1 Sense to Rule Them All

My favorite part of cooking is the smell. Tasting the results are nice, of course, but the smells are just devine. Not only does your house smell of fresh baked bread, or cookies, or roasted onions, but your hands smell of the ingredients, too. I was reminded all day today that I had baked with cinnamon – the scent lingered as if it were part of my blood. 

I’ve learned quite a few things with my nose, too. You can tell if food is done cooking by the way it smells, combined with sight and texture. I never knew beans could be so meaty until I shelled my first batch of cranberry beans. I swear they smelled better than any steak I’ve ever encountered. I love the smell of yeast on my hands after kneeding bread, the aroma of basil after making pesto, heck, I even like the stench of garlic that wouldn’t come off even if I wanted it gone. I’ve even been known to rub a bit of vanilla extract on my fingers while I’m baking just to enjoy the sweet musk a little bit longer. Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks, next time you’re working in the kitchen, go ahead and smell your fingers – you won’t be embarrassed for long.

 

Taste of Travel

Something got me thinking today about all of the foods I’ve experienced while I’ve travelled; more specifically, the foods I’ve come to associate with my travels. Penne with vodka sauce will always be New Jersey, while farm-fresh sharp cheddar is my experience from upstate New York. Detroit is the reason I perfected my chocolate chip cookie recipe. I ate chocolate baklava and banh mi in Columbus, Ohio and I’m going back for more in a couple of weeks. And a visit to Penzeys and North Market. I swear I dream about the aromas and tastes from those places.

Australia will always be the place I began to understand and love food as an entity. Singapore noodles and my love of everything curry (and fish and chips) came from those months spent down under. It was only after I left that I began researching Australian desserts; one day I’ll go back and actually try them. But that’s a whole other entry probably not meant for this journal.

As to be expected, New Orleans is a place of King Cakes, po boys, red beans and rice and a little jambalaya and a hurricane for good measure. Who could go to New Orleans for a long weekend without eating the traditional fare when you know it’s going to be good? The Keys are the place to go for conch fritters and the Bahamas tastes of chilled fruit soups. There are so many more flavors these places hold, but so does the rest of the world. I’m not really sure where to begin. Darts at the map on the wall, perhaps?

Autumn’s Entrance

     Autumn doesn’t really exist here in Florida. Bloggers north of me are writing about the entrance of fall, the switch to cooler weather and last days of harvest. For me, however, the only indications of autumn’s arrival are by the date on the calendar and the sudden influx of Indian corn and wart-covered gourds at the grocery store and vegetable stands. We’ve had what some would consider seasonable weather the past few days, only because of a tropical system off of the coast. I get a little jealous, to tell the truth, to read about all of these natural signs of the season. I wouldn’t trade my Florida weather for the world, so I’ll just have to travel one day to see the changing of the leaves and feel the crisp air.

     I was a bit weary of summer’s end at first. I like my fresh berries, tropical fruits and cool salads. How does one deal with the heat of autumn without watermelon juice running down their chin? Only Floridians face such challenges, I think. It was by flipping through my cookbooks one evening that I came to terms with the season change. I would have an excuse to make belly-filling soups and stews, liberally spiced cakes and pomegranates would be on their way! January is prime pomey season here, but they start trickling in the stores long before then. I cannot resist the sweet and tart little jewels.

     Like a sign from the heavens, I found pomegranates my next trip to the local vegetable stand. With my new stock at hand, I set out to make a true Florida autumn dish. I decided on a granita, made with pomegranate juice and fresh basil, studded with little red rubies. The basil yielded a fresh, deep herbal quality to the sweet and slightly tart juice. And granita is the perfect answer to Florida’s autumnal heat. I know I’ll be making this again and again. I can’t help but think it would also make a great margarita slushy, paired with a vegetable quesadilla or fajita.  

Pomegranate Basil Granita2 1/2 cups pomegranate juice1/4 cup basil, lightly packed then chopped1 cup water

1/4 cup corn syrup or sugar

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Take off immediately and let it cool down. Pour into a baking dish and freeze for about two hours. Take it out of the freezer and break up the solid bits, repeating again in two more hours. Fluff with a fork and scatter pomegranate seeds throughout before serving.

Peary Good

     Bad, overused pun aside, pears are abundant around here these days. Both of my crisper drawers are full of sand pears, and an entire shelf in the pantry is overflowing with pear honey. A peary big crop if you ask me - oops, couldn’t resist. Raw, I enjoy the texture of buttery pears more than sand pears, but cooked is a different story. Cooked sand pears keep some form while still melting away into sweet pear liquor. I adore the texture in my mouth.

     The pear honey recipe I have is my great-grandmother’s, in her own handwriting. This piece of history is precious to me, especially since we have so few of her recipes written down. As a true southern woman, she measured by look and feel, not weight and volume. My grandmother cooks the same way, as do I, but I’m making an effort to record my approximations for the future. Sugary sweet and gently spiced, pear honey tastes less like pears than you would think, and has the viscosity of honey except with little shreds of meaty pear dispersed throughout. My favorite way to eat pear honey – besides by the spoonful – is over a good vanilla yogurt topped with granola. This is definitely my favorite dessert, and would be ideal for breakfast if I ever managed to wake up early enough for it.