A Word on Dried Spices

My husband is from Minnesota, and he tells a joke about Minnesotan cooking.  He jokes that a REALLY exciting recipe in Minnesota uses both salt AND pepper.  Unfortunately, salt and pepper are the spices that most Americans, not just the friendly folk in the North Star State, know how to use on a regular basis.  And even then, only black pepper and so-called "table salt."

With the right spices, you can live forever on a limited diet.  Having a good spice rack is essential to cooking.  You don't need to start collecting every flavor in the spice world, but there are a small collection of spices that you probably don't realize are in just about every delicious food you love.

There are more spices than those listed below that you should consider keeping around, but they are certainly better fresh.  Stay tuned for a word of Fresh Spices!

Staple Dried Spices 
Oregano: This is one of those New World spices that changed European cooking forever.  Most people think of oregano as an Italian spice, but it is just as constant in Latin American cuisines.  It's a primary ingredient in chili blends, as is...

Cumin: Cumin comes from Middle East and northern Africa, and is one of the few spices that was brought to the New World and altered native cuisine here.  Cumin has a rich and warm flavor, and is used in an amazing variety of dishes.  I recommend having at least ground cumin, but you'd be surprised how often you'll use the whole seed variety as well.



Celery Seed: Much like fresh celery, you'll be amazed at how many dishes can be improved with the simple application of a little celery seed.  Celery Salt can also be very useful, as you add more flavor when you use it instead of regular table salt.  Any vegetable heavy dish can be made to taste somewhat heartier with a little celery seed.



Garlic Powder: You can use it in all sorts of situations where you could use fresh garlic, but it has additional flexibility.  I like using toasted garlic powder, you get a richer flavor as the garlic is already cooked when it's dried.  This makes it much better for adding to, say, a grilled cheese sandwich.



 Fenugreek Seeds: You can get both the leaves and the seeds of this spice, and both have an excellent flavor, but the seeds are definitely the bolder taste.  Fenugreek is the flavor that makes curry taste like curry, so if you like Indian food, Fenugreek is a must have.



Thyme:  This spice is one of the few that is pretty much as good dried as it is fresh.  What you may not know is that there are two major varieties of Thyme, French and Mediterranean.  French Thyme is the more common, but when you go out to get your spices, consider the Mediterranean Thyme.  It has a slightly spicier flavor, so if you substitute Mediterranean for French, you create a more unique flavor that stays just as familiar and delicious.

Curry Week!

It's finally here, curry week!

Curry is an interesting subject.  After all, it describes such a wide variety of dishes.  There are yellow, red, and green curries.  There are sweet curries and spicy curries.  The variety of countries boasting an array of delicious curries is staggering.

Wars, oh so many wars, have been fought over the spices that go into curry.  History has turned on the whims of those who love curry.  Curry is the culmination of the combined spice, and in the words of Frank Herbert, "He who controls it, controls our destiny."

This week, we will be making a variety of curries.  This, like every week's meal, has everything you need for a balanced diet.  Lean protein, green and orange vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and just a dash of dairy.  The bonus is, of course, that it even includes dessert and really, curry is EASY!

Curry is one of the simplest things you can throw together.  Got a few ingredients and don't know what to do with them?  Curry!  Want to impress you in-laws or your sister?  Curry!

Unlike most dishes, curry's success depends much less upon the quality of your fruits and vegetables and much more on the quality of your spices.  Curries developed in parts of the world where the weather is hot and wet, which meant that food tended to spoil faster.  However, those glorious spices could disguise the taste of even the most withered yam, and as a result we have the amazing, the spectacular, the splendiferous curries we enjoy today.  There are curry leaves, and they are in many curries, but the flavor that really makes curry taste like CURRY is fenugreek.  Why don't we call it a fenugreek instead of a curry?  I have no idea.  But however the confusion came about, thank goodness for the Indian subcontinent!  Thank goodness for the Carribean!  Thank goodness for Thailand!  THANK GOODNESS FOR CURRY!

