Recipes Included On This Page FareShare Fun Fact: Herbs & Spices (Borage) FareShare Fun Fact: Herbs & Spices (Caraway) FareShare Fun Fact: Herbs & Spices (Cayenne and Chili Peppers) FareShare Fun Fact: Herbs & Spices (Cinnamon and Cassia) Feta Radish Spread Fragrant Ginger-Hot Pepper Sauce Fresh Green Chile Preparation Use Your Browser's "Back" Button to Return to This Recipe List
Back to Recipe List	* Exported from MasterCook * FareShare Fun Fact: Herbs & Spices (Borage) Recipe By : Hallie Serving Size : Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Volume 11-02 Feb 2008 Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- (See Below) Borage. Borago officinalis. One old book on herbs written in the 1500s states that "...the leaves and flowers of borage put into wine make men and women glad and merry..." Well, whether true or not it sounds good. Borage is easily grown from seed sown directly into the garden; be warned, however, that it also self-sows and the plants will keep popping up in unexpected places in your yard for years after your first planting (voice of experience). For those interested in companion planting it is suggested that planting it with strawberries is of benefit to both and planting it near tomatoes helps to deter Japanese beetles and tomato hornworm; I've never tested the theory. The pretty blue five-petalled star-shaped flowers can be candied for use in decorating cakes, frozen in ice cubes for decorating drinks, fresh in salads and in some parts of France they are cooked as fritters. The fuzzy leaves have a taste reminiscent of cucumber and the young leaves can be used in salads; they are also used to flavour iced drinks, herbal teas and some wines. The plant has hairs on the stems which make it a bit prickly to handle so I suggest wearing gloves when you harvest it. Borage should be used in moderation as plants in this family contain alkaloids that can be poisonous. Burnet. Sanguisorbia minor {Poterium sanguisorbia} (aka salad burnet). A tender perennial which should be treated as an annual except in very mild climates, this herb was brought to New England by the early Pilgrims. The young leaves have a sharp cucumber flavour and can be used in salads, herb butter, soft cheeses and as a garnish. Contributed to the FareShare Gazette by Hallie, 2008 www.fareshare.net - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - See all FareShare Fun Facts: Spices & Herbs Back to Recipe List * Exported from MasterCook * FareShare Fun Fact: Herbs & Spices (Caraway) Recipe By : Hallie Serving Size : Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Volume 11-02 Feb 2008 Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- (See Below) Caraway. Carum carvi. A member of the carrot family. The name, caraway, comes from the Arabic word, karawya. The use of caraway seed for culinary Purposes can be traced back to the stone age. In ancient times it was used in love potions and was also believe to give protection from witches. It is used to flavour Kummel and Aquavit. Larousse describes the taste as being halfway between anise and fennel. The whole plant can be used: sprinkle snippets of the young leaves into salads and over vegetables; add the seeds to cabbage to help combat the cooking odors; add the seeds to various breads; serve a dish of seeds at the end of a meal; the root can be cooked as a vegetable. There are annual and biennial forms of caraway and as you would expect, the biennial forms a taproot the first season with flowers and seeds the second season. Generally, in North America at least, we tend to grow the biennial version. It is easy to establish in the garden and once you have it ... well, you have it ... but it is easily weeded out of places where it is not wanted. If allowed to naturalize in a lightly wooded area or along the edge of paths its ferny, carrot-like leaves can be very attractive and when you go over it with the mower or trimmer it releases a very pleasing spicy scent. When the seed heads are full of the green unripe seed cases I enjoy walking past them and plucking a few to nibble on; like parsley they make a great mouth freshener, particularly welcome if a person has been sampling other things in the garden or in need of a sip of water after a hot session of weeding. Later in the summer, gather the ripe seed heads carefully into a large paper bag or pail as they shatter rather easily and you can lose a lot of your harvest. Cardamom. Elettaria cardamomum. A member of the ginger family coming from India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Sumatra. It can be grown as an attractive houseplant but strictly as an ornamental as it is unlikely to produce flowers under those conditions. The seeds are what we mainly use for seasoning foods although the oils are used for other purposes. One source claims that it is the third most expensive spice after saffron and vanilla. The seed capsules must be picked by hand as they ripen at different times even on the same cluster. Cardamom is considered a "warming spice" due to the combination of aromatics contained in the seeds. There are two main types that are very different to each other: Malabar and Mysore. Malabar is best after it has turned from green to off-white while Mysore is often sold green; which is why you see two different colours in the stores. The Arab countries take about 80% of the production for their cardamom coffee while the rest is used in baked goods, mainly by the Norwegians. There is a close relative to "true" cardamom, Amomum subulatum (aka Large Cardamom, Nepal Cardamom or Greater Indian Cardamom) which has a harsher flavour; it is often used in Asia, India and China as a seasoning in savory, dishes, rice dishes and pickles. Contributed to the FareShare Gazette by Hallie, 10 February 2008 www.fareshare.net - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - See all FareShare Fun Facts: Spices & Herbs Back to Recipe List * Exported from MasterCook * FareShare Fun Fact: Herbs & Spices (Cayenne and Chili Peppers) Recipe By : Hallie Serving Size : Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Volume 11-02 Feb 2008 Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- (See Below) Cayenne and Chili Peppers. Capsicum annuum. Native to the Americas, it is possible the fruit of these plants is the mostly widely grown spice in the world. The active ingredient, capsaicin, protects the seeds and would appear to be mainly protecting them from mammals because birds, who swallow the fruits whole aid in their dispersement by passing them through their digestive system intact and are thus not bothered by the capsaicin but animals, who crush and grind the seeds suffer varying degrees of pain from this chemical as a result. How interesting that humans, having become sufficiently fond of these fruits to overcome the pain, have now become the major instrument in spreading the plants around the world. The seeds are embedded in a spongy mass called the placenta; it is the outer cells of the this placenta that produce the capsaicin which accumulates just under the surface. Under certain conditions it can escape from this area and coat the seeds themselves and small amounts can enter the surrounding wall of the fruit. There are about 25 species of Capsicum but the one from which most of the varieties we are familiar with come is Capsicum annuum. Capsaicin can vary which may be why different varieties of peppers have different effects and different amounts of pungency. Several varieties of chili peppers can be grown in the home garden, either directly in the soil or, if you are in a shorter season area, in containers which can be placed in warm, sunny areas around buildings or on decks or balconies and in case of an early or unseasonal frost either covered or brought indoors to finish the production of immature fruits. A couple of jalapeno plants will produce a season-long supply of these useful peppers which can either be preserved by freezing, pickling or drying. Habanero peppers have a lovely fruity flavour, if you can get past their fiery heat; when dried, ground and added to some other varieties make a superb blend. In the morning for an extra little perk-up I like to add a teeny pinch to a cup of coffee (yeah, OK, so I'm a chilehead). If you happen to, accidentally of course, discover you have bitten off more heat than you feel comfortable with, one suggested remedy is to take something cold and sweet, such as a drink of sweetened ice water; the sweetness is soothing and the theory is that the ice will lower the temperature of your pain receptacles to the point where they are not so sensitive to the chemical action of the capsaicin; carbonated beverages act as a further irritant however. Capsaicin is very good at coating things, such as your hands, so it is advisable to wear protective gloves when working with the peppers; if you don't it will take several washings with soap and water to remove it from your skin and you will only need to rub your eyes once to remember this lesson. I have had some success in reducing the lingering effects by adding a little chlorine bleach to the water in which I wash my hands but wearing gloves is ever so much simpler (just don't wear the same gloves the next time you wash the dog or you will be in deep doo doo; and no, I haven't done that). "Chili powder" is actually a blend of spices including chili pepper and various others often including cumin and turmeric. Contributed to the FareShare Gazette by Hallie, February 17, 2008 www.fareshare.net - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - See all FareShare Fun Facts: Spices & Herbs Back to Recipe List * Exported from MasterCook * FareShare Fun Fact: Herbs & Spices (Cinnamon and Cassia) Recipe By : Hallie Serving Size : Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Volume 11-02 Feb 2008 Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- (See Below) Cinnamon and Cassia. (Cinnamomum spp.) This one gets a little confusing as both belong to the genus cinnamomum, however there are