I have a weakness for great gourmet oils, vinegars, and spices. This makes every trip to my favorite foodie store that specializes in these three things divine torture, and an exercise in failing restraint. I try a million different flavors, and I have even been known to finish off a small cup of vinegar like a shot. I go into a foodie haze and I can't be stopped.
Last week, I met up with a friend to go to that sinisterly tasty place and made a new discovery: Halen Mon Sea Salt with Taha Vanilla, which merges sea salt from Wales with Tahitian vanilla. (Details) It's delicious -- and I say this as someone who steers clear of flavored salts. The mixture offers the sharpness of the salt with the sweetness of super-tasty vanilla. I couldn't help but buy some.
It's still not Spring here in Philadelphia. In fact, it's currently about 50 and rainy, but I've been pretending that Spring is here by planning my imaginary herb garden. Yes, my herb garden is sadly imaginary since I'm moving this year, but as a result, it's actually much greener, fragrant and exciting than any live herb garden I've ever grown for real (my thumb is not the greenest one out there). I mean, I love rosemary and mint as much as the next person, but I'm ready for a little more excitement! Here's what I'm thinking:
Chocolate Mint - I tasted this for the first time recently at a Farmer's Market, and it was delicious. The chocolate taste is slight, but definitely there, and I'll definitely be using it for imaginary iced tea, or even in cupcakes and baked goods.
Lemon Thyme - How easy it will be to make a roast chicken or even lemon-thyme frosting with these two ingredients already combined into one! Just kidding -- you apparently can't really count on it for a full lemon flavor, but it still works great for roasting anything, and for great fish and meat dishes as well.
Cuban Basil - The belle of my garden. After seeing/smelling how delightful these leaves are, I couldn't resist buying some for my mom for mother's day. Not so much into it? Check out this long list of interesting basil varieties here.
Lavender - Maybe this would be in my grandmother's garden too, but I just love the scent so much that it's going in my imaginary one as well.
Looking for more exciting herbs like juniper or fenugreek? Check out this list and these hints and tips. And if anyone has suggestions for additions to my imaginary garden, please share! It's imaginary, so no there are no limits!
I spent some time in Indonesia when I was 22. I wasn't particularly interested in food back then and so I didn't do anything interested like go to open air markets or travel to the places where spices are grown and sold. These days, there's nothing I'd like to do better than travel to a country where I could wander marketplaces and take gorgeous, vibrant pictures of foods, lentils and seeds. Until that time, I'll have to live vicariously through the experiences of others. This image from Endless Simmer makes me want to go to Morocco, quite a whole lot.
Piment d'Espelette grown in just a handful of villages in the Basque country of southern France, is as beloved in their region as paprika is in Hungary. The small red peppers can be used fresh, or hung up in bouquets to dry then ground into powder similar to hot paprika. First introduced to France by returning New World missionaries in the 1500s, the Espelette is now an essential feature of Basque cuisine. The village of Espelette holds a Celebration of Peppers each October, with Espelette-infused dishes, banners made from hundreds of red and green peppers, and street performers painted red to resemble the pepper itself.
Espelette goes especially well with seafood, mild cheeses, and hearty vegetable dishes. In Paris, I ate monkfish over white beans in an Espelette cream sauce. It was divine, silky and smoky with just a teeny-tiny kick. You could substitute hot paprika, but it wouldn't be quite the same. You can find ground Espelette in some gourmet markets or online at Amazon.com. There's a trove of Espelette recipes at Epicurien, which is in French but can be translated by Google to decidedly mixed results. I'm especially keen to try the sauteed shrimp with Espelette and Bayonne ham.
Asafoetida, also known as hing, is the powdered gum extracted from the root of the giant fennel. A major ingredient in Indian vegetarian cooking, it has a pungent, slightly sulfurous stink, hence it's nickname of "Devil's Dung" (I actually find it kind of pleasantly bracing, but maybe I'm a total freak). It's smell mellows through cooking to more of a standard onion+garlic odor.
Asafoetida is a crucial ingredient in many Indian vegetarian recipes, including many curries and lentil dishes. You can find it at Indian markets, maybe at a gourmet specialty store, but I've never seen it at a standard supermaket. While the powder is naturally beige, many commercial preparations include turmeric for a bright yellow color. Check out this recipe for Gujarati dal (lentils in the style of the Gujarat province of India) with asafoetida at Archana's Kitchen.
Confession: I never throw my spices out. I've been told again and again that spices have a shelf life and that I should dump them after a while, but I am willing to risk it.
If you like your spices fresh and you don't use them very often, you may consider buying single-serving organic spices from TSP Spices. They come in teaspoon sized packets that stay fresh until you open them.
Single serving spices would make a great gift for someone who doesn't cook very often, but wants to get started trying a few different flavors. I'd also love to see some of these make an appearance at restaurants and coffee shops. It would be great to be able to easily add some cinnamon and nutmeg to my hot beverage instead of just pink, blue, or white sweeteners.
Would single serving spices be useful to you? Which ones would you use the most?
On the whole, I really enjoy urban, apartment living. It's convenient to everything, I don't have to shovel snow in the winter and there's always someone downstairs to receive packages for me while I'm at work. One of the few downsides is that there's no place to have an herb garden.
I've tried growing a few things on my window sill, but my rosemary always gets spindly and the mint shrivels and dies. So when I want fresh herbs, I have to buy them. There's a produce market around the corner from me that sells nearly everything you could want, for around a $1 a bag. However, even when I'm diligent, I never use it all up before it goes bad. The bloggers over at Cookthink are well aware of this dilemma and have posted a piece entitled 10 ways to use up leftover fresh herbs. It has some great tips and suggestions. I think I'll go for #2 this weekend and make an omelette aux fines herbes.
