Category Archives: Food Knowledge & History

About the history of food, and knowledge I’ve gained about the foods I use.

The Paleo Diet, Why it is a Fad and Why it’s not Healthy

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Kitchen Shaman

  I have a friend who came over the other night, and it was dinner time. I asked if she wanted to eat with us. I was cooking Mushroom Veggie burgers with all the fixings. The burgers had rice and … Continue reading →

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Arrowroot and It’s Companions

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Kitchen Shaman

  When we think of thickeners, classic French cooking comes to mind with a mixture called roux. Roux involves butter and flour.  The butter is melted and the flour added to the butter and then cooked until the flour loses … Continue reading →

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Questions and Answers about Vegans and Vegetarians

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Kitchen Shaman

 1) How do you get nutrients in a vegan/vegetarian diet? 2) Why don’t vegans eat honey? 3) Isn’t being vegan just like being a vegetarian? These are the tops questions that come up in discussions about vegan cuisine. It is … Continue reading →

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The Golden Spice, Turmeric

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Kitchen Shaman

Turmeric is called the Golden Spice. It is a root, a rhizome of a plant in the ginger family. Turmeric is used as a spice, a coloring, and an healing herb. Its uses date back at least 4,000 years. Turmeric … Continue reading →

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Next Course: King Quinoa

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Kitchen Shaman

Save the Date: September 4th, 2011, 5:30 p.m. I’ll be teaching a class on quinoa — how to make it, how to spice it up, what to serve it with, and I’ll have the nutritional facts and history of quinoa. … Continue reading →

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Following the Spice: Cumin

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Kitchen Shaman

4th in a series about spices In ancient times, cumin was as common a spice as black pepper is on our tables today. Used as a condiment, baked in bread, and distributed widely, cumin seed generated several fascinating myths and … Continue reading →

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The Spice Road: Coriander

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Kitchen Shaman

3′d in a series about Spices Certain foods inspire strong reactions in people.  For example, many people either love or hate cilantro.  Its prevalence in salsas and Mexican sauces make it easily recognizable to most diners. On the other hand, … Continue reading →

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The Heat of Ginger

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Kitchen Shaman

Ginger: 2nd in a series about Spices Ginger is a root, the rhizome of Zingiber Officinale, and grows in fertile, moist soil (definitely not where I come from). Unlike most spices when ginger is used fresh, not dried, it is … Continue reading →

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Spicing up your Cuisine: Exploring the World of Spices

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Kitchen Shaman

1st in a series about Spices Spices make up the “palette” of a chef. They have a long and intriguing story of travel; how they spread out from a point of origin to all over the globe. Each culture treats … Continue reading →

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What’s in a Pod? Tamarind

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Kitchen Shaman

Tamarind. You may or may not have heard of it. It comes as a concentrated dry or wet pulp, as a gooey concentrate that is almost black, or in whole pods. Tamarind, in whatever form, carries a weighty nutritional and … Continue reading →

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