teaspoon spices

Spiced oatmeal -- healthy, hearty and just plain good

What better breakfast on a rainy winter morning -- or any morning, really -- than oatmeal? Healthy, stick-to-your-ribs hearty, and the perfect vehicle for yummy condiments.

Like spices -- organic spices.

The only problem with oatmeal is that it begs for additions like cream, sugar and even butter. We solved that problem by reaching for spices instead. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon or ginger or allspice -- or a blend of all three -- and you won't miss the sugar.

 

Blend your own curry powder

Katie's post on curried squash reminded me how much I love curried vegetables this time of year. Something about the warm flavors of cumin, turmeric, and the other spices that make up a good curry blend seem to go well with the onset of cooler evenings.

We love our Smart Spice curry powder blend. But it's also fun to blend your own, which you can easily do. The recipe is simple. And because you can control the amount of each spice, you can make it hotter with more chile pepper, or choose less heat and add more cumin for earthiness or a bit more ginger for that special ginger tingle.

Here's our favorite formula for self-blending curry powder. You can use it for the curried squash coins in the previous post, or in any other dish that calls for curry. One of our favorite uses for this blend is adding it to mayonnaise (start with 1 teaspoon for about 1/2 cup of mayo) and spread it on your favorite lunch-time sandwich. If you don't have all these spices on hand, check out our $10 spice sampler.

Curry powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon mild chile pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Store the unused seasoning in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

Makes 2 tablespoons

--Sara

Curried butternut squash "coins"

I always love autumn- not least because I love the richness of autumn vegetables,  especially squash.

Last week, I picked up a beautiful butternut squash at our CSA, and thought about what to do with it.  I had recently seen a recipe that called for cutting wedges out of an acorn squash and roasting them. 

The shape of butternut squash does not really lend itself to this treatment, so instead I sliced it into "coins," all the way down the neck.  Once I reached the fat part that houses the seeds, I made the coins a bit thicker, and then cut the seedy part out, leaving a ring.

I sprayed a baking pan with non-stick spray, then placed the squash coins on the pan.  This was a small, tender squash, so I didn't even need to peel it. I sprinkled the slices with a packet of Smart Spice curry powder, and roasted them at 375 degrees for a little more than 30 minutes. 

These squash coins were delicious, and lovely to look at.  I plan to include them as a side dish at my next dinner party because they were beautiful, tasty and most important, easy!

--Katie

Spiced kettle corn

My 18-year-old is packing for college, so we have been indulging in some of his favorite treats. as we count the days till his departure. Fortunately for me, some of his treats are my favorites too.

Case in point: popcorn. We like the kind cooked on the stove top, preferably in a good coconut oil. Sometimes we eat it with just salt, but usually we can't resist dressing it up with Parmesan cheese and a dried herb like rosemary, or perhaps a spicy mix like cumin and chile pepper -- organic, of course.

This time we decided to try something sweeter-- kettle corn. It's an easy treat, just popcorn with a little sugar added in with the kernels. You need to shake the pan throughout the popping process so the sugar won't burn. Even then you are likely to get a few pieces of popcorn with some sugar burns, but that's how you know it's homemade.

Naturally, sugar by itself wasn't enough for us. We added a teaspoon of cinnamon, which had two good effects. First, it gave the popcorn more flavor with less sugar. Second, it was delicious! This might be our new addiction -- and, I hope, something to help lure the boy home once in a while.

Cinnamon-Spiced Kettle Corn

1/3 cup popcorn kernels

1/4 cup oil

4 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon coarse salt

Measure out kernels and set near stove. Combine sugar and cinnamon and set near stove.

Place oil in a heavy pot over high heat and cover. Add one kernel. When it pops, add the rest of the kernels and cover again. When the corn starts popping, quickly add the cinnamon sugar and cover again. Shake constantly until the popping slows to almost a stop. Dump kettle corn into a bowl and sprinkle with salt.

-- Sara

Eggplant steaks

This is becoming my eggplant summer. One Straw Farm, where we are CSA members, is harvesting a bounty of varieties, large and small, voluptuous and demur. I can' resist them.

So I've gone in search of more eggplant recipes. My new favorite is grill-simple: marinated eggplant steaks.

It's simply slices of eggplant -- the big ones we're used to seeing in the grocery store. Salt the slices and let them drain in a colander for half an hour. Then marinade them for at least 15 minutes, grill and eat.

The first time I made these, I served them as a side dish.

