May 1st is my ‘last frost date’ here in my area of Washington. May 5th is the ‘safe’ last frost date, but the weather forecast for the next several week has 43 as the lowest temp, so I think we are good to go for the year. On Friday, May 1st, I direct seeded my peas, beans, bok choi, shimanato onions, guardsman onions, parsely, dill, chives, and cucumbers. I also moved my tomatos, tomatillos and jalapenos to 1 gallon pots, and trellised the tomatoes and tomatillos. I started the hardening off process as well. They are all in my little garden wagon now and will spend the days outside and the nights in the garage somewhat near the furnace to stay warm.
I’ll post up some photos of them when I have time to take some. Hopefully they will be hardened off and ready for transplanting this weekend, if not sooner. The weather is supposed to be cloudy and cool all week, which is good for transplanting.
I’ve gotten a few requests to blog or otherwise write down a few of my recipes and to also go through the different spices that I have in my pantry and talk about them.. what I use them for, etc. I’m calling this series ‘Spices’ even though some of these are actually dried herbs, and not spices. I’ll be going through each of the spices (and herbs) in my spice drawer.
As you can see, a good organizational system is key. The 24 6oz jars in the photo above are my ‘main’ spices. I have 30 or so additional ones that are much more infrequently used. Things like cream of tarter and gumbo file (fee-lay) aren’t used enough to hang out in my spice drawer. Not only does this keep you organized, but it let’s you see immediately what you have on hand.
You know pretty quickly when those fresh herbs are no longer so fresh. That black pile of decayed matter in the plastic bag in the bottom of your fridge is a sure sign that poor unrecognizable herb is past its prime. Dried herbs and spices though, aren’t nearly as ‘vocal’ about their expiry dates, but that doesn’t mean they don’t lose steam with age. Different spices have different shelf life, but whole spice berries keep much longer than ground spices, which means they’ll taste a lot better when you use them. A good pestle and mortar or electric spice/coffee grinder is all you need to turn the whole berries into ground spices. Both sell for $10-$25 and are well worth it. I actually recommend you have both. The electric makes short work of cumin and other hard spices that take more effort with a pestle and mortar. On the other hand, crushing fresh garlic into your spices works much better with a pestle and mortar. Minerals are about the only ‘spice’ you don’t really need to worry about. Salts stay good for a pretty long time, as long as they are pure (meaning they haven’t been mixed with something.. like truffle salt).
On average, some people will tell you to throw out your ground spices every 6 months, and your whole spices once a year. I don’t really buy this. Yes, spices do lose their power with time, but they don’t really lose enough to warrant tossing them out completely. At least not every 6 months. You may need to add more though with older spices. If you are baking (which requires very precise measurements) go with new spices so you know the right amount is getting added. If you are cooking, add more until it tastes good. If at all possible, buy everything whole. Some things don’t come whole.. like cream of tarter, but others like nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and of course black pepper, should always be purchased whole.
Most recipes call for ground spices in their measurements unless otherwise stated. Whole berries are generally much larger in volume than they are ground. Take a little bit more than you think you need and grind that in the pestle/mortar or grinder and then measure it once ground. If you need more, grind more. Don’t be too worried about ending up with a lot of wasted spices though.
A good habit is to write the purchase date on the bottle of a spice when you open it. This will give you a good indication of its strength down the road.