apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i found these little flavoring packets at the grocery store in the produce section to make guacamole and it seriously is the best guacamole. all you add is 4-5 avocados!

I fell in love with brussel sprouts this winter...I think about them quite a bit. While I'm at work.

Blood oranges, I can't believe I didn't eat them before now. They're fabulous on their own with such a complexity for fruit. They are also delicious dipped in dark chocolate, or served alongside any rich dessert to cut the sweetness.

Bananas and oatmeal for baking. Red Chili Pepper flakes and lime for cooking. Pepper flakes give a nice little kick to curries, stir-frys, and dips and lime brightens up everything. I also have an ongoing love affair with sliced almonds and dried blueberries.

Cashew butter. Rich, creamy, lots of good-type fats, and not as intensely flavored as other nut butters, so it goes well with nearly everything. It's good on toast or in oatmeal in the morning, as a spread on sandwiches, or added to sauces or casseroles for creaminess. I've got a recipe around here somewhere (not tried yet) for a vegan "mac & cheese" that uses cashew cream. (I'm not vegan myself, but I have lots of friends who are, so I'm completely open to vegan recipes. Most of my potluck dishes are vegan--it's safer!)

On the down side, it's expensive, and I just got a food allergy test back that I'm slightly sensitive to it. Not really enough to worry about, but it just figures that I'd find something yummy and be allergic to it!

Swiss chard is my new favorite, I had no idea how good it tastes and how good it is for you. Smoked paprika too, I just bought some this weekend after reading so much about it....it's great! Some things i've always had but never liked until recently are butternut squash and summer squash and dark chocolate.

In the baking front - King Arthur's Fiori di Sicilia - a delicious creamsicle like flavoring. I have used it in angel food cake and also in brioche - YUM!
On the cooking front - Montreal Steak Seasoning continues to find it's way onto every piece of meat I grill or pan cook...

If you're into "smoky," try Halen Mon Gold finishing salt from The Meadow--it gives a slightly smoky umami-ish flavor to everything I've put it on, from the Pioneer Woman's "Crash Hot Potatoes" to heirloom popcorn. I got a sampler set of salts for Christmas, and this one's almost gone already!

Right now I'm all about citrus. I've been adding lemon or orange zest to so many recipes.

Earthy, almost pungy, firm-footed parsnips--I guess I see them as like the truffles of the root veggie world. I've been playing with pureeing, roasting, and boiling them, and even just shaving them raw into salads. These are the newest of the new for me, anyway.

Tomatillos. I made this zesty, bright, spicy green salsa last week with tomatillos, onions, cilantro, serranos, and garlic and I was surprised at how easy it was and how well it turned out!

And that batch of green salsa has transformed my boring meals this week into exciting, different foods! I put it on eggs at breakfast time, in a burrito for lunch, even tried it on pizza - and it was great! Not to mention chips and salsa for a snack. :)

Hickory smoke salt from the farmers' market by my mom's house in North Carolina, blood oranges, and phyllo!

RebeccaT (or others), what's involved in a food allergy test? Can a GP perform it or do you go to a specialist? I ask because I'm allergic to some food products but I can't figure it out on my own. Sorry for hijacking the comments!

I'll 2nd the brussel sprouts... yuuuuuuuuuuum

RebeccaCT, for the expense of cashew butter, just buy some cashews (about a pound) whereever they are the cheapest and give them a whirl in the food processor with a pinch of salt and literally one drop of oil....thats what ive been doing since peanut butter has become nutta non grata with all the food contaminations

I've been having a love affair with harissa paste (I believe Moroccan red pepper paste). I use it on and in everything that needs some heat. It's great when you forget to purchase chile peppers but still really want to make that red curry for dinner.

Nancy
http://testkitchenette.wordpress.com

Squirrely: you need a specialist. Look up allergy and asthma places. The test is easy, its just time consuming and itchy! I was tested for about 130 things soooo, if they find something youre allergic to it itches. A lot.

But my fave ingredient has been FAT! Lol. Ive started cooking with different types and am discovering a lot of deliciousness! And fennel (bulb and pollen), raw milk and herbs. Its getting into spring so Im making a lot of fresh stuff, so lots of herbs.

Cardoon! I love that it's, like, five feet long and scares the cats when I drag it into the house to prepare to cook it. Part artichoke, part broccoli, it's a rather dramatic Frankenstein's monster of produce.

Also, I've been on a real baked oatmeal kick lately. I love that you can throw whatever yummy bits you have laying about (yesterday it was dried shreddy coconut, dried peaches, walnuts, and honey) mix it in with some oats and milk, throw it in the oven, and return thirty minutes later to a breakfast that eats like dessert.

beans! all sorts, but especially garbanzo beans. i always thought i hated them, but no more! trying out my first arrival from rancho gordo today :)

RebeccaCT, if it's a blood test, those things can give false positives something like 50% of the time (there was just an article in the NYTimes about it). If you can eat it and not have a reaction, you're fine.

My recent ingredient addiction is a pecorino called Pecerino Fiore from the Cowgirl Creamery. It's delightfully salty with a rich, creamy flavor. I love it on pasta, eggs, veggies...

Chipotle powder. I recently ran out of cayenne and the store was out of it so I got chipotle powder. It provides most of the heat the cayenne provided plus a smokey taste. Similar to the way I wear out a good CD right after I get it, I now use it in rubs, on potatoes and even in coleslaw the other day. My wife is not crazy about smokey stuff but was raving about the slaw, so the smokey flavor is not overpowering.

Fleur de sel. I've been putting it on everything. Yesterday I ate chocolate that I sprinkled with it. It's so darn good. Even when I mess up food, the salt makes it taste better.

mcsmashley - those flavor packets are loaded with sodium, MSG, and other franken-chemicals. That's why they taste so good but....it's something we try to avoid in my house.

Beets. Sweet, earthy, delicious beets. Especially in a good salad with chicken, nuts and balsamic.

pickled jalapeno slices - the kind you get on nachos. we're plowing through a jar of them at an alarming rate.

i also bought some ground sumac but haven't used it yet - the afghani restaurant we go to sprinkles it over the ranch dressing on their salads so i thought i'd try it at home. but we don't have any ranch dressing...

Smoked paprika fresh lemon juice garlic olive oil sea salt = heaven.

It almost doesn't matter what you put it on. But it's particularly heavenly on whole chickpeas, or pureed with cannellini for dip. This has been my favorite flavor combination for at least the past two years.

Nothing new. Just delicious.

Lemons! I can't get enough of them!

HaveForkWillTravel - at what temp do you bake oatmeal? Do you use the same amount of water as when you make it stovetop?

I want to know too! (I'm talking about the baked oatmeal)

Wow, great ideas here! I would also love details about baked oatmel, and I love learning new things - never heard of Cardoon - do you get yours in your yard or at the farmer's market?

I am lately obsessed with heat. Trying lots of different chile peppers...spiking things with chipotles, sriracha, sesame chili oil, etc. I made my first batch of harissa as well and it was gone in no time; it was such a gorgeously complex condiment.

Rice noodles. A necessity now that I've been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. More gluten-free goodies, please!

Farro! I've been loving farro lately, I love how it retains crunchiness and I love the taste of it.

I second beets! I used to be so afraid of them because my dad used to eat them out of a can. But now that I buy them... yum!

Collard Greens...I have probably eaten more in the last month than in my whole life.

I make a Collard Green salad. Take the rib out of the collard, stack and julienne. Rinse, dry and make a vinaigrette. I make mine with whatever citrus or vinegar I have around. I've also been adding parmesan to the mix. Toss it all together. Let is macerate for a bit.

Kale! Roasted ... in greens and beans ... caldo verde. Delicious and hearty. Also: brussel sprouts have found their way into my heart. Who knew?

