Our traditional holiday gift, Bob & Sue’s “Season’s Heatings” hot sauce didn’t get bottled this year. Available supplies of the main ingredient, habanero peppers, haven’t looked good at the grocery stores and farmers’ markets we frequent. We suspect this year’s drought has impacted the pepper crop. Or there was a pepper pickers strike we didn’t hear about.

We don’t sell our hot sauce at this point–making it is a labor of love. We do blend and bottle it for family, foodie friends and a few of our business clients a few times a year. If you’re one of them, and have run out of your supply, there’s hope: we plan to bottle a batch of our election-year “Heated Debate” blend in 2012.

In the meantime, here’s our gift to you: the recipe for “Season’s Heatings” fajita seasoning mix (another thing we occasionally blend and give away). It’s so easy, any child who can hold a measuring spoon steady can help you make it. Enjoy it as a salt-free seasoning in your favorite chicken, beef, shrimp or vegetable fajitas recipe. Or, if you discover you’ve forgotten to buy a gift for someone who cooks, mix up a batch, put it in a pretty jar or shaker, stick a label and bow on it and you’re done.

Bob & Sue’s Easy “Season’s Heatings” Fajita Spice Mix

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

Stir all ingredients in a mixing bowl until thoroughly blended. Store in a completely dry, airtight container.

Use:

This is a good salt-free substitute for commercially-packaged seasoning. Use in your favorite fajita recipe. One and 1/2 teaspoons of the dry mix will season 4 servings in a typical recipe. Your tastes may require more or less flavor intensity.

Notes:

This makes about 1/3 cup of seasoning, which will fit in a 4-ounce container.

Since the spices are in equal portions, this is an easy mix to make in larger portions. For a bigger batch, for example, use 1/2 cup of each ingredient.

Enjoy responsibly. (And if you have small children helping you, don’t let them inhale. The ingredients are very sneeze-worthy!)

Have yourself a spicy little Christmas now!