Spices

My desire after my "spring mind cleanse" was to jump

back on and have lots of eloquent words and inspirations 

for you all.

And as much as I enjoyed my little respite and was equally 

happy to be connected again,

the recent stretch of cold, rainy weather we have been

experiencing has caused me to feel a bit lackluster in the

sharing department

However, I was inspired last night by the joys of freshly purchased

 dried herbs and spices 

After a slight flop in my culinary endeavors when I made

chicken sofrito last week with old paprika

 (from a beautiful cookbook called Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi )

 I want to share with you that it really does make

a difference in your food when you use fragrant, freshly dried

quality herbs and spices.

I roasted a chicken last night with organic thyme

from Bulk Herb Store and this new Turkish chile pepper

I bought from The Spice House called Urfa Biber, described

to me as 'rich, smokey and raisin-y with moderate heat'

It was delicious!  I quickly sauteed some baby bella mushrooms

with dried marjoram, and served them over polenta

And the blessings of some Carding Brook Farm mesclun 

with champagne vinegar and olive oil

 to make me believe that spring is actually

on its way.

I hope you are all well!

More soon and sunshine too....

Kyra

p.s. here are two other wonderful cookbooks that I

cooked out of over my little break;

Plenty also by Yotam Ottolenghi

and for wonderful gluten free baking,

Small Plates and Sweet Treats by Aran Goyoaga