Herbs and Spices - Cumin

Cumin Seed

Cumin seeds are used as a spice for their distinctive aroma, popular in Indian, Pakistani, North African, Middle Eastern, Sri Lankan, Cuban, Northern Mexican cuisines, Central Asian Uzbek cuisine, and the Western Chinese cuisines of Sichuan and Xinjiang. Cumin can be found in some Dutch cheeses such as Leyden cheese, and in some traditional breads from France. It is commonly used in traditional Brazilian cuisine. Cumin can be an ingredient in chili powder (often Texan or Mexican-style), and is found in achiote blends, adobos, sofrito, garam masala, curry powder, and bahaarat.

Cumin can be used ground or as whole seeds. It is traditionally used in Indian, Middle-Eastern, Spanish, Italian, Cuban and Tex-Mex cuisine (though infrequently in Mexico). Cumin was also used heavily in ancient Roman cuisine. It helps to add an earthy and warming feeling to cooking, making it a staple in certain stews and soups, as well as curries and chilli.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumin, image author: Sanjay Acharya

Corn Relish

What you will need:


9 cups of frozen corn kernels, thawed
3 cups of cabbage, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups of green tomato, unpeeled, cored and chopped *optional
1 cup of onion, finely chopped
1 cup of red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
4 cups of white vinegar
3 cups of sugar
1 cup of water
2 tbsp of dry mustard
1 tbsp of celery seeds
1 tbsp of mustard seeds
1 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of ground turmeric
5 pint sized jars

In a saucepan, combine corn, cabbage, green tomato, onion, red pepper, vinegar, sugar, water, dry mustard, celery seeds, mustard seeds, salt and turmeric. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender-crisp.

Meanwhile, heat sterile jars in a hot water bath over medium heat, making sure not let the water come to a boil. Remove the jars. Heat the lids, leaving the screwbands on the table. Fill the jars one at a time, leaving about a 1/2 inch head space. Push a rubber spatula down into the side of the jars three to four times to remove any air bubbles trapped inside. Wipe off the rim with a napkin or paper towel to clean off any residue and place lids on, place the screwbands on and tighten, make sure not to over tighten.

Process the filled jars in a boiling water bath ( make sure the jars are fully submerged up to 2 inches over top of jar). Bring to a rapid boil and cover. Let boil for about 15 - 20 minutes. Turn heat off and let cool for 5 minutes, then remove jars and place in a draft free place to let cool and seal for 24 hours.

*Note: When I made this for the first time I referenced two different recipes, they were similar except for the green tomatoes. I couldn't find green tomatoes in our grocery store so I picked up some tomatillos instead. 


Admin Notes: I love corn relish, this was my second attempt at canning and I must say it was a success. This stuff is delicious. I was obsessed with canning for about a year and I made all sorts of jellies, jams and relish. Some were a success and others not so much. I loved to experiment and what can I say, you win some and you loose some but this one was a definite win, in my opinion. I haven't made it again since though, in fact I haven't canned anything in a few years, mainly because it takes up so much time. I should really start canning again, I really did enjoy it. My first experience wasn't to great, see my Jalapeno Jelly recipe for that story lol.

Beef Stroganoff

What you will need:


1lb of ground beef
1 med. onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp of flour
1 tsp of beef bouillon or 1 bouillon cube
3/4 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
1 cup of water
1 cup of sour cream
rice, noodles or thin sliced potatoes

Saute hamburger, onions and garlic in skillet. Mix in flour, bouillon, salt and pepper. Stir in water; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream; heat 2 minutes. Serve over hot rice, noodles or thin sliced potatoes.

Admin Notes: This makes a really good meal in my opinion. In fact I made it tonight and just finished eating it over thin sliced potatoes. I got mad at my wife while I was cooking though, she was in the kitchen, crowding my space, I asked her to do something for me and she asked what I thought was a stupid question and I snapped at her. We had a shouting match which resulted in deathly silence for the next hour. I can be a real jerky grouch when I'm cooking. We have since made up, so all is good in the Camick household

Tuna Over Toast

What you will need:


1 can of tuna
2 tbsp butter
flour
milk
salt and pepper to taste
toasted bread

Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Open and drain a can of tuna and add it to the pan. Add flour and mix well so that it has the consistency of play dough. Slowly add milk, so as not to make it clumpy, stirring constantly until you've reached your desired consistency. Bring to boil, stirring constantly, sauce will thicken. If it is to thick add more milk. Salt and pepper to taste. Toast your bread and ladle the gravy over the toast and enjoy.

