just a dash

{Top Jar: Cilantro-Lime // Bottom Jar: Thyme-Lemon // Far Left Jar: mix of both}

Let's take a minute to talk about salt (since I clearly forgot to mention it in my next post like I said I would). Salt is magical. It can make or break a dish. You add too much, ya kill the dish (and your health). If you don't add enough…it's just "eh." Like I said, it's magical. Also, it's key to just about every dish…there are very few things I don't add salt to. Just a dash. 

So I've been wanting to spice up my salt life for a while now. Seeing fancy salt blends can make your mouth water. But paying for some? No thank you. Instead I opted to make some, and by some I mean a lot! You could make several cupfuls of this stuff. Salt for life! Plus, the great thing about this is you can store it (show off all your hard work) in some cute jars. Yes please.

This recipe was formulated after looking at a couple different versions. In the process of making it, I had to tweak it some, so here's the end result.

Infused Salt:

Ingredients:

1 cup of kosher or sea salt

the zest of {2 lemons} or {4 limes} or {4 clementines} or a mix of any aforementioned 

~2-3 tablespoons of fresh herb(s) {thyme} or {cilantro} or {rosemary} or {lavender} or {basil} or {oregano} or a mix of any aforementioned 

Steps: 

[1] Preheat the oven to 200˚F. [2] On a baking sheet, mix the salt, zest(s), and herb(s) until well incorporated. [3] Place the  sheet on a rack in the middle and bake for roughy 15-30 minutes. It's tricky. You'll start to notice the zest browning. That's when I flipped the mixture over, and then baked it for another 15-30 minutes. I know, it's confusing. Tweaks (eeks). [5] Tweaks mean that basically when you think the mixture looks done, take it out of the oven, break up any clumps, and transfer to a jar/airtight container. [6] Store the salt in a dark, cool place (aka your pantry) and use it to your big ole hearts content. 

Warning: you are going to want to put these bad boys in everything. No, really, I'm serious. And you know what? YOU SHOULD. This salt takes food to a whole new level. Sprinkle, baby, sprinkle. A dash here, a dash there, it'll change your world.