Once you get to know me and my recipes, you’ll soon find out that I am pretty predictable. I used to pride myself in using crazy ingredients and experimenting in the kitchen with avant-garde type of flavor combinations, but then I thought to myself, hey, who am I kidding? You can almost play “where’s waldo?” with my recipes and look out to see if you can spot certain ingredients over and over again. But as long as the food tastes good, what’s so wrong with that, right? Here are two of my personal favorite ingredients I always have on hand.
Don’t get me wrong, I like my tumeric, saffron and cumin as much as the next person, but sometimes, when I feel like something’s lacking flavor in any given recipe, I’ll simply throw in either a little sweetness or spice to remedy that problem.
I am not a health nut and have nothing against sugar. In fact, I currently have 3 different types of sugars sitting on my pantry shelf, but my current favorite sweetener is the ever increasing in popularity, agave nectar. I used to always reach for Mr. honey bear, but honey has such a distinct floral taste and sometimes you don’t want that particular taste or thick consistency in your dish. That’s why lately, you’ll find me taking a trip to Costco to buy agave nectar in a 3-pack, just to make sure I always have plenty available at all times.
why i love agave nectar:
I first discovered agave a few years ago when I was working at Whole Foods and that’s what the barista there would make me put in my morning coffee instead of sugar or artificial sweeteners. Agave nectar is a natural syrup made from the sap of the blue agave plant. It has been around for generations in Mexican cuisine, but is growing in popularity lately everywhere else, because it’s a little healthier than sugar. You can also use less of it. Generally speaking, if a recipe tells you to use 3 teaspoons of sugar, you can substitute by using about 2 teaspoons of agave and get the same amount of sweetness.
There’s no bitter aftertaste like in artificial sweeteners and the light colored agave is great for cooking because it tastes similar to honey, but is not as strong. The light color just means it has been filtered more, versus the darker colored kind, which means it was filtered less, and has a bolder taste. I like to use agave to flavor sauces, marinades, dressings and just about anything that needs a little sweet boost.
As much as I can keep going on and on about agave, I think my all-time favorite ingredient might have to be crushed red chili flakes. I always liked it on my pizza, but truly fell in love with this spice when I was working for an Italian chef who always kept it on her counter in a ramekin. Since then, I now do the same thing and use it nearly every other day.
why i love crushed red chili flakes:
I used to think that since this is a spice I see in a lot of Italian cooking, that I had to use it only when I made Italian food. Then I came to realize how Universal it is- literally, and that it’s great in anything from Asian to French food. Anytime I need just a hint of heat, but don’t want to cry, I grab for my ramekin full of crushed red peppers.
They are what you think they are. They are made from crushed dried red peppers…seeds and all. They are not made from just one type of red pepper, but a variety. That’s why they’re hot, but not TOO hot. I love to infuse them in olive oil or throw them in a cream sauce to balance out that richness with a little zing. I love to add it in my tomato sauce, to make a spicy arrabiata sauce, or to anything else from scrambled eggs to fried rice!
So, in conclusion, as you can tell, I love my sweet and spice. These are both pretty common every day ingredients, but to me, they’re usually the stars of the show…. the prom queen and king. Let me know if you like these guys too, and which other ingredients you can’t live without.
