Jerk seasoning is a favorite here at K2.0 because of its spiciness, but my husband is also a huge fan of allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s a win-win! We make our jerk spice blend at home, because most pre-packaged seasoning blends are loaded with salt. Cayenne, black and red pepper give it a great punch, but they can be eliminated if the heat is too much for you. Penzey’s has a wonderful, mild jerk seasoning you can purchase through their website, here.
We make a mason jar of this seasoning and keep it in the pantry for the nights when we just don’t feel like going to a lot of trouble, but we still want a great meal.
Jerk Seasoning:
- PUT ALL SPICES IN A MASON JAR AND SHAKE WELL
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, if desired.
- 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper, if desired.
- 2 to 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper, if desired.
We coated our chicken in the spice and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Grilled up some corn and made a corn-tomato-red onion-avocado salad.
Dressing for Corn Salad:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- freshly ground pepper to taste
We come back to this dressing time and time again, for green salads, as a marinade, and a few nights ago we splashed it on Blueberry Spinach Salad. It’s a great ratio of acid/fat that complements vegetables and fruits of all kinds.
Prepare the salad dressing in a bowl big enough to soak your avocados in for a few minutes before adding them to the salad. As a result, the acid in the lime juice and vinegar will keep the avocados from browning.
Grilled corn is delicious. (We did this head of time, so dinner prep was a snap.) Black beans would make a great addition to this salad for a vegetarian lunch the next day, or as a main dinner dish.
We grilled up the watermelon as well, and then chilled it. It was a perfect summer dinner, enjoyed outdoors, with a glass of wine and my hubby. Please, summer, stay here forever.
