After about a month of drinking Cardamom Coffee and REALLY REALLY digging it at home I wanted to get my hands on some when I was in the wild. I can't believe I've been drinking coffee regularly for nearly two decades and never knew about this stuff. There's even an eHow about it!

What bland puritan Joe we have here in the US. According to these guys: "Arab coffee is heavily flavored with cardamom—sometimes to the point of having more cardamom than coffee. Some preparations use two teaspoons of cardamom seeds for each small cup of the sweet, fragrant coffee."

Two teaspoons may be excessive. My new jar of ground cardamom from McCormick's is far more potent than

PostedDecember 12, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesDrinks, Recipes

Tagscardamom, coffee

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Deep maroon beets. Bright orange orange wedges. Snowy white fennel slices. Tender green greens. The earthiness of the beets and fennel is balanced with the sweetness of the oranges and of the beets themselves. This hearty salad is both wholesome and healthful; and can be a meal all by itself.

It is really quite easy. Roast the beets (start this at least 45 minutes beforehand). They are ready when they are

PostedDecember 11, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesRecipes

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I'm a big fan of soups. They are usually easy. They can be done quickly. They are often cheap. Who doesn't like cheap, fast, and easy? Only communists. That's who.

This "Tortilla" Soup only requires about 30 minutes when you use one of those pre-cooked chickens from the supermarket. I always stock onions, carrots, and celery and this whole thing, albeit delicious, was an afterthought.

Ingredients:

A half an onion, one rib of celery, a large carrot, salt, pepper, oil, cumin, coriander, paprika, chicken, and water - oh yea, and tortilla chips. A knife, a pot, and a

PostedDecember 10, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesRecipes

TagsMexican, recipe, soup

3 CommentsPost a comment

Craft Beer?

eat make read » happy hour: break out the bubbly

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vanilla sugar: toffee-bacon scones

In City Waters, Beds (and a Job) for Oysters - New York Times

When Five Meats Are Not Enough : A fast-food pizza laden with flesh - CHOW

Holly Hadsell - El Hajji

PostedDecember 6, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesLinks

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Artificial pork made from pig's stem cells. Boy that sounds delicious. Don't hold your breath folks, scientists say it will be at least 5 years before the meat is suitable for sausage... but what about bacon? Could that process be expedited?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

We Did It! - Artificial Meat

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

PostedDecember 5, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesHumor, Videos

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I'm nuts. You're nuts. Isn't everything better with peanut butter? Savory Thai dishes command it. Vanilla ice cream is made divine when it is combined with peanut butter and fudge. Bread and jelly are elevated to the heavens when they come together forming the holy sandwich trinity PB&J. Sometimes I wonder why the pious Job was smitten with boils, when he could have simply been cursed with a legume allergy instead.

It may be a Rhode Island thing, or else my mom is a culinary genius. Ever since I've been young, peanut butter was the condiment of choice on our BLT's. While you peons settle for mayonnaise, we have been relishing in the creaminess that the salty, earthy, depth of flavor that peanut butter adds. Nothing else will do.

You think that's nuts?

Try it. Here may be

PostedDecember 3, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesRecipes

2 CommentsPost a comment

photo by richad ling

We've all seen them but for most of us Lionfish seem reserved for aquariums; sometimes in public places, sometimes in the homes of friends bold enough to pull off salt water boxes. Unfortunately for other fish, people have been seeing them in the Atlantic (where they are not native). Unfortunately for us, we are not seeing them enough on our plates.

In a recent article in The Economist called, Eat for the Ecosystem, that's exactly what Sean Dimin, one of the owners of a firm called Sea to Tabl e is proposing. In order to help fend off the invasive species - eat them. Sea to Table "partners with local fishermen from sustainable wild fisheries, finding better markets for their catch."

The problem is not just that Lionfish are non-native, it is that they eat nearly everything.

Mark Hixon, an Oregon State University professor of

PostedNovember 30, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesPolitics

Tagscooking, dinner, food, politics, restaurants

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PostedNovember 29, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesLinks

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Wow! I don't think Rachael Ray herself could have thought of a lame-er name for a recipe, I'm gloating. With such a poor choice of words constructing a name for this pumpkin bread, it does taste quite delicious. The recipe filled up a small baking pan and a muffin tin. Dan and Heather were stoked that we had extra.

I got the starter recipe from the Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread recipe at allrecipies.com. I can't bake to save my life so there will always be a starter recipe when it comes to flour, egg, sugar, etc...

The instructions were followed more-or-less with the following minor changes:

1) I didn't have a full cup of vegetable oil so

PostedNovember 23, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesRecipes

Tagsbread, breakfast, recipe

4 CommentsPost a comment

PostedNovember 22, 2009

Authordavid koch

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A little background is necessary to explain this. I'm a HUGE fan of Alton Brown's Tofu Mousse Pie; it's easy, it's pretty healthful, it's chocolate, and it's delicious. What more do you want? A holiday variation? Well, that's where I got the idea.

Disclaimer: This is not the most delicious dessert I've ever made. With that being said, it is still healthful, easy, inexpensive, and not that bad. If you like Pumpkin Pie, this is similar and is a drop in the bucket in comparing their prep times. You should have not problem giving the kiddies seconds of this stuff, it is low in sugar, high in protein, and packs a wallop of vitamin A.