different species of each and sometimes they are blended. They come from Southeast Asia, India and Sri Lanka mainly. The oils are used (camphorated oil) but for culinary purposes it is mainly the bark that is of interest. The bark that comes from Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum syn. C. verum), the cinnamon tree of Sri Lanka, is thick and light brown in colour. It has a milder and more delicate cinnamon flavour than the Chinese cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia syn. C. aromaticum), Vietnamese cinnamon (Cinnamomum loureirii) and Indonesian cinnamon (Cinnamomum burmanii) whose stronger harsher flavour is more suitable for the familiar "red hot" candies. The flavour of all cinnamon comes from the phenolic compound cinnamaldehyde, of which there is a higher amount in the Cassia types than the Sri Lankan type. The fruits of C. cassia are known as cassia buds and resemble cloves. There is a story associated with C. cassia, told to Chinese children during the Moon Festival, about a cassia tree growing on the moon which is more than 5000 feet in height and blooms all year round. Wu Kang chops away at the trunk but his task is endless because as soon as he takes his axe away the trunk becomes whole again. Contributed to the FareShare Gazette by Hallie; 2008 www.fareshare.net - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - See all FareShare Fun Facts: Spices & Herbs Back to Recipe List * Exported from MasterCook * Feta Radish Spread Recipe By : Detroit News Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Volume 11-02 Feb 2008 Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 8 ounces sheep's milk feta cheese -- coarsely chopped 1/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt -- preferably Greek style 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 4 radishes -- quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced -- (about 1/2 cup) Pita bread -- toasted and cut into wedges -- for serving or crackers -- for serving Pulse feta, yogurt, lemon juice and oil in a food processor just until mixture is thick and spreadable. Transfer to a medium bowl; stir in parsley and radishes. Serve with pita wedges or crackers. Serves 4. Source : "Detroit News". S(MC format by Chupa Babi): "12.17.07" Contributed to the FareShare Gazette by Chupa; 21 February 2008. www.fareshare.net - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 92 Calories; 10g Fat (96.3% calories from fat); trace Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 1mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 2 Fat. Back to Recipe List * Exported from MasterCook * Fragrant Ginger-Hot Pepper Sauce Recipe By : Cooking Light magazine, March 1996 Serving Size : Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Volume 11-02 Feb 2008 Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1/4 cup ginger root -- peeled & minced 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 garlic cloves -- minced 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1/4 cup minced green onions 2 1/2 tablespoons water Heat vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add minced ginger root, red pepper, salt and garlic; saute 2 minutes. Remove from heat; spoon into a small bowl and stir in remaining ingredients. Reprinted from Cooking Light magazine, March 1996 issue p.106 Contributed to the FareShare Gazette by Jim; 11 February 2008. www.fareshare.net - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Back to Recipe List * Exported from MasterCook * Fresh Green Chile Preparation Recipe By : Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Volume 11-02 Feb 2008 Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- *Information Only* 1. Rinse and dry chile. Prick chile with the tines of a fork to allow for release of steam. 2. Place chile on a cookie sheet 4-6 inches below the broiling element. Turn chile frequently until it is uniformly blistered. 3. Remove chile from the broiler and cover with a damp towel for 10 minutes. 4. Proceed with one of the steps below: A) when cooled, package chiles in a freezer-weight container, seal and freeze for later use. B) remove the outer skin and freeze as in Step A. C) remove outer skin, stem and seeds. Chop and use in any recipe. D) remove outer skin and leave chile whole, drying, for freezing or use in a recipe. 1994 Public Service Company of New Mexico. Recipes from Cocinas de New Mexico, reproduced by permission from the Public Service Company of New Mexico. Send reviews to: Viva@viva.Com Formatted by badams who never pricks the peppers and who always removes skins/seeds prior to freezing them. (Frozen ones are not as plump and nice as fresh, by the way. IMHO -- they are for desperate times.) Posted at recipelu 10/17/97. Posted to mc-recipe digest by badams on Mar 21, 1998. Contributed to the FareShare Gazette by Jim; 19 February 2008. www.fareshare.net - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Back to Recipe List

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