teaspoon spices

Why teaspoon packets?

A woman wrote us recently to ask why we package spices in teaspoon packets. "I have a teaspoon -- don't need it portioned out for me," she said.

Here's what we told her:

Good question! We sell spices in teaspoon packets for one simple reason -- to keep the spices tasting fresh. As you may know, the enemies of spice flavor are light, air and moisture, and a major spice company has long told consumers to store their spices away from these elements. Of course, they then package spices in glass or plastic bottles that expose the spices to light and, once they are opened, to air and moisture. They also encourage consumers to "toss out spices seasonally" and buy new supplies. But that is expensive and nobody we know actually does that.
   
So we thought: Why not package spices so they stay fresh? We decided that one teaspoon was the most useful size for home cooks, so that's what we did. If you use lots and lots of a certain spice or herb, you my find traditional packaging works just fine for you. However, for spices that will sit in your cabinet for a year or two getting more and more stale, our packaging is a great solution -- saving flavor and saving money.

And although it may seem counterintuitive, our packaging is actually less of a load on the environment. Our tins are re-usable and recyclable, and the packet material weighs far less and takes up far less space than the plastic bottles and glass jars that are in most spice cabinets. And because our packets have a much longer shelf life, our customers don't have to throw out half-full bottles of stale spice.

So it's simple: Packets preserve flavor -- and give you better value for your spice dollar.

No more stale spice!

 

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

Herb-Stuffed Eggplant

As fond as I am of fresh herbs, I love the strong flavor -- and convenience -- of dried herbs. Drying concentrates the flavor of an herb, lending depth to any dish. For the past few weeks I've been making use of dried herbs in cooking the produce we're picking up each week from our CSA. One of my favorite recipes is Herb-Stuffed Eggplant, adapted from the wonderful book, "Cucina Fresca," (Harper & Row, 1985), by Viana La Place and Evan Kleiman. It's a perfect way to use the lovely eggplants from One Straw Farm.

The recipe in the book calls for a mixture of fresh herbs (your choice -- basil, oregano, mint, marjoram, etc.) If you're using fresh herbs, you'll need about 1 1/2 cups altogether.

The first time I made the recipe I used some fresh basil and fresh oregano with a teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano. The results were good.

The next time I skipped the fresh stuff altogether and the results was even better because the herbal flavors were more pronounced. I like that extra burst of flavor, so I have continued to use only dried herbs in this recipe, although fresh herbs make a nice garnish for the finished dish.

Here's my version:

Herb-Stuffed Eggplant:

3-4 Japanese eggplants, or 2-3 very small eggplants

Coarse salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

3-4 teaspoons dried herbs (your choice)

1/4 cup wine or water

Cut each Japanese eggplant in half lengthwise, but do not remove the stem. If you are using regular eggplants that are very round, cut them lengthwise into quarters. Score the eggplants by making diagonal, shallow slashes into the flesh. Salt the eggplants and let them sit for 20 minutes so that the water comes to the surface. Blot the eggplants dry with paper towels, removing as much salt as possible. While holding the eggplant so that the slashes are slightly open, fill the slashes with the herbs.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, place the eggplant halves cut-side down in the oil. Fry for 5 minutes over high heat. Pour the wine or water over the eggplant, cover, lower the heat, and braise for 5 to 10 more minutes or until the eggplants are tender. Remove the cover. If any liquid remains, turn up the heat and cook until it evaporates.

Remove the eggplants to a platter. Cool and serve at room temperature. 

Makes 4 to 6 servings

 --Sara
 

 

A boost for fresh basil

It has been a hot, hard summer for our backyard basil. This time of year, it's typical for a few of our plants to be losing their color and generally looking like they've run their course. But this year, practically all of them seem to be well into an end-of-summer swoon, still weeks before the first frost. So the secret we learned long ago about cooking with fresh basil -- boosting it with dried basil -- is coming in handy.

Even when basil is splendidly green and fresh, we've learned that a teaspoon of dried basil is a delicious addition to pesto or our other favorite fresh-basil recipes. Both dried basil and fresh basil are delicious, and each has strengths.

Fresh basil is, well, wonderfully fresh-tasting. Dried basil is intense, with a concentrated flavor. Added to fresh basil, it creates a deeper layer of flavor, like a good bass line in a melodious tune. 

