Keep your Feet in the Street

The ingredient for this week is ginger, a spice that's near and dear to my heart. Way back in the good ole days, I did an Ayervedic ginger cure for my asthma. I had to puree ginger root with a minimum of water and drink it like a shot, twice a day. It felt like a shot a Tequila going down, nice and warm.

For this recipe, I made roasted cauliflower.
I cut up one head of cauliflower and made this "rub" to toss it with.

Ginger Roasted Cauliflower

preheat oven to 425°

2Tablspoons roasted peanut oil
1" piece of ginger root, sliced.
1 large clove of garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 Teaspoon Garam Masala
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Blend those all in a small food processor. Toss with cauliflower pieces.
Line a 9X13 pan with parchment paper to make for easy clean up.
Roast at 425° for about 20 minutes or until desired tenderness.

For a "small bite" you could use toothpicks. We just ate it as a veggie for dinner. You can also use the spice mixture as a rub for chicken.

I love ginger!

I was excited to get back to the Small Bites routine this week, after missing the two previous "challenges".
My idea was to make something like Sedish Meatballs, using mushrooms. Upside--they were really tasty. Downside --they looked awful, but so do Swedish Meatballs. Another problem was they were so difficult to handle to form. They worked as little patties--think sliders without a bun. Well here's the recipe:

Mushroom Balls/sliders

Makes about 16.

They're very light and I didn't mind the lack of sauce, at all. Each one is about 2 bites.

What can be done to make them prettier?

I have been loving this photo sine I took it in Venice in July 2008. I was sitting on the ground, waiting in line for the Basilica San Marco to open, early in the morning. When I saw this woman's footwear, paired with her Disney bag, I just had to snap a quick shot. Finally, it's useful.

Pecans are a big deal here in the South. They grow all over Tallahassee; our friends the Watkins have a beautiful grove of pecan trees on their land in Monticello. These, I bought at the Farmers market, yesterday.

This recipe is a slight variation on an Ina Garten one that my friend Cecelia often makes with cashews. I decided to mix the nuts half and half. I used about 2 cups each of cashews and pecans.

Savory Smokey Nuts

Roast the nuts in a shallow baking dish at 375 for about 12 minutes--until they just begin to take on a little color.

Meanwhile in a large bowl combine:

1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Toss the hot nuts with the above mixture.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Watch out! They are totally addictive.

I took the easy route for goat cheese. The best thing is that we can buy, at New Leaf Market, the fabulous, luxurious, fresh and tasty goat cheese from Sweet Grass Dairy in nearby Thomasville Georgia. All I did was buy a ready made pizza crust (like Boboli) and spread the goat cheese on it-- then baked it like it says on the back of the package. After it was warm, I put a bunch of arugala on top, cut it into appropriately bite sized pieces and there you go. Here's an appetizer even Rachel Ray would love: