The Daily Grind

Need a way to spice up these winter days? If you want to increase and intensify the flavors of your culinary spices, here’s a simple overlooked tip. Always buy whole spices. Prior to using them in your favorite recipes, toast and grind them yourself. All you need is a frying pan, a stove top, a spatula, and a grinder used only for your spices. One of our old coffee grinders suffices for this job. This gadget can save a lot of time or you can use a mortar and pestle to work those arm muscles. If you tend to buy your spices processed i.e., all ground in a jar for you, the intense flavors of the spice diminishes and doesn’t add that same oomph to your recipes.

Here’s the simple process for grinding your own spices.

Put your spices in a dry frying pan on a medium heat. Stir the spices constantly until they start to crackle and steam (do not smoke or burn as it creates a bitter flavor.) By toasting the spices, you release all the fresh essential oils encapsulated in the spice. Transfer the toasted spices on a plate and let them cool to room temperature. In small batches, grind thoroughly and store in an airtight mason jar. These spices can last for months so prepare more than one batch for future cooking. If you like Indian cuisine, this is the only way to properly prepare your spices.

Think it’s a bother for just your spices? Try something simple like cinnamon. You’ll quickly get the picture when you use fresh vs. pre-processed in a dueling recipe. This tip also works on any nut. Lightly toast prior to chopping and mixing into your recipes that call for chopped nuts. This toasting and grinding process also provides a free air freshener. Just think of all the benefits. Good day to grind your spices is after you cooked fish.

To kick off the last Monday in January and to end today’s post with an inspirational quote, here’s an anonymous but fitting excerpt. “The daily grind of hard work gets a person polished.” In other words, don’t let an extra step scare you from not trying something new. This mid-stretch of winter is the best time to tackle your spice grind.

P.S. For anyone subscribing via email that prefers to reply direct, I’ll keep an email address in the blog agbilowz@comcast.net. You can always post on our fan page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bilowz-Associates-Inc-Our-Blog-Annies-Gardening-Corner/325316334444 or follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz.

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Sweet Reason

Looking for a new challenge in the veggie garden this spring? Here’s a sweet enough reason to save a small patch of fertile soil for something different. There are loads of factoids about the many different varieties of sweet potatoes but it is Friday so no technical lingo and no dabbling in the sweet potato vs. yam debate.

Although a bit pricier for its bareroot than a regular potato, the growing conditions are similar – good organic soil, plentiful water and warm temperatures. It helps to use black plastic to keep the weeds down and offer extra toasty conditions, specifically in the colder climates.

So if you are looking for a sweet reason to be thinking about spring, let’s think sweet potatoes. Although Douglas Adams reminds us that “It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes,” I’m going with a bit of Lennyism from Lenny Kravitz. “My dream is to become a farmer. Just a Bohemian guy pulling up his own sweet potatoes for dinner.” Have a great weekend and don’t forget to post your favorite sweet potato cooking tips. P.S. For anyone subscribing via email that prefers to reply direct, I’ll keep an email address in the blog agbilowz@comcast.net. You can always post on our fan page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bilowz-Associates-Inc-Our-Blog-Annies-Gardening-Corner/325316334444 or follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz.

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Miles Away

Delays and cancellations may be part of today’s forecast but there is always time to start thinking seeds. If you can’t find the energy to dig yourself out of this snowy mess, why not use the time to plan for your spring veggie garden. This 2008 Mother Earth News article, ‘Know When to Plant What: Find Your Average Last Spring Frost Date’ may help churn and burn some of this winter gunk out of the engine. http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/How-to-Find-Average-Last-Spring-Frost-Date.aspx#ixzz1C9jo9jGb

Cool season crops like broccoli and cabbage should be first on your list. You can always start seeds indoors if you want an established spring crop. Like anything in this gardening world, it’s important to understand those climate factors so be sure to click on the link for the National Climatic Data Center where you can figure your last spring frost date.

http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/climatenormals/climatenormals.pl?directive=prod_select2&prodtype=CLIM2001&subrnum%20to%20Freeze/Frost%20Data%20from%20the%20U.S.%20Climate%20Normals

The spring planting season may seem miles away with these winter storms but everything creeps up on us when we aren’t paying attention. So dig through your seed catalogs and remember E.B. White’s words of wisdom, “Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom.”

The sun just popped through the clouds. I can see spring already, even if it feels miles away.

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