So, as you harvest your own basil, or take advantage of a fresh bunch at a farmers market or the grocery store, remember that you can boost your basil flavor by adding a teaspoon or two of dried basil. And if your dried basil is organic, you get 100% pure flavor, no additives or fillers to dilute the pleasure.

--Sara

A late-summer salad

Our CSA has been offering some beautiful seeded watermelons, a fat, round, heirloom variety called Moon and Stars. I can't resist a good watermelon, especially in the waning days of summer. And despite the bother, I'm firmly convinced that seeded watermelons taste better.

The farmers' market is also teeming with beautiful heirloom tomatoes, and they are worth the wait.

Either of these fruits (yes, tomato is technically a fruit) is delicious all on its own. But a couple of years ago I came across a recipe for watermelon-tomato salad and was delighted with the combination.

I tried recreating the salad and remembered why we liked it so much in the first place. My version included a couple of different kinds of tomatoes, along with fresh basil and mint from the garden, a handful of crumbled feta cheese, and a red wine vinaigrette.

What I didn't add, and what the salad needed, was some concentrated basil flavor -- organic dried basil. I added a teaspoon, and it made all the difference. Yet another reminder that despite all the fresh herbs in the garden there's a place in summer cooking for fresh-tasting dried herbs -- organic, of course.

--Sara

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

A sauce for summer

I was thumbing through an old issue of the late, lamented Gourmet magazine and came upon a recipe for crisp pork medallions with creamy caper sauce. What caught my eye was the simplicity of the sauce, and I suspected that this creamy concoction was the heart of the recipe.

I was right.. It was simple, but splendid -- plain yogurt with a dab of mayonnaise, chopped capers, a twist of freshly ground black pepper and some chopped fresh parsley. I omitted the parsley and substituted a teaspo0n of dried organic thyme.

The pork medallions were lightly breaded, pan fried, and finished in the oven -- a nice change from our usual custom of grilling pork chops in warm weather and braising them in cooler weather.

The combination was memorable. I even had to issue a couple of plate-licking permits.

The next night, I found a reason to make more sauce. This time I tried a teaspoon of cumin instead of thyme. My excuse was a half-pound of ground beef from grass-fed cattle -- just enough for four small, "slider"-sized patties. With the sauce and a bunch of fresh veggie dishes we didn't need buns or any other condiments. It was a perfect summer porch supper for two.

Creamy Caper Sauce

2/3 cup plain yogurt (preferably whole-milk Greek-style yogurt)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons drained bottled capers, finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried organic thyme (cumin also works well, as would paprika or chile powder or another herb)

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Stir all sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Cover and chill until ready to use.

            (adapted from Gourmet Magazine, March 2007)

--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

Basil-Watermelon Sorbet

My daughter just got home from camp and, for her, summer at home means a giant

watermelon.  She picked one out at the farmers’ market (way too big for our

family of four) and we lugged it home and stashed it in the fridge.

I did not really think about it again until she was invited to head to the

beach for a few days, and I realized we had not even tasted it.  

One solution to the giant-watermelon-problem was basil-watermelon sorbet. It sounded cool and soothing given how blasted hot it has been.  Last summer I enjoyed a

watermelon-basil mojito, and had been craving that flavor combination ever

since.  

When I cut open the watermelon, I was surprised -- and delighted -- to discover it was not the traditional scarlet-fleshed melon I was expecting. It was bright yellow! I worried about my basil plan, but decided to stay the course.

We’ve been eating that melon all week now, in salads, by itself, with

blueberries, and it is delicious.  But the sorbet is the best thing

of all.  So cold, so easy. And the minty tang of the basil makes it even

more delicious.

Also, this is a case where dried basil (especially organic) is truly better than fresh.  The dried

basil infuses its flavor into the simple syrup better than fresh basil ever

can.  The flavor is just more intense and, well, more basilly.

Basil- Watermelon Sorbet

2 cups chopped and seeded watermelon flesh

Juice of one lemon

Pinch of salt

1 cup water 

1 cup sugar 

2 teaspoons basil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Make a simple syrup with sugar, water, salt and basil.  Allow to boil gently

until syrupy and thick. Let the syrup cool and steep, then strain it through a

melitta coffee filter (or other strainer).

Puree watermelon with lemon juice in blender until liquid.

Mix watermelon puree with basil simple syrup and mix well.  Cool to allow

flavors to blend.  Process mixture in ice cream maker following

manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze until ready to serve. (Try to avoid eating it all

before your dinner party.)

Serve garnished with blueberries or blackberries.

--Katie