If you’re wondering how we made it all the way to April without choosing coffee for the ingredient of the month, you’re not alone. We can’t believe it either. You know that Garlic, My Soul is basically sponsored by the coffee bean, and that Corelyn and I will never say no to coffee, day, night, hot, cold, full, hungry, happy, sad…the list could go on, forever. No matter what the situation, coffee makes it better.
Which is why we think that as things heat up into Spring, coffee is the perfect ingredient for us to play with!
So most of you probably know that coffee comes from trees, and that the bean is found in the fruit of the tree, or the coffee cherry. People have been drinking coffee for over 600 years (and probably longer than that, but scientific evidence only goes back so far) and it continues to be a very popular “drug” of choice. It appears to have its roots in Africa, spreading through the Middle East to the far reaches of the Americas and all the way round to Indonesia.
- A photo from our GMS shoot with Mary Costa Photography…obviously, coffee.
As a side note, I’d like to discuss how coffee is grown. Traditionally, coffee was grown in the shade of trees, as a protected location from animals and insects and general pests. However, in the 1970s a hybrid coffee plant was built that could be grown in full sun. This led to more coffee faster, but also led to deforestation, and many more pesticides being used to protect a plant that had natural protection in the shade. Luckily for us, shade grown coffee is starting to make a comeback, which generally means better-tasting coffee that is sustainable and eco-friendly. Two characteristics we love in food products! Trader Joe’s sells a shade grown coffee, and you can also find some here.
OK, so back to the joys of coffee! After coffee is grown and picked, it is dried, and then roasted. Then, it heads to a shelf near you where it can be ground and brewed. For more about coffee, and the process that gets it to the shelves, read on here!
So now, we come in. Seeing as we already love coffee so much, we’ve used it before in mocha brownies, blackout cake, and in our croquembouche. But those were all baked goods! Desserts! Sweets! We know that coffee can be savory, and we aim to find out how. Perhaps by making some kind of coffee barbecue for a steak? Or coffee flavored pasta? And don’t forget some kind of coffee-chili mixture!
Any awesome coffee dishes that you’ve had lately that you want us to try? Share away, and we’d be happy to put a pot on and discuss it with you.
[addtoany] Yum