The next night I made them the base of a "tomato tower." I spread some homemade pesto on the eggplant slices, topped them with slices of heirloom tomato, a fresh basil leaf and a slice of fresh mozzarella. I topped it off with a drizzle of olive oil and a trickle of my homemade red wine vinegar, a tiny bit of sea salt and a twist of black pepper. My guys couldn't believe they were getting something that fancy for a weeknight dinner.

The "steak" recipe comes from my new go-to summer-veggie cookbook, "The Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook," by Andrea Chesman. Andrea suggests these eggplant slices can also be used instead of bread for a veggie sandwich, or as toppings for homemade pizza. 

Marinated Eggplant Steaks

1 medium (about 1 pound) eggplant, peeled and sliced 3/8 inch thick

1 tablespoon salt

1/3 cup herb vinaigrette (see below)

Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and let them drain in a colander for 30 minutes. Rinse well and pat dry. Transfer the eggplant to a shallow baking dish and pour the vinaigrette over it. Let it stand for at least 15 minutes to absorb the marinade. 

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a grill or pre-heat a broiler

Grill or broil the eggplant, turning occasionally, untl tender and grill-marketed, 10 to 14 minutes. The eggplant should be slightly crusty on the outside but still moist and soft inside. 

--Andrea Chesman, "The Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook"

Herb Vinaigrette

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons dried organic basil

2 teaspoons dried organic oregano

2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the garlic, herbs, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. SLowly pour in the olive oil, whisking until the oil is fully incorporated.

--adapted from "The Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook"

Of course, this marinade is also a fine salad dressing.

--Sara

Creamed beets and onions

At our last CSA pick up, I noticed some really beautiful white beets at

Joan’s stand.  I love beets, but had never tasted or prepared white beets

before.   I really did not know what to do with them.

I frequently turn to my arsenal of cookbooks to help me out of pinches, like

this, but have to admit I did not find a single idea involving white beets

that really knocked my socks off.

One of my favorite reads this summer has been the Victory Garden  Cookbook,

written by Sarah Morash.  It is full of great information for anyone

enrolled in a CSA, but is also sort of sweetly quaint.  She loved to roll

all vegetables in butter, and creamed everything in sight.

We are so worried about calories and fats and eating unhealthily now, that I

doubt anyone in America has made a creamed vegetable since at least 2000,

and probably since Jimmy Carter left office.

I decided to try making a creamed beet dish.  Our friend Debbie reminded me

of how much she likes beets with lemon and fennel, and I got a little bit of

inspiration.  I also had some beautiful red onions from One Straw, as well

as some lovely green onions.  I sliced them all up, poured a little cream

over them and baked them for about 45 minutes.    I thought the onions would

turn everything red, but they turned into a delectable creamy color, so the

entire dish was pale, creamy and yummy.  Like creamed onions, but with a lot

of curly hair!

My 16-year old son said these were the only beets he had ever enjoyed. He proved it by having seconds.

Creamed beets and onions

1 bunch of fresh white beets, peeled and thinly sliced

3 small red onions (or 2 large ones), peeled and thinly sliced

2 bunches scallions

1 teaspoon organic fennel seed

1 teaspoon organic orange zest

salt and pepper to taste

butter 

1/2 cup cream

Preheat oven to 375.

Spray an oven-safe casserole with non-stick spray, or coat with butter.

Layer thinly sliced beets in casserole.  Cover with red onions.  Alternate

layers until all are gone (I had 2 layers of beets and one of onions).

Sprinkle each layer with fennel seed, orange zest, salt and pepper.

Coarsely chop green onions and sprinkle them on top of beets and onions.

Pour cream over all.

Cover tightly with foil and place in 375 oven for about 45 minutes.  Test

with a knife to make sure beets are tender.  If not, return to oven and cook

15 minutes more until done.

Remove from oven, and let cool slightly.  Serve with a simple protein and

sliced yellow watermelon.

--Katie

Eggplant -- elegant but easy

Can any vegetable match the eggplant for elegance? With its smooth, shiny, deep-purple skin and a curvaceous figure, an eggplant can sometimes be too beautiful to cut up and cook. In fact, one of the most gorgeous pieces of art pottery I have ever seen was an eggplant teapot -- which was, of course, too pretty to actually use.

But usually a vegetable is just a vegetable, and even when eggplant is beautiful, dinnertime calls. So when I saw an extra-voluptuous eggplant at our One Straw Farm pick-up last week, I grabbed it. Good move. It inspired two different dishes, one a main course and one an easy version of ratatouille that perfectly rounded out a meal.

Let's start with the easy ratatouille. Ratatouille is one of those venerable French dishes that can call for elaborate preparation, in this case, cooking each vegetable separately then combining them and cooking slowly in the oven or simmering gently on the stove.

