VRC: Cardamom

I love the smell of cardamom. Only, I don't cook with it. Almost never. There it sits, lonely and usually unopened. But I keep it around, just in case. To encourage me to try these orphaned spices, I've decided to devote one VRC a month to a different herb or spice.

When I began to look around for recipes (check out Gourmet Sleuth for good information on cardamom), I realized I was somewhat limited because what I have on hand is dried ground cardamom, not the green pods. Wanting to use what was already in my cabinet rather than running out and buying something else, I searched for recipes using ground cardamom - it was certainly disappointing to bypass all the other wonderful-looking recipes, but I found some yummy-sounding recipes, nonetheless.

Apparently folks found this a bit limiting, because I didn't receive many entries. I contemplated leaving this up for another week, but instead, we'll go ahead with the next ingredient, but leave this one open for anyone who would like to contribute. If you make a late submission, I will make sure to point it out in a current posting.

Still, low turnout aside, I very much enjoyed cooking with cardamom and will continue to seek out recipes. In fact, I feel the need for an "Indian" themed week coming on - all of these aromas have me craving Indian food again. And my boys love it, so why not??

Joe from Culinary in the Desert submitted two recipes
Cardamom-Date Snack Cake

andChicken and Basmati Rice Pilau with Saffron, Spinach and Cardamom

My heart goes out to Jill over at Glossy Veneer. Her cooking plan were put on hold while they fought a flood in the middle of the desert. I assured her that she would be included. I can't wait to hear how they turn out once she's able to get back in the kitchen.

Orange Cardamom Breakfast Rolls

Mmmm...I drink Chai each and every morning, so I was excited about
the entry from Sailu's FoodElachi Chai

And finally from my own kitchen, 2 recipes:

Currant and Cardamom Oatmeal Cookies

and

Harira with Roasted Onion

That's it for VRC: Cardamom, but feel free to continue to submit entries.

Announcing VRC: Potatoes (2/19/06)

And now, to announce next week's ingredient AND hostess. That's right, Biscuit Girl over at You Gonna Eat All That? has graciously offered to be my first guest hostess. As guest hostess, you post the round-up on your own blog and, even better, you get to pick the ingredient. Biscuit Girl has chosen potatoes. Mmmmmm....with all of this wintery weather upon us, I'm envisioning a nice gratin, but the possibilities are endless. I love potatoes and can't wait to see the entries for this one. I expect this user-friendly ingredient might draw lots of participants, much like the soups and stews. So, submit your potato recipes to Biscuit Girl and hop on over to her blog next Sunday to check out the inevitably delicious round-up.

Virtual Recipe Club : VRC: Cardamom : cardamom : recipes