Spices

I have an old coffee grinder that I use as a dedicated spice grinder. It is great for large jobs, but it is less than ideal for when you just want to grind up a couple of allspice berries and cloves.

I find myself in that situation a lot. I'm generally cooking for two people, and it is easy to overdo things when you are working with whole spices. That's when I turn to my mortar and pestle.

...or, I would, normally. My pestle didn't make the move in August, and I've been without one since. Angela just made me a new one. It is good to live with a ceramicist. Unlike my old pestle, which was plain white porcelain, my new one is white porcelain with a gorgeous speckled-blue glaze of her own creation. You can't have one like mine (unless you ask very nicely), but it is easy to get your own mortar and pestle set if you don't have one. Unless you have specific needs otherwise, I'd get a relatively small set. Big mortar and pestle sets not only take up a lot of room, but can also be very heavy. While I haven't found a better solution for tiny jobs, I think that most big jobs that people would traditionally use a mortar and pestle for are more easily handled in a food processor.

One of the cool things about moving is discovering the new ingredients that are locally available. So far, we've discovered a variety of Caribbean and Latin American groceries and an amazing Asian grocery (the infamous H-Mart, which would be perfect if it actually carried fermented black beans).

Image by VirtualErnThe other day, I found Sheger International Market, a tiny Ethiopian place a few blocks away. I picked up some injera - a spongy pancake-like sourdough flatbread made from teff flour - while I was there, because it was something I thought Angela would like. (She did.) What caught my attention, though, were the shelves of small plastic containers filled with a variety of spices and things. Few of them I recognized. There was plenty of berbere and some green coffee beans, but other than that... well... it looks like I have a lot of research and experimentation to do. I suspect several of these things are spices that I know of under another name, so if anyone has a good resource for Ethiopian spice names, please share.

I really like curry. I don't have any really authentic understanding of curry and thus usually use a powder or paste rather than making my own (I know... I know...) and don't even really make anything "authentic." There are many different styles from South and Southeast Asia, ranging from Iran all the way to Thailand, and up into China, plus various fusion adaptations so I don't feel too bad. I think my favorite is Thai green curry with bamboo shoots, chicken, coconut milk, basil and Thai eggplant.

The mix of spices in different blends alters the flavor and color of the resulting dish substantially. For instance, turmeric gives Indian style curries that glorious yellow color. Given the influence of the Subcontinent, curry has become a staple of British cuisine (thank the Lord!). You can add curry powder to all sorts of things, too: sprinkle on a cheese omelette, make curry mayonnaise, add it to roast vegetables such as cauliflower, etc. I've even heard of curry pizza (and saw it in Amsterdam) but I'm not so sure about that. Curry fries are the Subcontinentally flavored version of poutine, but we all know my opinion of that.

Image by Julian BurgessI've been thinking about smoked food lately. This might be because I have several pounds of beef back ribs in my freezer. I was wondering what sort of wood to use to smoke them with... when I asked myself, why does it have to be wood?

Wood certainly isn't the only thing that burns and gives off smoke. Right? Some things will burn and give off nasty smoke, but I'm sure that there are some sorts of non-woodsmoke out there that would result in perfectly tasty food.

What about woody herbs like rosemary? What about spices? Cinnamon sticks, cracked nutmeg, and whole seeds (cumin? mustard?) seem like possibilities. What about dried fruits or vegetables? Nuts? Dried flowers? Tea? Herbal teas?

I don't know what the results would be, but I am curious.

Is this a technique that is used?

Do you have commercially-packaged dried herbs or spices still in their original containers? Manufacturers including Durkee, McCormick, and Spice Island have online resources that allow you to find out just how old your herbs and spices are.