Mushroom Powder

Have you ever been in a gourmet market and seen the very expensive little containers of porcini powder and thought about buying them? Well I have and now I feel a bit silly for doing so. It is so easy to make your own mushroom powder you are going to wonder why you haven’t been doing this for years. Once I realized how easy it is to make I have been making it home. I use it to coat tofu, stir into mashed potatoes, use in cheeze. I also like to make porcini salt which is porcini powder and sea salt. The ideas are endless.

All you need are dried mushrooms (any variety) and some way to pulverize them. Most often I use my Vitamix because I can do it in one step. Add the dried mushrooms to the Vitamix and process until you have powder. It is that simple. However if you don’t have a Vitamix, you can start them in your food processor to make much smaller chunks and move those to your spice grinder (in my case a coffee grinder I have reserved for spices, seeds and mushroom powder). It works just as well, but I use my Vitamix so I only have one appliance to clean.

The mushroom powder is going to tonight’s seitan so I wanted to let you know how I make it. If you find a unique way to use it please let me know. I would love to hear about it.

Italian Finishing Salt

(pictured: herbs used in the Italian finishing salt)

A few years ago in cooking class we learned how to make seasoned salt. Which is salt and pepper with herbs. That mixture was mostly salt with some herbs and a little garlic. Being the flavor junkie that I am I had to include many more herbs and garlic. I would not suggest you use this on everything, but it works really well on Italian food. It also makes a nice homemade Christmas present for friends that like to cook. Here is how I make it.


(pictured: Italian Finishing Salt, just out of the food processor)

Italian Finishing Salt
Makes about 1 ¼ cups

Ingredients:

4 – 10 inch stems rosemary (about ¼ cup of leaves)
4 – 10 inch stems fresh oregano (about ¼ cup of leaves)
1 small bundle of fresh thyme (about 2 tablespoons of leaves)
8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 tablespoons Tellicherry peppercorns
1 cup sea salt

Directions:

Remove the leaves from the stems and place in your food processor. Add the garlic cloves to the processor and pulse to begin to break up the herbs and garlic. Smash the peppercorns with a skillet, or the side of your chef knife and add to the food processor. Add ¼ cup of sea salt to the processor and puree to break everything into smaller pieces. Add the remaining sea salt and pulse to combine.

Pour the seasoned salt into a container with a lid. The initial texture will resemble damp sand. Allow the mixture to stand uncovered for a few days so the herbs and garlic will dry out. When the mixture is dry put a lid on it and store it on your counter.

This can be used in any Italian dish as you would use salt. It is also a nice finishing salt for Italian dishes.

Comments:

I didn’t include nutritional information as it is essence salt. I use this to finish dishes, or when I am making anything Italian. During the holidays this makes a nice present for friends that cook. You need to make it a few days ahead of time so the herbs and garlic can dry out. But it is a quick present that most people enjoy. The aroma of this salt is really strong and inviting. It smells like an Italian restaurant to me.

Curry Powder

Today started on a funny note that resulted in my idea for dinner, curried ravioli stuffed with almond feta. Let me tell you how I ended up making curry powder today.

To say that I am not a morning person doesn’t give you an accurate picture of me in the morning. I am one of those people that doesn't mentally wake up until hours after I first open my eyes. Since giving up my 2 double shots of espresso to start the morning I move even slower than normal. I basically sleep walk through my morning.

It was darn cold this morning so I decided to make oatmeal. I grabbed the cinnamon and ginger to get those in the bowl first and something didn’t look quite right. You guessed it; I combined cinnamon and turmeric instead. After I noticed what I had done and washed the bowls I have been thinking of curry all day. I finally decided to make a vegan version of the curried pasta in “The Professional Chef”.

Here is the recipe for curry powder I will be using tonight in my ravioli dough.

Curry Powder
Makes about 1 ounce

Ingredients:

¾ ounce cumin seeds
¼ ounce coriander seeds
1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
4 small dried chilies
1 tablespoon cinnamon, ground
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon ginger, ground

Directions:

Place cumin, coriander, mustard and chilies in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat until the spices begin to lightly brown, or you can smell them.

