another taste by Stu
November 30th, 2007 8:35 PM
I had used every spice in there. OH WAIT! What is this oddly-wrapped spice?
I smelled it. It was cumin. Poo. I use that all the time.
So I went to Penzeys Spices, which has all sorts of spices, ranging from blends (sacrilege!) to herbs to the largest selection of peppercorns ever to actual spices. They have containers you can open up and smell (though they have no coffee beans around to cleanse the olfactory palate).
I went through their herbs first. There was nothing there I hadn't used before. That was sad. Then I looked at the chiles section. They had some nice choices, most of which I'd already used at some point, but this task did say to use a spice, so I went over to the spices.
There were, I think, six spices I had never used (some variation of--the different colors of cardamom didn't count as "different" spices for a new taste) in my cooking. Two of them smelled asstastic. Two smelled boring. One was the pits of sour cherries, and it was quite bland-smelling. The last one was ajwain, an Indian spice I've never used.
I went up to the counter to pay the nice dude, and I realized I didn't have my wallet with me. I told him I'd be right back, and he told me not to be silly. He gave me the spice, as well as a piece of paper (in picture), and told me to pay the next time I was at the store. I was so relieved and puzzled and grateful--I could have given him a big kiss on the cheek right then.
The spice and note:
The only disappointment (which was ameliorated by the nice spice guy) was that they were playing Christmas songs, and I have this ability to get multiple songs stuck in my head at once, so Rudolph was dueling Frosty in my head on the way home.
I needed to make an unlikely dish. I was hoping to make something with pork, and almost no Indian dishes are made with pork, so that's a good start. So, pork plus ajwain plus some veggies all wokked up and thrown over some rice. That sounded like a plan to me.
I decided to cook the ajwain in oil for a bit, then I'd throw in the veggie and meat ingredients.
I threw in half the ajwain as is and half after mortar-and-pestling it.
I rinsed the rice and decided to throw some ajwain in there, too, as well as a little turmeric (for color, mostly).
I cut up the veggies and meat:
And I threw them in the pan.
Eventually, I decided they needed more ajwain. Also, peaches. I do this thing where I squish canned peaches. I had a friend who canned peaches with me, and we used those until they were gone, and now all I have are store-bought ones:
But they're still fun to squish:
It all cooked up pretty nicely, but the potatoes, as usual, took longer to cook than I'd've liked. And it needed ginger, a little chili powder, some cumin, a little orange juice, and a bit of cayenne:
I added those, packed up three tupperwares, and brought them to campus where I shared with my girlfriend and my housemate.
When I presented it to the eaters, I asked them to smell the ajwain and see if they tasted it. They did. The reaction from my housemate was "Holy shit-christ, that was good!" (He likes that phrase.) My girlfriend ate all of hers, and I liked it quite a bit. Next time, more ginger. I'll definitely use the ajwain again, though. Delicious. And I'm glad I shared it. My household is part of my environment. Feeding it is part of taking care of it.
You guys should try it.
13 vote(s)
Jellybean of Thark
5
Magpie
5
Levitating Potato
5
Cthulhu Kitty
5
Laura
5
Tøm
5
miss understanding
5
Black MegaBee
5
Pyrtolin
5
Charlie Fish
5
Burn Unit
5
Fonne Tayne
5
GYØ Ben
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(none yet)23 comment(s)
Oh, yes! It's... hmm. Mix thyme and oregano. Add a little cumin. Add a little bite of some sort different from thyme. When I bite into one of the seeds, there's a tiny bit of a numbing-minty taste. It'd make an awesome toothpaste flavor.
What a lovely mortar and pestle. Those are fun.
The canned peaches were a very nice touch.
El Capitan: They certainly are fun, and thanks. I got it at a Japanese store (Muji) in London. At the time, I was worried about getting it back through customs. I'm not sure why.
Magpie: Thank you. They go well with pork. I don't know why.
