Something Orange

A few weeks ago while chatting with a friend about my knee brace (from falling down some stairs) and she told me that turmeric was a natural anti-inflammatory. I conjured up images of needing to make Indian food every day, which sounds yummy, but I do like to change up my diet. She informed me that you can get supplements at the store. On my way home I dropped into a local store, and sure enough, they had turmeric supplements. Outrageously expensive supplements, especially compared to the price of some over the counter anti-infalmitories I had taken most of my adult life.

I put the idea on hold for a while, then an email from One Green Planet arrived with some great recipes, many of which feature turmeric. I couldn't remember which recipe, so I went back through my email.  I'm still not sure. So, here is a link to their turmeric recipe page.

How to Use Fresh Turmeric Root Instead of Dried 

Photo Credit Laura Beth Drilling/Demand Media

My first experience with turmeric was making a peanut soup from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen (great cookbook with hand lettering and illustrations). Yummy. I kept dry, powdered turmeric on hand, but didn't really think much about using it. While shopping in asian markets I would often see fresh turmeric - looking sort of like a smaller, "orangier" version of fresh ginger, one of my favorite spices.

My old copy of The Enchanted Broccoli Forest. It's now The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest

So far, I've just added it to my yogurt and chia snack, but I'm looking forward to learning more. I'll be posting soon about the nutritional properties, uses, and recipes. One note before I go, the health benefits of the most beneficial substances in turmeric, cucumin, is difficult for the body to absorb. Consuming black pepper along with the turmeric increases absorption about 2,000%.

Powdered turmeric

Experimentation time...  (Quick note while waiting for photos to load. I just put turmeric into my dessert custard and it was fabulous. I'm thinking that, like ginger, turmeric will work well in both sweet and savory dishes.)

Guess this falls under the "no day without discovery" category.

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