Claire’s tip of the week

The recipe for Cypress Nook restaurant’s Hackbraten (meatloaf ) calls for garden seasoning blend. Pre-blended spices and herbs are common in food service because of the labor and time it saves.

I wasn’t familiar with garden seasoning blend so I checked out major spice companies — Tone’s, McCormick and Durkee — to see what I could find. Some labels are more ambiguous than others, listing only “spices or herbs” as ingredients and leaving it up to your taste and imagination. What they do all have in common is that they are salt- and MSG-free.

In general, garden seasoning blend is a mix of dehydrated onion, garlic, carrots, tomato or sun-dried variety, orange and/or lemon peel, red bell pepper and the vague “spices and natural flavors.” If garden seasoning blend doesn’t occupy space on your spice shelf, save yourself a trip to the grocery store and use onion and garlic powder, finely diced carrot and red pepper, or substitute jarred roasted red peppers if you have on hand, chopped sun-dried tomatoes or a spoonful of tomato paste and grated citrus zest.

If you have a jar of garden seasoning blend, other suggested uses include sprinkling on fish, chicken, pork and vegetables before cooking. Add to pastas, potato salad, rice, dressing and marinades. Fold into dips, herb butters, bread and biscuit mixes. Stir into soups, stews or gravy. Basically, use the all-purpose seasoning wherever you need a quick burst of flavor.

WASHINGTON POST Various herbs and spices make up seasoning blends.