Confessions of a Cardamom Addict

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I'm sorry, could you please repeat that?
2007-05-17 05:30:00
Three true tales for you...and the pictures have nothing to do with the tales...I'm just craving ice cream.Be Away with you, smarmy spammy guy!The other week I skimmed my StatsCounter data and noticed someone was trying to get to this blog via "cardamomaddict.com." I was curious so I typed it in.Well...someone was on it. A smarmy spammy someone. You know...the kinda person who puts up links to "interesting" sites. I checked him out and the first thing I found was a court document that that named him in a lawsuit for setting up a similar web site in the name of a charity or a charitable programme...without the charity's permission.All of a sudden I got territorial (and a bit miffed). Given what I read, my guess is he assumed that I (or someone) would be willing to pay him for the domain...I guess he should have paid for it first. Yup...he didn't buy the domain. So I did. and thanks to Steve, my webthingie guy, the new domains point to sensualgourmet.ca.Photo: Strawberry Ice Cream*...
More About: Odds and Sods , Lease , Ease , Sorry

Spring: when a woman's thoughts turn to chillis
2007-05-15 06:19:00
I know when most food-minded people think of spring, asparagus and perhaps strawberries lamb come to mind.Not me...I think of chilli peppers.More specifically, I think of how people should never leave me in charge of their plants. Owners return to desiccated and withered leaves or rotted, waterlogged stalks. I forewarn everyone that I'm not the person they want to care for their greenery: I know how to cook and eat them...not grow them.So, what does this have to do with spring and chilli peppers, you may ask.Well...as my parents have taken to leaving the country for half the year, someone has to take care of the plants. It's taken them a while to realize that I won't tend to things they way they do. The front garden has turned from a patch of green with bunches of green and flowery things that needed an undue amount of attention (read: watering and pruning and other things you do to plants) to a totally self-sufficient entity (at least from January-June). It's quite lovely--one ...
More About: Spring , Thoughts , Odds and Sods , Hill , Chill

Ice cream season is here
2007-05-07 01:47:00
Yes, every season is ice cream season (heck, some of us believe that every day is ice cream day). What I'm talking about is an indication that winter probably won't be back for several month, spring is firmly settled, but summer isn't that far off. It's the day the ice cream parlours open up for the season. Granted, there are a few who are open all year long (chain-stores, mostly), but around here, there a couple of independents that fling open their doors for six months. These are the places where grape, tiger tail and other none-too-commonly stocked flavours have a home. They make giant sundaes dolled up with whipped cream, ooey-gooey sauces, fruit chunks and sprinklies--the kind your parents won't allow in the car because of spillage. If they have to weigh out their wares before handing them to the customer, I can't tell--the portions are always very generous. So yesterday was the day my favoured independent opened up for the 2007 season. And what did we pick up? Bordeau...
More About: Ice Cream , Season , Sweets , Cream , Seas

An evening in Provence
2007-05-03 05:05:00
Well...not quite.I'm in those last, few glorious hours between classes. Two weeks (ish) have passed and I've tried to get back to normalcy--you know, cleaning, a bit more cooking, more cleaning. I even got to the cinema (Hot Fuzz is very fun, btw). What am I most pleased with?Pleasure reading.As a treat to myself--a bit of literary tourism, if you will--I bought Georgeanne Brennan's A Pig in Provence , and have been enjoying a mini holiday in Provence. If you haven't read it yet, it's a very sweet and easy reminiscence of discovering Provence: making goat's cheese, buying pigs, truffle hunting. Brennan's writing is light and evokes wonderful imagery. You could finish it in an evening--it's not very long.I must admit that I'm predisposed to this sort of book. I devoured Peter Mayle and Tim Parks years ago and Bill Bryson has a home on my shelves.Georgeanne's book made me realize I've not been anywhere in three years. Quite depressing, really. So...I've decided that after m...
More About: Reviews , Chicken , Rove , Oven

Let them eat...
2007-05-03 05:03:00
...cuppycakes!This week my kitchen was a little cuppycake-making factory. Well...okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I did make many little cakelettes...all destined for the office.This week a very wonderful person decided, after 30 years at the company, it was time to retire. We'll miss her wisdom, sense of humour and down-to-earth nature--any woman (of a certain age) who still harbours lusty thoughts for men in uniform (specifically motorcycle cops' jodhpurs and "fantasy boots") is a gem.As a special thank you for everything she's done, I whipped up a bunch of my vanilla cupcakes, topped them with pastel-tinted royal icing (pale rose, blue and lavender) and sprinkled rose petals, sugary flowers lavender on top.The other cupcake event was my sixth anniversary at my current company. Our tradition is that we bring in the treats (unless it's a surprise or a major milestone). Given the recent warm weather, light and sunshiney lemon poppyseed cakes came into fruition.The tex...
More About: Baking , Sweets

