Spice Nook: Cardamom

Cardamom is a favourite spice of mine. I grew up with the familiar aromatic taste of it in certain dishes, teas, coffees and desserts. Cardamom is native to India, Pakistan and Nepal. It is often used in Southern Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine and is gaining popularity in other world regions. Once an overlooked spice, Cardamom is now appreciated and cultivated in many parts of the world, including Guatamala, which is now the top global exporter.

There are two types of Cardamom - green and black.

For the most part, they taste identical, however the black cardamom has a smokiness to it. Both green and black pods contain seeds. Those seeds can be used on their own, or pulverised into a dust. I enjoy crushing the pod with the back of my knife and throwing it in while cooking. I love using cardamom with rice. I use it in rice pudding and garnish alongside with chopped pistachio's and honey. Also, I use it when I make coconut rice because it adds that something extra.

If any of you have tried Arabic/Turkish coffee, you will know that green cardamom is often ground up with the beans and packaged together. It offers a unique spice and scent to the coffee that puts this Java in a world of its own. It's also one of the top spices when making a garam masala for Indian cuisine alongside with black pepper, cinnamon, cloves and cumin.

Cardamom has also been used as traditional medicine in Asia for many years. Some of the claimed benefits of Cardamom are:

• Offers relief of sensitive tooth and gums (when chewed)

• Helps to speed up digestion

• Natural oil in seeds offers relief from gastritis irritation by coating and soothing stomach lining

• Offers anti inflammatory properties

• Produces circulation of blood in lungs which assist in asthma and cough

• Packed with essential minerals and electrolytes to help fight anaemia 

• Helps to break down kidney and gall stones

• Known to lower blood pressure

• Fights bad breath
• Once thought to treat snake venom (still used for this purpose in parts of India)

If you're new to trying cardamom, remember, next time you make a cup of tea, or order a cup of Turkish coffee, make sure to have this spice dropped in. If you like the flavour, start experimenting with your cooking.

Enjoy!

EASY Caramel

Making caramel is fun. Making it when it's super easy raises the question, "Why not make this more often?"
Well, the answer is because it's SOOOO sweet and addictive..


BUT, if you're looking to make this decadent stuff to spread on or within a cake, to dip fruits in, or to eat straight out of the can (I won't judge,) here is an easy recipe you can follow. Just make sure you have time to keep a watchful eye on this.

Ingredients
1 can of sweetened condensed milk



Directions
Remove label from can of sweetened condensed milk. Drop in deep pot of water. Let simmer/light boil on its side for 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Turn off heat, drain water and let can sit out for 6+ hours before you open it.
My advice is to boil 2 or 3 cans at once because it does use up burner electricity. You can store unopened cans away for a few weeks, so why not?

Caution! DO NOT open after boiling. If you open can too early you will risk burning yourself. Also, DO NOT let the water in the pot boil off. Add water from time to time to make sure can(s) are fully submerged. Not doing this will cause the can to explode if the water boils off.

Happy Carameling!

Enjoy!

Easy Nutella Brownies

In honour of World Nutella Day, I thought I'd share this very simple brownie recipe that has the rich creamy nutella taste. These brownies are sinfully good! They wont stick around too long once out of the oven.

Ingredients

2 cups nutella

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

4 large eggs

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup melted butter

3/4 cup crushed hazelnuts

(you can substitute coconut flakes or chocolate chips instead of hazelnuts)

Preheat oven to 325F. Combine flour and salt in bowl. In another bowl, on medium speed with an electric mixer, or in your stand up mixer, beat eggs, nutella, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth for about 2 minutes. Slowly add the flour/salt and melted butter and mix until incorporated.

Grease a 8" pan or any square brownie pan you have. Pour batter into pan and bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool for at least an hour. Spread nutella over the top. Cut, serve and enjoy!

Spice Nook: Ginger

I've been tempted to reflect on Ginger in this post. I just got over some stomach virus and enduring it was awful.... until I added some ginger. I don't think I have to do much convincing on ginger being very beneficial. We've heard through the years from almost everyone.

Ginger, or Ginger root is of the plant Zingiber. It has been cultivated in Southern Asia for thousands of years and is now grows in places like the Caribbean. It has been used for promoting good health for thousands of years by ancient medicine and is still respected today for its healthy properties.

Ginger can be consumed in many ways from boiled in water, to cooked with food, and even chewed on. It also comes powdered and can easily be sprinkled on anything, however in this state the benefits are far less compared to fresh ginger.
Ginger, when consumed raw, produces a hot taste, and when pickled the natural sweetness can be enjoyed.

Here are some benefits of consuming ginger:

• Shown to fight cancer cells, especially ovarian cancer
• Aids in respiratory health
• Improves absorption of essential nutrients into the body
• Helps to clear mucus from sinuses
• Aids in fighting motion sickness, nausea and vomiting 
• Promotes good digestion
• Reduces flatulence 
• Acts as an anti-inflammatory and aids in joint and muscle pain
• Has been proven to strengthen the immune system which in turn helps flight other potential illnesses

I like to buy fresh ginger from the market. I wash it really well and then stick it in a zip lock bag and pop it in the freezer. I am one to grate my ginger for everything from my teas to dinner dishes, and I find that it's much easier to grate from frozen. 

