Spice up Mother’s Day (and the rest of your life!)

I recently received in the post a very fragrant envelope from Spice Kitchen; a mother and son company specialising in spices, handmade spice mixes and spice accoutrements such as the masala dabba.  I used have one of these handy pieces of kit, you can blend your own spices in the lid!

The envelope they sent contained samples of 8 spice mixes which they are also offering in a wooden spice box as a great gift for Mother’ Day.

This being the case I wanted to write a review asap and, although I’ve had a couple of plays, I don’t have time to do them all justice and write a timely review.  Luckily I came up with a brainwave – seasoned salts. Making these means that I can give a fair taste to each spice mix (on toast, rice, beans, etc.) without taking too long.  It also means that as I have a more thorough experiment with each mix, and post about it, Spice Kitchen will get a bit more exposure.  Good idea or what?

Seasoned Salts

Actually all sorts of flavourings can be mixed with salt (see here for fabulous bacon salt!) but, whereas some ingredients might need to be chopped or dried or cooked, in this case you just add a little spice to crunchy sea salt.

Whilst mixing the salts I tasted a tiny bit of each spice on my tongue (which made it nice and warm, good for early March). They were all distinctively different and the jerk seasoning with which I am very familiar made me homesick for the islands.

From the top …

Garam Masala ~ the taste we think of as curry, warm but not hot, I used a little to make …

Alu ki Tikki

At least that’s what I’m calling it! 

I am very prone to making potato cakes with leftover mash and these are some of the best.

500g (possibly leftover) mashed potato
1 small onion – finely chopped
a handful of chopped fresh cilantro – if possible
1 small hot chili – seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala

~   Mix all the ingredients together.
~   Season to taste – adding more garam masala if you like!
~   Form into about 8 cakes, flatten and fry in shallow oil till crisp.

Sometimes these are dipped in egg and then flour before frying but I always coat mine in panko crumbs because I love them. A bit of fusion!

Ras el Hanout

This is a Moroccan spice blend, the name translates as head or top of the shop and it is held in high regard. Each spice mixer has their own list of ingredients and I have heard some Ras el Hanouts containing hashish and Spanish fly, but not this one which contains cloves, mace, star anise, cayenne pepper, allspice, cardamom, black peppercorns, sugar, cinnamon, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, ginger, nutmeg. paprika, salt and turmeric.

Chinese Spice

Star anise, liquorice and orange peel are highlights in this mix which also contains cassia, Szechuan peppers, black cardamom and cloves. I have a mind to try this first in some kind of stir fry, maybe with shrimp.

Jerk Seasoning

Very evocative, as I said, of the Caribbean.  Jerk seasoning is primarily used on chicken (aka yard runner!) and pork and often sold from roadside stalls that make you drool as you walk past.  The sugar, allspice and thyme make this taste authentic.

When I worked as a chef in the islands I used to serve Jerk Burgers for Sunday Brunch simply by adding some jerk seasoning to the mix and then brushing with a tamarind glaze just before serving. 

Mexican Spice Blend 

This contains cornflour (which surprised me!), cumin seeds, paprika, oregano, chilli powder, garlic powder, salt, sugar, onion powder and cayenne pepper. I shall be trying this next time I make some kind of chilli (con or non carne) but today sprinkled some of the seasoned salt on the roasted tomatoes I had for lunch and they did have a certain South American nuance!

Sri Lankan Curry Powder 

There are loads of things in this one; basmati rice, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cassia bark, fenugreek seeds, cloves, cardamom, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, kashmiri chilli & turmeric. 

With a teaspoon of it I made a tiny portion of Toasted Curry Oil which is a great drizzle for fish, chicken or soup!

Toasted Curry Oil

Heat a dry pan to hot then add 1 tbsp of the spice mix and stir over low heat till it is very fragrant – this doesn’t take long, 90 seconds or so! Add 100ml of olive and stir over the low heat for a minute or two. Set aside for 2 hours to infuse and then strain through cheesecloth.

Panch Poran

This is a mildly spicy Bengali mix  containing cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds and fennel seeds and I have plans to try it in a sweet potato and mango curry – I’ll get back to you!

Baharat 

Literally “spices” from the Middle East this has cloves, black pepper, cumin seeds, nutmeg, paprika, cardamom & cinnamon and again I have plans, this time involving aubergine but first have to catch one!

So head on over to Spice Kitchen and have yourself a browse, lots of interesting stuff including a recipe for Khaman Dhokla – a kind of curry cake!