Beanie gets his chicken
2007-04-27 05:13:00
A few weeks ago a certain little kitty of mine posted a plaintive request for some chicken. He can be rather obsessive when it comes to poultry in general. He just *knows* when there's a chicken in the house: KFC (yuch), leftover Buffalo wings, frozen homemade pot pies cause him to gallop around and miao, chirrup and paw incessantly. Normally I don't give in to such things, but I "accidentally" roasted "too many" chicken pieces (lemon, butter, rosemary, salt and pepper). I held back a couple of drumsticks for the dear cat, and put them in the fridge for his later munching. I snapped these photos (action shots, surely!). The first picture was his expression when I told him that he was getting some chicken...you can read the disbelief on his fuzzy little face. I also caught him in his after-snack grooming. The last photo is what I call the "Oh, I'm so full" shot. And in other news...I've finally updated my blog links. As usual, these are blogs I visit on as regular a basis as I...
More About: Chicken , Odds and Sods

International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day
2007-04-25 04:58:00
Thanks to the exbf I found out about Intern ational Pixel -Stained Technopeasant Day (which coincidentally is both St. George's Day and William Shakespeare's birth and death day), a day to embrace your inner technopeasanthood. What's it all about? Read Jo Walton's post here and the post that started it all here.So what am I doing participating in this event? Well, I'm not a SFWA member, but I have had several pieces published hither and yon (far too dull to talk about so I won't). Besides this comment (and response) is all I needed to delve into the back-up discs to participate.For those of you who know me in real life, you know that I've been tinkering away at a novel. Bits of it have been posted on-line, but I thought this snippet would be fun to bring back. Yes, for those of you who are fans of my conversations with my mummy will recognize Sophia and her mum, Mrs. K...not a verbatim of a conversation with my dear Mummy, but, you know, it's awfully close to something that ha...
More About: Peas , Sant

I bought a packet of biscuits...
2007-04-22 18:52:00
...and they gave me this beautiful pair of shoes, which are magically in my size!Well, that's what I'm telling people anyway. As part of their opening week enticement, a new shoe shop gave away a packet of biscuits with every purchase. I also got a gorgeous pair of black boots.Anyway, apologies for my short absence. I thought it would only be a day or two...If you've been reading me for the past few months, you know that I've been having computer problems. Well...basically as soon as I got my last assignment off to my prof, my laptop decided that it really didn't want to connect to the Internet anymore. I packed Zippy off and TFE poked and prodded it and then decided to wipe it clean and start fresh. Zippy came home on Wednesday or Thursday. It was scary how much mail built up in those few days--20 minutes of download time...on highspeed...I'd hate to think how long it would take to do that on my dial-up connexion. I've been slowly restoring my files (if you haven't ...
More About: Biscuits , Packet , Pack

A little treat for me
2007-04-14 23:32:00
45 minutes ago I submitted my final assignment for the term. Ethics courses are fun but a bit draining.To celebrate this little milestone, this is what I'll be tucking into: Dufflet's key lime tart. It's amazing what ends up in your basket while stepping out for a litre of milk...cheers!jasmineadd this page to del.icio.us This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence.
More About: Sweets , Treat , Litt

Poor Yolkie..
2007-04-13 23:56:00
...we knew him well.Behold, the last Cadbury Creme Egg from my office's tuck shop.He will be put out of his misery soon...probably on Sunday, after I've submitted my final assignment for this class. cheers!jasminetags: Cadbury's Easteradd this page to del.icio.us This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence.
More About: Holidays , Sweets , Chocolate , Poor

Feast: Easter Supper
2007-04-09 21:20:00
Every Easter supper I try and go for something different, something I've never tried before. This is usually the time for first: the first roast chicken, the first leg of lamb, the first prime rib (etc). This year I was truly at a loss as to what I could do. No, I'm nowhere close to have cooked everything at least once, but I was looking for something a bit more fun than normal.Then I remembered Meeta's Monthly Mingle theme: Arabian Nights. Apart from the "usual suspects" -- hummus, tabouli, baba ganouj--I've not really done a lot with Arabic-inspired foods. Well, one thing led to another, and I ended up with a hodgepodge of dishes from--or at least inspired from--various areas of the Mediterranean. These ideas and recipes were gleaned from a number of sources--Nigella Lawson, Claudia Roden, Nigel Slater, Delia Smith and a number of web searches:My version of Jazar Bil Camoun Wal Toum (Carrot salad with Cumin and Garlic) used parsnips and carrots. Given my recent Savour the Seas...
More About: Holidays , Cats , Vegetables , Desserts

Happy Easter!
2007-04-08 02:56:00
Yes, these are probably the funniest-looking hot cross buns around, but they are also pretty tasty.I guess I applied too much pressure while cutting the "x" into the buns...oh well. TFE looked at the picture and thought they were what was left after the alien face-hugger escaped. Thanks, Dear.I'll probably make them again this week and, if I do, I'll let you know how they turn out. Anyway, don't let my knife-happy ways put you off this particular recipe by Delia Smith...my previous (pre-digital camera) versions were nice and round, and had a nice little indent for the cross...For another recipe, and a bit of a history lesson on these spiced buns, try this link at Eras of Elegance.cheers!jasminetags: Easter add this page to del.icio.us This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence.
More About: Holidays , Baking , Happy , Aster

