Hello My Foodie Friends. In kitchens throughout the world, there is one piece of technology that has been the same since the Stone Age: the mortar and pestle. The mortar and pestle is one of the most primitive kitchen tools. You place ingredients in a bowl usually made of stone or ceramic — and pound them with a tiny club. Why should every good cook—and everyone who loves herbs—own and use at least one mortar and pestle? For history: the ceremony of using ancient tools, the joy of knowing the rhythm of how they work. For celebration: food feeds both body and soul, and the act of preparing it should be a pleasure, not a chore. And finally, for quality: there is a depth of flavor to spices and fresh herbs prepared this way that you just can’t get from a food processor. Mortars and pestles for crushing and blending seeds, roots, herbs, and other foods probably date back to prehistory, although information on their origins is hard to find. It’s only logical that early man and woman picked up the nearest rock and used it to crack open the nuts they gathered. Eventually they found similar tools to grind seed or grain into a powder, so that they could mix it with water to form a gruel and grind herbs and roots to flavor it. Here’s a list of cooking tasks you can accomplish with a mortar and pestle: • Grind your own peppercorns and spices including cinnamon sticks, coriander, and cloves. • Remove cardamom seeds from their pods and then crush to use in Indian cooking. • Grind sea salt to the fine texture of popcorn salt and season your movie night treat. • Crush whole dry chilies into flakes. • Crush capers to use in homemade tartar sauce recipes. • Smash fresh peeled ginger to use in Asian recipes. • Crush some flax seeds to release their benefits and add to yogurt for a nutritious breakfast or snack. • Crush lavender to use in baking or potpourri. • Crush herbs and seeds to make medicinal teas. • Make fresh, homemade nut butters. • Turn fresh garlic cloves into a paste and spread on Italian bread with olive oil for some intense garlic bread. • Crush some fresh basil, garlic and pine nuts together in the larger sized units. Then mix in some olive oil to make super fresh and flavorful pesto. The mortar and pestle are available in a wide variety of sizes and can be found made of ceramic, glass, porcelain, wood, metal, granite, marble or bamboo. The advantage of a using a mortar and pestle rather than an electric grinder or food processor include easier (as in no) assembly required, less noise and easy cleanup — no small parts or sharp blades to wash. One of the most classic uses of the mortar and pestle is for pesto. Combining the flavors of basil, pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic, and olive oil can make a wonderful pesto to add to pasta, spread on a sandwich, or eat by the spoonful. When it comes to making pesto, you can’t go wrong with a pestle and mortar. You could make it in a food processor, but you just won’t get the same flavors as when you’re pounding and crushing all that lovely basil by hand. How to Make Pesto (serves 4) Ingredients • 1/2 a clove of garlic • 3 good handfuls of fresh basil • a good handful of Parmesan cheese • a handful of pine nuts • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper • extra virgin olive oil • optional: a small squeeze of lemon juice Making the Pesto: • Peel and chop the garlic • Pick and roughly chop the basil leaves, discard the stalks • Finely grate the Parmesan cheese • Put a frying pan on a medium heat and add the pine nuts • Keep an eye on them and toss frequently until just starting to turn golden and smelling fantastic • Pound the garlic with a little pinch of salt and the basil leaves in a pestle and mortar - you may need to add the basil leaves in batches if your mortar isn’t big enough • Add the toasted pine nuts to the mixture and pound again • Tip into a bowl and add half the grated Parmesan • Stir gently and add a little extra virgin olive oil - you need just enough to bind the sauce and get it to an oozy consistency • Have a taste and season with salt and pepper, then add most of the remaining cheese • Add a little more oil and taste again • Keep adding a bit more cheese or oil until you are happy with the taste and consistency. You may like to add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to give it a little twang, but it’s not essential - try it with and without and see which you prefer Cooking can be fun! No matter how long you have been cooking, there is always something new to learn. The mortar and pestle may take a little elbow grease, but it is the tool that will not fail you. Go back to the old grind for a while, stepping away from modern technology and use the mortar and pestle for your incredible culinary creations. Stop by CTTC in the Compliments to the Chef plaza to get your “cool” Tools for Cooks. Remember; “Life Happens in the Kitchen”. Take Care, John and Paula