Admin Notes: My mother-in-law introduced this wonderfully simple meal to me. When I saw it for the first time I didn't think much of it but I am not one to be picky when I am a guest at someone else's house, so I ate it and I was pleasantly surprised. This has become a definite favorite of mine, especially at the end of the month when there is more month at the end of the money. My wife says that whenever her mother used to make it for them she would tell them, "Your grandfather always called it s#%t on a shingle." LOL Old people say the darndest things.

Chocolate Syrup

You will need:


1 cup of boiling water
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3/4 cups of cocoa powder
pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla

Bring water to a boil in a tea kettle. Combine dry ingredients in a sauce pot. Measure out 1 cup of boiling water and add to the mixture. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Let cool, ladle into a jar and refrigerate.

Admin Notes: My wife makes this all the time for our son, we get our milk for free through the WIC program, but he loves chocolate milk. One can of cocoa powder is worth three to four bottles of chocolate syrup you would buy from the store and it only costs us a buck and a half. This is a good money saver for those who love chocolate milk.

Jalapeno Jelly

What you will need:

3/4 lb. jalapeno peppers
2 cups cider vinegar
6 cups sugar
2 pouches liquid pectin
a few drops green food coloring (optional)
cheese cloth*
pint sized canning jars

Wash, remove stems, cores and seeds from peppers.
In blender or food processor, puree the peppers with 1 cup vinegar. Transfer mixture to a large pot. Add remaining 1 cup vinegar and sugar. Heat to boiling and continue to boil for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add pectin and continue cooking, bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly for another minute. Remove from heat and skim any foam which accumulates at the top. Remove and discard pulp by squeezing it through a cheese cloth. * Add food coloring, if using.

While the jelly is still hot, ladle it into pint sized canning jars, leaving a 1/4 inch headspace. Screw on lids and adjust. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from canner and cool in a draft free place.

*Note: Make sure you use gloves if you do what I did, see below.

Admin Notes: I tried to make jalapeno jelly once on the 4th of July, 2005. It was my first attempt at canning of any sort and I really didn't know much about anything. Well I went to the store and purchased all the ingredients. If I remember correctly I came home with like 20 jalapenos. I cut the peppers in half to remove the seeds without gloves, my hands didn't feel bad, but if I touched any sensitive body parts they burned like hell fire. Had to use the bathroom, should have worn gloves. When it came time to remove the pulp from the mixture I didn't quite know how use a cheese cloth so I scooped it into the cloth and wrung the liquid out. Of course it was hot because it had just come off the stove but I grit my teeth and kept going as the liquid pepper/vinegar mixture ran over my hands.

When I was done and had ladled the jelly into the jars and processed them I let them cool only to find out that I had not used enough pectin, so I had made jalapeno syrup instead. I was a bit disappointed but I used it as a dip for egg rolls, it was pretty darn good.

Later that day, as we celebrated Independence Day, I was playing Right Field my glove hand started burning like crazy, I couldn't figure out why. I took the glove off and ran down to the brook and dipped my hand in, it was pure Heaven on earth. Of course that didn't help, for when I removed my hand from the water it would burn even more. It wasn't long before both hands were on fire. It lasted through out the night. That was my first and worst 4th of July ever (I am a Canadian citizen/US Permanent Resident). I slept with a bucket of ice at my side and a large fan on my chest with my hands perched up in front of it. I described to my wife that it felt like my hands were in hell. Needless to say, lesson learned. Wear gloves when dealing with hot peppers.

Dreks' Guacamole

You will need:

• 2 ripe hass avocados
• 1 green bell pepper - chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro - chopped
• 1 bunch of green onion - chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers - seeded and chopped (keep seeds in for extra spiciness) 
• 2 large tomatoes
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Combine all ingrediants in blender and blend until liquified. Refrigerate for a couple hours to let flovours blend. Serve with your favorite corn chips and sour cream if desired.

Note: If you want some crunch to it, liquify half of peppers, green onion and tomatoes. Then afterward add the remaining chopped ingrediants, stir in and refrigerate.

Creator/Admin Comment: I used to be crazy about making my own guacamole and salsa a while back. I just loved the stuff. This is my own recipe, it makes quite a bit, great for parties. If you don't want quite so much you can half the recipe.

There was one time I went to the grocery store to get some hot peppers to make a big batch of guacamole and they had habanero  peppers. I didn't know what they were, so in the spirit of experimentation I purchased  ten of them. I didn't eat one before using them, I just thought they wouldn't make the dip so hot because they were so small, so I put all ten of them in my dip. My cousin helped cut them up and he didn't wear gloves, of course he ended up touching his eyes, the next 15 minutes or so involved him screaming with watering and swollen eyes and me rolling on the floor laughing. When it came time to eating my marvelous creation I was stunned by the potency of the hot peppers, I could hardly get one chip down. It literally took my breath away and I spent then next 15 minutes or so eating bread and drinking milk. Fun stuff. Good times.