Rice with Turmeric

I went to Squam Art Workshops last week www.squamartworkshops.com  knowing that when I returned home, I would need to find recipes for turmeric and anise, some of the last spices that I had not yet prepared. Imagine my delight to a) sit on a dock in the sun and then b) find a recipe with turmeric in a magazine right then! 

http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/turmeric-healing-spice

By now you will have guessed that I substituted a few ingredients as per usual, mostly due to not going to the grocery store while in my happy Squam homecoming haze (and going back to work).

The mixed rice made for more visual interest, while the absence of peas in my freezer resulted in far less diversity of color, since I used corn, which blended in with the yellow spices. I used regular onion and cumin powder. The flavor was very nice, and went well with the avocado- I liked the idea of green somewhere- and smoked fish. I will definitely make this dish again, and look forward to another year of Squam workshops and friendships.

Do you enjoy vacationing near water, in the city, in the mountains?

Nutmeg Almond Mini Muffins

I use nutmeg regularly, so I wanted to challenge myself to a new recipe. Another miraculous search of the key ingredient plus “almond flour” plus “blog” resulted in these cuties!

I don’t have a donut pan, so I appreciated a commenter to the original recipe post stating that a mini muffin pan worked as well. I grabbed the mini muffin pan, used vanilla extract and substituted 1/8 of applesauce for the same amount of oil. I should have removed them at 12 minutes, but I was working on another recipe, so I ended up with only slightly dry mini muffins after 14 minutes.

As much as I would love to top each muffin with Nutella, I tried powdered sugar (good) and applesauce (moist and tasty) instead. I put four into a snack size baggie for tomorrow, and would definitely make these again. I might try adding nuts or mashed bananas to the muffin format, but they were just great in the flavor department as donuts.

P.S. The plate is very small, too!

Do you have a favorite mini muffin, nutmeg, or donut recipe?

Pork with marjoram and mushrooms

I was amazed with the many results from an on-line search for recipes with marjoram, so I checked my freezer inventory and then looked to see if there were any interesting recipes for pork with marjoram. Sure enough, there were several, even when adding the word “blog” to the end of the search! I don’t remember ever using marjoram, so it was great to find a recipe with mushrooms and the other two search ingredients.

http://bevlovesfood.blogspot.com/2008/10/marjoram-pork-chops.html 

I didn’t make any substitutions for a change, except supplementing the fresh mushrooms with a small can of more of the same, since the fresh ones didn’t add up to three cups. We served the stew with potatoes from our own garden! I admit that marjoram is not one of my favorite spices, or maybe I should give it another chance with a different combination of ingredients. I might have preferred this dish with garlic and onion (I know I said that about the green fried tomatoes, too!). I guess I should be aware of recipes coming from a variety of sources with different amounts of flavor. I am used to a level of strength of flavor- such as garlic and onion plus featured herbs and spices, if that makes any sense.

I have truly enjoyed trying many different combinations of spices and vegetables, meats, seafood, and sweet ingredients, resulting in a wonderful variety of dishes. I’m more than half-way "through the spice rack", and am considering exploring the world of fresh herbs, as I’d hate to stop challenging myself through this blog just because the spice rack has been conquered. I’d also like to continue photographing foods and nature. I’m still learning, too! Especially about photographing my creations- this is not one of the best food styling results (dark lumps are blue potatoes):

This is a request for your ideas and suggestions. I don’t have to feel tied to a certain theme, so please let me know what you’d like to see in the food or gardening blogging department.