{adventures in the kitchen}

I spent the morning canning some small batches of beet & sage relish (from this book by Ashley English) and cinnamon apples (sort of a made-up recipe).  My fingers are stained with beet juice to prove it!

I think tomorrow I'll try my hand at canning a few half pint jars of Indian Pickled Carrots from the Urban Pantry cookbook because there are a bunch of spices used in the recipe that sound amazing - like eight different spices just for pickles.  Both the Ashley English canning book and Urban Pantry are full of ideas for stocking your kitchen with amazingly delicious food - I'm always excited to serve something I made myself.  I also appreciate that they give me reason to try new flavors and ingredients.  For instance, today I used horseradish in a recipe for the first time (in the beet relish)!  And I'm going to have to pick up my first bottle of fenugreek seeds for the pickled carrots.

Are you adventurous in the kitchen?  I'd love to hear about your favorite ingredients or cookbooks - maybe I can give them a try!