Chili-Lime Chia Seasoning

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~ raw, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free ~

This is one of those recipes that just goes to show you that when a recipe goes wrong, it can be repurposed into some other creation.

One afternoon, I was aiming to create some raw taco shells. They were looking good and smelling good. All was good. Or so I thought.

It wasn’t until I tried to load my taco shell with all my goodies when the shells crumbled to bits.  I took a deep breath… that’s ok. I have more; I will just get another one. Taco shell in hand, I attempted to pile in my Mexican fillings…. my taco shell crumbled.

I had to sit down and scratch my head on this one. As I was pondering what went wrong, I aimlessly started to nibble on the broken shell bits. Gosh, it sure tasted good, and what a shame that I couldn’t use them as intended. The bits weren’t even strong enough to turn into chips.

Tossing all of them wasn’t an option. I can’t stand wasting food. As stood at the kitchen counter staring at the beautiful discs, I started to brainstorm about what I could do.

I decided to put them in the food processor and give them the ride of their life.  I blitzed them until they turned into a coarse mealy texture.

My idea is to use this mixture as a condiment on salads and other raw dishes that might benefit from a “crunch” and some spice!  Mission accomplished!  In fact, this evening my husband prepared a trout for dinner, and I suggested coating the fish in this seasoning before he grilled it.  He did just that, and it came out amazing!  I contemplated deleting this post and chalking this up to experience but to be honest, it wasn’t a failure, the destiny that these ingredients had laid before me mutated into another divine creation!  Introducing… Chili-Lime Chia Seasoning

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chia seeds, ground
• 1 1/2 cups coarse cornmeal (not raw)
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt
• 4 cups water, filtered or spring
• 1 cup raw corn kernels, organic! frozen or fresh
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 4 large cloves garlic
• 2 jalapeño peppers
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 1 cup minced fresh cilantro

Preparation:

1. In the food processor combine the ground chia seeds, cornmeal, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Pulse together, so the dried ingredients are well mixed.
2. Add the water, corn, onion, garlic, jalapeno, lime juice, and cilantro.  Blend until everything is well mixed.
   • Set aside for 15 minutes so the chia seeds can start to thicken up the batter.
3. Spread the batter out thin onto the non-stick sheets that came with the dehydrator.
4. Dehydrate at 145 degrees (F) for 1 hour, then reduce to 115 degrees (F) for 4-6 hours or until dry and crisp.
5. Once completely dry, break the sheet up and place the pieces in your food processor.  Using the “S” blade, pulse until you reach a coarse mealy texture.
6. Store in a canning jar.

Culinary Explanations:

• Why do I start the dehydrator at 145 degrees (F)?  Click (here) to learn the reason behind this.
• When working with fresh ingredients it is important to taste test as you build a recipe.  Learn why (here).
• Don’t own a dehydrator? Learn how to use your oven (here). I do however truly believe that it is a worthwhile investment. Click (here) to learn what I use.

Tags: Dairy Free, Dehydrated, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Refined Sugar Free, Soy Free, Vegan