One could crumble some ginger snaps

PostedNovember 21, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesRecipes

Tagsdessert, recipe, tofu

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I was reading Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking the other night about spices. While many people know that Saffron's sweet earthy stigmas are the most expensive spice, commanding up to $5,000 USD/pound - I didn't know that Vanilla was the second at $200/pound and Cardamom was the third at $22/pound.

McGee mentions how Nordic countries often use Cardamom in baked goods. Supposedly the Vikings fell in love with the stuff a very very long time ago. I thought briefly. I know it goes in Chai Tea, and Garam Masala... but what else has Cardamom in it?

Apparently, 80% of the annual Cardamom crop (which is picked by hand - ergo the price) goes to Arab countries mostly for use in Gahwa, Cardamom Coffee. This is a big part of the culture, which was hitherto unbeknownst to me. From MapsofWorld.com:

The ritual of presenting gahwa begins when the host places a set of four coffee pots, called della. Next to an open fire he pours the coffee beans onto a mahmasa,

PostedNovember 18, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesDrinks, Recipes

Tagscardamom, coffee, drinks, spices

5 CommentsPost a comment

PostedNovember 16, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesLinks

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I was inspired by a canister of sprinkles. Inspired to make 6 dozen cookies for a Halloween party we were hosting. Inspired because my daughter is 19 months old and I figured she'd love the colorful sprinkles upon the adorably shaped cookies. So, with the sprinkles, I purchased cookie cutouts and a rolling pin.

I found a sugar cookie recipe on epicurious.com, made sure I had the ingredients and then procrastinated. Luckily, the night before Halloween, as I was making some pumpkin muffins (from a box, thank you Trader Joe's!).

I scanned the sugar cookie recipe and noticed that

PostedNovember 10, 2009

AuthorHeather Ward

CategoriesBaking, Desserts, Recipes

Tagsbaking, cookies, dessert, recipes

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Starbucks is making a big hoopla about their new instant coffee called VIA which they rolled out nationwide recently. They claim it is an instant coffee that tastes like freshly brewed. They use a proprietary process they are calling a microgrind, and by looking at, making the stuff, and tasting it I'm thinking there's some dehydrated and/or freeze-dried coffee in there too.

Nevertheless, it's VIA VIA VIA everywhere you look inside your local Starbucks right now

PostedNovember 9, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesDrinks, Humor

Tagscoffee, drinks, energy drinks, vitamins

4 CommentsPost a comment

PostedNovember 8, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesLinks

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Splat by ant.photos

We've all likely been there. At the BBQ, camping, or maybe on a boat. There sits the bottle of wine... and no one brought a corkscrew. The thoughts that go through people's heads. The tools they use. We humans are very creative creatures, especially when there is booze involved (think Legend of Zelda-themed party ice luge).

There's the Wikihow on how to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew. They illustrate a technique using a screw, a screwdriver, and a pair of pliers (pulling it out, caveman-style) or a hammer (using a first-class lever which is much more civilized).

They outline the old pocket knife method, the wire coat hanger, the

PostedNovember 6, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesDrinks, Humor, Videos

Tagshumor, video, wine

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Diner enters restaurant, is seated, and peruses the menu.

He places the menu on the table, indicating that a decision has been made. The server greets the diner and takes the Diner's order, but what's this? Red wine with fish? The Cardinal Sin! Not on my watch!

The Server, aghast: "One moment sir, I'll fetch the sommelier."

Diner: "That won't be nec..."

Server: "One moment sir, just one moment."

Sommelier enters scene, corkscrew a blazin': "May I make some recommendations, sir?"

Diner: "I'll have the Argentinian Malbec with my Mackerel please."

Sommelier: "Instead Sir, may I recommend a New Zealand Savignon Blanc?"

Diner: "The terrior at this particular Château, mon frier, has a very low iron content. I will have the Malbec and I will wallow in my own decanal and heptanal if the case may be, thank you."

Sommelier: "Um, but, um. But the tannins, sir, the tannins. Um. Very well."

What did the diner know that the sommelier didn't? What's this about iron? In a recent article published this past August in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a team of crack-shot food scientists broke open the door to pairing red wine with fish... and it's not the tannins.

According to The Economist

PostedNovember 3, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesDrinks, Science

Tagsfood, science, wine, wine paring

3 CommentsPost a comment

PostedNovember 1, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesLinks

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OK, so they aren't very scary but it is Halloween and Simple Ginger Snaps doesn't sound very cool. I adapted the recipe from Brown Eyed Baker sans the molasses because we didn't have any in the "test kitchen." I also added Black Pepper and Grains of Paradise to make them a little more spicy and savory.

I recently purchased a second pepper mill and some Grains of Paradise and I have been experimenting with them. The little known spice is reminiscent of black pepper but also lends a pie-spice nuance that I thought would go well with

PostedOctober 31, 2009

Authordavid koch

CategoriesBaking, Desserts, Recipes

Tagsbaking, cookies, dessert, recipe, spices

2 CommentsPost a comment