http://www.spicelines.com/ en Copyright 2013 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:24:47 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss On Monday, rivers of fire flowed down the slopes of Mt. Etna, the tallest, almost continously active volcano in Europe. All these rumblings are occurring in eastern Sicily, near the town of Catania. Guess what? We'll be there soon. AP Photo by Davide Caudullo, Lapresse. B and I are about to escape, to Sicily, that is. Between bites of almond gelato and plates of cinammon-spiced couscous, we might catch a glimpse of Mount Etna in full eruption mode. Just two days ago molten lava spewed 600 feet into the air. Surely we'll at least see a puff or two of smoke! But there will also be gently decaying palazzos, an early morning fish auction, and wineries, including one that produces berry-rich wines from Nerello grapes grown in Etna's dark volcanic soil. Through it all, we'll be trying to decipher the enigma that is this magnificent and forbidding island. Lots of you have written to ask what's up with SpiceLines: Let's just say that the new website is slowly taking shape. Very slowly. But I've been working behind the scenes to make it all happen, with the help of stalwart and talented designer Mike and his Austin-based crew. Of course, all work and no play....so it's off to Italy to eat, drink and explore. I'll be back in May, hopefully with a new, much improved SpiceLines. See you then!]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/04/gone_to_sicily.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/04/gone_to_sicily.htm Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:24:47 -0800 Where am I? A few clues: It's closer to Venezuela than Miami. The surf is Atlantic. Amelia Earhart slept here. Give up? All will be revealed...eventually. I'm taking a break. This time it's for real: Beach, wild surf, palm trees. Coconut cocktails, spicy shrimp seviche. Tan feet, bathing suit, baroque pearls. And sleep, lots and lots of sleep. I won't be away long, maybe just a month (or two.) Behind the scenes, SpiceLines is getting a make over. Along with the new website, there'll be exciting adventures to share. As usual, I'll be on the spice trail, tasting vanilla, nutmeg and saffron. There'll be recipes for delicious things to eat, and cocktails to dream on. A new mortar and pestle (or two), and views of a splashy tropical garden. Sicily is on the horizon, but don't forget the fourth annual cookbook giveaway. Patience, please! I'll see you in April (or May)... ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/03/taking_a_break.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/03/taking_a_break.htm Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:41:02 -0800 Oatmeal is the blandest dish imaginable, but when infused with aromatic chai spices and topped with rum soaked raisins and toasted cashews and coconut, it becomes a truly opulent breakfast cereal. Just don't eat the hellebore... Things don’t always work out. For instance, I might eye a new dish with the greatest anticipation, imagining how delicious it will be. And then it falls flat. This happened a couple of weeks ago. On a wet, grey morning, I shivered into our hotel dining room. It was cold by the window, and the view was bleak. A perfect day to take an off-road driving lesson: There were mud puddles everywhere, and pelting rain was in the forecast. But I perked up when I discovered oatmeal with chai spices, a breakfast item that promised a better start to the day. How warm and savory the spiced cereal would be, especially with stewed fruit and crunchy nuts strewn over the top! With a strong cappucino, my eyes might even stay open. It was not to be. There was not a trace of spice in the bowl of mushy, lukewarm oatmeal that arrived on a silver tray, the top already congealing. The accompaniments were laughable: a few slivers of cooked apple and bits of walnut. Let’s not discuss the cappuccino. But the idea of infusing aromatic chai spices into one of the blandest dishes imaginable was superb. So this is my version... ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/03/better_breakfasts_oatmeal_with.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/03/better_breakfasts_oatmeal_with.htm breakfast chai oatmeal spices winter Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:30:04 -0800 It’s known as the Italian Garden, but where is it, really? Not in Italy, that’s for sure. You'll find it on an 8,000-acre Blue Ridge estate, with grounds designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. This is not my garden. But you knew that. In my garden, there are no marble cherubs. No curvaceous reflecting pools. No sweeping vistas or long stone walls. I putter around on a single acre. Definitely not more. That’s why I love visiting other gardens. Especially in winter, when you get to see…. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/02/the_winter_garden_french_geome.