Traditionally, the mortar-and-pestle is used in Italian food for making pesto, Thai food for making curry pastes, and Indian food for grinding spices. Hand-grinding may seem slow and awkward, but basil pesto with garlic and pine nuts ground in a mortar-and-pestle has a fresher flavor and better texture than the ultra-smooth puree that a food processor produces.

I just learned a wonderful trick from cookbook author Naam Pruitt, who teaches our Thai cooking classes: use a mortar-and-pestle to grind nuts. I used to hand-chop nuts with a chef’s knife and a cutting board and the nuts would fly all over the kitchen. Nuts chopped by machine are much too fine and the nuts release too much oil, which produces a nut butter rather than chopped nuts.

Toast the nuts, then place in the mortar-and-pestle, and pound the nuts until you reach the desired texture — coarser or finer. The larger pieces of nuts naturally fall to the center of the mortar, which allows for the nuts to be evenly chopped by the pestle. Nuts are easier to toast whole, not chopped; to toast nuts, spread on a rimmed sheet pan and bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.

One other benefit of mortar-and-pestles: they are beautiful!

Our Recipe file have lots of recipes that are wonderful to can:

Cherry Ketchup

Fruit Chutney

Fruit Jam

Pickled Fruit

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Ketchup

Strawberry-Hot Pepper Jelly

Tomato Chutney

Tomato Preserves

Tomato Ketchup

Fruit butters don’t contain any butter, but the fruit is cooked down to a thick paste that can be spread like butter. Since a lot of fruit makes a little amount of fruit butter, make fruit butter when you are overrun with way too much fruit.

Fruit Butter

• 4 pounds fruit, such as peaches, apricots, apples, cherries, etc.
• 1 1/3 cups apple juice
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• ¼ cup lemon juice

Peel and seed the fruit and chop. Place the fruit in a stock pot. Add the apple juice and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the fruit is very soft, stirring occasionally.  Pass the jam through a food mill. Return to the stock pot and bring to a boil. Stir in the sugar and lemon. Cook until very thick, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. As the mixture cooks down, be careful not to let the fruit scorch on the bottom of the pan. Ladle into sterilized jars and seal.

Please join us for our three upcoming canning classes, so you can master fabulous recipes for canning, plus learn how to safely can and preserve food:

• “Wham, Jam, Thank You Ma’am” on May 29
• “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better” on July 30
• “Jar Wars” on August 26

Plump the Raisins. Dried fruits are dry, which means they need to be plumped up with hot liquid. Sure you could soak the raisins in hot water, but I prefer using liquids with flavor, such as brandy or rum. In a saucepan, heat a half-cup of liquid, add the raisins, remove from heat, and let sit until cool and the alcohol is absorbed. And, yes, I plump up the raisins in other dishes, such as oatmeal-raisin cookies.

Toast the Nuts. The full flavor of nuts comes out when the nuts are toasted (at 350 degrees for 5 minutes) right before using. Pre-toasted nuts don’t have the same taste as freshly-toasted nuts. Toasting in a dry skillet does not work, since the only part of the nut that cooks is the edge that touches the pan. Nuts must be toasted in the oven.

Butter and Oil. Cakes taste better when made with butter, but butter can produce a dry cake. Use half butter and half vegetable oil in the batter and the cake will be moist and delicious. The vegetable oil that I use is olive oil, because fruity olive oil has more flavor than deodorized vegetable oils.

Cream the Icing. “To cream” is an often misunderstood direction in the kitchen. Creaming is about creating a luscious texture. To cream, the cream cheese and butter must be at room temperature (allow 2 hours), must be mixed in an electric mixer, and achieving the silky texture takes about 10-15 minutes of mixing in the stand mixer, so that the sugar is completely blended and dissolved in the butter.

Don’t miss the delicious carrot cakes in these upcoming cooking classes:

• “Retro Diner Cupcakes” on June 1.
• “Classic American Cakes” on July 11.
• “Culinary Skills” a four-part class beginning on September 9.

If you are a member of the Missouri Botanical Garden, please sign up for a talk on “Herbs in the Year of Food” with Anne Cori on Thursday, April 25 from 11 am to noon in the Schoenberg Theater. The speech will focus on how to utilize fresh herbs in cooking.

Ready to start using fresh herbs in cooking? Join us for one of these herb-inspired cooking classes:

• “Right on Course” on May 7 at 6 pm with Cassy Vires of Home Wine Kitchen
• “School of Fish” on May 8 at 6:30 pm with Barb Nack of Kitchen Conservatory
• “Make-Ahead Appetizers” on May 9 at 6 pm with Margi Kahn
• “Sassy Sauces” on May 21 at 6 pm with Mickey Kitterman of Gallagher’s

And to get you salivating for the pleasures of fresh herbs, here are three herbal condiments.

Classic Italian Pesto

• 4 cups packed basil leaves
• ½ cup spinach (helps to keep the pesto bright green)
• ½ cup parmesan
• 1 garlic clove
• ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
• ½ cup olive oil

In a food processor, puree the basil, spinach, parmesan, garlic, and pine nuts. Drizzle in the oil to make a smooth paste. Toss with cooked pasta or spoon into vegetable soup.

Chimichurri Sauce (Argentine Pesto)

• 1 cup flat-leaf parsley (no stems)
• 1 cup mint leaves
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon chopped jalapeno
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
• 1 teaspoon salt

Puree all of the ingredients in a food processor. Use as a garnish on top of cooked meats or seafood.

