There’s almost nothing I dislike more than waste.
Having a CSA share every summer means that I’ve learned to get pretty creative with its contents so that they don’t end up going into the trash.
But, now that summer has taken it’s final bow, we’ve gone back to receiving what our organic grocer Bob from Clean Food Connection calls a “vegpak” in every order, which basically amounts to a box full of fruits and veggies that his staff will pack up for me, based on my likes/dislikes/preferences. So, while everything we receive is always something we’ll enjoy, sometimes it means we end up with produce that we weren’t necessarily expecting.
And sometimes that produce will sit around my kitchen almost until the brink of decay. Which is exactly how I ended up having 6 overripe bosc pears sitting on my counter with no immediate plans for them yesterday.
At first glance, it seemed like an ideal opportunity to make a pear crisp, but once I started to peel the pears, I realized that there was no way they’d be firm enough to stand up to that. Which is how I ended up making a puree. And once I had that puree, it was only a mental hop, skip and a jump to deciding that a pear-based quick bread was the way to go. Fortifying my general quick bread recipe with the addition of oats and a pinch of camphorous cardamom put the finishing touches on the bread.
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Tags: Baking, bread, cardamom, chocolate, oatmeal, pears, Purveyors, Recipes, The Clean Food Connection
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Seasoning. Flavour. Herbs. Spice.
Food is generally palatable (unless you really don’t know how to cook) but can usually be improved by the addition of that little something extra.
This instalment of The Foodie 13 takes a look at the herbs, spices and seasonings that you might not have previously considered or cooked with, but are actually rather essential to having a well-rounded spice pantry.
So, without further adieu…
1 – Lavender – I’ll admit that it’s gentle hue, which is both a colour, flavour and fragrance, was something that has grown on me slowly over the years. Once relegated to old ladies’ soap dishes, lavender is now coming out into the spotlight to shine in more mainstream preparations. It’s faintly floral, herbal notes are a perfect compliment to a myriad of dishes, from roasted meats a la Provence, to sweeter endeavours, like the chocolate chip lavender fookie (big fuckin’ cookie) I made several months ago. Plus, one whiff of it’s heady aroma can make you feel like you’ve been summering in the south of France. Not bad for a handful of powdery blossoms, eh?
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Tags: ajowan, aleppo, ancho, black sesame, cardamom, epazote, herbs, juniper, lavender, Lists, mustard seeds, nutmeg, pimenton, pink peppercorns, spices, star anise, The Foodie 13
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