(Part 3) Best herb, spice & condiment cooking books according to redditors

In the Shadow of Slavery: Africa’s Botanical Legacy in the Atlantic World does a great job of showing how many foods we take for granted today actually came from Africa and were connected to the slave trade in the Americas.

The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice is a book I'm reading now about the history and geography of spice and the spice trades.

For a nonacademic resource, Michael Pollan's The Botany of Desire is an excellent plants'-eye approach to four important crops. Although only two of them (apples, potatoes) are food, the approach is really engaging and thought-provoking. Pollan's more famous book, The Omnivore's Dilemma is good, but focuses primarily on corn.

Similarly non-academic but smart, Deborah Valenze's Milk: A Local and Global History presents an interesting history of milk, how colonization and different breeds of cows influenced cultures of milk, etc.

Since you are interested in cuisines and how they changed, I also recommend:

Stirring the Pot: A History of African Cuisine by James McCann

Cookery and Dining in Ancient Rome by Apicus.

Well. I could write a book!

But seriously...

There's a lot of those "ate too much" stories in the book (and on my blog), mostly to warn people. But my "gentlest" method of edibles is to use Canna Caps (which I make myself) to keep me at just the right level (sub-high) for daily use. It's gentler on the body than smoking (and even gentler than vaping) and keeps you at a constant level for a long time.

The classic problem most people have with edibles is they don't know how to make them, so the first time they waste a lot of weed and don't even get high. Then the next time they eat way too much, get way too high, and now they're in for a real 6 to 8 hour adventure rather than 2 hours of just being dizzy for awhile.

I don't deliberately go for anything over [8] any more ever. I can still handle it, but it's a risk with my medical history and mental sensitivity (just thinking about certain things can make me start passing out, for instance).

If you like reading wild stories, though...here's a pretty crazy one.

I've got your book! How to Taste by Becky Selengut. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072SVG1T4/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

She's hilarious, has fun facts and relateable anecdotes throughout, and makes the act of tasting incredibly easy to define especially when it comes to seasoning. Enjoy :)

Similarly, an Invitation to Indian Cooking by the same author is what taught me a lot of what I know. That, and watching vahchef. I've never made a bad recipe from this book. I read once that some think she is a little light on spices, but I have not found that to be the case.

http://www.amazon.com/Invitation-Indian-Cooking-Madhur-Jaffrey/dp/0375712119

OK here it is:
Again, this is from Ana Sortun's Spice cookbook (non-affiliate Amazon link).


Muhammara:
2 large red bell peppers (about 1 pound total), roasted and peeled. I often use a large jar of pre-roasted red peppers when I'm in a rush)
4 whole scallions, root ends trimmed and finely chopped. Reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish.
1 teaspoon chopped garlic (about 1 large clove. Use more if you like!)
1/3 cup walnut halves, lightly toasted
1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
(Note: I've used a full 2/3 cup of either/or in times when I was lacking one. Not as good overall but certainly do-able)
1/2 cup finely ground toasted bread crumbs (Note: white or whole wheat works. I always just make my own by toasting a piece or sandwich bread, cut off the crusts, and whizz it in the food processor. Then just throw everything else in after it)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (almost 1/2 lemon)
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (see note below)
1 tablespoon Aleppo chiles (see note below)
1 tablespoon Urfa chilis (I've never used these, and just double the Aleppo)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon plain yogurt (note: you can omit this without a serious impact)
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
a couple of glugs (2-3 Tablespoons) of good olive oil (my recipe is literally burnt here so I can't read it :-) )
I'll sometimes add a fresh grind or two of black pepper if I'm in the mood.


Just throw it all in a food processor and whizz the heck out of it. Recipe can be easily doubled. Service with pita, veggies for dipping, or (as in the Spice recipe, as a filling for Roasted Eggplant slices. )

Note1: Aleppo chillis are nice, mild, and sweet. Regular red chlili flakes are to harsh. You can get them at a good local spice shop if you have one (if you're in the Boston area try Christina's in Inman Sq. Cambridge/Somerville but there I've heard the Armenian shops in Watertown are great). Otherwise try Williams Sonoma or Penzys

Note 2: Pomegranate molasses is basically just boiled down pomegranate juice, basically like a sweet/tart version of balsamic. You could use that, a mix of honey and lemon or just google for other ideas. Other uses for it include a REALLY good salad dressing.

I recommend checking your local library for Spice - I love how the author has organized recipes by spice families and "friendly flavors" instead of by the traditional Apps / Mains / Sides / Desserts mix.

Curry Cuisine

Look at the 2 links in the Hot Sauce Making Resources post stickied to the top of the /r/spicy front page. It might be worth your while to get The Hot Sauce Cookbook by Robb Walsh.

