Yesterday afternoon after my sojourn to the farmer’s market, I had to make a stop at my favourite spice emporium, The Spice Trader to procure some of their delicious wares.
Despite the fact that I always go to the store with a very precise list, I invariably end up leaving with 3-4 times more product than I had anticipated.
Of course, yesterday’s visit was no different, and even though I only intended to buy 3 or 4 things, $100 later I arrived home with 13 items.
Most of what I purchased were refills for my already overflowing spice drawer, but a few new items called out from the shelves for experimentation. Choice among those were the roasted paprika, which I was advised is quite different and more complex than pimenton, and is an ashy brownish black. There were also crushed olive leaves, and though I’m not much of a fan of olives beyond their oil, something told me I wouldn’t be disappointed if I purchased these leaves, so I did. The other item earmarked for messing around with was the rose petals, which off the top of my head might make an interesting addition to my pink pepper fleur de sel cocoa shortbread.
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Tags: herbs, New Projects, Purveyors, spices, The Spice Trader
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There are probably less than a handful of people reading this blog who will get the titular reference, but to those that do, I salute you 
After a slight delivery snafu on my part last weekend, I finally took possession of my side of pork on Wednesday night from Bob, our friendly organic grocer.
Well, most of it.
It turns out that the slaughter weight of my particular hog was slightly larger than the average I’d been quoted (80-100 lbs) so my fridge, freezer and all available space is now crammed full of 147.5 pounds of high quality porkiness. That includes one completely intact belly side, which I’ve been lusting after since I saw it and intend to use for a half dozen preparations of bacon, a whole boned out shoulder for grinding into various forms of charcuterie, a couple slabs of ribs, a bone in leg that I’m deliberating over turning into prosciutto (I’m not sure I’m experienced enough for that), plus a shitload of meat packaged into chops. There was also a full third box that did not get dropped off containing the fat from the animal to be used for charcuterie and rendering into lard. Luckily, Bob offered to hold it at his store for us for a few weeks while we get busy making some room, because after I put away what he did deliver, we are completely and totally full. And that includes the large upright second freezer that we keep in the basement just for things such as this.
Ah, but what a nice feeling of fullness it is. My mind is whirring full speed (no, it really isn’t just the godawful noise from the Indy cars) with all of the potential and possibilities ahead of me with this cache full of meat. Just this morning I stopped off at The Spice Trader to pick up supplies for other projects and was inspired to purchase some fennel pollen with the intent to use it on one of the versions of bacon, plus some grains of paradise, vanilla powder and exotic Saigon cinnamon that I thought would be fun to experiment with, aside from my regularly scheduled purchases. I always love going there because I come home with so many unique and interesting things to keep myself busy in the kitchen.
Stay tuned for more tales of pork possibilities.
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Tags: New Projects, pork, Purveyors, spices, The Clean Food Connection, The Spice Trader
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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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