Plain Old Vanilla

When I was little, my favorite ice cream flavor was chocolate ... vanilla was too boring and strawberry was just too foreign. Of course this was a long time ago and in Trinidad when those were our only options, except for the local flavor which flavored with coconut and thickened with Birds Custard powder. While there was an abundance of sugar (and eggs) in Trinidad, heavy cream was non-existent and vanilla extract (most likey imitation not pure) was such a luxury that it was reserved for wedding cakes!

As I got older and learned there were more flavors to explore, "31" or so on a monthly basis, I still stuck with some variation of chocolate. Once I started cooking and experimenting with "fancy" desserts that called for pure vanilla extract or vanilla beans, I ate less chocolate ice-cream and more vanilla as I began to discover how complex something as simple as vanilla is.

Did you know ...

• Vanilla was first cultivated in Mexico, in the state that is currently known as Veracruz?
• Most of the world's vanilla comes from Madagascar, Indonesia, Mexico and Tahiti but is also grown in Costa Rica, India, Uganda and Jamaica?
• Vanilla is the only fruit-bearing member of the orchid family and is harvested only once a year?
• Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron due to the intensive manual labor needed to grow the vanilla pods?
• Flowering normally occurs in the spring and must be pollinated within 12 hours of the blossom opening ... all pollination is now done by hand since the only insect capable of doing this is the Melipona bee which is native to Mexico?
  
  

  

Not so ordinary now, huh? And all vanillas don't necessarily taste the same ... each of the major types of vanilla has it's own characteristics and suggested uses, for example:

Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla is an overall versatile vanilla with a rich, creamy mellow flavor and velvety overtones. It is ideal for baking and cooking -- sweet or savory. It is perfect in cakes, cookies and pastries. It adds a touch of sweetness to succulent seafood sauces or marinades and cuts the acidity of tangy tomato sauces.

Tahitan Vanilla has fruity, anisic notes that enhance fruit dishes such as cranberry sauce or cherries jubilee. Its delicate flavor is best used in recipes that do not require high heat such as refrigerated and frozen desserts, pastry creams, fruit pies and sauces, smoothies, shakes, puddings and custards.

Mexican Vanilla offers a deep spicy flavor and spices up citrus fruits such as lemons, limes and oranges but can also mellow out the bitterness of dark chocolate. It cuts the acidity and smooths out the heat in spicy tomato-based dishes. Try it in cookies, cakes, frozen desserts, barbecue and spaghetti sauces, and salsas.

Check out Nielsen-Massey's site for more cool info on vanilla!

Eating in South Africa

World Cup fever is still blazing at the office ... people are "working from home" so they can watch the important matches and the discussions about instant replays and bad ref calls get more and more heated every day. I don't mind ... the focus on World Cup reminds me of 9.5 glorious weeks I spent there ... working, meeting new friends, eating and drinking!

Here are some of the traditional food and drink of South Africa ... some of the pictures are mine, some are from the web.

The South African version of a barbecue is the "braai" (used to describe the meal, the process of cooking and the cooking area/tool). South Africans are fanatic about their braais ... within 24 hours I was invited to a braai, some of my co-workers were even showing off pictures of their braais. Most have dedicated areas of their homes set up for their braai ... so they can cook out in winter. One friend even had heated tiles in his braai. This is my friend Christopher (from NYC) getting ready to braai!

Another tradition South African meal is the potjiekos (pronounced poiki) which cooked in this three legged cast iron poiki pot which is either placed at the base of the braai or hung from a hook installed in the braai. The dish is layered, starting with meat, then potatoes and then vegetables. It was very yummy and takes about 2 hours to finish ... which goes by quickly when drinking South African wine!

This is a bunny chow ... no bunnies are ever harmed in the making of this dish. It is a quarter or half of a loaf of bread that is hollowed out and filled with curry (veggie, beef, chicken, mutton, etc). The idea is that you look like a bunny eating it. The one I had did not look this gourmet ... it was from a take out place and was absolutely delicious.

This is another thing South Africans are fanatical about ... biltong ... what we consider beef jerky. Everyone has their own special recipe ...their meat of choice, their spice blend and they method for curing and again. This was not my favorite ... but I tried it several times ... I had to!

I don't remember what this is called but it was good. This was on my last day and I guess they wanted to make sure I wouldn't starve on my long flight home!

There were so many other amazing things I ate in drank during my visit ... like rooibos tea which made me think of hibiscus, and Amarula, a cream liquer that is made from the marula tree ... this tastes a little like Baileys and I often had this for dessert. There were some other stuff that I didn't care for like boerewors, a dried sausage that was in the same category as biltong in my mind and mielies, the local starch that is made into a porridge (yuck)!