I'm using pomegranate molasses in everything, also mixing feta cheese into roasted potatoes and onions. I got a tub of pre-shredded asiago cheese that I'm sprinkling (Total lie: I'm dumping it) on eggs, soups, toast, baked tomatoes, grilled pork chops, peas, beans, and roasted veggies. Lime juice is being squeezed into anything that needs liquid from salad dressings to soups

OH! And I "invested" in a jar of BBQ sauce from http://www.welovejam.com and it goes on everything that needs a little sweetness and smoky peppery goodness. I usually make my own BBQ sauce every few months but this stuff beats mine to the ground. It's worth the $10 because a little goes a loooooong way.

I've been on a big ginger kick lately - roasted chicken with a soy-ginger glaze, lots of stirfrying with rice and veggies, even cold pasta salads with minced fresh or pickled ginger. It adds such a great kick to everything.

Fresh toamatillo salsa verde loaded with cilantro seems like the healthiest thing to lob onto everything for extra deliciousness, experimenting with miso paste . Made a nice marinade/glaze for broiled fish with some ginger Dried beans for econominzing

Nam pla (fish sauce). I read a tip in Lynn Rosetto Kasper's new book "How to Eat Supper" about putting a small amount in salad dressings as a flavor booster. I'm not sure what it does (maybe adds umami??), but it sure does work!

Can't believe it -- someone else has developed a thing for Montreal Steak SPice too! I picked some up for a meat loaf recipe (Jann Arden's mom's meatloaf, which Jann used to serve in her restaurant, now defunct), and use it on roasts, steaks, in hambrugers, and yet it doesn't all taste the same...

Also, brussel sprouts and beets, 2 vegetables I hated in the past.

And butter. Lovely, gorgeous French AOC beurre d'Isigny.

And cheeses. My kids love goat cheese, so every week we buy goat cheese from our goat cheese makers at the local market, plus any and all other cheeses I am not familiar with.

I would love to buy oysters at our market, and other seafood (eels? all sorts of strange fish with only French names, and totally unrecognizable...).

Flavored sugars from Just A Pinch: www.justapinch.ca

I love to add ginger and lemon to almost any vegetable. Also, I have been using a lot of smoked paprika lately in soups and stews to give them more depth. I am really liking the smokiness. I will use small amounts of good cheese in many things too. I like goat cheese and parmesan. If I have those two in the house I can come up with something to cook. After reading through the comments, I now want to try harissa, smoked sea salt, and baked oatmeal.

Golden Beets! If you're a beet fan, and you can find them, they are really good. Growing them in the garden is another option.

I recently tried truffle salt on popcorn (kind of weird combo of expensive and cheap)--totally delicious. Earthy, salty, popcorny...

I've been digging the smaller, sweeter citrus like mandarin oranges and clementines lately. So many good varieties out there. Good season for it too.

Great idea for the lapsang! I have tons of this stuff and almost never drink it. Now it'll get some more use!

Lately I've been into beet stems (yep, the stems - they just need to be cooked well so they're not woody). Also I've been using a lot more cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice in savoury applications. Oh, and I've been really into using garlic when it's NOT minced. I've been slicing it a lot or just leaving it whole whenever possible. Boiled garlic has become a special favourite of mine.

Some not-so-new obsessions: preserved lemon, sumac, aleppo pepper, brussels sprouts. And pickles of all kinds. And assorted vinegars. My collection of vinegars has reached a stupid level.

Tahini. I use it in everything now! I make a sauce/dressing with tahini, garlic, lemon juice and zest, salt, pepper, olive oil and honey (if I want it sweet) and put it on grains, salads, vegetables, etc.

Persimmons, hazelnut butter, smoked paprika, balsamic vinegar reduced to a syrup and drizzled over everything from grilled meat to ice cream to a few drops added to ganache for chocolate truffles.