This Week's Menu:

 Saffron Rice

Daal

Sweet Potato Carrot Curry

Not / Chicken Massaman Curry

Vanilla Raita

Sweet Lassi

 The Grocery List:

• 1/2 lb red lentils
• 5 carrots
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 lb boneless chicken OR 12 oz chicken substitute (I like Veet for this recipe!)
• 1 quart vanilla yogurt
• 1 cucumber
• 1 lemon
• 1 can thick coconut milk
• 1 can black eyed peas
• 1 small fresh ginger root
• 1 green bell pepper
• 4 shallots

Chocolate Covered Frozen Bananas

I freakin' love bananas.  Seriously, there are SO many reasons to adore this particular fruit.  There's its absurd shape, it's lovely hue, it's amazing history...  The story of the banana is fraught with drama and comedy.  Alas, who now even remembers the Cavendish?  I adore the banana.  For years all of my internet aliases were bananas.  Crazy?  Perhaps.  Delicious?  Always.

Then there's chocolate.  Oh, chocolate.  Food of the Gods.  Seriously, the Incan holy beverage was made from cocoa beans.  And again, another food with a rich and wild history.

So much drama in this dessert!  So much to enjoy!  And of course, so delicious.  And deliciously simple.

• 4-5 ripe banans
• 3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 c powdered sugar
• bamboo skewers , with the sharp points cut off

In a double boiler,  melt the chocolate.  Stir in the sugar, and transfer into a low sided baking dish.

Poke the skewers through the bananas length-wise.

Roll the bananas in the chocolate, and then place on wax paper and IMMEDIATELY transfer to the freezer.  Leave in freezer for at least an hour.

Almond Gouda Salad with Lemon Poppy Vinaigrette

My husband, the meat-and-potatoes guy, lived on a very limited diet before we started dating.  He had a bowl of mini-wheats for breakfast, a turkey sandwich and an apple or a few carrots for lunch, and can of soup for dinner.  He was not exactly a fan of the amazing concoction that is SALAD.  I'm happy to say we've managed to change a lot of his eating habits, perhaps the most dramatic of which is his love of a good salad.  Some seem to think that a salad is nothing more than lettuce and dressing with a few croutons dropped on top.  I say, let your freak salad flag fly!  Why not load up your salad with every delicious thing you can?  And for that matter, your salad dressing too!

This is a recipe that I came up with when confronted with a nearly empty bag of almonds and a small piece of aged Gouda in my cheese drawer.

Almond Gouda Salad

• 1 head red leaf lettuce
• 2 oz aged Gouda, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1 small yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1/2 c almonds
• 1 tomato, cut into thin wedges
• 1 c mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

Place your almonds on a tray in your toaster oven and toast for about two minutes.  Chop them roughly.

Rinse your lettuce thoroughly, and shred it into a bowl.  The goal with your lettuce should be that you can easily fit the pieces into your mouth.  I recommend shredding over chopping because torn edges take longer to wilt and brown, meaning that you'll have better leftovers.

Add all your other ingredients into the salad, and dress with...

Lemon Poppy Vinaigrette

• 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 c balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• 1.5 Tbs lemon curd
• 1/4 tsp salt

Mix the poppy seeds into the vinegar, and allow to sit for about five minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients, and whisk thoroughly.

How to Prepare a Leek

Leeks are delicious.  And yet, most of my cooking friends fear them.  Why?  "They're hard to clean," say my friends.  Phooey, say I!  "You can only eat part of them so it's a waste," say my friends.  Bah humbug!  The leek is a delicious plant, and you can eat nearly the whole thing.  Silly friends- eat your leeks!

How to Prepare a Leek
Slice off the root covered end.  You only need slice off as much as a quarter inch of leek.

Slice the leek into rounds, you can use both the white and a great deal of the green leafy parts.  You will note that there is a lot of dirt and grime in between the leaves- don't worry about that just yet.

Stop slicing when the dark green tops of the leaves begin to seem tough or dry.  Unless a recipe specifically says otherwise, you can use the greens in your dishes.

Now the secret- fill a large bowl or a CLEAN sink with cold water.  Dump all your sliced leeks into the water, and swish them around for a minute or two.  Break apart the rings of the leeks gently as you swirl the leeks through the water.  Then let the leeks sit for another minute, and remove leeks from the water by the handful, shaking out the extra water.  The water that remains should be cloudy and slightly green.

