Week: Day 5

The last blend in my bag was entitled "Homestead Seasoning".  As I grew up on a "homestead" where my Great-Grandfather staked his claim in the Cherokee Strip Landrun on Sept. 16, 1893, I was all set to talk about that story and lead you towards a cowboy styled spice.  Well, it quickly occurred to me that that wasn't the type of "homestead" they were referring to. Here are the ingredients: Hungarian paprika, garlic, salt, black pepper, sugar, honey powder, onion, smoked sweet Spanish paprika, coriander, mild mustard powder, shallots, parsley and spices.  It is possible that my Great-Grandfather had some of these, but probably not most.  I gave the sample a sniff and was intrigued, but a bit short on time and ideas...hmmmm

Today's recipe:  Homestead Pork Chops

Ingredients:

4, 1 to 1.5 inch boneless pork chops

1 1/3 T. Homestead Seasoning

Oil 

You remember back to Monday, when I told you that we don't really have pork chops much? Yeah, I felt kind of bad about that as my husband loves pork chops.  So, while dropping off some Savory Spice samples at Edmond's Meat House on Wednesday, I picked up these awesome boneless pork chops.  Thursday morning, I simply slathered the 1 2/3 lbs of pork chops with 1 1/3 Tablespoons of the Homestead seasonings in the morning and left them in the fridge all day. 

After school, we toured the progress on the spice shop (more on that below).  By the time we got home we were ready for something easy and delicious.  So, I heated up our grill pan and cooked these on each side.  I finished them in a 400 degree oven because of their thickness and fears of overly charring the outside. 

Here's what we ended up having for dinner.  I'd love to say those are local fruits and veggies, but sadly not.  I decided to try and perk up the blah canned green beans with the Homestead Seasoning as well and it worked perfectly.  It did take a bit more than you'd think, but was a fabulous kick to an ordinary dish.   My husband was again quite impressed by the flavor as was I.  I suspect that having had time to sit and using really high quality meat helped, but this was a flavor I suspect will become a staple at our house.  I am particularly fascinated by the honey powder that is found in this and other blends as well as on its own.  I am already dreaming up possible uses.  I think this seasoning is my favorite of the versatile samples we've tried this week and one we'll likely be tossing on vegetables, in particular in the future as well as pork chops like these beauties. 

Quick Intro Spice Shop Tour:

The kids have been begging to visit the shop all week.  We went right after school today and wandered around with them for almost an hour.  They loved it!

Here is B helping Grandma B label the various sorts of pepper. 

E and Brent were reading through the baking spices and cocoa.  So much temptation.

This is a fabulous Tarragon Shallot Citrus blend that I am buying my friend Chrissie immediately after opening.  I think she'll love it... I might get me some too.  As you can see, for each spice/blend/salt, etc.. there is a taster.  You can shake a little out on your hand to taste or smell the sample.  The kids and I helped unseal a lot of these today and they smell so good.  B and I decided we really wanted basically anything that involved cheese or chocolate and probably needed some more salts at minimum.  I did find myself repeatedly telling Brent that I thought I'd like a little of this or that.  He smiled and nodded. 

And then fed the baby while we continued to wander.  He is an awesome guy and you all are going to love this shop!  

Here are the earlier days in this series, in cased you missed one!

Savory Spice Week Day 1 -- Long's Peak Spiced Pork Loin

Savory Spice Week Day 2 -- Summit County Seasoning

Savory Spice Week Day 3 -- Wash Park All-Purpose Seasoning

Savory Spice Week Day 4 --Lake Barkley Fried Chicken Seasoning

For those of you that live nearby, you can find the shop and all its wares at 4400 N. Western Ave, Oklahoma City, OK.  If you happen to live elsewhere and want to buy some spices from my brother you can reach him at awblakley (at) gmail.com or the store's phone number will soon be open at 405 - 525 -9119. 

Disclaimer - I am not an owner or employee of the shop and am not compensated in any way by SavorySpiceOKC ...other than the free samples I'm using to cook with that are available to anyone.  I was not asked to write this review and all opinions are my own.