Hi all,

*Whew*, it has been like 30,000,000 years since I’ve come here to write about cooking and dancing and drinking and living in styyyyle (well, at least a couple of those topics). I just finished a funky electro-infused instrumental hip hop album, and am close to finishing an underground house album as well- details will be here in a bit. I’ve been working on music 5+ nights per week and fitting in the rest of my life around that and my day job. As a result, I just haven’t been cooking very much!

I know, sacrelege. Well, anyhow, I couldn’t stay away for long. It’s time to sharpen those knives, blow the dust off the mortar and pestle, and get cracking.

Today’s recipe bears more than a passing resemblance to the green peppercorn aioli I outlined in one of my first posts here. I’ve deemed it a creme bruschetta topping this time, though, and I think you’ll see why.

Creme Bruschetta, Rainy Day RX
First, wash a handful of green peppercorns and add to your mortar. Sprinkle a few black peppercorns and cumin seeds over that, and a healthy pinch of coarse sea salt. Thrash these things until you’re gazing into a nice little pile of green paste. (If you can’t find green peppercorns, try this with capers- the taste won’t be anything like this one but it’ll be yummy nonetheless- oh, and omit the salt if you do that.)

Chop a good medium-sized tomato, a small shallot and a washed handful of fresh cilantro (save a bit of this for later) and invite them to the aromatic party already starting in the mortar. “It’s the place to be“, you’ll say, boasting casually about how the evening’s just started and already there’s maaaaad flava up in the spot. They’ll be thrilled..

..until you tromp them, too, into paste and grind the whole lot together with light, swirling strokes of the pestle. Press in a clove or two of garlic, and what you’ll have now will look like this:

(Well, sort of, anyway. My blogging skills are still what I’d call RUSTY and, well, I’m hoping you won’t notice I forgot to take a pic of the mixture before I added the vegan mayo.)

(more…)

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