Cinnamon, for your health!

Cinnamon is the fine inner skin of fragrant tree bark. It has many health benefits, which only add to its delicious appeal as a staple spice in our cupboards! It is especially beneficial in treating Type II Diabetes and Insulin Resistance, since it directly affects blood sugar levels.

• Cinnamon strengthens the circulatory system and gets blood moving to the surface of the body. It truly is an invigorating spice, bringing life and energy where it is absent. Getting more cinnamon in your diet will help stimulate your energy levels and your clarity. 
• Cinnamon helps the body use insulin, a vaulable asset in the age of highly processed food. Consistent, long-term use of cinnamon brings down blood sugar and triglycerides, danger signs of impending heart disease and diabetes.
• Shown scientifically to stop medication-resistant yeast infections.
• In a study published by researchers at the US Department of Agriculture in Maryland, cinnamon reduced the proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells. 
• Cinnamon has an anti-clotting effect on the blood. 
• In a study at Copenhagen University, patients given half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder combined with one tablespoon of honey every morning before breakfast (sounds like a yummy tea to me) had significant  relief in arthritis pain after one week and could walk without pain within one month!
• One study found that smelling cinnamon boosts cognitive function and memory.
• Researchers at Kansas State found that cinnamon fights the E. Coli bacteria in unpasteurized juices. 
• Cinnamon is a great source of manganese, fiber, iron and calcium.

At Spice Traders, we have many different varieties and forms of cinnamon for you to enjoy!

Cassia - from the cassia tree, native to Southeast Asia, southern China and northern Vietnam. Noted for the strong, spicy sweet flavor you are probably most familiar with. We carry Cassia cinnamon Sticks here at Spice Traders, perfect for teas, roasts, fresh shaving for recipes, custards or throw a stick in your next cup of coffee!

Saigon - From Vietnam, considered by many to be the world's finest cinnamon. It is the sweetest and strongest cinnamon available. At Spice Traders, find this Organic in powder form.

Korintje - From Indonesia, it has a sweet and mellow flavor, most common variety sold. We have this in powder also.


And to give you a parting idea on how to use this spice, here's how we like to use cinnamon, and eat waaay too much pie on our lunch break ;-)

Amish Bob Andy Pie

Amish Bob Andy Pie

1 c white sugar

1 c packed brown sugar

2 Tbs flour

2 tsp STM ground cinnamon (any variety)

1/4 tsp STM freshly ground nutmeg (from whole)

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs, beaten

2 c milk

1 T melted butter

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 prepared 9 inch unbaked pie shell, OR graham cracker crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat all ingredients together well and pour into pie shell or graham cracker crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Pie will be liquid going into the oven, will firm as it cools after baking. Center will puff in oven and fall as it cools. Serve at room temperature with a healthy dollop of whipped cream, flavored with a bit of cinnamon as well!

*Adapted from allrecipes.com

Second-Round April Vino and Hops Club Recipes

It's that time again! Round two of recipes for our wonderful Vino and Hops club members! You will find these recipes use the spices already included in your Club Box! 

April Vino Club

Moroccan Spiced Popcorn (to enjoy with your next Bollywood film, eh? No?)
***These spices are included in your Club Box


8 cups fresh popped popcorn
2 Tbs STM Fresh Basil Extra Virgin Olive Oil*** (We also like garlic in this recipe)
1 1/2 to 2 tsp STM Ras el Hanout Spice Blend***
1 tsp STM Artisan salt***, there are two in your Club box, Red Alder Smoked and Lemon Flake

In a large bowl, drizzle olive oil over popcorn, sprinkle evenly with Ras el Hanout, then salt. If using Lemon Flake, grind first in a grinder, mortar and pestle, coffee grinder or food processor/blender. Toss popcorn to mix and coat each piece evenly.

Now go enjoy that movie!

Do you make your own jerky?

Next time you have a nice cut of meat and an empty dehydrator, try a Moroccan Rub for your jerky. Trim all the fat off the meat and cut into smaller pieces or strips. Sandwich meat between wax paper and beat very thin with a rolling pin or mallet, beat to about 1/4 inch thickness. Combine sugar, STM Ras el Hanout***, STM Artisan Salt***(an essential ingredient to begin the curing process). Rub on to meat liberally. Refrigerate meat overnight. After 8-10 hrs, pat meat dry and place in the dehydrator set to 145 degrees. Dehydration will vary greatly based on meat thickness and ambient humidity. Check the meat starting at about 6-7 hours. Jerky will be done when there is no visible moisture in the interior of the meat, possibly closer to 11 hours.