Gremolati

• Zest of one orange or one lemon
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves (no stems)

Chop all of the ingredients together. Use as a garnish on top of cooked meats.

All of the recipes for our fantasy dinner party are also included on the Feast website. Here is the menu:

• Martinis
• Gorgonzola-Fig Triangles
• Scallop Potstickers with Caramel Soy Dipping Sauce
• Billi Bi Soup with Fried Clam Garnish
• Coriander-Crusted Smoked Scallop Salad with Pickled Cherries, Arugula, Rye Crouton, and Russian Dressing
• Oysters and Spinach on Bigalaro Pasta
• Butterscotch Floating Island with Caramelized Raspberries
• Lime Zest Madeleines

Here are our cleaned beds:

And here is the huge pile of weeds we pulled out (note the chicken in the coop looking at the pile):

Read the lovely profile of Aruna Menon in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Let’s Eat, which includes several recipes designed with the home cook in mind.

Aruna has two available cooking classes at Kitchen Conservatory:

Cumin and Taste the Spices of India on Saturday, July 13 at 10:30 am:

Join Aruna Menon in the kitchen and discover the five basic spices of India – cardamom, coriander, cumin, garam masala (a blend of Indian spices), and white pepper. This hands-on class will create creamy chicken curry with cashews, prawn curry with coconut milk, pan-fried cauliflower and potatoes, crunchy cucumber and peanut salad, whole wheat chapatis, plus Indian ginger chai.

Date Night for Couples: The Summer Heat of India on Saturday, August 10 at 6 pm:

Couples will discover a bit of spice in the kitchen as this hands-on class creates a memorable dinner with Aruna Menon, born in Bangalore, India. Learn to prepare tandoori chicken with cilantro chutney, tangy pork curry, Punjabi chick peas, cucumber raita, parathas – Indian pan-fried flat breads, and Indian ginger chai.

BAKING UP A STORM on Thursday, April 4 at 6 pm

If April showers bring May flowers, then being in the kitchen working side-by-side with Christie Maggi will bring plenty of delicious desserts. This hands-on class will create five tasty dishes, including German chocolate cake, apple-almond custard pie, cashew-caramel tart, chocolate ice cream, and raspberry soufflé with crème anglaise.

COLORFUL MACARONS on Thursday, April 11 at 6 pm

Feel transported to a Parisian pâtisserie, as this hands-on class discovers magnificent macarons. Join Christie Maggi in the kitchen creating a myriad of macaron variations, including sesame macarons with ginger buttercream, chocolate macarons with whipped peanut butter, orange macarons with white chocolate, cinnamon macarons with whiskey buttercream, plus almond coconut American macaroons.

DELICIOUS DISHES on Thursday, April 18 at 6:30 pm

Christie Maggi shares five comfort food dishes that will have you coming back for more. This hands-on class will create barbecue shrimp with jalapeño-cheddar grits, ancho chile chicken stew with a cornbread topping, dried fruit-glazed brisket with blue cheese scalloped potatoes, pappardelle with Bolognese sauce, plus white chocolate bread pudding with brandy hard sauce.

RECIPE REDUX: FAVORITE PASTAS, PAST AND PRESENT on Thursday, April 25 at 6 pm

re•dux From Latin, to bring back
Christie Maggi shares four exquisite pasta dishes from St. Louis restaurants, past and present. Enjoy clam-mussel fettuccine from Cafe Napoli, porcini fettuccine from Portabella’s, goat cheese gnocchi with shrimp from Trattoria Marcella, and tortellini con panna from Bar Italia.

Ciao Down on Pizza on Saturday, March 30 at 11 am

Improve your Italian with Anne Cori, who shares the secrets to incredible homemade pizza dough. This hands-on class will create caramelized onion-fig jam-bacon-gorgonzola pizza, roasted garlic-spinach-parmesan pizza with a balsamic syrup drizzle, homemade meatball-mushroom-mozzarella pizza, plus rosemary focaccia, and lemon curd pie.

Take Entertaining to a New Level on Saturday, April 6 at 11 am

Discover the tricks and tips of entertaining with a woman who loves to throw the perfect party. This hands-on class with Christie Maggi will discover how to plan for a party, cocktails and wine – how much is needed, setting an appetizer buffet with different levels, and how to calculate how many hors d’oeuvres are needed for a cocktail party. This class will create a spring appetizer party and prepare a bruschetta bar with antipasti, including truffled pea-goat cheese spread, basil tomato compote, sliced smoked tenderloin, caramelized onions, and toasted focaccia. Learn to make apple-leek-blue cheese tartlets, a beautiful crudités display with bacon-roquefort dip and chipotle ranch dressing, crab-stuffed mushrooms, lemon-shrimp puffs, butterscotch shortbread, raspberry chocolate fondue, plus a martini bar.

Fish and Bistro Sauces on Saturday, April 13 at 10:30 am

Join chef Jon Lowe, of Oceano Bistro, at the stove learning to prepare perfectly cooked fish and paired with a delicious sauce that will create a memorable meal. This hands-on class will create roasted sea bass with smoked tomato butter sauce, pan-seared halibut with wild mushroom butter sauce, grilled ahi tuna with tomato-pepper harissa sauce, and his celebrated grilled salmon with mustard-apple cider jus.

Barefoot on Saturday Morning on Saturday, April 20 at 10 am

Spend a relaxing morning in the kitchen creating some of Barb Nack’s favorite recipes from the cookbooks of Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa. This hands-on class will prepare zucchini vichyssoise, braised chicken with wild mushrooms, crispy roasted kale, truffled potato mash, plus salted caramel brownies.