Remove the spices from the heat and allow to cool. If you want a mild curry powder break the chilies in half and shake out the seeds. For a hotter curry leave the seeds in the chilies. Place all the toasted spices in a spice ground (or coffee mill) and process until they are fine. Combine the ground toasted spice with the cinnamon, turmeric and ginger. Store in a closed container.

Nutritional information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 165.99
Calories From Fat (39%) - 65.56

Total Fat - 7.83g
Saturated Fat - 0.71g
Cholesterol- 0mg
Sodium - 42.69mg
Potassium - 735mg
Total Carbohydrates - 26.52g
Fiber - 11.58g
Sugar - 1.25g
Protein - 6.52g

Comments:

The beauty of making your own spice mixes is that you can change the proportions to suit your taste. I like to leave some of the seeds in the chilies to give the curry a little more “zip”.

Preserved Lemons

Since I used preserved lemons in today’s recipe I thought I should post a recipe for them in case you can’t buy them locally. Preserved lemons are very easy to make. This is a recipe that I pull out almost every Christmas to make presents for my foodie friends. If you haven’t tried to make your own preserved lemons you should give it a try. It is much easier than canning (no heat required).

If you are unfamiliar with preserved lemons they are required for Moroccan cooking. The lemons are pickled in salt and the peel becomes very soft. They are used in stews, tagines or as a condiment in Moroccan cooking.

Preserved Lemons
Makes 1 quart

Ingredients:

8 organic lemons, whole
½ cup of kosher salt
8+ organic lemons for juice, as needed
4 cinnamon sticks
4 bay leaves
12 green cardamom pods
½ tablespoon of whole black peppercorns
½ tablespoon of coriander seed, whole

Directions:

Wash the lemons well. Cut them into quarters from the top but stop ½ inch from the bottom so that the lemon will open like a flower. Sprinkle the inside of each of the 8 lemons with salt.

Place a tablespoon of salt in the bottom of the jar. Place a lemon in the jar firmly, adding more salt with each additional lemon. Continue adding lemons until the jar is full. Add the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cardamom pods, peppercorns and coriander.

After all the lemons are in the jar add the remaining salt. Top the lemons with the fresh lemon juice to bring the level to the top of the jar. You want no more then ½ inch of headspace in the top of the jar. Put the lid on the jar.

Allow the lemons to sit at room temperature for at least 3 weeks. Turn the jar over each day for the first week so the salt will distribute evenly.

You can keep the lemons in the jar in your pantry for a year or more until you are ready to use them. Once you open the jar keep it the refrigerator.

To use the lemons take them out of the jar and rinse them under water to wash away the extra salt. In Morocco traditionally the peel is the only part of the lemon that is used. I sometimes use the flesh as well depending on the recipe. If I am not using the flesh I save it in the refrigerator to use later in vinaigrette or soup.

Nutritional Information:

I did not post the stats for this recipe since the sodium will be far higher than reality since you rinse much of it away.

Comments:

Once you have preserved lemons in the house you will find so many ways to use them. I like to make preserved lemon vinaigrette it is wonderful with most salads that contain olives. They are also fabulous in cold chickpea salads.

I will be posting some recipes that use preserved lemons in the future so you have a use for them in case you make a jar or two.

Cello - Foundation Recipe

(pictured L-R: lemon, pink grapefruit, orange/vanilla, blood orange)

Do you have an Italian friend that makes homemade lemon cello, aka liquore di limone, or limoncino? If you don’t you are in for a treat. Assuming you enjoy an occasional adult beverage that is. Don’t have too much though, it will increase your probability of cancer.

For anyone that doesn't know "lemon cello" (the most commonly sold variety of cello in the US) it is a sweet lemon flavored liquor. It is typically served after dinner as an aperitif. You can find it in most large liquor stores in the US. In my opinion, the commercial stuff isn't nearly as tasty as the homemade version.