A tip!

If you're feeling under the weather due to a stomach virus or have very bad nausea, here's A tip! Boil 1 cup water, add 1 tsp fresh grated ginger and 1 tsp honey. Mix well and let a Camomile tea bag steep for a few minutes. Drink this 2-3 times a day when ill. It will ease the sickness and aid in proper digestion. 

Baba Ghanouj

At some point in ones life, theyve heard that funny word Baba Ghanouj. After the initial giggle, they realise it's actually a delicious dip made of roasted eggplant, roasted garlic and spices.

Here is a very simple recipe for this delicious dip.


Ingredients
1 medium sized Eggplant
1 head of Garlic
2 tbsp Tahini paste
2 tbsp Lemon juice
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Salt

Place the eggplant and head of garlic (chop the top off) in a 375F oven and let roast  for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes.


When the eggplant has cooled, peel the skin off and cut off the top. Squish out the delicious roasted garlic as well.

Place the eggplant and garlic in a small food processor and add the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Pulse for 1 minute, and tada! Garnish with pine nuts or pomegranate seeds and parsley or thyme and olive oil. Today I topped with olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika and black pepper.  You can enjoy with pita bread, veggie sticks or even as a side dish like I did with dinner. Enjoy!

Easy Cabbage Rolls

CABBAGE! One of my favourite vegetables. I use it to make coleslaw or chop em for a stir fry... it's the best! (Up there anyway - can't beat the noble potato!)

I grew up eating cabbage rolls, Arab style, with ground beef, all spice, garlic and LOTS of lemon. This recipe however calls for tomato sauce and different spices and it turns out soft because it simmers low and slow. I even have a veg option you can enjoy as well.

Ingredients

1 head of Cabbage (small)

1 cup  Chicken or Veg broth

2 cups Tomato sauce

6 Garlic cloves

Stuffing

4 cups ground Turkey (or Beef)

3/4 cup Rice

1/4 cup Onion minced

3 tbsp Olive oil

1 tbsp Garlic powder

1 tsp Black pepper

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Sage (optional)

OR

1 cup Artichoke hearts chopped

1 cup Cherry tomatoes halved

2 cup Mushrooms sliced

3/4 cup Rice

1/4 cup Onion minced

3 tbsp Olive oil

1 tbsp Garlic powder
1 tbsp Chilli flakes

1/4 tsp Turmeric 

1 tsp Black pepper

1 tsp Salt

Bring 4L of water to a boil, and place head of cabbage (core facing up) into the water. To make this easier on you, carefully spear the round core of the cabbage head with a fork or knife to make sure you can keep it in the water without using your hand to hold it down (it gets hot!) I use my hands because I'm stubborn. Use a knife to cut the top of each leaf, and slowly peel away when it becomes soft and pliable.

Set the cabbage leaves aside so they can cool down. Turn the oven on for 350C. 

In a large bowl, mix together the ingredients for whichever stuffing you want (see above). Get in there with your hands and combine all ingredients. Form into ovals and place at the base of the cabbage leaf. Roll and tuck the two side ends in before completing the roll. Place one by one tightly into roasting pan so they stay secure while cooking.

Fill the pan with the rolls and then pour broth and tomato sauce all over. The liquid will keep them moist and prevent them from drying out. Add the garlic cloves on top and cover with remaining cabbage leaves. Place in oven and let cook for 70 minutes. Pull from oven and let cool slightly before serving with a lemon wedge or a dollop of sour cream.

Enjoy!

Spice Nook - Turmeric

When you think of Turmeric, what comes to mind? A yellowish powder to dye your Easter Eggs? Some spice that sits in the back of the rack that nobody dare use? More often than not, people think of Indian curries. While this spice has gained a lot of momentum because of the surging popularity of Indian cuisine in the west, is has been busy being one of the most used spices in Asia. 

Turmeric is a root in the Ginger family that grows wild across southern Asia. It has been used for medicinal purposes since the day it was cultivated thousands of years ago. Its benefit of being a natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent has made it a popular choice in natural medicine.

Here are some health benefits of Turmeric:

• Detoxifies liver
• Relieves arthritis
• Helps stimulate and boost the body's immune system
• Improves digestion and helps to releive gastrointestinal pain
• Fights Type 2 Diabetes
• Strengthens pancreas and kidneys to help fight against disease
• Prevents cancer and reduces the spread of cancerous cells
• Shown to prevent Alzheimers disease 
• Heals skin wounds and scabs at a quicker pace

For years I've added a bit of Turmeric to many things I've cooked, even in pasta sauce. It has a warm and slightly bitter taste. The more you add into your cooking, the bitterness becomes more apparent, however it works as a positive when cooking with certain vegetables as the bitter taste offers a flavour compliment. 



Some items that are paired well with Turmeric are cauliflower, chick peas, potato, carrots, eggs and yogurt. If you're looking for a recipe to try tonight, give my Kale Cauliflower & Potato Curry a spin. Enjoy the healthy benefits!