Congratulations!  You have prepared your leeks!

Turnip Hash

You think it sounds awful, don't you?  And yet, it tastes amazing.  You see, back before we Americans decided that the potato was our go-to starch, turnips were much more popular.  French and Russian immigrants in particular were VERY fond of the hardy root.  When undercooked, they're mustardy and spicy.  However, a thorough cooking yields a vegetable with the same sort of texture as a new potato, a mild and fresh flavor, and a buttery finish that makes for a few perfect ingredient pairings.

One of those perfect pairings is the leek.  Leeks are a part of the onion family, they have a milder flavor than most onions, and they become creamy when cooked.  Leeks are notorious for being difficult to clean, but with a simple method one can clean them easily and quickly.  Leeks are one of those vegetables that people seem to consider super fancy, but they're a common garden vegetable that grow all over the United States, and are an excellent addition to any diet.


Turnip Hash

• 4-5 turnips, chopped to 1" or smaller pieces
• 1 leek, sliced and cleaned
• 3 c sliced white mushrooms
• 2 Tbs honey
• 1 Tbs dried French Thyme or two large sprigs fresh
• 3/4 tsp Coarse ground black pepper
  
• 1/4 tsp Pink Hawaiian sea salt*
• 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

In a wok, heat the oil over med. high.  Add the turnips and cook for 5 minutes or so, and add the honey. Make sure you completely coat the turnips in the honey.  This is important, as the extra caramelization from the honey will eliminate a great deal of the turnips' extra spice.  Continue to stir regularly as you cook the turnips for another 8-10 minutes, or until the turnips are slightly brown.

Add the leeks, salt, and pepper, and continue to stir regularly for another 5 minutes, until the leeks are thoroughly wilty.

Add the thyme and mushrooms, and continue to cook for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are thoroughly integrated.

Enjoy hot, paired with crusty bread or a croutette.

Cabbage Soup and Sourdough Parmesan Croutettes

Cabbage soup gets a bad rep.  Most people I talk to about cabbage soup only seem to think of nightmare scenarios where the only organism to survive on the tundra is a cabbage.  "Isn't that what my great-grandma made during the Great Depression?"  Well, yeah, because it's cheap.  but that doesn't change the fact that it's also delicious.

My husband is a picky eater.  He's very much a meat and potatoes kind of guy, who's been patiently learning and only occasionally complaining during our courtship and marriage.  And he LOVES this soup.

• 1 small green cabbage, chopped into bite sized chunks
• 1 large pantry onion, also coarsely chopped
• 3 Tbs butter
• 2 Tbs minced garlic (3 if preserved)
• LOTS of fresh ground black pepper
• 1 Tbs Spike
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4-8 c water, divided

Melt the butter in a soup pot over med high.
Add the onions and cook until just translucent.  Then add the garlic, spike, salt, and ground black pepper and cook another two minutes.
Add the cabbage, and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
Add water until the vegetables are just covered.  Simmer for ten minutes.
Add another cup of water, and continue to simmer for another ten minutes.
Continue adding water every ten minutes or so until your pot is essentially full.

Salt to taste. 

Sourdough Parmesan Croutettes:

• 1 loaf of day old sourdough bread
• 3 Tbs butter
• 1 c grated parmesan cheese

Preheat your broiler to high.
Halve your sourdough, and then slice it into pieces roughly 2.5 inches wide.
Butter one side of each piece generously, then sprinkle sourdough on top.
Place the croutettes on an ungreased baking sheet, and put them under the broiler for 3 or for minutes, until the top is very brown.

Serve hot with cabbage soup!

Nuts

A word on nuts-
They last for ages if kept in an airtight container, they're good for snacking and they're excellent additions to your meals, and they're even good for you.

If you have the space and you cook often, I recommend making nuts a staple in your pantry.

The most important four in my home are almonds, pecans, walnuts and peanuts.  But if you have other favorite nuts, it's nice to have them on hand.  Feeling a bit hungry before you start cooking?  A handful of delicious nuts is a good way to curb your hunger while you make dinner proper, without pigging out on chips or candy.