In Other News …

I used Maldon Sea Salt to make the seasoned salts above but my brother in law James Weaver uses it in an entirely different manner.  He is an artist and lives near Maldon. He uses their salt to do something arty with  his pictures – I think he scratches the surface of watercolours with the salt to add texture. See his tasty work here.

Barking Mad Choccy!

Oddly enough today is the last day of both National Chocolate Week and of National Curry Week so when better, I ask you, than to write about, ta da …

I kid you not, I saw this mentioned on Twitter a few days ago and made a comment of some sort – I think I may have said “you buggers!”, and shortly afterwards was offered an opportunity to try a sample. After my happy acceptance I received a message saying …

“3 flavours of choccy have left the building. Don’t worry they are all barking mad but do work, enjoy!”

I was a bit nervous but like the staunch foodie I am gave them my best shot!

With each flavour I put a bit in my mouth (did you guess?), closed my eyes and concentrated on the texture and flavour as per the chocolate tasting instructions given by the Independent Newspaper here.  The only thing I didn’t do was try tasting with others as this sort of interesting, exciting food is really not my real man’s sort of thing.  Luckily.

The Results

The chocolate in all three bars is lovely high quality Belgian chocolate and melts smoothly and lusciously in the mouth.

Pina Colada – the most normal of the three

As the chocolate melted I immediately thought “Rum” (mind you I often do!!) which was followed by a pleasant fruity taste, I couldn’t quite identify coconut and pineapple (the other pina colada ingredients) but the overall effect was a bit tropical and certainly very pleasant. 

Bubblegum

I’m afraid I don’t like bubblegum and I didn’t really like this but I didn’t chicken out. I think that it is pretty true to the taste I remember as a child and if you like bubblegum then maybe this is for you! 

Orange Jalfrezi 

This was gorgeous – honestly!  A very orangey start with a hot spicy curry finish which sounds incongruous and wrong but certainly isn’t.  It contains cumin, coriander, paprika, onion, salt, chilli, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, bay leaves, turmeric, garlic, ginger and black pepper no less and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

These surprising chocolate are made by Choc Amor award winning chocolatiers with tea rooms, The Chocolate Rooms, at Tarleton in Lancashire. They also have a shop at Botany Bay and luckily it’s the Botany Bay in Chorley just off the M61 rather than the Australian version.  I don’t have a list of their flavours but have read that they include things as chilli & lime, peanut butter, banoffee pie, salt liquorice & lemon meringue.  All very good ideas but nothing to rival the lovely Orange Jalfrezi Chocolate

By the way … Two for the Price of None!

“219 Cooking Tips& Techniques you might find useful!” 

(Especially as it’s Free)

plus link to “Easy Ways to Pimp your Food” which is also free!

Me and my Inner Womble!

The ‘flu bug I had ages ago affected my appetite, my energy to cook and therefore the amount of leftovers I had for some considerable time.  The last few days, however, I feel that me and my inner womble are back on form.

Wombles, as you know, can’t abide human wastefulness but they do appreciate the good food scraps that our species throw away because the burrow’s cook, Madame Cholet ( pictured) is a dab hand at making great meals out of leftovers.  Unfortunately, however, a large percentage of the human race don’t live near Wimbledon which is why, hopefully, this blog and my book, Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers, come in useful.  

Yesterday’s Lunch ….

Pease Pudding Curry!

Rice

Cashews

Sparkling Water

Pease Pudding Curry (Geordie-Indian Sub Continent Fusion) was quick, easy and delicious.  One of my storecupboard staples is Patak’s Madras Curry Paste.  I cooked half an onion my favourite way and, when it was soft and starting to caramelise, I stirred in a teaspoonful of said curry paste.  Once that started to smell so delicious that my Real Man asked “pooh, what’s that stink?” I stirred in the leftover pease pudding (the amount you see in the picture) and a little leftover ham stock to soften it a bit. 

For another pease pudding dish, this time Geordie-Italian fusion, see here. 

Today’s Lunch …

Boursin Stuffed, Panko Crusted Potato Cake

White Wine Spritzer 

This just came about because I only had two large potatoes left last night when cooking mashed potatoes for dinner. One was too small, two was too much. Today I mixed a dollop of roasted garlic mayonnaise into the leftover mash, wrapped it round a remanant of Boursin (garlic and herb), rolled it in panko crumbs (lots more to do with panko crumbs here) fried and ate it. Both my lunches were truly delicious, both were made out of leftovers and both were decided on the spur of the moment.

Read more here.

Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers  

All the recipes, ideas, hints, suggestions, information etc. I can think of for over450 potential leftovers. Madame Cholet would be proud of me!