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/02/the_winter_garden_french_geome.htm Frederick Law Olmstead garden Richard Morris Hunt winter Wed, 27 Feb 2013 07:24:38 -0800 Smoky pimenton adds a layer of sultry flavor to a simple dish of sauteed fingerling potatoes, green beans and roasted peppers. Green Spanish olives lend a bit of tanginess to the vegetables. Savoring the pimenton-sprinkled octopus at Curate Bar de Tapas, I had a double revelation: First, pulpo can actually be delicious—that is, tender and mellow tasting—when cooked properly. Second, I wondered why all my pimenton was buried at the back of the pantry. Five or six years ago, after taking a paella class in Santa Fe, I bought four tins of Spanish paprika, as it’s known here, at the bricks and mortar shop of The Spanish Table. Miraculously, although the tops are a bit rusty, the paprika is still full of flavor. One variety is sweet and a little tangy, two were decidedly bitter, with a trace of sweetness, and one was spicy, but with a distinctly bitter edge. All, except for the sweet pimenton, had been smoked. In Spanish that’s called ahumado. Why on earth did I forget about pimenton, I wondered. Especially when it comes in such beautiful tins…. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/02/recipe_sauteed_fingerling_pota.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/02/recipe_sauteed_fingerling_pota.htm Claudia Roden Curate Enrique Becerra pimenton recipes Spanish paprika tapas Sat, 23 Feb 2013 10:30:24 -0800 Authentic tapas in Asheville? At Curate, you can feast on everything from pulpo a la gallega (octopus in pimenton) to secreto iberico a las finas hierbas, a pure iberico pork skirt steak infused with smoke from burning rosemary sprigs. Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t like octopus, as least as it’s usually served. Words that come to mind are rubbery and fishy-tasting. And oh, those suckers… This has worked out well for B, since he loves the dreaded mollusc. He always snags any sashimi that strays onto my plate, and is content in the knowledge that he can enjoy Locanda Locatelli’s insalata di polpo e patate novelle without losing a single bite. But this week our forks jointly hovered over the last exquisite sliver of pulpo a la gallega. Thinly sliced, showered with Spanish paprika and napped with olive oil, it was the dish that finally converted a diehard refusenik into an incipient addict. We found pulpo a la gallega on the menu at Curate, a two-year-old, rather traditional Spanish tapas bar in Asheville, NC, of all places. It's a laid-back mountain-college town with a hippie vibe far from the sophisticated streets of Barcelona, Madrid and Seville, where bustling bars are filled with wine-drinking, tapas-eating regulars every night. And yet… ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/02/ashevilles_global_table.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/02/ashevilles_global_table.htm Asheville Chai Pani Curate Rezaz tapas travel Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:00:23 -0800 In the language of flowers, the red camellia symbolizes the flame of true love. The graceful petals of C. 'Crimson Candles' could easily "ignite" a dark woodland forest. “You’re a flame in my heart.” Or so the Victorians mused, when imagining the secret meaning of the red camellia. In the language of flowers, the pale pink camellia symbolized “longing,” while the white camellia stood for “adoration, perfection, loveliness”. But the red camellia captures true love. The way it flickers brightly in the heart, even when loveliness fades and perfection is clearly out of reach. In China, where camellias have grown wild for centuries, the flower is said to symbolize the love of a man and a woman: The petals represent the feminine, while the calyx, which holds the petals at the base, is the masculine. When the flower fades, they fall together, joined even in death. La Dame aux Camelias, a novel by Alexandre Dumas fils, was the inspiration for Verdi’s opera La Traviata. The original tale was inspired by Dumas’ affair with the beautiful Marie Duplessis, a camellia-wearing courtesan who, for a time, was the toast of Paris. She died young, at age 23, of tuberculosis, aggravated, thought her doctors, by the bouquets that surrounded her. The luminous Greta Garbo played the title role in George Cukor's 1936 film adaptation, Camille. On cheerier note, the leaves of the camellia have given us one of the world’s most delicious (and addictive) beverages: tea...]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/02/hearts_on_fire.