April Hops Club 

Mexican Tilapia
***These spices are included in your Club Box

1/4 c mayonnaise
2 thinly sliced scallions
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 tsp STM dried cilantro OR 2 Tbs fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp STM Carne Asada seasoning blend***
1 Tbs STM fajita seasoning blend***
4 6oz. tilapia fillets
2 tsp STM Lime Ex Virgin Olive Oil***


To make sauce, mix mayonnaise, scallions, jalapeno, cilantro, carne asada blend and 1 tsp of fajita seasoning. Set aside.

Sprinkle both sides of the tilapia fillets with remaining fajita seasoning. Grill fillets until browned and opaque in the center, about 3-4 minutes on each side.

Serve tilapia fillets immediately with sauce drizzled on top.

Spice 101: Herbes de Provence

We at Spice Traders are always listening to your questions, and we love the inspiration you are to us! You, fellow culinary travelers, are why we take so much joy in our swashbuckling voyages!

A recent and popular query is that of the unique French spice blend we carry at Spice Traders, Herbes de Provence. As the name suggests, it is a blend of spices common to the region of France called Provence, and is made of herbs that one can find flourishing on the rolling hillsides of southern France. These herbs often include savory, fennel, basil, thyme and lavender. A vivid and influential childhood memory of mine is watching the infamous Julia Child in the kitchen, using her Herbes de Provence in some fantastic butter-laden poultry dish. What? That's not what you watched on Saturday mornings as a kid? Hmm...

The rolling hills of Provence, France, filled with herbs!

So, what do you do with this blend? I'm so glad you asked!

• Mix generously with olive oil (we've got some great choices) and use as a rub on chicken or fish before grilling or broiling. Our favorite flavors are STM Fresh Basil Ex Virgin Olive Oil and STM Garlic Harvest Olive Oil.
• Use the olive oil/Herbes de Provence mixture on your favorite chopped root vegetables, such as potatoes, onions, beets, carrots, turnips. Roast on a cooking sheet in the oven, or grill.
• Use to season your next pork roast, complete with the root vegetable accompaniments.
• Dip a kebab of shrimp in olive oil, sprinkle with Herbes de Provence and salt. Grill.
• Sprinkle on buttered, sliced French bread for a toasted baguette to accompany a soup. 
• Great addition to scrambled eggs, especially when accompanied with goat cheese.
• Use to make herbed butter, mix into softened butter and a little STM artisan salt, store in fridge.
• Makes delicious sauteed mushrooms, again, mixed with an olive oil, such as STM Rosemary EVOO.
• Add a tsp or so to your next savory scone recipe for fantastic herbed scones.
• Sprinkle on top of winter squash before roasting. 
• Add a satchel of Herbes de Provence to a stew or broth, remove satchel before serving. 

Hopefully that is a good list to spark your culinary creativity and keep you experimenting! Swing by today, pick up your own packet of Herbes de Provence and pick an idea that sounds deliciously French to you!  Please let us know which you try and what you think! We love hearing from you! 

Tea 101: Pu-Erh Tea

At Spice Traders Mercantile, we have traveled to the Orient to bring you back this unique and powerful tea! It is known as Pu-Erh tea, and it is a specialty tea produced in the Yunnan Province of China. For years, it was given as a tribute to Emperors and high ranking officials within the Imperial Courts of China, earning it the nickname "Tribute Tea." The health benefits of drinking Pu-Erh tea have been documented in various ancient scripts found throughout Chinese history. Pu-Erh is a dark tea, and is a post-fermentation tea aged more than 15 years, giving it the darker, deeper coloring and earthy flavor. 

 

This tea has received very high accolades as a valuable tonic for your health! It has even been recommended by the popular Dr. Oz. Drinking one to two glasses in the morning, he suggests, is scientifically shown to have an activating ingredient that literally shrinks your fat cells! 

Pu-Erh Health Benefits

• anti-aging
• prevention of heart disease and cancer
• diabetic control
• removal of toxins
• curing dysentery
• inflammation
• aiding in digestion and weight-loss
• improving eyesight and blood circulation
• your new hangover cure!

Visit us at Spice Traders Mercantile today,

 and grab your very own authentic Pu-Erh Tea, 

straight from the Orient! For your health!