But the nice thing about good fresh vegetables is that shortcuts still lead to good food. My version of ratatouille involved nothing more than mincing 3 garlic cloves, dicing an onion, slicing some squash (I used a couple of patty pan from the same CSA pickup), and half the eggplant, diced.

I sauteed the garlic and onion in some olive oil, added the other vegetables with a teaspoon each of oregano, organic basil and thyme and let them soften. Then I added a can of diced tomatoes, let that warm through, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Easy, delicious -- and, yes, elegant.

-- Sara

The courage to self-blend

Katie's experience last week with making her own taco seasoning reminded me of how much fun we have had coming up with our own blends. One of our favorite is homemade organic chili powder. Usually, when you buy this blend, it's got a lot of chile-pepper heat, but also a lot of other stuff, like salt, preservatives, and additives to keep  it from clumping up.

Those are the kinds of ingredients that can cause a lot of problems for people with food allergies. But even for people without allergies, there's a reason to blend your own with organic spices: it just tastes better.

Our chili powder is a good example. We include a teaspoon of fennel seeds. Their slightly sweet flavor complements the heat of the chile pepper and adds an unexpected appeal to the blend.

We also suggest an optional teaspoon of cinnamon, which can be in addition to the fennel or instead of it. I always use both of them, because I think it adds an interesting complexity to the blend. And, for me, the contrasting flavor is more important than just having a lot of chile pepper flavor.

--Sara

Blend it yourself

We often hear about the problems people face in using packaged spice mixtures, which are filled with lots of salt and preservatives – the opposite of good, fresh, healthy flavor. Taco seasoning is a great example.

 

This past week, I decided to make my own.  I was

able to make a delightful and delicious seasoning mixture, and control the

"unknown" ingredients lurking behind labels like "natural flavoring," as

well as the more obvious ones, like salt and monosodium glutamate.

It was delicious, easy, and my family all felt good about not eating a bunch of artificial ingredients! 

Here’s what I came up with. 

Taco filling

1 teaspoon ancho chile

1 teaspoon mild chile

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste...depending on how much

heat you like)

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste (use as much or as little as you like, but you will not need

as much as you get in a commercially prepared mix, no matter what!)

1 tablespoon flour (or fine corn meal for those wanting to avoid flour)

1 onion

2-3 cloves of garlic (to taste)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound of protein (beef, pork, turkey or tofu)

A few tablespoons of water or stock

 

Chop onion and garlic, brown in pan with oil until softened and translucent.

Add spices, flour, and meat, and let meat thoroughly brown.  Add water or

stock and allow to cook over low heat until thickened.  Serve with tacos, or

as an ingredient in burritos.

 

For a slightly richer, more exotic flavor, add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to

spice mixture.

-- Katie

Lamb Stew with Tomatillos

Lamb stew with tomatillos

 

Last week I picked up a bunch of tomatillos from One Straw Farm as well as some spring onions, garlic, baby eggplant and yellow squash.   I know that tomatillos are the basis for any number of Latin-inspired sauces, like the green sauce on enchiladas to a salsa verde, but their texture when stewed is close to a bell pepper, just with more flavor, sweetness and tang.

 

Their similarity in texture when cooked to bell peppers reminded me of a lamb stew recipe that my mother used to make.  She was famous (in our family!) for a middle-eastern style stew made with eggplants and green peppers.  (No cumin!)  I decided to try making it with tomatillos instead of bell peppers.  I added a little spice, (of course!)

 

Lamb stew with tomatillos

 

1 small butterflied leg of lamb, cut into 1” cubes

½ cup flour

1 teaspoon mild chile pepper

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

salt and pepper

2 Tbs olive oil or other vegetable oil

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 large spring onions, peeled and diced

4-6 small baby eggplants, cut into bite size pieces

2 yellow summer squash, cut into bite size pieces

4-6 green tomatillos, quartered

1 can diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

 

finely sliced gren onions and chopped parsley

 

Mix flour with salt, peper and spices.  Toss cubed lamb with flour mixture until evenly  coated. 

 

Heat oil in large dutch oven (or electric skillet).  Add garlic and onion and cook until softened and golden.  Add lamb cubes and cook until browned on all sides.

 

Add chopped eggplant and squash, and cook until vegetables are softened.   Add tomatillos, canned tomatoes and half of broth (you may use wine if you prefer a richer flavor). 

 

Allow stew to simmer until thickened.  Add more broth if needed to achieve desired consistency.  (It should be pretty thick.)

 

Serve over brown rice or mashed potatoes (or egg noodles).  Garnish with thinly sliced green onion slivers and chopped parsley.