When Sunita announced that she was inviting guest hosts for her event, Think Spice, Think….., I thought it would be nice to host an event even if it was somebody else’s idea. I immediately wrote to her and she agreed. I was quite thrilled with the whole idea of playing host to a food blog event.
It was at the beginning of June that I realised that I didn’t have a clue as to how to go about it. I had to choose a spice (this was the easiest part), do a write up and make a logo (how do all those hosts come up with such beautiful ones?). I still don’t know how they do this. Any ideas or advise, anybody?
Then I discovered that there were forums where the announcements could be put up to publicize the event. I only needed to write in to some forums where as at IMBB, I had to grapple with CSS (it took me over an hour to do this) to submit the announcement!
Ok, so I posted the announcement and the entries started coming in. At this point, I realized that I had to have some organizing/ cataloguing system in place. Arundati was kind enough to help out with some advice here as she had just hosted an event.
All in all, my first hosting experience has been just that, quite an experience. I have enjoyed it, most especially seeing the entries in my mailbox. I also realized just how much time and effort is required to go through the entries, check out the posts, answer queries on time, and generally keep track of everything.
Before I get to the round-up, I just want to say a thank you to all of you who sent in entries and helped me discover the world of Nutmeg.
I am presenting the 31 entries in two broad categories of Savoury and Sweet and one traditional remedy using nutmeg.
The first entry here is not really a food preparation. It is a traditional remedy.
Grandma’s Remedy from Padmahja of Seduce Your Tastebuds (presently in India). This is not a recipe but some information about uses of Nutmeg in traditional remedies. Padmahja says that this spice can be effective relieving colic and has digestive properties. I, for one, never knew this.
Savoury Preparations:
A Nutmeggy Green Sauce (which is really yellow) from Funky of The Meatless Chulent (Midwest U.S.). She felt her life could do with one more challenge, decided to challenge herself with nutmeg, and this sauce is the result!
Rice Plate Chole from Apu of Annarasa (U.S.). With this spicy chickpea curry, Apu revisited memories of her days at college in India when a similar curry and rice at a place near the University library used to be her destination of choice whenever hungry.
Creamy Mushroom Pasta Sauce from Judy of Judy’s Gross Eats (Venura, California, U.S.). Judy uses her favourite spice mostly for sweet dishes but looking for something savoury this time, found the recipe for this delicious sauce in her heirloom cookbook.
Ravioli Nudi from Julia of AyurWhat (Australia). Naked Ravioli, an over 600 year old Florentine recipe, is ravioli filling without the pasta covering. Julia’s version is made without eggs and parmesan.
Savoury Biscuits/ Cookies from Lore of Culinarty (Romania). These biscuits, baked in the microwave, are the result of Lore’s permanent savoury craving and an attempt to cook more often with nutmeg.
Creamy Penne with Spinach and Peas from Chandrika of AkshayaPatra (U.S.). This version of pasta is made with Béchamel sauce which is known for its distinct flavour of nutmeg.
And here are the Sweet Preparations:
Instant Coffee With A Touch Of Nutmeg from Mints of Vadani Kaval Gheta (U.S.). She recreates this traditional styled coffee that her mother used to make which was very much appreciated by her friends and family.
An Apricot Almond Delight from Sireesha of Mom’s Recipes (Paris, France). This is a great thirst quenching and naturally healthy, delicious smoothie.
Some Éclairs from Asha of Foodie’s Hope (North Carolina, U.S.). She made these trying to recreate the taste of Iyengar Bakery Éclairs and to celebrate her blog’s second anniversary.
An Irish Cream Flan from Smita of Smita Serves You Right (Rochester, NY, U.S.). Smita made this flan to use up some extra egg yolks she had on hand. She also had to deplete her alcohol reserves before mom and grandmom came visiting!
Some vegan Nutmeg-Yam Muffins from Katie of The Summertree Café (Kansas, U.S.). Made especially for this event, Katie says these moist muffins are great with margarine or cream cheese.
Blueberry Spice Muffins from TBC of The Budding Cook (U.S). She made these spicy muffins to use up blueberries leftover from making clafoutis.
A Carrot Cake from Lakshmi of The Yum Blog (India). Her delicious looking carrot cake is fat free, yet so moist. She also offers an easy substitution for eggs if you would like to make an egg free cake.
Chakra Pongal from Srimati (foody.guru) of Few Minute Wonders (San Diego, California, U.S.). Her version is diary free and nutmeg is the unusual twist to this traditional south Indian sweet preparation.
Some Banana Muffins from Miri of the Peppermill (Delhi, India). Full of the goodness of milk, walnuts, honey and bananas and the distinct flavour of nutmeg, these muffins were the result of a baking session with a 6 year old and 3 three year olds assistants.
Greek Balaklavas from Ivy at Kopiaste (Athen, Greece). Ivy gave in to her son’s demands and made this wonderful sweet using her mother’s recipe which she modified a bit to add pecans, walnuts and nutmeg.
Sweet Buns from Cham of Spice-Club (California, U.S.). Cham wanted to use two of her favourite food flavours, chai masala and the pain au chocolat, in a sweet bread. So she made some sweet buns, the first time she’s baked bread, with a chai masala glaze and some more with nutella!
An Orange, Date and Almond Salad from Dee of Ammalu’s Kitchen (U.S.). Dee needed break from studying for an exam and came up with this summer salad spiced with Ras el Hanuot. The salad was so good that she ate it all up for lunch and then made some more for dinner!