Saute a bit of onions & garlic to lend the sauce some depth, then optionally saute the chiles a bit, then add water to cover and simmer until softened. Maybe use cane vinegar or cider vinegar, but cut it by half with white vinegar. Puree the chile mixture with vinegar down to a pH of 4-4.5. You can get test strips at a pharmacy. Then add salt to taste.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

You might like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Thesaurus-Compendium-Pairings-Creative-ebook/dp/B004G8QZTC

For this week’s theme, I wanted to make a Malaysian feast for some of my law school friends. I started with this chicken curry recipe because I liked the fact that it had a ton of different and interesting ingredients (coconut, curry leaves, lemongrass, etc). This was delicious and intense, but the lemongrass chunks got scattered throughout the dish and made it a little hard to eat. I would definitely tie them into knots (like in the rice dish) next time. To go with that, I had to make nasi lemak, a coconut and lemongrass flavored rice. I found the recipe for this in Cradle of Flavor, an Indonesian, Malaysian, and Singaporean cookbook I borrowed from my parents for Week 34 (Indonesian) inspiration. It was a little undercooked, but it is the closest I have come to successful rice on the stove so far. I liked the coconut and ginger and lemongrass flavors that were subtle but persistent in the dish. From my reading, nasi lemak is usually served with, among other things, fried peanuts and some kind of pickle. I made these fried peanuts because they were simple but delicious looking. They turned out really well, though some got a little over-fried. I also made pickled cucumbers, carrots, fresno chilies and shallots with a turmeric-ginger flavoring (also from Cradle of Flavor). These were delicious and a refreshing counterpoint to the richness of the curry and the rice.

For my MetaTheme, I made this Malaysian Negroni. I’m not normally a huge Negroni fan (a little too bitter for my tastes) but I didn’t have a ton of choices available to me. Malaysia is 80% muslim and buddhist so the cocktail culture is pretty limited. I liked that the recipe incorporated some classic Malaysian ingredients in an interesting way. I infused the chili into the Campari for about 4 hours and the lemongrass into the vermout for 3 days. When I tasted the Campari straight, the spice wasn’t super prominent but it really came through in the final drink. I think the Campari was too bitter for me to taste the spice. The lemongrass added a really interesting herbaceous note to the cocktail that I liked a lot.

UK links for the so inclined:

• The Quinoa Solution
  
• Kids Meal Ideas
  
• Chilli Jam Recipes
  
• Slow Cooker Recipes (Edit: This is a different one to the US link, but still free.)
  
  (Hope this is okay for me to submit this here; saw that they were US links and went hunting on the UK site for myself.)

Had my first attempt at brisket a month ago, so take any advice with a grain of salt, I may have just been blessed with beginners luck. I smoked 1 brisket and 1 pork butt. The brisket I had to cut in half to fit in my smoker so I had a thinner leaner fct of about 5 pounds and a heavy thick fatty cut of around 8 lbs.

I smoked everything at 225 for about 5 hours using 4 half cups of hickory chips. I also used water in the water pan but will probably use aluminum foil and a cheap beer next time.

After 5 hours I brought the meat inside wrapped it in foil and placed it in the oven at 205 until morning, about another 8 hours. Yes I could have left it in the smoker but I was nervous about it and very comfortable with my oven. The final internal temp was 190 for the large cut and 197 for the thin cut. Pork was around 200.

The thinner brisket got a little more done and wasnt as springy as I would have liked but it was moist and not tough. The larger portion of brisket was better but the bark wasnt as crunchy and thick.

Next time i plan to go with a high initial heat (275) with lots of smoke for 2 to 3 hours, then drop it down to 210ish until internal temp of approximately 200. Im hoping this will crisp up the outside and seal more moisture in.

For reference i used a generic meat rub from this book below. Ive since packed it away so I dont remember the recipe entirely offhand.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007DAP6HM/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Hope this helps. Its going to take so many tries to get your process down. Dont sweat it when one doesnt turn out. Cant wait to see the results of your next effort.

Madhur Jaffrey is pretty good too

Cooked this more or less following the recipe from The Cradle of Flavor. Ingredients and basic technique in the photo album.

Absolutely one of my favorite dishes. I used to order it at a favorite takeout that unfortunately closed a few years ago and finally made a mission of recreating it (with most of my shopping done in NYC's chinatown). The dish is incredibly aromatic, spicy, sweet and complex deep flavor. Texture is kind of soft and crusty (but not crispy) on the outside with a tender braised beef center.

There are lots of books of spice mixes, and they are all very similar. This is one that I've used.

Most of these in a can of tomatoes makes a good sauce.

[this recipe book should still be free.] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WLLQ2Y1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_6.TQybYMD5M2M)

It was mentioned in another post. No idea how good the recipes actually are, but free is free.

https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Spices-Herbs-Essential-Flavors-ebook/dp/B01AFXVGE0/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?adgrpid=56128591135&hvadid=274735409731&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9060302&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=8240253454852374408&hvtargid=kwd-341413216936&keywords=padma+lakshmi+book&qid=1554079524&s=gateway&sr=8-2

ISBN : 0060792280

Link