C is for coriander

C Is For Coriander

You won’t see coriander used very much in most American cuisine, but it is a staple in Indian and Middle Eastern dishes. Coriander has quite a history with mankind, the herb was discovered in the pharaoh tombs in Egypt and it is also referenced in the Bible as one of the bitter herbs eaten during Passover.  I have only had the opportunity to use ground coriander seeds in my culinary creations, but the entire plant can be used.

The seeds of the coriander plant are probably used the most in cooking, which can readily be found your local spice isle, but different cultures tend to use this plant in different ways. The stalks and pungent leaves of this herb are frequently used in salads, soups and other dishes in many parts of the world, such as The Middle East, Southern Asia and Mexico. In Thailand, the root of this herb is used frequently in curry dishes; it is said that the root has a more intense flavor than the leaves. Thanks to all of my kitchen adventures with my close friend Chris, ground coriander seeds became my first love in the kitchen. 

There is just something about this exotic spice that excites my palate and warms my heart. My favorite characteristic of ground coriander seeds is that you can never use too much of it. The flavor is very much a side show to any dish; it is always delicate and never overpowering. Coriander’s subtly sweet and savory flavor seems dance across your taste buds in the background as you are occupied with the more predominate flavors of the dish.  As described by my good friend, “Coriander is a light, lemony spice that brings a refreshing note to any dish”, and I can’t agree with him more!  We have used it on almost everything, especially his famous chicken noodle soup. I was hoping on sharing my own version of the recipe with you by now, but that will have to wait for another blog post.

If you haven’t had a chance to try this subtle spice, I would very much recommend picking it up at the grocery store and giving it a whirl. Ground coriander seeds are a great addition to many soups, stews and many other dishes. I’m almost certain that you will love it, so just do yourself a flavor and start using it in your cooking! If you were to use the seeds whole, I would recommend roasting the seeds a bit in an ungreased pan to enhance their flavor.

Till next time,

~Mr.McLovin

A is For Artichoke

A Is For Artichokes

Artichokes are one of those foods that I can recognize and have tried at restaurants, but actually know very little about. Whenever shopping in the produce section, I always glance at these odd looking greens and murmur to myself something along the lines of “I think that thing is an artichoke…” and I will usually follow that statement with something about how I will one day attempt to use this funny vegetable in a dish… Well folks, today is the day that I will fulfill that half hearted dream!! In honor of starting this challenge off right, I decided to finally purchase an artichoke and to see how it tastes first hand.

My new artichoke!

The only time I can recall actually eating this ingredient, was in a dip from Apple Bees. It was pretty good, so I think I might try and make a dip out of this little guy. The problem is… Every recipe that I found seemed SUPER unhealthy, and nobody ever included the nutritional facts… As amazing as some of those dips may have sounded, I think I might have to try and make my own healthy master piece to enjoy. So… here… we… go!!  

And I’m back. After doing some research about this oddity and getting some hands on experience, the most critical point that I took away from the experience is that it is more trouble than what it’s worth. If I ever do decide to try again, I will be sure to just buy a bag of artichoke hearts. From my understanding, an artichoke is essentially an over sized thistle flower that is still in its bud form. The good stuff, the artichoke heart, is located underneath this undeveloped flower.  Cooking it wasn’t too big of a deal, but getting to the good part was a bit of a pain and there wasn’t a whole lot there to really enjoy. I have read online that you can eat the leaves, but all you are really doing is nibbling on the part of the heart that is attached to the leaf when you pull it away from the plant. If you do plan on using it, I would recommend just cutting the leaves off,  taking the choke out and using only the heart.   

I wasn’t too fond of my dip that I made from the artichoke, thankfully I made it at my aunt’s house. They loved my dip, so it was a win-win in my book. I could post the recipe, but I really didn’t think it was blog worthy.  I ended up roasting the artichoke, a red onion and 7 cloves of garlic until they were nice and soft. I then tossed the veggies in a blender with some Greek yogurt, 4 oz of low fat cream cheese, some feta and parmesan cheese and blended it all up. It wouldn’t blend very well at first, so I added in a splash of water and some milk. It helped get things moving… but then it was pretty soupy. So I threw it back into the oven and let it thicken up some.  The oven idea worked great, it turned out rich and creamy after about 10 minutes of baking.

If I want a healthy dip, I’m just going to grab some spinach and skip out on the artichoke. I’m glad I finally gave it a shot, but I don’t plan on cooking with them again anytime soon!  The ingredient of the day, for tomorrow, will be Basil! Check back here tomorrow to see what you have been missing out on.

~Mr.McLovin