The Last Meatball Recipe

As you may have read in our Weekly Carrier Pigeon newsletter, we are creating the most amazing new Recipe and Spice Packs at Spice Traders Mercantile. We are so excited to share what we have put together for you! We have tested all the recipes, tweaked them just for you, and have made them absolutely perfect! Just to give you a little tease, and in addition to our Lapsang Souchang post, we have an Exotic Indian Salad, Marinated Mushrooms, Sweet Spicy Citrus Tilapia, and a host of other delicious creations!! Come in and check them out! We are dying to hear what you think!

Sweet Spicy Citrus Tilapia

While testing these recipes, I stumbled upon an absolute gem of a meatball recipe! Although it has too much amazing flavor in itself to mesh well with our Lapsang Souchong White Sauce Recipe and Spice Pack, it is still something worth making again, and again, and after they're gone, once again! They freeze marvelously, and they're even good cold, as you're cleaning up dinner, no joke! The recipe is also easily doubled and tripled, so mix a few different kinds of ground meat, and freeze any that are leftover for another time, if there are any left over. 

The Last Meatball Recipe

The Last Meatball Recipe

*all STM ingredients can be found at Spice Traders Mercantile

1 lb ground meat (beef, sausage, pork, chicken, turkey)

1/2 tsp STM minced garlic

2 tsp STM minced dried onion

1/2 tsp STM Artisan Roasted Garlic Salt

1 1/2 tsp STM Italian Seasoning Blend

3/4 tsp STM Oregano

3/4 tsp STM Smoked Paprika

1/4 tsp STM Tellichery Peppercorns, freshly ground

1 dash hot sauce

1 1/2 Tbs water mixed with 1 Tbs STM Worcestershire Sauce Powder

1 egg

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 c seasoned bread crumbs, or any other dried crumbled carbohydrate you'd like to use, such as crackers

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Don't be afraid to use your hands, work the spices and the egg through the meat mixture. After thoroughly mixed, roll the balls into the size of meatballs you'd like, maybe a hair larger to allow for shrinkage. Place them on a baking sheet, don't be afraid to get them nice and cozy, these aren't like your favorite cookies that spread in the oven, remember shrinkage? Place them in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, minding to turn them once to get both sides crispy! Remove from oven when they are nicely browned. 

Recipe adapted from Meatball Nirvana on allrecipes.com

Lapsang Souchong Tea: Not Just for Drinking!

Lapsang Souchong translates literally to "Small plant from Lapu mountain." It is a black tea originally from the Wuyi region of the Chinese province of Fujian and is sometimes referred to as smoked tea. Lapsang is distinct from all other types of tea because lapsang leaves are traditionally smoke-dried over pinewood fires, taking on a distinctive smoky flavor.

The story goes that the tea was created during the Qing era when the passage of armies delayed the annual drying of the tea leaves in the Wuyi hills. Eager to satisfy demand, the tea producers sped up the drying process by having their workers dry the tea leaves over fires made from local pines. It's amazing all the dimensions of 'smoky' you can experience in one, very well made cup of tea.

The original motivation to procure this unique tea stemmed from Captain Bill's recollection that while serving at Fort Collins Colorado in 1973, he had been introduced to the smoked tea and had not had it since. Since then, the rest of us here at Spice Traders have tried the tea and have been further intrigued by its unique flavor and mystical origins. Our resident wealth of knowledge Judy(see last week's blog post for Judy's background), was intrigued enough to do some good ol' internet research and found that the tea had grown popular in cooking, as a way to add its bold smoky flavor to meats and meals without having to undergo the lengthy smoking process.


This of course led to extensive experimentation and a better understanding of just why it is popular in cooking- its delicious! By grinding up a bit of the tea and adding it to your next meal you can add a delicious smoky flavor in just minutes. In most uses we found that it works best if first ground nice and fine when dry to maximize taste and avoid the perhaps negative feeling of eating tea leaves. There are endless applications for Lapsang Souchong in cooking but here are a few we tried that turned out great:

• Add to your next homemade BBQ sauce recipe
• Add a 1/2 tbsp in the seasoning of scallop potatoes
• Brew a cooking pot full of the tea, and then boil chicken in it before briefly roasting
  
• Marinate hard boiled eggs in the tea for 24-36 hours prior to making deviled eggs
• Rub any meat or fish you could possibly think with it

Like I said before, the options are endless, don't be afraid to throw it in anything!

If you might be a bit more weary to experimenting on your own, here at Spice Traders we are now offering spice packs for purchase which include 3 spices and a recipe card that ties them together! One of our favorites includes the use of Lapsang Souchong in a delicious cream sauce. Stop by to pick one up!