Amanda Bevill - World Spice at Home

SMALL BITES

SOUPS & STEWS

VEGETABLES & GRAINS

SHELLFISH & SEAFOOD

MEAT & POULTRY

SWEETS & BREADS

FINISHING TOUCHES

To Julie for leading the way in this wonderful adventure in cooking and creativity. My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to James for eating and to Max for reading; I couldnt have done it without you. Special appreciation goes out to all my creative colleagues and customers at World Spice Merchants, most especially Holly, Robert, and Sherriethanks for making the spice magic happen.

AMANDA BEVILL

To Amanda for opening up my world of spice and taking this journey of writing a book together. To my husband, Harker, and three boys, Reilly, Konrad, and Andrew, for expanding their tastes and willingness to try new things. To my mom, who is my mentor and my cheerleader, and to my dad for his ongoing support!

JULIE KRAMIS HEARNE

We would like to thank everyone at Sasquatch Booksespecially Gary Luke, our publisher. Thank you for believing in us and bringing this book to fruition. To Em Gale and Lisa Gordanier for their attention to detail. To Anna Goldstein and Joyce Hwang for their art direction and great vision, and to Charity Burggraaf for taking amazing photographs.

AB & JKH

Even before Europeans figured out that the world was round, they set sail looking for spices. Flavors had been trickling down the Silk Road for centuries, whetting their appetites. And as they sailed off toward the edge of the world, the global melting pot of spices really began to stir. Aromatic cloves and nutmeg emerged from the Spice Islands, mixed with black pepper and cardamom from India, cumin and coriander from Arabia, and then chiles from the Americas. Within the historical blink of an eye, spices once found only in a single, remote location became infused into the cuisines of every continent. Pepper once traded for a price above gold.

The lure of spices reaches beyond the flavoring of a dish in ways that remain as enticing today as they were centuries ago. The same temptation that launched thousands of trading ships from the docks still beckons, and it reaches us first and foremost through the nose. The sense of smell touches ancient triggers in the deep recesses of our brains, invoking emotions and memories without the intervening bother of thought. Spices are exotic, mysterious, and even sexy. One whiff can instantly transport you anywhere, from the spice bazaars of Morocco to the fields of lavender of Provence to the jungles of India. They evoke sensations of love at first sniff, and this is the essence that spices add to our food.

Take a peek inside your average spice pantry and you will likely find a lineup of the usual suspectssome of which may have been handed down a generation. All too often the spice pantry is a corner of the cabinet that only gets opened for a token pinch of this or that, and within it youll find only a small fraction of the endless possibilities. Even adventurous cooks may find themselves with just one recipe for that special ingredient and are left wondering what to do with the rest. The jars stack up, unused.

Inspired by World Spice Merchants, this cookbook was designed to change that. Nestled below Pike Place Market on the Seattle waterfront, World Spice Merchants has been a hub of flavor explorations since 1995. It is a modern day spice bazaar representing a different kind of spice pantryvibrant, diverse, and exploding with flavor; a pantry that changes with the seasons and is used so often the doors are always open. From any one of the hundreds of spices and blends on the shelves, we can create many dishes, making the flavor possibilities endless.

World Spice at Home is not intended to teach the art of any ethnic cuisine, though it does feature some of the most popular spice blends from around the world. The key to using spices easily in everyday cooking is to experiment and cook outside the box. Who says you have to make curry with curry? Not us. Chinese five-spice is classically used to make Peking duck, but how about using it in cake or cookies, on pork tenderloin or spiced nuts, or even to add a kick to your next platter of chicken wings? Journey through the spice descriptions, tips, techniques, and recipes in this book and learn to use spices in everyday cooking with confidence, creativity, and ease. The possibilities are endless, and we will open the door to the world of spices and welcome you in.