Veggie Love

We all know that veggies are good for you, but not this good!


Check out PETA's 'banned' Super Bowl Commercial...

Gloegg

Another cold day deserves a warm, toasty beverage!
This Gloegg recipe (Swedish mulled wine) was shared with me by Lady Marion, passed on from a family friend...
1 bottle of ordinary red wine
1 dl (~1/2 cup) vodka (Absolut, for the truly Swedish!)
4 – 5 cinnamon sticks
20 cloves
Fresh ginger, ~2 inch piece, peeled
1 tsp cardamom seeds
1 piece dried pomegranate peel (or dried orange peels from ¼ orange)
2 – 3 dl. (1 – 1.5 cups) brown sugar, to taste

Crush the cardamom seeds and break the cinnamon into smaller pieces. Put all spices in a glass jar and pour the vodka over them. Let mixture stand over night or longer if possible – for days, ideally.

Sift away the spices. Mix the vodka with the red wine. Heat. Add brown sugar to taste, depending on how sour the wine is. Serve warm.

Optional: Offer guests raisins and peeled almonds to add to their cup of gloegg.

Cardamom

n. [kahr-duh-muhm]
the seed pods of a tropical plant in the ginger family; native to SE Asia; used as a spice and in medicine

I am really into cardamom right now. I'm not sure if it is due to the heavy Scandinavian influence here in Minnesota, but I've come to appreciate it's versatility. It has a pleasant, slightly sweet flavor that is at home in everything from curry to tea. The Swedes even use it to flavor baked goods. If you are a cardamom newbie, I would suggest buying the ground version to experiment. Once you get more confident with it's flavor, then move on to the seeds to toast and grind yourself. I have a recipe for a chai that uses cardamom in the recipe section, and I highly recommend Sadaf's Cardamom Flavored Black Tea. Both great ways to introduce cardamom to your tastebuds!

Denny's Free Breakfast

In case you were under a rock (or in the bathroom) during the commercial breaks of the Super Bowl, you may have missed the spot for Denny's. Every Denny's is offering a FREE breakfast from 6AM-2PM on Tuesday, February 3rd. That's tomorrow, Folks. Seriously. I'm sure there's a catch somewhere, so let me know if you give it a go.
Check here for a Denny's near you...