Feast: The exbf's birthday supper
2007-04-06 04:56:00
I suppose it's not a bad thing to start off with dessert, but I suppose it's only fair to share what the exbf wanted for his birthday supper.Normally we head out to the restaurant of his choice, but this year he wanted barbecue. Unfortunately, neither one of us could think of a barbecue place that's in town. The closest thing we could come up with were some really, really mediocre roadhouses.After some though, he realised what he really wanted were ribs...and my mum's corn fritters (sorry, can't share that recipe).Before January, I'd never made ribs before in my life. Cravings for such meaty morsels were rare and satisfied with by ribfests or some mid-ish priced restaurants, usually on road trips.What got me making ribs (the first time, at least) was a sale--a great culinary motivator, I think. I took home a slab or rack or a ribcage or whatever they call them and did some research and experimented with making a spice rub, based on a couple of recipes I found online. Wel...
More About: Birthday , Supper , Feast , Suppe

Big white fluffy clouds
2007-04-02 00:40:00
I'm not much of a cake decorator. The vast majority of gateaux I make keep unadorned until they are served and then they are accompanied with a scoop of ice cream, some chocolate or caramel sauce, or a big dollop of flavoured whipped cream. Cupcakes usually meet a similar fate.I find cake decorating frustrating. I know about crumb-coats and all that, but I just am not good at dolloping and smoothing. i end up with mounds of crumb and cream which, in frustration gets showered with coloured sprinkly bits.I know it's a matter of patience and practice (both qualities of which I'm in short supply) so generally the only time I attempt frosted frippery is when there's a reason: a birthday, an anniversary or, well, I get inspired.I'm always in awe of the talents some people have when it comes to edible artwork. They don't have to be as ornate as the ones Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes makes, they can just be very simply frosted.So...when it came time for the exbf's birthday a few w...
More About: Baking , White , Desserts , Chocolate , Clouds

Savour the Season: Parsnips
2007-03-30 00:15:00
Parsnips (Pastinaca savita), elicit either love or a polite, yet patient smile. Boiled, mashed, fried or roasted, parsnips are versatile pale golden, carrot-like veggies that are winter staples.HistoryParsnips are native to western Asia and Europe and have been eaten there for more than 2000 years. Wild parsnips are small, woody and inedible, but perhaps because of their natural sweetness and parsnippy scent, they may have been used as a flavouring agent. Over years of cultivation, farmers tweaked them to be larger?and, well?edible.The Roman Emperor Tiberius had them brought from the Rhine to Rome, where encouraged farmer to cultivate them. Unfortunately, it?s difficult to truly gauge how they were used in Classical cooking as Greek and Roman writers used the term ?pastinaca? for both carrots and parsnips. As with many things of a certain form, Ancient Romans imbued them with aphrodisiac-like powers.Mediaeval Europeans found two important uses for parsnips?they served double duty as...
More About: Season , Seas

SHF #29: A bread pudding for my mummy
2007-03-27 04:08:00
"Hi Mummy ! It's me!""Oh Jasmine! How is Beanie?""Beanie thinks he's starving.""Of course he does--because you don't feed him. How's little Hagia?""She's okay. She has night duty, so I don't see her that much.""And Zeusie?""I think he's okay. I haven't seen him in a couple of weeks.""Mmmmm...""How are things there? How's Daddy?""It is so hot here. During the day it is 85. I have to bath so many times. Daddy is only coughing a few times at night.""Well, that's better. I have a question. Do you have any of those cocoa beans left?""Oh yes. Go downstairs into the basement. Go into the room under the kitchen. The are in the near buckets. NOT the far ones.""Okay, thanks.""Why, what are you going to do?""I wanted to make a pudding.""Oh, I ground some beans and put them in the kitchen. Use that. It's easier than grinding them yourself.""Oh. Okay. Where did you put them?""In the cupboard.""Uh huh. In which cupboard?""The one next to the stove, on the top--you'll need the stool. Yo...
More About: Desserts , Sweets , Chocolate , Bread

Bits and bites
2007-03-23 04:59:00
Yes, my busy bees are back--any and every excuse to bring them back... Beanie updated you a bit as to what's going on over here on my side of the screen--he can be such a good boy sometimes.Well, until I can get a "real" post up, here are a few things for you think aboutDorie Greenspan has a blog! Okay, I'm probably the last person in foodbloggerdom to know this. It's not totally food related, so it gives you an idea as to what she's been up to. If you're not sure who she is or why I'm happy to have found her blog, here's my review of her latest tome.SHF #29: Raw chocolate approacheth...Emily of Chocolate in Context is hosting this month and she's picked a great theme: unrefined chocolate. Not sure what that's all about? Read her post to find out. Participation deadline is 26 March.I need to live vicariously through someone...but not just anyone. No, the person I'll live vicariously through is someone who will take a cooking course in Italy with Faye of Fayefood the week o...
More About: Bits , Bite