An old pasta sauce jar is an ideal place to store your nuts.  Class containers like those jars are airtight, and eliminate more moisture than plastic.


Other excellent nuts and seeds:
Sunflower seeds
Macadamias
Cashews
Pepitos

Pistachios- in OR out of the shell, but always undyed!

What Do I Do With It?

I am fortunate enough to have access to a wonderful organic produce coop. Ever week, we get a big box full of seasonal, local, organic fruits and vegetables. This is an excellent way to make sure your produce is fresh and healthy, as well as keeping your corner of the world a little greener. However, it does present the occasional problem.

For example, you'll get a few things that you haven't ever seen before, or that you just plain don't know what to do with. Very few of us can walk through the the produce section of our grocery store, point out every single veggie, identify them and then tell you what to do to make them delicious.

So that means that once in a while, you have a fridge full of odd veggies- and you are presented with a big question...

What the heck do I do with THIS?

This week's meal is:

Cabbage Soup

Almond Gouda Salad

Turnip Hash

Sourdough Parmesan Croutettes

Chocolate Covered Frozen Bananas

The meal's grocery list is:

• 4-5 turnips
• 1 small green cabbage
• 1 leek
• 1 pkg white mushrooms
• loaf of sourdough
• 4-5 bananas
• semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 head red leaf lettuce
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 2 oz aged gouda cheese
• 1 jar lemon curd

Fresh Produce Staples - Top Five

Much like your pantry, your refrigerator can hold on to a few items that you will use constantly. Even if you think you don't like them. You'd be amazed how many things have just a little of this, or a bit of that, and it makes all the difference to the flavor.

For example, a friend of mine's husband HATES celery. Just hates it. But if I leave it out of my shephard's pie, he notices the flavor difference, and doesn't like it! Why? Because it's like salt- it doesn't exactly taste like anything once it's cooked in, it just makes everything taste better.

So here are a few varieties of produce you want to keep on hand. I'll still be putting them on the grocery list, but if you've got them in the fridge (or pantry) all the time, your grocery trips will be easier and faster.

• Potatoes: You always want to have some russets on hand. First of all, because you can throw together a quick dinner with some potatoes any time, but secondly because you can use them to FIX a failed meal. What? Fix a failed meal? Oh yeah! The most common food blunder I've seen my friends make is to add too much salt. Trust me, it happens. You just meant to shake a little in, and WHOOPS! And usually, that's towards the end of the cooking process- so what do you do? Add a skinned potato. Amazingly, your skinned potato can absorb a great deal of salt and other flavor OUT of the rest of the food. So I always keep a bag of potatoes in my pantry. In order to keep your potatoes fresh longer, you want to keep them OUT of a plastic bag- that's very important- and in a cool, shadowy place. If you have the space, get a bin of sand to store them in. The sand will stay cool, and they'll have an even longer shelf life. But if a recipe calls for "new potatoes," you don't want to use your pantry potatoes. New potatoes will have a different flavor and texture.
• Pantry Onions: Onions are in everything. Now, there are a great many varieties of onions. To be frank, most of the time it really doesn't matter what type you're using. You can substitute red, white, or yellow onion in most recipes without ever noticing. Like potatoes, you can use them to throw together an amazing amount of quick meals. However, you should still choose your pantry onions with a little care. An onion that has a very thin skin- not a thick, papery skin- will keep badly in the pantry. You want to get onions that have the papery, flaky skin that ends up EVERYWHERE. Sad, but true. To keep onions in the pantry, store them basically in the same conditions as your potatoes. Never store them in a plastic bag.
• Celery: I know, lots of people do not like celery. But you'll use it everywhere, as mentioned above, and you'll hardly ever notice it. Plus, throw a little into a salad and you can really stretch your greens. It lasts quite a while in the fridge, but not forever. You probably have three weeks for the average bunch of celery.
• Apples: Apples are great. They're a good snack, they're a great addition to a salad, you can bake them for a healthy dessert, and there are dozens of varieties available just about everywhere. Find one that works for you- my husband is a Fuji fan, while I prefer a Granny Smith. If possible, avoid Red Delicious apples. They don't keep as well, bake as well, or generally taste as good. There are, however, recipes that call for them specifically. This is mostly because their incredibly vibrant color is a feature of the dish. So for your usual, daily use apples, go for something else.
• On-the-vine Tomatoes: Again, they go in everything. They also keep better when you get them on the vine. Why? That vine is sort of like a nutrition supplement. So if they're vine on, their shelf life nearly doubles. You'll cook with them, but them in salads, put them in sandwiches, and if you're like me just eat them as snacks. You will want to buy other varieties of tomatoes for other things, but always having a tomato or two on hand is never a bad idea.

