Black Garlic Aioli and Zesty Beef Kebabs Recipes, Spotlight on Middle Eastern Chili Blend and Savory Black Garlic, Storing Herbs and Spices, These Teens are Leading the Way

Are you ready to get spicy? This week’s recipes feature two of the most unusual spices in the latest collection from the T.J. Robinson Curated Culinary Selections. Black Garlic is a relative newcomer in the culinary world, one that’s now embraced around the globe. Middle Eastern Chili Blend is a zesty mix that makes an instant dry rub. The two recipes I’m sharing show just how simple a prep can be when you have the right ingredients. Also, read about four brothers, all teens and tweens, who are making it fun for all kids to get healthier.

Black Garlic Aioli

• Black Garlic Aioli

  Move over, ketchup! This is about to become your favorite dip for fries and roasted potatoes as well as the perfect panini condiment. A Microplane grater is ideal to make the zest and grate the garlic.

  Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest 
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, more to taste
  • 1 to 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated 
  • 1 teaspoon Savory Black Garlic 
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 
  • 1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard 
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt 
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Vine-Ripened Black Peppercorns

  Directions

  Place all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Cover and refrigerate if not using immediately. 

  Yields about 3/4 cup

Zesty Beef Kebabs

• Zesty Beef Kebabs

  The ingredients in my Middle Eastern Chili Blend make this recipe a snap. Try it with chicken cubes, fish chunks, and hearty vegetables, too. The kebabs are delicious on their own, with grilled veggies or over rice, or tucked into a pita or other Middle Eastern bread with tomatoes, shredded lettuce, onions, and cucumber-yogurt sauce.

  Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Middle Eastern Chili Blend
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin or top sirloin, cut into 1 1/2–inch cubes

  Directions

  Step 1

  In a large glass bowl, whisk the chili blend into the olive oil. Add the beef chunks and toss to coat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour up to overnight. 

  Step 2

  When ready to cook, preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Brush and oil the grill grate. Thread the meat onto 2 or 3 metal skewers. Grill 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 130°F (it will continue cooking once off the grill). Transfer the skewers to a platter and let the meat rest for 5 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil before serving. 

  Yields 4 servings

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Middle Eastern Chili Blend and Savory Black Garlic

Turkey occupies a unique place in the world, at the intersection of Europe and Asia. The region is a hotbed of amazing herbs and spices, represented well by my Middle Eastern Chili Blend, a rich and fragrant mix of black Urfa chili, silk chili, cumin, allspice, and garlic that’s very popular in Turkey for all types of meat dishes.

Its top notes are the chili peppers. The history of peppers began in the New World thousands of years ago. Brought to Europe by explorers like Columbus, spice merchants later introduced various peppers to the rest of the globe. Turkey’s unique terroir,with its hot, dry summers and potassium-rich soil, is excellent for cultivating them. Columbus was also responsible for introducing allspice, indigenous to the Caribbean, to the Old World. Cumin and garlic have been used for centuries all around the Mediterranean and the Middle East, as well as in other parts of the world.

This mix of spices is rich and complex, with a layered flavor profile. There’s a great balance between the smoky mild heat of the stone-ground chilis and the warmth of the cumin, the sweetness of allspice, and the savoriness of the garlic, with a hint of salt and sunflower seed oil to preserve taste and texture. It’s a great primary ingredient in dry rubs and marinades and to elevate tzatziki sauce and other yogurt-based dishes. It adds wonderful flavor tokebabs, boreks, and other meat dishes. Sprinkle it on cooked vegetables and beans, pasta, pizza, eggs, rice, and avocado toast—any dish that would benefit from a bit of spicy heat.

The Central American country of Guatemala has a rich Mayan history, breathtaking natural beauty, and areas with mineral-rich volcanic soils and a mild climate with ample rainfall, perfect for agriculture. Among the crops grown by local farmers is fresh garlic, some of which is fermented to make my Savory Black Garlic.

Garlic is the edible bulb of a plant in the lily family, along with other well-known alliums, including shallots, onions, leeks, chives, and scallions. It has been enjoyed for 5,000 years, with the earliest uses traced back to Egyptian and Indian cultures. Black garlic, in contrast, is a mere few centuries old. It’s said to have originated in Korea and then spread to Japan and Thailand. Its growing popularity around the world is an extremely recent development.

To make black garlic, once fresh garlic is harvested, it goes through a unique fermentation process. The cloves are slowly heated at a low temperature until they attain a deep black color, then they’re dried and ground. Compared to traditional garlic powder, black garlic is rich and complex, with sweet, sour, and even some smoky notes that lend a fantastic umami taste to dishes. 

Use black garlic to amp up the taste of fresh garlic in recipes or instead of fresh cloves. It’s great in marinades and vinaigrettes, dips like black garlic aioliand the Turkish yogurt sauce cacik, soups, and stews. Perfect for making garlic bread and croutons, it will also enhance aglio e olio, khao pad,grilled or roasted meats, stir-fries, soba noodles, chicken piccata, sautéed shrimp, risottos, and chili. Sprinkle it on mashed potatoes,sautéed spinach and other vegetables, and pizza. 

According to a report in the Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, black garlic may have even more healthful components than raw garlic, with antioxidant, anti-allergy, anti-inflammatory, and even cancer-fighting effects. That’s because complex changes occur to its phytochemicals, such as polyphenols and flavonoids, during fermentation. 

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Storing Herbs and Spices

The best way to store spices isn’t what you’re used to. They should be in tightly sealed pouches or glass containers and, importantly, away from light, humidity, and heat, so don’t keep them above or next to your cooktop. Instead choose a pantry shelf or a drawer away from the oven. Soon enough it will become second nature to take them out of their new “home” as you prep cooking ingredients. 

For Your Best Health 

These Teens are Leading the Way

I first met the Ansari brothers—Abdullah, 17, Zain, 14, Emaad, 12, and Qasim, 10—a few years ago when I was on their innovative “The Holistic Kids’ Show Podcast” and couldn’t have been more impressive with their goal to help other kids be as healthy as possible during their important formative years. 

They’ve lectured at leading integrative and functional medicine conferences, including being the first youth speakers at the 2024 International Institute of Functional Medicine, A4M 2025 and The Mindshare Summit 2025. They have also spoken at the Nourished Festival, served as keynote speaker at the YMCA Interfaith Mayor’s Breakfast, and presented at major conferences like MAS-ICNA, reaching audiences of over 60,000. The Holistic Kids have been featured in top podcasts and print and online media outlets like Wellness Mama podcast, Rational Wellness Podcast and The Holistic Primary Care Magazine. 

They’re now the authors of The Teen Health Revolution: Lifestyle Secrets to Optimize Your Mind, Body, and Soul, which was just released. [link: https://www.amazon.com/Teen-Health-Revolution-Unlocking-Lifestyle/dp/1538195909] Recognizing that today’s teenagers are facing an unprecedented rise in chronic diseases and mental health challenges, the brothers cover topics from nutrition, gut health, and managing stress to tech balance, the importance of sleep, practicing gratitude, connecting with nature, and more.

With expert-backed strategies (their mom is the noted board-certified holistic family physician Madiha Saeed, MD), actionable advice, dozens of lifestyle tips, recipes, and tools for managing over twenty common health conditions among teens, their book delivers practical steps that are easily integrated into everyday life. It’s a must-read for parents and grandparents, too, to help young ones improve their brains, bodies, and souls for a healthier, happier life.

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