Let’s Spice Things Up!

Thanksgiving is two days away and it’s time for turkey and stuffing and all things wonderful. It’s also a time the grocery stores put their spices on sale and you can try some new ones without it costing you a fortune. Last year I tried Garam Masala which is really blend of spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cumin and other spices mixed together. I really liked the unique taste and I’ve incorporated it into a lot of my cooking.

So this year I bought white pepper and roasted ginger. I know, I know, everyone has white pepper but for some reason I had never tried it. I also found a new spice called “roasted” ginger to be kind of interesting since I am a huge ginger fan. I mean I even like to eat dried ginger just because I think it tastes good and I love how it lulls you into thinking it is really sweet only to hit you with its spiciness at the end. Anyway, two new spices and they didn’t cost me a fortune. Life is good!

The first thing I always do when I get a new spice is to simply try it out of the bottle. I decided I would try the white pepper first since I had seen so many recipes that used it. Ah, now I get it. It really does have a different kind of unexpected heat that black pepper simply doesn’t muster. I know I will be finding lots of fun ways to use it.

Now on to the roasted ginger. I never really thought about roasting ginger and I would have no clue how to do it, so the roasted ginger really sounded interesting. It looked a little darker than the ground ginger and boy, what a difference in flavor. Regular ginger has a kind of fresh, light flavor which starts out pungent and heats up as you use more of it. The roasted ginger has a really earthy flavor and it gets right to the heat without any build up at all. This spice is really going to be fun! I also knew I wanted to try one more recipe for the blueberry contest. Ah, the sacrifices I make. It really couldn’t have to do with the fact that I love blueberries and I love finding more excuses to eat them. So I decided to use my new spices in a recipe for a blueberry-coconut barbeque sauce and pair the sauce with some meaty pork ribs and an apple slaw which also incorporates the roasted ginger and shredded coconut. Another success and for all kinds of wonderful blueberry recipes to try go to     

http://www.blueberrycouncil.org/

Blueberry-Coconut Spiced Pork Ribs with a Sweet Apple Slaw

2 tablespoon coconut oil

¼ cup diced onion

1 small jalapeno pepper, finely diced

¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar

¼ cup ketchup

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon roasted ginger

½ teaspoon white pepper

¼-½ cup coconut milk

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1 to 1½lbs pork short ribs

Salt and pepper

Slaw

2 honey crisp apples, julienned

¼ cup fresh blueberries

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons coconut milk

½ teaspoon roasted ginger

2 tablespoons sweetened, shredded coconut

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon citrus balsamic vinegar 

In a sauce pan, sauté onion and jalapeno in coconut oil, over medium heat until tender. Add vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, ginger , white pepper and ¼ cup coconut milk. Stir sauce until it starts to bubble and add blueberries. Reduce heat and simmer sauce for 30 minutes. Add additional coconut milk, as needed. (Sauce may be strained or puréed, if desired)    

Place ribs in a shallow pan at 350 degrees. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Bake ribs for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and brush or pour some sauce over ribs. Return to oven and continue to bake for an additional 10 to20 minutes. (Ribs may be brushed with sauce during the remaining cooking time or served with additional sauce.) 

Apple Coconut Slaw

Combine sauce ingredients and gently fold in blueberries and apples. Serve with ribs.