Hundredthish

Updated on Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 9:59PM by Stash

Not too long ago, I put up my 100th Dash of Stash post without realizing it.  My obliviousness made the event quite anticlimactic, so I apologize, and am going to do what I should have done several posts ago, and recreate the very first dish I posted, baingan bharta, a popular Indian eggplant dish.

In the last hundredish posts, my cooking skills, my sense of taste, feelings for Padma, and knack for the English language have all matured.  Some areas are still shakier than others, but at least I've identified those weaknesses, and either have a plan to strengthen them, or completely avoid them.  For my baingan bharta revision, I'm not going to be by-the-book authentic, but it will be good, or at least tastier and more sensical than its predecessor.  

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More Lemonade

Anyone who reads the comments section knows I've been having a culinary love affair with Liz for the last year.  Not only is she a real professional, she kindles the same passion for garam masala, and other uncommon ingredients, but most importantly garam masala, at least today (but only with many less commas).

Since we've both been back-logged with blogging, we exchanged a few e-mails the other week to discuss some more applications of garam masala, which if you recall, is a just a blend of relatively more familiar words, much like a curry is.  The end result is this garam masala combo post.  Check out her site for an even better application of the spice blend.

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What Friends Are For

After spending Labor Day weekend in sunny Boston with Tiff, dining well out of our means, I've come home to a much more frigid environment, where I need to stay in and cook more than I have been.  Since I've been gone for the last eight days, the fridge is empty, and I need to shop. 

The grocery store has an abundance of figs.  This triggers my somewhat recent memory of Liz's Fig-Cranberry Cobbler recipe.  Not only does it present a solution to this fig problem, but uses a spice I wish I could use much more often-- garam masala.  Like curry, no two garam masala's are the same, because they are not a single ingredient, but a complex and flavorful blend.

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Pork and Apples Finally Wrapped Up

Pork and apples- an American favorite- is going to be wrapped up.  The classic combination has been floating for years, and everyone has their own twist or preferred implementation.  Honestly, I can't think of a more boring dish.  Sure it's good but most 'variations' taste the same.  I've got to redefine them.

Allow me to open the gate to my thought process on how this dish came to be.  One of my favorite dishes to make is Vietnamese pork tacos.  I cook the pork down in sweet soy, or a home-made substitute, then plate with mango puree, salsa verde, cilantro, mint, and nam pla.  It's super good I swear.   Good base for pork.

The other day I was going through my spice cabinet and noticed that I had an unopened container of garam masala- shameful I know.  Now don't go running off too quickly, I haven't finished the story.  For the brave remnants of the peanut gallery let me assure you that this stuff is good- and that you like it.  It's a waste to nix Indian food and flavors.  Think you don't like Indian spices?  Do you like freshly ground black pepper- the yang to the base seasoning of all cuisine?  Black pepper is indigenous to Southern India- we wouldn't have it anywhere without them (and Marco Polo). 

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