Eating the Earth

I love to work with items from scratch so if I'm going to make a stew or a soup, I start at the beginning. If I don't have all day, I may start with a good quality low salt stock, ideally vegetable, chicken, or beef.

For this stew in picture, I was going for a really Earthy flavor... it was the fall and I wanted something warm and comforting.

I started with sauteeing the onions and garlic (fresh)- then adding the liquid- If I had hours to spend- I would use little bits of vegetables that could be cooked down into a flavorful broth- or I could even use bones from a whole chicken or turkey- (the bones give off incredible depth of flavor and are incredibly nutritious) 

The beans are best done from scratch- which requires that you soak them the night before and then cook them for at least an hour the next day. Fresh beans have such a nice crunch to them- and you have so much control over how much you cook them. Beans in cans are usually very mushy- which is fine if you are in a hurry, but don't underestimate the power of fresh.

The herbs I used in this stew were a mixture of dried and fresh---- I love Herb de Provence, I love Rosemary- dried and fresh. I love Fresh Thyme.

My rule of thumb is- if it is going to cook long- use dry--- and then when you are almost done- throw in the minced fresh herbs- or use as a garnish after it is served. Certain herbs need to be fresh, like cilantro- unless of course you get the dried cilantro which is better for cooking soups and sauces and things that require a longer cook time. Don't use fresh cilantro in a long cooking item- the flavors will leech out of the cilantro and you will be left with wilted stringy pieces---- it's not that you cannot do it, its that the best part of the cilantro is the FRESH kick, and the flavor profile- which is ideal when freshly chopped or thrown into a salad. It doesn't do well in cooked stews and things- unless added in later in the cooking process.

In this stew in the picture, I definitely used DRIED CUMIN  which reminds me of home. I don't know what that even means, but the spice makes me feel like I'm connected to a place in my ancestry that is really comfortable. That makes sense to me because I am part Colombian and cumin is a spice they use a lot.

I think it is interesting to try and figure out what spices really call to you- and to cook from the soul.