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/02/hearts_on_fire.htm camellia tea Valentine's Day Sat, 09 Feb 2013 11:31:52 -0800 Chance encounters make travel memorable. At Mapusa market in Goa, where local residents shop for dried fish and red chilies, I looked up from photographing spices to find this woman staring at me. I really need to clone myself. Three or four of me would be about right. You see, I just made a list of all the places—some familiar, some not—that I’d like to visit in, oh, the next year or two. On the one hand, I’m dying to return to my favorite cities—Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Cochin, Florence, London, Paris and Venice—and to see more of Morocco and Bhutan. But I’m also attracted to all the places I’ve yet to visit. In Japan I want to wander the streets of Kyoto, soak in volcanically hot mineral springs, and visit Tokyo’s famous fish market. I dream of shopping for cloves in the markets of Zanzibar, turning prayer wheels at the Jokhang in Lhasa, slurping pho on a street corner in Hanoi, gathering wild peppercorns in the rain forests of Madagascar. The truth is, the world is still a very big place. I may never get to half the destinations I long to see, but for the ones I do visit, there’s a pressing question: How to travel to an unfamiliar place in a way that puts me into the flow of real life? What do you think? ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/02/where_do_you_want_to_go_a_trop.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/02/where_do_you_want_to_go_a_trop.htm Bahamas Bhutan Geoffrey Bawa London Morocco Sri Lanka travel Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:35:46 -0800 Som tum, or green papaya salad, hits all the high notes (hot, sour, salty, sweet and umami), waking up a dull winter palate with its zingy flavors. Top tool? A $1.17 shredder. Is there anything that makes your heart beat faster than a new kitchen tool? I know, I know. A new love, a new puppy, a new pair of K. Jacques sandals. But forgive me for being a little overexcited about the fruit and vegetable shredder I picked up at Thewet market in Bangkok. “You’ll want this,” Blair said, handing me a modest tool from a kitchenware stall with lots of day-glo plastic and shiny metal gear. It looked like a cheap ergonomic razor, with a blue-grey plastic body and two stainless steel blades, one of which was severely corrugated. “It’s great for making som tum.” Som tum—also known as som tam or som dtam--may be northeastern Thailand’s best known salad, an addictive tangle of crunchy, shredded green papaya and carrots, chopped snake beans, dried shrimp, green chilies and peanuts, tossed in a mix of palm sugar, fish sauce and lime juice. Made right, it hits all the high notes, a harmonious but zingy blend of hot, sour, salty, sweet flavors with a hefty dose of umami pulling it all together. In Bangkok, a handheld shredder (Kitchen Series brand) will set you back around 35 baht, a cool $1.17 or so. (I wish I’d bought a dozen to give as presents—to the right people, of course!) I hate to sound like a late night infomercial, but it’s a nifty little gizmo that juliennes firm green papaya, carrots (and who knows what else) in a matter of minutes. Are you interested? ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/recipe_som_tum_or_green_papaya_salad_with_carrot_lime_juice_and_peanuts_miracle_shredder.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/recipe_som_tum_or_green_papaya_salad_with_carrot_lime_juice_and_peanuts_miracle_shredder.htm Bangkok fish sauce green papaya salad lime mortar and pestle recipe Som tum The Siam Hotel Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:19:08 -0800 Yesterday it was spritzing ice crystals. By late afternoon, tiny icicles festooned the picnic table like spiky fringe on a tablecloth. The pup skidded across the frozen deck and took a joyous, flying leap onto the frosty grass. So wonderful to have a body that bounces like rubber… In the kitchen, it was warm as toast—and very fragrant. On the stove prawns and eggplant simmered in coconut milk and green curry. The aromas of lime leaf, pungent spices and sea-sweet shellfish swirled through the house: Palate-titillating and supremely satisfying, the rich scent hinted at the pleasures of the warming dish to come. As I stirred the pot, my mind wandered to a steamy morning in Bangkok when I learned to make Gang Kiew What Goong…. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/recipe_bangkok_green_curry_wit.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/recipe_bangkok_green_curry_wit.htm coconut milk curry eggplant green chilies green curry green curry paste lime leaves Thai basil The Siam Hotel Sun, 27 Jan 2013 10:42:27 -0800 The newest member of our family, in a rare moment of repose. Let's call it the wild child's "formal portrait." There's a reason they're named "springers..." Seven months, one week, twelve days old. 32 pounds, roughly. Liver and white. Oh so handsome, and ver-r-r-r-ry energetic. After 48 hours, here’s what else I know…. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/its_a_boy.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/its_a_boy.htm English springer spaniels Thu, 24 Jan 2013 07:22:18 -0800 At Thewet market, silvery fish are packed three or four to a bamboo steamer. On a slow morning, Blair and I trawled the stalls for ingredients to be used in a cooking class. At 9:42 AM it’s unbearably hot and humid. Perspiration is trickling down my spine. A thin cotton blouse clings damply to my back. Blair and I are in the back seat of a tuk-tuk. Up front, the genial driver casually rests one hand on the steering wheel of our motorized "rickshaw." Horns blare, exhaust fumes clog the air. We lurch forward, but a taxi cuts in front of us. Engines rev on either side. A woman in an Army uniform and sturdy heels, riding sidesaddle behind her companion, straight skirt demurely pulled below her knees, blasts past us on a motor scooter. Our driver smiles. This is Bangkok's world-famous traffic. Our destination? Thewet produce market, a few minutes from The Siam Hotel, where Blair is executive chef. Our mission? Shopping, of course! We're buying some of the ingredients for a cooking class I’ll be taking later this morning. At an intersection, the driver pulls over. We cross the street, navigating our way through the flow of cars, to the entrance of the covered market. Once inside, the pace slows…. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/bangkok_shopping_for_thai_basi.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/bangkok_shopping_for_thai_basi.htm Bangkok chilies shopping Thai basil Thewet market travel Sun, 20 Jan 2013 14:54:24 -0800 At Hallie's Flower Garden inside Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, pots of hot pink cyclamen lit up a gloomy afternoon with bright springtime color. It was dark in Boston last the weekend. Brooding skies, storm clouds, a spatter of rain. By 4:30 in the afternoon, it was as sepulchral as a grave. So I went looking for sunshine... ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/boston_finding_sunshine_on_a_g.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/boston_finding_sunshine_on_a_g.htm Boston cupcakes Formaggio Kitchen Georgetown Cupcake shopping spices travel Turkish peppers Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:15:48 -0800 Curried chicken for breakfast? Absolutely. There's nothing like sweetly caramelized chicken with cinnamon and curry over turmeric-infused rice to fortify you for a long winter weekend of...closet cleaning. Some dishes get lost in translation. They’re so connected to a particular place or a moment in time that conjuring up what you ate at that Singapore hawker stall one steamy afternoon 17 years ago is an exercise in futility. I’m thinking, for instance, of Hainanese chicken rice, practically Singapore's national dish: It begins with a tasty, “mature” bird poached in rich chicken stock that has deepened and become more flavorful with repetitive use. The skin is removed, the meat is sliced and then served with white rice, which itself has been simmered in a different batch of stock. The fillip: fiery homemade chili-garlic sauce and some grated ginger. Go right ahead. Try this at home. It’s not that you can't make a reasonable facsimile. It’s just that it won’t taste nearly as good as the same dish made day in and day out by a Malaysian chef at a barebones joint under a freeway interchange. (And just try finding an old chicken.) But sometimes the reverse is true. Here’s a curried chicken and rice dish that’s as memorable now as it was in Bangkok, eaten on a hot and humid November morning as I watched barges and other river boats ply the oily brown waters of the mighty Chao Phraya. What’s more, I ate it for breakfast… ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/from_bangkok_a_better_breakfast_curried_chicken_with_turmeric_rice.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/from_bangkok_a_better_breakfast_curried_chicken_with_turmeric_rice.htm Bangkok chicken curry jasmine rice recipes Singapore The Siam Hotel travel turmeric Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:37:36 -0800 Would you like to see where I work? Come on in…. This may be the only time you’re invited. It’s not that I don’t want company. I really do, but early January is actually when my office looks its best. For the last few days I’ve been tossing out cardboard boxes and holiday wrapping paper, sorting through teetering stacks of books, getting rid of piles of clippings and half-eaten chocolate to make room for the spices, textiles and irresistible objets that I always seem to bring home from my travels. So it's unusually neat and clean, but here's the real incentive: Last spring I changed the color of the walls from a truly yucky hue that could accurately be described as “pond scum.” (There's actually a decorator who uses those very words to describe her favorite green.). It was supposed to be a pale, buttery cream, but an odd trick of the light made the walls look downright dingy. It was so depressing to be here, especially at night. But thanks to paint wizard Ellen Kennon, I’m now enveloped in a truly delicious shade of…. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/new_year_new_office_or_global_bazaar_chartreuse_walls_make_me_happy.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2013/01/new_year_new_office_or_global_bazaar_chartreuse_walls_make_me_happy.htm chartreuse Ellen Kennon office Fri, 04 Jan 2013 11:47:40 -0800