The Well Stocked Pantry - Top Five

This is an extremely important matter. Many of my recipes call for items that are NOT generally in the grocery lists- and these are what I like to think of as my kitchen staples. As someone just starting to cook, you might not think to keep them handy, but you'll be amazed how often you use them and shocked that you ever survived without having them around. Of course, there are a lot of other sorts of staples. Things like cheese, butter, and spices. I will be discussing these later, and dedicated whole entries to picking and choosing your ingredients. But for now, these are a few things that you can add to your pantry and make your life and your food a lot better.

• Spike: This is a spice blend that I use constantly. In fact, it is the ONLY conventional spice blend I ever use. It beats the hell out of Mrs. Dash and Lawrey's, and the salt-free variety is pretty good too.

Pre-minced garlic: At most grocery stores, you can find a plastic tub or jar of already minced garlic in water, and it keeps practically forever in the fridge. When you're in a rush- and who isn't frequently in a rush when they're making dinner?- it's MUCH easier than going to the trouble of peeling and mincing it yourself. Yes, the flavor is a little weaker, but there's a simple solution to that problem... just add more!

Miso: Again, a tub will stay in the fridge practically forever. And you'd be amazed how often you end up using it once you get the hang of it.

Broth Powder: I like to keep a few varieties around- chicken, beef, and vegetable.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar: Quality matters in oils and vinegar- not all oil and vinegar is created equal. If you can, sample your oils and balsamics. A good extra virgin olive oil has an almost buttery flavor to it, and smells fragrant. A good balsamic is sweet and tangy, a VERY good balsamic has little enough of an acidic burn to it that you could drink a shot without even thinking to wince.

With these items on hand, you will be well prepared to whip up just about anything.

Butternut Squash Stew with Heirloom Tomato Grilled Cheese and a Fresh Cilantro Salad

I know, I know, it's the wrong season entirely for a winter squash stew. But I thought I'd get this new home for my recipes off on the right foot. So here we are, one of my husband's favorites of my inventions and one of my most requested recipes. Mike's very much a meat and potatoes kind of guy, and I'm a life long vegetarian with an unyielding love of curries and adventure, so you'd think that dinner might be an issue of contention. Not with this dish! And if you start with a meal like this, you can move onward to more exciting flavors and unusual names. But for the beginning food enthusiast, a nice warm bowl of savory stew and a sandwich is an excellent dinner. Or even lunch. Or leftover. Or, well... anytime.

Shopping List

1. 1 butternut squash
2. 1 can kidney beans
3. 2 small russet potatoes
4. 3 oranges
5. fresh rosemary
6. parmesan cheese
7. sour cream
8. parmesan cheese rind
9. whole grain bread
10. 1 heirloom tomato
11. sharp cheddar cheese
12. baby spinach
13. arugula
    
14. 1 bunch fresh cilantro
15. 1 avocado
16. slivered almonds

Now, to pick the ingredients at the store.
To choose a squash, the best you can really do is to find one that isn't too beat up. Sometimes you'll see that the butternut squash has had chunks taken out by being knocked around. Try to get one as undamaged as possible, and for this recipe you'll want one about the size of a loaf of bread.

When picking your beans, check the ingredients. Amazingly, most canned beans have all sorts of stuff that isn't beans. So if the ingredient list is long, pass up those beans in favor of some that have a shorter list. Ideally, the only ingredients in your beans will be beans and water.

For your spinach, cilantro, and arugula, find a bunch of greens that aren't wilting or gummy. gummy means rotten, and you want your greens fresh and crisp.