The world needs better toothpaste flavors. Or at least ones without so much aftertaste.
I have to agree with the Capitan. Unfortunately, the only mortar and pestle I own are not for food service.
Congrats on 1000 points :)
Potato: I agree about the toothpaste, though I learned that someone who kisses me after I drink some wine, eat some sweet tarts, brush my teeth, and drink some gin gets the taste of tequila. But that's just a random thought.
Get a second mortar and pestle! Or make one!
Also, I totally wasn't paying attention. Thanks! Yay! I'm going to celebrate with some water, because I am thirsty.
I recommend a vocanic stone mortar and pestle. Those are great for salsa, and you can use them to make meal for tortillas.
This reminds me, I should go eat a salsa taco. Thanks, Stu!
I've seen an enormous one used for guacamole, and it did a beautiful job of it.
Of course! What goes into a salsa taco? (I'm a big taco fan, though I'd make enchiladas more often if it were as fast as tacos.)
I really should get another one. My current one is relegated to uses like this (though it wasn't actually used for that task, it's seen similar uses).
Is volcanic stone any different than ordinary ceramic, functionally? I'm guessing it looks nicer.
You people are making me hungry! I haven't cooked Mexican in ages, I should really go do that.
You´re talking about a molcajete.
Potato: Ooh, fun! The stone (and the cast iron, though less so) has a rougher surface than the ceramic, which makes for different texture. And I like the way it looks and feels better. And it doesn't make stupid squeaky noises.
Go cook Mexican, then! I practically grew up on the stuff. My older brother was a vegetarian, so it was one of the easiest things to make that always tasted good.
Susy: Yes! That is exactly it. Those things are marvelous. Thank you. I never knew its name.
Peter: Mexican grocery stores are hard to find in Pittsburgh, sadly, but I grew up near a few good ones. My dad would bring home different kinds of chiles, some amazing oregano, and the best cumin I think I've ever had. What sort of stuff are you thinking of that's not intended for culinary use?
So confused... Maybe it's because I just woke up.
The peaches are a great touch. That made me think of this stir-fry I had at someone's new years eve party a couple of years ago. It had green apples in it and was simply amazing. I am always impressed with the cooking of others since I do so little of it myself and my knowledge base might even fall below "minimal".
I have been recently introduced to Marvis Toothpaste and their jasmine mint is out of this world.
Miss: Thanks. I like throwing fruit into savory dishes--pineapple's another good one. A lot of it comes from when I was more of a poor college student, and I'd have three things and a lot of spices and some rice and I'd have to make it all into a meal.
The Marvis Toothpaste looks awesome. I'd probably go for Ginger Mint. Mmm.
Stu, there's a Mexican store in the Strip District.
Crap! There is? Did I know this? I will have to find it!
My favorite toothpaste flavor, by far, is Tom's of Maine's Cinnamon-Clove. They've got a Ginger Mint too, but I'd only be able to use it once a week or so. Orange Mango looks like it might be worth trying too at some point.
http://www.tomsofmaine.com/toms/flavor_guide.asp
As a general tip for potatoes- you can get them to paly ball a little better if you partially bake them first. Just enough that they' started to soften, but are still firm enough to slice. At that point they'll cook at about the same rate as most vegetables.
Wow--so many new toothpaste options! Thank you.
I tend to pre-cook the potatoes, but I barely ever do it enough for it to actually make them ready when everything else is.
Your shelf has all the spices in the world on it, and you still found a new one. Brilliant.
The shelves do have a few repeats (though it's often Mexican vs. Mediterranean oregano, which I don't quite count as a repeat). I was quite excited to find something both new AND tasty.
p.s. votes for originality. tho it must be said that "rudolph vs. frosty" was on the front page... and's what got me here.
Thank you, Hugo. I had fun drawing that, and it is about how my head felt while listening to the two songs at once.
For those of us who have no clue what ajwain is, can you describe its taste / smell at all?