Vegetable Seasoning Mix

I drove to Grinnell Saturday. Roger was in the garden — the garden that is his whole world now, the 83-year-old man who tends six tomato plants and twelve sunflowers with the same care he once gave four hundred acres. He's slower but he's still Roger. He still watches the crop reports. He still calls Jack on Wednesdays.

Thursday was tater tot hotdish, because Thursday is always tater tot hotdish and the schedule doesn't change for anything — not pandemics, not loss, not the passage of years. The tater tots go in at 375 and come out golden and the family eats them and the eating is the Thursday and the Thursday is the structure and the structure holds. But I also made tater tot hotdish earlier this week, because the kitchen doesn't only look backward. The kitchen grows.

The cookie season has ended and the soup season has settled in. The kitchen smells like broth and thyme and the slow simmer of food that takes hours and rewards the hours with warmth. Winter cooking is patient cooking. The patience is Marlene's gift. The cooking is mine.

When the cookie season ends and the soup pot comes out, the first thing I reach for is this seasoning mix — the one I keep in a jar by the stove all winter long. After sitting with Roger in that quiet garden and thinking about the patience it takes to tend something season after season, I wanted to make something that honored that same slow, deliberate care. This blend doesn’t rush anything. You measure it, you mix it, and then it goes into every pot of soup or broth you make for months, carrying a little of that warmth forward each time.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: About 24 (1 teaspoon per serving)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

Instructions

Combine. Add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together until evenly blended. Make sure no single spice is clumped or separated.
Store. Transfer the mix to a clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Label with the date. Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight for up to 6 months.
Use. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons per quart of soup, broth, or stew. Stir in at the beginning of cooking so the flavors have time to bloom. Taste and adjust before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Vegetable Seasoning Mix — The Blend That Starts Every Winter Pot