While sixteen was culturally significant, seventeen is personally significant. Having just celebrated my 34th birthday last month, that means I’ve officially been blogging for half of my life.
That’s longer than most people hold down a single job. It’s longer than it takes to start and finish compulsory education. In many states, BitterSweet could have its own driver’s license by now. Time has always felt like an ambiguous, fleeting concept, but this milestone is truly mind-boggling.
Arriving at this considerable age in blogging years feels like an incredible accomplishment, but at the same time, nothing at all. There isn’t any specific way to celebrate the 17th year of life, nor the 17th year of marriage, were this an anniversary. There are no specific foods associated with the number 17 that I could find… Except for one.
Salt-free seasoning may seem like an odd way to commemorate this milestone, which is actually quite fitting given the unconventional path that brought us here. Lawry’s Salt Free 17 Seasoning was the only thing that even remotely fit the theme after tireless Googling for inspiration.
What Is Salt Free 17 Seasoning?
Leaning on a broad array of herbs and spices, along with whole vegetables, this distinctive blend was designed as a salt-substitute, boosting flavors rather than sodium. Technically, there are more than 17 ingredients all told, with a tiny sprinkle of cornstarch added to keep things dry and a pinch of citric acid for prolonged preservation. For the sake of simplicity, those don’t count in the final tally.
How Do You Use Salt Free 17 Seasoning?
How DON’T you use this incredibly versatile flavoring? I have yet to find a bad use across all savory applications. Sprinkle it on to your heart’s content, starting with a few of my favorite suggestions:
- Soups or stews
- Vegetable sides of all sorts; steamed, roasted, or sauteed
- Dips and dressings
- Popcorn
- Avocado toast
- Eggless scrambles
How To Make Dried Vegetables
You could easily toss together this whole mixture in a minute if you buy dehydrated carrots and peppers that are ready to go. Otherwise, it’s a snap to dry your own at home, albeit more time-consuming.
- Dice a red bell pepper and one or two carrots finely, keeping the cuts as consistent as possible for even drying.
- Spread them out evenly on separate sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Make sure none of the pieces are overlapping.
- Bake in the center of your oven at the lowest heat setting possible. For me, that’s 170 degrees, but your oven may be different.
- Stir every hour until the vegetables are greatly reduced in size and dry to the touch. It could take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours, depending on the size of your cuts and temperature of your oven.
- Let cool completely before using.
Ultimately, I think this seasoning blend turned out to be the perfect way to kick off the 17th year of life for my darling BitterSweet blog; they both make everything taste just a little bit better.