A Run of Recipes...

So I seem to be cooking a lot this week... Those whole spices really inspired me. I decided to make a nice big warming pot of rice pudding today. After cooking the brown rice as per the cooking instructions, I added a can of Organic coconut milk to the pot as well as a whole cinnamon stick, some whole cloves, a vanilla bean, and a few cardamom pods to simmer down with the milk. I should have though of putting them in right from when I was simmering the rice in water–oh well, next time.

 After it was ready, I topped it with beautiful local cherries and organic maple syrup from Quebec. HO-LY DELICIOUS!!

Savour Whole Spices...

Sometimes I just get excited about food and feel the need to share...  I think a big part of reconnecting to your food is taking time to really work with your ingredients.  Although none of the ingredients here were local except the garlic, bay leaf, and carrot, I spent the time nourishing myself–a totally worthwhile endeavour. And should totally happen, wherever your ingredients are from.

I started by dry frying the crushed spices-cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, coriander seed, fenugreek, and peppercorns.

 When the smell seeded almost too much to handle, I cranked the love up to 11 and added fresh garlic and ginger to the mix.

 I then added the bottle of passata, coconut milk, bay leaf, curry leaf, and vegetables (sweet potato, onion, and purple carrot) and let it simmer until the veggies were soft (around 40 mins).

Beauty!  Savour spices in their whole form–it elevates basic ingredients to heavenly heights!