Tuesday 30 September 2014
Designing Your Own Dishes in Different Cuisines by Using Spices
If you would like to
make up your own dishes in the style of a different country, one easy way is to
use the spices which are commonly used in that country.
As a guide, Spicery sets out the spices for a
number of cuisines in order from the ones used in the largest quantity down.
Indian
|
Moroccan
|
African
|
Middle Eastern
|
Indonesian
|
Coriander
seed
|
Coriander
seed
|
Coriander
seed
|
Paprika
|
Coriander
seed
|
Turmeric
|
Turmeric
|
Cumin
|
Pepper
|
Cumin
|
Cinnamon
|
Paprika
|
Allspice
|
Cumin
|
Fennel
seed
|
Cumin
|
Cumin
|
Ginger
|
Coriander
seed
|
Cassia
|
Fenugreek
|
Cinnamon
|
Pepper
|
Sumac
|
Turmeric
|
Ginger
|
Ginger
|
Fenugreek
|
Thyme
|
Lemongrass
|
Pepper
|
Cloves
|
Cassia
|
Galangal
|
|
Chilli
|
Pepper
|
Cloves
|
Ginger
|
|
Cloves
|
Chilli
|
Cardamom
|
Pepper
|
|
Tamarind
|
Cloves
|
|||
Cardamom
|
Chilli
|
|||
Saffron
|
Malaysian
|
Thai
|
Chinese
|
Japanese
|
Mexican
|
Coriander
seed
|
Coriander
leaf (cilantro)
|
Star
anise
|
Sichuan
pepper leaves
|
Paprika
|
Cumin
|
Kaffir
lime leaf
|
Fennel
seed
|
Black
sesame
|
Cumin
|
Fennel
seed
|
Lemongrass
|
Cassia
|
Mustard
seed
|
Oregano
|
Cinnamon
|
Green
chilli
|
Sichuan
pepper
|
Salt
|
Chilli
|
Turmeric
|
Garlic
|
Cloves
|
Wasabi
|
Coriander
leaf (cilantro)
|
Pepper
|
Galangal
|
Ginger
|
Dried
seaweed
|
|
Chilli
|
Ginger
|
|||
Ginger
|
||||
Galangal
|
After looking at these
spices, I decided that I need to up my use of coriander seed! And I was surprised just how few of these
cuisines used lots of garlic!
Thanks to Auckland Libraries
for Spicery by Ian & Elizabeth Hemphill
Monday 29 September 2014
Capital City of the Week – Madrid
This is Madrid's City Hall – also known as the
Cybele Palace
The Prado Museum has a fantastic collection
of art. I'd love to see it. It is in Madrid.
This is
Madrid's Museum of the Americas
World
famous tenor Placido Domingo comes
from Madrid.
So where in
the world is Madrid?
Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
I-I love the
colorful clothes she wears
And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair
And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair
Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys was a standout
song for its time. It was released in
1966. It took 8 months of recording in
several different studios!
The song
was the Beach Boy's third number one hit in the US – the others being I Get
Around and Help Me Rhonda. I remember
Help Me Rhonda well but must admit I don't really recall the other song.
I enjoyed
watching this YouTube clip of
the song.
Sunday 28 September 2014
Potato & Prosciutto Pizza
This Potato & Prosciutto Pizza came
about through not having much fresh food in the house and not feeling like
shopping. Sometimes necessity does
produce a special dish!
I thinly
sliced a potato and boiled them in salted water for 2 to 3 minutes – to give
the potato a bit of a head start.
I used a
pita bread as a base – I brushed both sides of it with olive oil and garlic
infused olive oil.
I brushed a
mixture of passata (tomato puree) and Dijon mustard over the base.
Then on
went a layer of potato slices, some thinly sliced capsicum (bell pepper), a
finely diced chilli and some sliced up pieces of leftover prosciutto – you don't
need much.
Then on
with the cheese a mix of pizza mix cheese and parmesan. Salt and pepper of course.
Cook your
pizza in a hot oven and then sprinkle some sliced tops of spring onions on top
(scallions).
This tasted fab – next time
I might put the potato layer a little higher up so you could see some of it in
the finished pizza.
Saturday 27 September 2014
St Émilion
One
of the many highlights of our recent trip in France was to visit the town (near
Bordeaux) called Saint Émilion. It is associated with some of the most famous
red wines in the world. There have been
vineyards in the area since the second century.
Now that's history!
St
Émilion is a hilltop town - very
picturesque - touristy but not totally overrun by them. This town is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
I
found out later that this church is a monolithic church – the bottom of it is
hewn out of a single block of stone
We
bought a good red wine from the Grand Cave de St Émilion -Couvent des Jacobins - Grand Cru Classe Saint
Émilion - 2004. It was part of a special gift for my brother
in law.
We
were wandering about the town and fell over some old buildings with modern
animal sculptures including cows and giraffes.
Walked
across town to be by the tower – called the King's Tower – we didn't climb it. It
is the remnants of a castle.
My
souvenir tea towel showing the Bordeaux wine areas
We
had lunch at a nice bistro (Le Bistrot des Vignobles) with tables in
the garden. Luckily we were seated under the large awning so weren't affected
when the rain set in. We both had set menus - cold salad (lots of fruit),
supreme de Voillaile and panna cotta - all good. I went to town with foie gras,
and duck - both delicious and good value
I recommend
Saint-Émilion to you.
Location:Auckland, New Zealand
Saint-Émilion, France
Friday 26 September 2014
Food on Friday: Cocktails and Mocktails
ON
To add your
cocktails or mocktails, just put the name of the beverage together with your
blog name/name into the first Mr Linky box you will find below. Then paste the url for your post about it
into the second box.
I'll be
pinning the links to thisPinboard – this is a quick way for you to scan the dishes and choose
which ones you want to check out in more detail.
One thing –
don't try too many of these at once!
Thursday 25 September 2014
Need Some Inspiration? Try Salads!
Food
on Friday: Salads was indeed inspirational. Over 120 salads were linked up. To see them all, pop over to this
Pinboard.
I have
selected some stunning salads that were linked in to inspire you today. Enjoy!
The first
one at the top of the post is of Sorrel
& Watermelon Salad with Feta
by Pattie T of Olla-Podrida.
Smoked
Chicken Cobb Salad
by I Believe I Can Fry
Strawberry
Salad with Hazelnuts & Lemon Balm by Palachinka
Tomato
Salad with Feta and Basil Dressing
by grown to cook
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