No, not the poison kind. Sumac, the powdered berry of the Rhus Coriaria bush, is a tart spice used in many Middle Eastern dishes. The brick-red powder is perhaps best-known as a major player in za'atar, a mix of sesame seeds, salt, marjoram, thyme, oregano, and other spices used as a meat or fish rub or mixed with olive oil for a bread dip. You can find it in some gourmet markets or Middle Eastern specialty stores.
Tangy sumac makes a nice substitute for lemon juice when sprinkled over fish, vegetables, or hummus. Stir some into thick Greek yogurt with a pinch of salt for a simple veggie or pita dip. I've served a cold salad of sweet potato wedges and diced red onion tossed with chopped mint and sumac alongside Middle Eastern-influenced main dishes like chicken tagine with prunes or lamb kebabs.
Though I try to use fresh herbs as much as possible, a good selection isn't always available so I started drying my own a few years ago. Doing this, I'm able to buy them in bulk when they are on sale or pick them fresh out of my garden in peak season. Admittedly, there is also the added bonus of not having to purchase as many of those tiny bottles of the ground variety which cost $5.00 each (or more!), for very little flavor.
A friend of mine advised that I start placing the fresh herbs in paper bags with a sheet of paper towel to absorb extra moisture, allowing them to dry out in there. Apparently the darkness helps prevent light from changing or damaging the flavor, plus the bag itself keeps the herbs clean and clear of dust or other substances. This has dramatically helped to preserve the flavor of the herbs that I am drying, and when used in cooking, it is hard to tell they aren't fresh out of the garden.
Driving through Nashville yesterday, I stopped at my favorite fried chicken joint, famous for its cayenne-laden, demonically spicy "hot chicken." Having had the "medium" and "hot" before, this time I went for the "x-tra hot."
The woman behind the counter looked me up and down and said "mmm hmm."
That should have been a warning.
Now I love spicy food. Love it. Drown my scrambled eggs in Valentina hot sauce, eat the extra jalapeños out of my friends' enchiladas, order my lamb vindaloo "as hot as possible. Seriously, as hot as possible."
But this chicken darn near killed me.
Biting into its crispy, cayenne-orange skin, a mushroom cloud exploded in my sinus cavity, my lips went numb, my feet began to sweat. I stuffed my mouth full of white bread and Diet Coke to stifle the battery acid burn on my tongue and gums and prayed I wouldn't pass out. Seriously, I can't believe that chicken isn't regulated by the government as a chemical weapon. When the pain finally subsided and I could move, I slunk back to the counter and ordered a "mild."
The woman behind the counter laughed.
Next time, I'll order the regular "hot."
So I was wondering: what's the hottest dish you've ever tasted? And what are your favorite remedies to cool the heat in your mouth (I've tried milk, bananas and bread in the past)?
It seems like researchers are studying everything these days. I hadn't heard about it until recently, but turmeric may be one of those miracle foods. There have been posts on this site discussing turmeric's benefits regarding cancer prevention and Alzheimer's, to name a couple. Now there is research to indicate that turmeric is good for not only preventing heart failure but also repairing damage that's already happened.
The study has only been performed on mice, but the scientists involved are hoping that it will translate to humans. They think that it has something to do with a compound in turmeric called curcumin that's been used in traditional Asian medicine for centuries. Though nothing if definite, the researchers think curcumin may turn off genes that enlarge the heart and allow scarring.
This is all new to me. I even thought until I read about this that the spice was spelled "tumeric". Apparently, the extract of turmeric was recently a fad in Japan as a beauty and energy supplement for women. I even saw some claims of it's use as a dermatological treatment. One person had a turmeric tea which supposedly is good for skin inflammations (1/2 teaspoon in at least 8 ounces of boiling water). I am in no way advocating any of this, but I think it is all very interesting. Does anyone else have a turmeric home remedy they'd like to share?
Piment d'Espelette grown in just a handful of villages in the Basque country of southern France, is as beloved in their region as paprika is in Hungary. The small red peppers can be used fresh, or hung up in bouquets to dry then ground into powder similar to hot paprika. First introduced to France by returning New World missionaries in the 1500s, the Espelette is now an essential feature of Basque cuisine. The village of Espelette holds a Celebration of Peppers each October, with Espelette-infused dishes, banners made from hundreds of red and green peppers, and street performers painted red to resemble the pepper itself. 
Asafoetida, also known as hing, is the powdered gum extracted from the root of the giant fennel. A major ingredient in Indian vegetarian cooking, it has a pungent, slightly sulfurous stink, hence it's nickname of "Devil's Dung" (I actually find it kind of pleasantly bracing, but maybe I'm a total freak). It's smell mellows through cooking to more of a standard onion+garlic odor. 
Confession: I never throw my spices out. I've been told again and again that spices have a shelf life and that I should dump them after a while, but I am willing to risk it.
No, not the poison kind. 
Though I try to use fresh herbs as much as possible, a good selection isn't always available so I started drying my own a few years ago. Doing this, I'm able to buy them in bulk when they are on sale or pick them fresh out of my garden in peak season. Admittedly, there is also the added bonus of not having to purchase as many of those tiny bottles of the ground variety which cost $5.00 each (or more!), for very little flavor.
Driving through Nashville yesterday, I stopped at my favorite fried chicken joint, famous for its cayenne-laden, demonically spicy "hot chicken." Having had the "medium" and "hot" before, this time I went for the "x-tra hot."
It seems like researchers are studying everything these days. I hadn't heard about it until recently, but 
A fraking amazing Battlestar Galactica cake
Iced Tea 101
Pierogies + cheese + onions + kraut = Parmageddon!