HoneyB’s Nanny’s Cookies from Rachel of Tangerine’s Kitchen (India). Rachel is a fan of these soft delicious cookies even though she doesn’t particularly like nutmeg.
A Spiced Apple Tart, also from Rachel of Tangerine’s Kitchen (India). This delicious fruit tart was inpired by Jerome K. Jerome’s book, “Three Men in a Boat”
Jumbles from Manuela of Baking History (Massachusetts, USA). Jumbles are ring shapes cookies dating from colonial times. Dry, crunchy and very light, these cookies are also not very sweet and perfect for dunking.
Nutmeg Pound Cake from Deeba of Passionate About Baking (Gurgaon, North India). Deeba creamed some butter and sugar, originally intended for cookies, but changed her mind at the last minute and converted it into this delicious cake with a heart of mocha.
Mascarpone and Nutmeg Ice Cream from Petra of Foodfreak (Hamburg, Germany). Petra, after a lot of thinking, came up with this winning combination of nutmeg and blueberries in a smooth and creamy ice-cream.
Honey Muffins from Jayasree of Experiments in Kailas Kitchen (Kerala, India). These healthy muffins are
eggless and made with jaggery and Jayasree served them with honey for those who wanted some more “sweet”
A Nutmeg Sorbet from Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar (Bristol, U.K.). Nutmeg brought Angela memories of her honeymoon in Grenada where this spice is the national fruit and features in a lot of food. So she made this sorbet which she says is the silkiest, smoothest sorbet she’s ever made and her little son seemed to agree.
An Oatmeal Walnut Shortcake with Nutmeg from Red Chillies of Red Chillies (U.S.). This healthy shortcake was made from one of her cookbooks picked up at Barnes and Noble which is a family favourite.
Indonesian Nutmeg Tea Cookies from Jude of Apple Pie, Patis, and Pâté (Chicago, IL, U.S.). Jude made these refrigerator cookies, also called Kue Kering, in a bid to begin using up a lifetime’s store of nutmeg!
Jaiphal Shrikand from Arundati of Escapades (Hyderabad, India). Shrikand with an unusual nutmeg (jaiphal) flavouring, wholesome an easy to make, happens to be Arundati’s favourite dessert.
I made a Peachy Mango Milkshake which came together as I wanted to use up some not so sweet peaches which had no takers. The milkshake was a hit!
And a Spiced Apple Cake With Streusel Topping, a cake I’ve made many times before but turns up here in a “nutmeggy” avatar
And that ends the Think Nutmeg round-up.
The Think Spice, Think….. spice trail now moves onto its next destination and is going back home to Sunita for the month of August. Please watch her blog for next month’s spice.
FoodyGuru (Srimathi) says
Hi, Nice round up. Lots of interesting recipes.Thanks.
Sireesha says
Great and lovely roundup aparna:))Thanks for the efforts…..
Passionate About Baking says
What a great array of nutmeg recipes Aparna. I love the subtle flavour of this aromatic spice & have been through a bookmarking frenzy here. Great choice of spice, & wonderful round-up. Thanks for everything! Cheers Deeba
Lore says
Great job hosting this round-up Aparna! Glad there are savoury but also sweet recipes, a little bit of everything 🙂
Padma says
Great round-up…
ServesYouRight says
Very nicely done! Great job :-)smita
sra says
Very nice recipes and interesting choice of spice. I don’t know how to make logos either – for the first event I hosted, I tried, decided it looked tacky and just used some fancy font. for the second, I tried but didn’t have the time! A third is due, guest hosting, I can use the host’s.
Cham says
Great round-up Aparna 🙂 From savoury to sweet so many delicious recipes to digg in 🙂
bakinghistory says
Aparna, wonderful round-up!!So many great recipes to try. Thanks for hosting and for choosing a very nice spice to cook and bake with.
Rachel says
Whew!!! aparna…well done on the round-up!!!
TBC says
You’ve done a great job hosting your very first event, Aparna. I also like the little introduction you have for each entry. 😀
Mints! says
Nice roundup Aparna! Thanks for the taking the efforts.
Mike of Mike's Table says
The roundups are definitely a bit of work, but it looks like it paid off–this is a great collection of entries! Thanks!
Sukanya Ramkumar says
WOW… That was a nice round up…..
Ivy says
You did a great job Aparna. Thanks for the lovely roundup.
bee says
such wonderful uses for nutmeg.
Divya Vikram says
That is a wonderful roundup..Am sure a lot of efforts are needed to host an event.
jayasree says
Lovely roundup… Lots of nutmeggy recipes to try out. You have done wonderful job on the roundup.
sunita says
Thank you, dear Aparna, for this fabulous round up…well done 🙂
Red Chillies says
Fabulous roundup Aparna and great presentation, writeup as always. Thanks for all the tips on hosting as well. i might ask you some questions.
arundati says
fantastic collection of nutmeg recipes….since this is one of my favourite spices apart from star anise…guess who’s going to be lurking here!! thanks for being such a wonderful hostess!!
Miri says
What a wonderful round up Aparna! Thanks for that
Aparna says
Thanks everyone. It wouldn’t have been this good without all your support.I did jump into the deep end with hosting two events for the first time I guest hosted! But I’m still floating so I guess its ok.:)
Cakelaw says
Wow, another great roundup Aparna – you have been busy!!