spices

I first came across turmeric in our family kitchen as a child. My mother had printed out a recipe for curry cauliflower, and while the curry powder gave the roasted cauliflower its delicious taste, turmeric was responsible for the subtler taste and stronger hue. Since then, I’ve seen turmeric in everything from egg and tofu scrambles to salad dressings to cookies–I kid you not. Most recently, I stumbled upon a recipe in Meghan Telpner’s The UnDiet CookBook for Jamu Juice. 

Herbs and spices elevate the flavor of our food, giving it that little something extra. We use them in tonics to cure what ails us. They stock our cabinets waiting to be utilized. Yes, herbs and spices are like the icing on the cake. But while they both are used to enhance the flavors of our food, have you ever wondered what exactly the difference is between the two?

Waking up in the morning or winding down from a long day, there is nothing like a good cup of tea. Good quality teas, however, can be expensive and hard to find. What's worse is when you go to reach for a bag, and realize the bag is empty. While most consumers rely on purchasing pre-blended tea bags, you can make your own tea using fresh ingredients already in your kitchen. A little creativity and prep is all it takes to be minutes away from a soothing mug. Here are a few tips to follow when delving into homemade teas.

Chili oil is great on everything. Pizzas, noodles, soups, eggs, and even for dipping bread, chili oil elevates the flavor of any meal. There is just something about the kick from the chili flakes along with the smooth, fatty mouthful of olive oil that is the perfect accompaniment.

Cooking with whole spices can be intimidating. For most of us, the furthest we've ventured in the whole spice world is cracked pepper. Desired for its fresh kick, cracked pepper elevates a dish. And just like cracked pepper, so can whole spices.

As a gluten-free vegan, let’s just say eating out can pose quite the challenge. So, in order to spare restaurant employees from all of my chaotic food questions, I’ve learned to love (and actually prefer) cooking meals at home. Preparing your own meals is a superb way to fine-tune your cooking skills, save money, and eat properly sized, more nutritious portions, while consuming less calories, sodium, fat, and sugar.

Have you ever walked down the spice aisle and really paid attention to all your options? Whole, ground, bulk, jarred, and every spice in the alphabet stocked on the shelf, waiting to be bought. Unless you’re doing the mad dash to the checkout line and plucking up your ingredients like a kid in a Toys “R” Us shopping spree, the spice aisle can be rather intimidating. Not knowing which to buy or how long they last, you may just spring for the cheapest packaging as to not feel guilty if it goes to waste.

I am constantly searching out inventive ways to prepare eggplant. While eggplant parmesan is a classic, it can be a bit pricey and it takes quite some time to make. Messing around in the kitchen I decided to take one of my favorite seafood stews and turn it into a vegan dish. And I must say, the eggplant is so good that meat eaters are easily fooled.

 Almost every house has a kitchen cabinet or a rack designated just for their cooking spices. Did you know that a majority of those spices contain beneficial healing and medicinal properties? Many spices can be used for both healing and preventing ailments.

Topping off your bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon in the early morning sure is pleasurable to the palette, but it is also great for aiding in proper brain function. There are so many edible medicines –  whether they’re used to heal, cure or to simply prevent health issues that taste delicious.

I remember those days when I still lived at home, spoiled by a mom and a gran who love nothing more than feeding and caring for the family.

If I had just a hint of a sniffle, I would be plied with home remedies, most of them involving honey. Basic honey water for something mild, or the famous arad milk for more serious colds.

Called “arad milk” because of the very visible inclusion of arad (also known as haldi or turmeric) in the ingredients, this strange-looking, often-changing concoction was a staple of my childhood sick days.