Picking avocados can be hard- you need to find one that's slightly soft when you squeeze it gently, but not so soft that it's all mush and rot on the inside. Squeeze a few, and if you can dent it gently, it's ripe.

Most difficult of all... a parmesan rind? Now to be fair, you can just leave this out. It won't damage the flavor very terribly. but you can find one at any grocery store that has a good cheese counter- any Whole Foods will carry them, even if they don't have it out. Simply ask the nice cheese man behind the counter for one. 2" inches of rind will suffice, and the more you put in the richer the flavor of the stew will be. Like garlic and chocolate, you can pretty much never have too much parmesan cheese.



Butternut Squash Stew
skin and seeded the squash, and chop it into 1" pieces
1 medium onion, quartered and sliced
3-5 T minced garlic
3 tbs olive oil
rinse the can of kidney beans
2 small russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
3 c water
Juice two of the oranges and zest the peels- reserve 1/2 T of the juice for the salad
1/2 tbs fresh rosemary, or 2 tsp dried ground rosemary
1 tbs Spike or Mrs. Dash
salt and black pepper
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
sour cream, for garnish

In a large pot over med. high heat, sauté the onions in the oil until they become translucent. Add the garlic, orange zest, and spices and stir occasionally for three minutes.

Add the squash, potatoes, water, and orange juice and mix well. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Allow the stew to simmer gently for half an hour.

Add beans and parmesan rind, and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes.

During this time, you're ready to make the rest of the meal.

Fresh Cilantro Salad
baby spinach
arugula
fresh cilantro
heirloom tomato
1 avocado
1/4 c slivered almonds
1/2 T orange juice- reserved from stew preparation

Rinse your greens THOROUGHLY. I always try to use local and organic greens, which reduces the likelihood of contaminants like E Coli, but there's going to be dirt on them. They do come from the ground. So rinse your greens!

The baby spinach and arugula can go in whole. The idea of salad greens is to get them to a size where you can easily put it into your mouth, so if your arugula or spinach is of a larger leaf, tear it down to size. Tearing instead of chopping your greens will keep them crisp longer.

Slice as much as half of the heirloom tomato- as much as you need to have two VERY thin slices per sandwich- and set those aside. Chop the rest of the tomato into 1/2" squares, and toss into the salad.

Cube the avocado, and toss the pieces in the reserved orange juice. This will keep them from browning while you finish the meal. Toss the avocado into the salad.

Mince the cilantro, and toss into the salad. You will, however, want to reserve about a teaspoon for the salad dressing.

Add the almonds, and set aside the salad to prepare the sandwiches and dressing.


Heirloom Tomato Grilled Cheese
I like to use a grill pan for my grilled cheese. Your sandwiches are less likely to stick to the pan, and who doesn't love the look of those grill lines on their food? You will want to pre-heat the pan, so set it on the stove and turn the heat to med. high. There is usually no need to grease your pan, but if you're using something fancy like Le Creuset cookware, you will need to be careful to grease it a little. Some pans can be damaged by inadequate greasing.

For each sandwich, you will need two slices of that tomato, enough sliced cheese to cover the bread plus a little extra, and two slices of whole grain bread.

Assemble a sandwich by first covering one piece of bread with cheese, then with the sliced tomato, and then with just enough extra cheese to cover about half of each slice of tomato. Put the second piece of bread on, and put it onto the pan. While it cooks, about three minutes on each side, you will make the salad dressing.

Orange Vinaigrette
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
juice of the third orange
reserved chopped cilantro
pinch of salt

In a small bowl, all ingredients together.

By the time you have finished this, your whole meal will be ready. And like magic, it will all be ready at once.

After serving the stew, garnish with a sprinkle of extra parmesan cheese and a LARGE dollop of sour cream- as much as a 3 T. As the sour cream mixes in with the stew bite by bite, it will enrich the flavor.

Moving over from livejournal land

Hello dear readers! It is with great pleasure that I move from my old home at livejournal to my new home here at blogger.

So much has changed through the last year that it only seemed right if my blogging site changed as well. So more recipes- complete meal plans now!- will be following shortly,

Thank you all for your dedication to good food!