Southwest Pumpkin Soup

This southwest pumpkin soup is a delicious fall treat, perfectly spiced with warm heat from our Chorizo Bomb. Sultry smoke from our perennial favorite, smoked paprika, rounds out the taste. Cooking your own pumpkin for this recipe is really easy, but the canned pureé works fine as well. Serve it up with crusty bread and a nice porter or stout and you’ve got an instant Oktoberfest!

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Paprika Potatoes

Smoked Sweet Paprika is an indispensable ingredient in any spice pantry, and the authors of Fresh & Fermented agree! Check out their delicious recipe below!"Smoked paprika, also known as pimentón, has finally reached mainstream status in the spice world, and not a minute too soon. Made from pimento peppers that have been dried or smoked over a fire, this spice imparts a robust smoky flavor. As a hearty side, this dish pairs well with your favorite sausages, pork loin, or any grilled meat. Leftovers are delicious with eggs in a breakfast burrito or scrambled into a breakfast hash."

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Caraway Kraut

Fermented food just continues to become more popular every year. We were glad to find this local cookbook, Fresh & Fermented: 85 Delicious Ways to Make Fermented Carrots, Kraut, and Kimchi Part of Every Meal by Julie O’Brien and Richard Climenhage. Here's a sneak peek at one of their recipes...From the Author: "We didn’t start making Caraway Kraut until our third year in business—we just weren’t sure if our customers would like the distinctive caraway flavor. When we started experimenting, however, it took just one test batch to convince us that Caraway Kraut belonged in Firefly’s lineup of fermented foods.Caraway Kraut contributes its pleasing earthy taste to some of the recipes in this book and also makes a great side dish for grilled meats or mashed potatoes. It’s the perfect addition to the classic Reuben (of course) and adds intrigue to potato salads and coleslaws too. Whirl it with fresh avocado for a simple sandwich spread or as a dip for chips and veggies. (The acid does double duty—it adds flavor and keeps the avocado from getting brown.)Caraway Kraut brine, which results from the fermentation process, is a delicious tonic on its own. For hundreds of years people have been drinking sauerkraut brine to heal ulcers or temper hangovers—it’s a well-known Russian remedy—and that inspired us to start bottling and selling the extra brine as our first Tummy Tonic."

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Voodoo Pimento Cheese Ball

Looking to bring the appetizer A-game to the next house party? This recipe is the ultimate game-day snack and a real fan favorite of ours. Voodoo seasoning has robust ingredients like Aleppo Pepper, brown and yellow mustard, allspice, thyme, onion, and garlic. These flavors compliment the bright pimento and rich cheese perfectly. Whip this up, set it in the center of the table, and watch it disappear!

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Ras el Hanout Kaleidoscope Salad

This colorful salad is a delicious fall favorite. First off, Ras El Hanout and butternut squash or pumpkin is a match made in heaven. Often containing up to 20 ingredients, the complexity of Ras el Hanout is part of what makes it so versatile. Ours has a mild, savory base with peaks of exotic pepper and swirls of floral ether. Pair that with the dark leafy kale tenderized with vinegar and wilted by the warm squash, top it off with the pop of fresh pomegranate and a little nutty crunch and you have a kaleidoscope of texture, color and flavor.This is a great dish to keep on hand through the season for a healthy lunch, and it will look beautiful on your holiday table.

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Brussels Sprouts with Za'atar and Nigella

Brussels sprouts are a leftover food trauma from childhood that I've finally overcome. The limp, stinky-sulfur blobs (sorry, Mom) have been replaced with a crisp, roasted vegetable that is full of flavor and befitting a fall feast. Best of all, these are easy to make and a perfect vehicle for one of my favorite spice blends, Green Za'atar. The combination of herbs, sesame and sumac make this spice blend good enough to eat straight out of the jar, but it is even better on the brussels sprouts. A sprinkle of nigella seeds tops the dish off with an exotic garnish and a hint of nutty onion flavor.

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Pasilla Oaxaca Vegetable Soup

Sometimes it's hard to get enough of a good thing, and that is certainly true with Pasilla Oaxaca chiles. Every summer we run out of the small crop of these rare chiles, and celebrate when they are harvested again in the fall. They come only from the Oaxaca region of southern Mexico and combine a rich dose of smoky chile flavor with just the right level of heat - not too much. We are thrilled, because this years crop just arrived!Use Pasilla Oaxaca in your favorite recipe for chili or vegetable soup, or try this creative Afro-Latin fusion. We've used both our Harissa spice blend, traditional in North Africa, and the Pasilla Oaxaca chile to season a chunky melange of carrots, zucchini, okra and black eyed peas in this satisfying fall soup. Enjoy!Pasilla Oaxaca are traditional in molé sauces, rellenos and salsas but are also SUPER easy to use whole if you want fabulous flavor in your next hearty fall soup. Just drop one in and remove before serving...like a bay leaf!

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Kale Tabbouleh with Ras el Hanout Dressing

This festive salad is perfect holiday fare. At a time when greens can often be over-shadowed by sweets, this salad will have everyone second guessing. A bright citrus vinaigrette infused with the warming spices of Ras El Hanout helps to tenderize the kale, and the pomegranate seeds add a sunny pop of flavor. This salad is sure to bring some holiday cheer.

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Coriander Roasted Beets

Roasting beets concentrates their flavor, and the complement of coriander is delicious. We like to roast a whole pan-full and serve them alone as a side dish or atop a dark leafy green salad of chard, kale and spinach. Choose beets of a similar size so they cook at about the same rate, and both the gold and red varieties can be used alone or in combination. The spice mix of coriander, sesame, marjoram and Urfa is bright and pleasing with just a hint of mild heat. Inspired by our love of Dukkah and Green Za'atar, this blend is a variation on those themes with coriander taking center stage.This spice mixture goes well with other roasted vegetables too - like carrots or parsnips and can be used as a crust on meat and seafood. You can vary the consistency to go with your dish - we like it medium-fine to sprinkle on vegetables and a more coarse to use as a crust. For another variation, grind the coriander seeds, but leave the sesame seeds whole for additional crunch. Out of the oven, these beets have heavenly, and healthy flavor. Enjoy.

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