I have to admit to being a spice and seasoning hoarder and my cabinet is embarrassingly packed (notice there's no picture to go along with that thought). Inspiration struck though when I visited the newish Savory Spice Shop on the corner of 5th and D Street in Santa Rosa.
The store smells amazing (of course!) and is arranged well and decorated really cute.
So00...I went through all the spices in my cabinet and made a list of all the spices that were expired or had no expiration date (yikes!) then I made a list of exotic spices that I needed to complete the Indian section of my cookbook. Finally, I marched into Savory with a list of 13 spices and Cheryl, co-owner, gladly helped me work through my list. 20 minutes and only $22.00 later I was loaded up with every single of the 13 on my list and have a freshened up spice cabinet.
Here's what I bought: cumin seeds, coriander seeds, brown mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, smoked paprika, whole cloves, red chiles, turmeric, cayenne pepper, paprika, herbs de provence, dill weed, sage and savory stuffing seasoning!
I just can't stand having to buy a huge amount of an exotic ingredient for a recipe and then have it crowd my cabinet for months or gulp, years after. Savory sells spices in very small amounts so this doesn't happen. Yay!
I went straight home and made Jamie O's "Lamb Rogan Josh" totally from scratch (usually I use Patak's Mild Curry Paste - which is actually pretty good and recommended by Jamie in his book). This was a recipe I already made in May but brought it back by popular demand. Two nights later, however, I used the leftovers to made this "Leftover Curry Biriani":
Super easy! Just layer your leftover curry with coconut, nuts and rice then bake in the oven. My objection to this dish was that it was basically just mixing up the rice and curry in a serving dish. Joel and I have an ongoing argument over where a saucy dish like curry belongs on the plate in relation to the rice. Hubby wants his poured over the top of the rice. Mine has to be put next to my rice so that I can adjust each bites plain rice/sauce ratio. Tell me, is this an "Asian" thing or just a picky "Me" thing?
7 comments:
Hmmmm...let me think. I don't really like it when the rice gets soggy and soupy so I am going to agree with your method. With any asian style meal you have to leave the rice untouched for NORI!!!!
Remember when you gave me like 4 containers of cayenne pepper??? Ha ha you DO have a spice obsession! What a great deal on the spices!
I DEFINITELY do not like my curry mixed in with my rice. On the side for sure. I also like to be in control of the rice/sauce ratio.
Hay justine i havent had curry in years i think it was at ur houes my friend. Hmm im with joel on that.
If I was being really picky (or serving myself) I would want the curry, stirfry or whatever half on the rice and half on my plate. That might sound silly, but I really have given this some thought. If the curry is completely on top of the rice, it starts to look "like the city dump" as Marco would say. However, if the curry is on the side it spreads out and gets cold really fast. Soooooo...I the best place for the curry is half on the rice and half on the plate.
Did you really think I wouldn't have a strong opinion on a food-related topic? ;)
Marcella
Oooh! I actually have to agree with Marcella. She described more accurately how I like it too! Want to write my blog posts for me?
"like the city dump" ha ha
I'm gonna have to go to that shop now! I was sprinkling faded-army-green-colored dried parsley into a recipe the other day & thought to myself, "wasn't this bright green when I bought it?" Time to buy new parsley? On the rice topic, I'm a "put it all on the rice" person, whereas my Asian husband is very particular about what goes on his rice, if anything besides soy sauce.
Post a Comment