In Italy every household makes their own cello. I learned this on a trip to Italy in the early 90’s from a Tuscan housewife. Italians use grain alcohol for their cello, but I find vodka to be much smoother and easier to drink. I use Absolute since it is reasonably priced and fairly neutral in flavor. The fruit and sugar will be the stars of this beverage.

Whenever I am using citrus fruit I scrub the outside before I do anything else. Then I use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer most skin from the fruit (zest). Don’t go into the pith (the white inner membrane) or your cello will be bitter. Put the zest into the jar and cover it with vodka. Cover the jar with a tight fitting lid and store it in a cool dry place (I use my pantry). I always have multiple bottles going at the same time (as you saw above). You may find it useful to label them if you do this since the zest will lose its color as it sits in the vodka. Then, as I use more fresh citrus I add the zest to the appropriate bottle. Allow the zest to sit in the vodka for at least a week, a month is better, and a year isn’t too long. Taste the vodka periodically to see if it has pulled the oils from the skin and tastes like the fruit. If you are happy with the level of flavor you can move to the next step.

Strain the zest from the vodka and press to get it to release all the flavored vodka. Now you can sweeten the flavored vodka how you like. Traditionally Italians use simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water) that have been heated to dissolve the sugar and then cooled. Only add cooled syrup to your flavored vodka so that you don’t evaporate any alcohol. Add as much simple syrup as you like. Cello can be very sweet, or a little sweet.

Next put the finished cello into a pretty bottle (not completely full since frozen water expands) with a tight lid, and store it in the freezer until you want to drink it. It is good over ice in a frozen glass. We also like to use it with sparkling water (we use Pellegrino) and make adult lemonade. It is great over ice cream, or fresh fruit. The possibilities are almost endless.

If you want to make your cello your own you can change what you put inside. Our favorite is pink grapefruit and orange cello with cranberry syrup. We combine pink grapefruit and orange vodka with a cranberry juice that we sweeten with agave. Another very popular combination is orange and vanilla cello (excellent over vanilla ice cream). To make this one you add a vanilla bean to the orange zest. You could also add vanilla extract, but the little black flecks from the bean are very nice and more aromatic.

I hope you enjoy making cello. If you give it a try please let me know. Should you have any questions post a comment or drop me an email. I have made hundreds of bottles of this stuff and would be happy to answer your questions. By the way, this makes great presents if you have one of those hard to buy for friends. Just don't wait until the last minute to get started.

Fresh Basil Salt

At the farmers’ market on Sunday we purchased so much lettuce from a new vendor that they gave us a free container of basil. We had to accept the basil, who would say no to a nice gesture. The only problem is that I grow my own basil so I didn’t need it. I stared at the basil today and couldn’t decide what to do with it. Then I remembered that I had wanted to make fresh basil salt but never got around to it. It would have been nice to have a recipe, but that never stopped me before so I jumped right in. What is the worst thing that could happen? Surely making basil salt had to be similar to making truffle salt, which was ridiculously easy.

I tossed the basil in the food processor and added kosher salt and turned on the processor. I had to pulse the processor a few times at the end but the basil did give up and become fully ground and incorporated into the salt. The salt became the most beautiful shade of emerald green. I tasted the salt and it was definitely both “basily” (new word I just made up) and “salty”. The only issue was that the salt was a little too damp. Not knowing what else to do I spread that salt out on a silpat lined half sheet pan and put the tray into the oven on low (150 degrees). Within 5 minutes of putting the salt in the oven the most wonderful basil smell came wafting out of the kitchen. I knew immediately something good was happening in the oven.

I waited an hour to check the salt for dampness, because it was like wet sand going in to the oven. I checked again at the two hour mark and it wasn’t quite dry, but it was close. But it was 11 pm so it was time for bed. I turned off the oven and went to bed. In the morning when I got up the salt had miraculously dried out completely. The beautiful emerald green had turned to an army green, but the smell was still intoxicating. I used the silpat to funnel the little salt clumps into a mortar and pestle and within 15 second most of the lumps were gone. Now all I need to find in a shaker top jar to put the salt in.

