The Earthy Delights Recipe Blog
Celebrating wild harvested, traditional & artisanal foods
If there is such a thing as Mexican soul food, this is it – carne con chile colorado, literally “meat with red-colored chile sauce.” For this year’s Cinco de Mayo celebration, honor the true spirit of Mexican cuisine by making this flavorful and well-loved dish. It’s easy to see where this dish gets its name – from the deep, reddish-brown color imparted by the flavorful dried chiles that are it’s most important ingredients. Dried ancho chile peppers are commonly used …
Deviled eggs are as familiar to most Americans as apple pie. Certainly, they have been a staple at picnics and family dinners for decades. During the week following Easter, the inevitable surplus of hard-boiled eggs makes deviled eggs practically a requirement in many households. But how did deviled eggs come about and where did they get their curious name? Eggs, of course, have been a source of food for thousands upon thousands of years. The mingling of spices with eggs …
Morel mushrooms. Asparagus. Fresh eggs. What do these ingredients have in common? They’re all traditional spring foods – and they all taste great together. This dish is a great way to celebrate the start of spring (and the end of winter). It’s just the thing for a leisurely weekend breakfast or casual brunch, and while our recipe serves just two, it’s easily scaled up for larger groups of any size. Instead of trying to twist it into some convoluted version …
Is your refrigerator bursting at its seams with dozens of bottles of hot sauce? Better make some room, because gochujang is a must-have ingredient for any thrill-loving heat-seeker. Gochujang is a bold and spicy Korean condiment that is on its way to becoming one of this year’s hottest ingredients. If it’s not already on your radar, you’ll soon be seeing it popping up on restaurant menus, but this robustly flavored red pepper paste has been around for centuries and is …
What’s in a name? In this case, an interesting (and amusing) story lies behind the name of this close cousin to the more familiar gnocchi. The Italian word malfatti literally means “badly made.” Whimsical names abound in Italian cookery, especially when it comes to pasta. For example, strozzapreti means “priest choker,” fazzoletti means “little handkerchiefs,” orechiette means “little ears,” and last but not least, farfalle meaning “butterflies.” In this country, malfatti have come to refer to something akin to a …
It’s easy to see where the Buddha’s Hand Citron gets its name. This unusually shaped citron’s most obvious features are the long, slender “fingers” projecting from the vibrantly yellow body of the fruit. No wonder that it’s also known as fingered citron. The other obvious feature of the fruit is its delicious fragrance, which has been described as a cross between a lemon and rose. In Asia, the Buddha’s Hand is often used as a sort of natural air freshener, …
It might seem counter-intuitive, but brining any cut of meat can make it significantly juicer and more tender. How? The brine increases the amount of moisture in the meat, allowing more of it to remain in the pork as it cooks. While some cuts can benefit from long brining times (up to 24 hours or more), even an hour of brining can produce a markedly moister, more flavorful pork chop. Various seasonings can be added to the brining mixture to …
You may not have ever thought about making your own vanilla extract, but it’s incredibly easy to do. Why would you want to make your own vanilla extract? Well, it’s less expensive, for one thing. For a modest investment, you can make enough high-quality vanilla extract to last you for years. For another, you’ll know that it’s 100% real vanilla extract – no artificial ingredients or flavorings. And you can make your own custom vanilla blends by varying or …
Here’s an interesting and tasty recipe that combines two of our fall favorites: wild rice and chestnuts. This satisfying dish is especially appropriate for festive holiday dinners, but it’s just as pleasing at any other time of the year. It’s inspired by a traditional Japanese rice dish, Kuri Gohan (literally, rice with chestnuts), but with a twist. North American wild rice adds a wonderfully chewy texture and nutty-woodsy flavor that harmonizes with the sweet chestnuts and toasted sesame seeds. While it makes a great side dish for any …
Is there any party food more perfect than nachos? First, nachos are meant to be shared with others. Second, their spicy heat demands a cool, fire-quenching beverage – preferably beer! There are no hard & fast rules regarding ingredients when making nachos. The only constants are tortilla chips, salsa and cheese – the rest is up to you. In the spirit of fun & experimentation, we used one of our favorite ingredients in all the world, dried morel mushrooms (but …