I think it's very easy to fall into a habit of relying on the same foods, turning to the same spices, and whipping up the same dishes. To encourage myself to step out of the box a little, I created a list of foods and spices that I'd like to use (or use more often) this year.
Artichokes
Cardamom
Cherries
Duck
Fish
Fregola
Ginger
Lentils
Olives
Pears
Plums
Wild boar
Za'atar
Do you have a favorite recipe using any of these items? Feel free to send it my way!
What underused ingredients do you plan to use more of in your cooking or baking this year?
27 comments:
I say this every year but I really need to cook fish more often!
This is so fun! Artichokes are also on my list because I LOVE them but somehow never seem to cook with them...weird. I'd like to bake more with cardamom, relying less heavily on cinnamon for all my warm spice needs. And cook with more middle eastern ingredients!
Love this! Brian already stated on of his (our?) new years resolutions is to eat fish 1/week...so far so good! I usually go for wtahever is on sale at WF's that week, or keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer. Duck is delicious, although i don't think I could ever cook it myself...stupid I know, but I feel guilty. GIada has a great Fregola salad recipe, with grapefruit in it I forget what else but it's refreshing. I actually have a bag that's been in my pantry for a long time.
I love my turkey/lentil meatloaf recipe! I'll be interested in the Wild boar and Za'atar...I bought some za'atar but have yet to use it. Brian orders dishes with wild boar whenever he sees them on menus.
Jeff always orders wild boar too, which is my main motivation for learning how to cook it at home. And I've never cooked duck either, so that will be interesting. I'll have to look up that fregola salad and your turkey/lentil meatloaf! Thanks!
Same here. LOVE artichokes but rarely make them at home. I especially want to try making baby artichokes.
Zaatar is one of my favorites- I just came back with a big bag of it from my Israel by way of my parents. Eric likes to add it to his eggs, but It's also good on toasted pita with fresh garlic and a bit of cheese.
I have the same goal as last year- to use more of my kitchen aid... I still never have and I got it LAST year for Christmas!
Anyway, fish is awesome. I've been struggling eating it in my pregnancy, but before that, we ate fish like twice a week. Fish and ginger are great combinations.
Great list! I have a cherries and Zinandel salmon recipe that is pretty amazing:
http://traveleatlove.com/2010/06/salmon-with-zinfandel-and-cherries/
And I put ginger in so many dishes, so good in stir fries, cocktails, baked goods, etc.
Tofu! I almost never see recipes for tofu on any of my favorite food blogs, but I really want to learn how to use it more often because it is healthy and sustainable. Mark Bittman covers it well though and one attempt so far this year has been a success!
great list! I just had to google Fregola. haha. you should make a wild boar bolognese or something, not that I ever have but I've had some really good ones at restaurants. I love to cook salmon in a ginger, lime, molasses, soy, teriyaki marinade and serve it with white rice.
I'm so on board with the cardamom and za'atar! Two of my favorites. Good luck working on this list! I fully agree, there are so many lovely ingredients that I underutilize in my kitchen. Gotta fix that!
I'm always looking for new things to make! One of my favorite lentil recipes is... http://stephchows.blogspot.com/2008/05/lentil-burgers-in-poconos.html
I plan to experiment with a lot more vegetables this year, since I usually stick with my "usuals." Parsnips, ghost peppers, and white asparagus are just a few of the veggies I want to experiment with!
I pretty much live on lentils so I'm excited to see what you do in that department. Wild boar makes me happy too, only because there was a lot of that in Italy (cinghiale)
great list and a good goal to have!
a few potential recipes to get you started...
Pineapple Ginger Granola Bars (http://www.thesweetslife.com/2011/09/pineapple-ginger-granola-bars.html)
Lentil Burgers with Tzatziki (http://www.thesweetslife.com/2011/08/lentil-burgers-with-tzatziki.html)
Crispy Tilapia Sandwiches (http://www.thesweetslife.com/2010/04/crispy-tilapia-sandwiches.html)
I love cardamom! Great list.
I'm posting an amazing lentil recipe in a week or so... made it yesterday and I'll be eating it all week! And thank you, now I know how to look for wild boar on menus when we go to Italy.
I had an amazing white asparagus gratin in Aruba. Can't wait to see what you cook up.
A wild boar ragu is in the plans!
Awesome list!! I need more artichokes in my life.
I'm going to have to try it on a pita with garlic and cheese. That sounds awesome. I've roasted eggplant with it, and love it.
For lentils, don't miss this! http://www.carascravings.com/2011/11/curried-lentils-and-butternut-squash.html
GREAT list!!!! I love that you're organizing it this way- and you have definitely named a few I need to step up my game on as well (ahem duck).
Great list! I am a huge lentil fan - but its about the one thing Nick does not eat. We just brought back Saffron and hot paprika from Dubai so I am ready to find some good things for those!
great list! Here are some of my favorite recipes using lentils!...http://www.simplylifeblog.com/recipes/?search_term=lentils&ui=906&ki=1
I definitely fall into that habit too! I need to use more grains!
This is a great idea - I'm definitely guilty of the same habit. I think I might make my own list!
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