Basil Salt

makes about 1/3 of a cup

Ingredients:

1 cup of fresh packed basil
1/3 cup of kosher salt

Directions:

Process the basil and salt in your food processor until the basil is thoroughly ground. The resulting salt will be a bright vibrant green. Place the salt on a silpat lined baking sheet and cook in your oven at 150 degrees for at least an hour. After an hour test for to see if the salt has lost all its moisture or it if needs additional time in the oven. If it is still moist continue to cook until it is dry. My salt was in the oven on 150 degrees for 2 hours and then overnight in the oven that was turned off. If the salt dries in a clump break it up in your food processor or a mortar and pestle and store in an airtight jar.

Comments:

The aroma from the salt is fantastic. It reminds me of a basil version of celery salt. I used this salt this morning on my fresh tomatoes and enjoyed the nice basil aroma without having to go out into the yard for the fresh leaves. Making this fresh herb salt was so easy I will definitely be making more versions of salt while my garden is still so abundant with herbs.

Homemade Harissa

Harissa is a hot chili paste used in North African cooking. The level of heat depends on the dried chilies you use, and whether you leave the seeds in the chilies or not. We like a lot of heat at our house so we use hot chilies and leave in the seeds. If you are less tolerant of heat can always use less of the Harissa, or blend in other mild or sweet peppers to reduce the heat.

The capsaicin in the chili pepper is said to increase the bodies blood clot dissolving system, open up sinuses, and break up mucus in the lungs. Chili peppers are also antibacterial, and high in antioxidants. It has been reported that consuming chili speeds up the bodies metabolism. I eat harissa because I like the taste and the heat. It is nice to know that it is good for me too.

Homemade Harissa
makes about a cup

Ingredients:

1 ounce of dried chili peppers
6 cloves of garlic
½ teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon coriander, toasted and freshly ground
1 teaspoon cumin, toasted and freshly ground
1 teaspoon fennel seed, toasted and freshly ground
additional olive oil to cover Harissa in the jar

Directions:

Place chili peppers in pan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and put the lid on the pan. Allow the peppers to steep in the hot water for one hour. Drain the water from the peppers and put the peppers in a food processor along with the other ingredients. Process the mixture in a food processor until it is smooth and thoroughly combined. Move the harissa to a glass jar with a lid. Cover the harissa with a little olive oil so that it is not exposed to the air. If the mixture remains covered with a little oil it will last for months in the refrigerator.

Comments:

I use the harissa for many things. This is another “foundation recipe” at our house. Harissa it good tossed with cooked spaghetti or couscous. Harissa is also good in a marinate for tofu or seitan. I like to add a spoon or two into vegan mayonnaise for a nice spicy sandwich spread or veggie dip. I haven't tried it yet, but I can imagine a little Harissa mixed into the olive oil that is drizzled over the almond feta. Harissa has many uses and I will be adding many recipes for using the harissa in the future.

Homemade Truffle Salt

Have you looked at the price of truffle salt lately? I can’t believe how much they charge for the stuff. I started to wonder if you could make it yourself. After all, I make my own cumin salt, fennel salt, porcini salt and vanilla salt why should truffle salt be any different.

I received fresh truffles from Earthy Delights for a present this past Christmas. When you shave fresh truffles you always end up with little ends that are too small to shave that you don’t want to throw away. I took my finest microplane grater and grated the ends of the truffles and mixed it with fine sea salt. I have kept this homemade truffle salt in the refrigerator for the last four months and it has stored beautifully. The aroma of truffle has become deeper as the salt was stored. It takes very little finishing salt to create a nice heady aroma of truffle to a finished dish.

I happen to love anything related to mushrooms and particularly truffles. I use truffle salt to finish any mushroom dish where I would use truffle oil. Sometimes I use both truffle salt and truffle oil. I use both truffle salt and oil when the flavor of the dish is predominantly that of mushroom.

I will post other salt recipes in the future. For now, enjoy the truffle salt.