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Authors spice up everyday dishes

By Kim Davaz

Sara Engram and Katie Luber love spices and herbs. They use the term spices to mean both spices and herbs. Some chefs consider the seeds and bark of plants to be spices and the leaves and stems to be herbs. Let’s not quibble. Call them all spices and use them often.

Engram and Luber love spices so much, they started a company that makes little one-teaspoon packets sold online at tspspices .com and through stores such as Smart Spice. (You can find them in Portland at Zupan’s Market.) All are organic.

To encourage you to venture into the flavorful and aromatic world of spice cookery, Engram and Luber, with Kimberly Toqe, have written “The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking With Organic Spices.” Occasional color photographs show closeups of finished dishes, spice blends and dishes in progress.

The book begins with an encyclopedia of spice basics, including each ingredient’s history and use.

The recipes often have variations, suggesting alternate herbs or other ingredient changes. Tucked in here and there are tips, odd facts, herb lore and literary references.

Gingerbread Waffles from “Breakfast” would be delicious Thanksgiving morning if your kitchen is large enough to accommodate a turkey preparer as well as a waffle maker. Don’t ask someone to do both.

The waffles freeze well, so you could make them ahead and reheat them.

The recipe directions say to preheat the waffle iron, then spray it with cooking spray. The very helpful customer service representative at ConAgra foods, producer of PAM cooking spray, says never to spray a hot surface with a pressurized cooking spray. For safety, spray the cold waffle iron before heating.

Serve the waffles with syrup, applesauce or lemon curd and whipped cream. Sounds like a fine dessert to me. A scoop of ice cream might be nice, too.

If you’ve been thinking about trying spices but weren’t sure how to start, “The Spice Kitchen” offers lots of encouragement and information.

I made macaroni and cheese from “Entrees” for a group that can be quite picky about macaroni and cheese. It was a success. This recipe is so much easier and faster because you don’t have to boil the macaroni first.

I omitted the chili pepper and anise seed, and the basil in the topping, because I wanted it to be as close as possible in flavor to my group’s familiar mac and cheese.

Recipe variations suggest substituting fennel for the anise and tarragon for the basil, or adding a teaspoon of mild chili pepper and omitting the breadcrumb topping. How about omitting the spices and using Pepper Jack cheese?

A half cup equals 2 ounces of the macaroni I had, so I used 4 cups of dry macaroni. For the dairy, I used 2 percent milk and regular (4 percent fat) cottage cheese.

The dish was very creamy and delicious. One of my testers mentioned that the macaroni was completely cooked but not mushy, a plus for him. I would make this again in a second.

Macaroni and Cheese

• 1 cup cottage cheese (not low-fat)
• 2 cups milk (not skim)
• 1 teaspoon ground mild chili pepper
• 1 teaspoon anise seed
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
• 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated
• 1/2 pound elbow pasta, uncooked
• 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Blend the cottage cheese, milk, chili pepper, anise seed, mustard, salt and pepper in a blender until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the Cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese and pasta. Grease an 8-inch square or round baking dish. Pour the pasta mixture into the dish. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.

While the macaroni and cheese is baking, mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and basil in a small bowl.

Add the oil and toss to combine. Remove the macaroni and cheese from the oven and carefully stir. Evenly sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top of the macaroni and cheese. Return the macaroni and cheese to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until browned. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 6 to 8.

Kim Davaz writes a biweekly cookbook review column for The Register-Guard.

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