I aspire to be a person who always uses dried beans rather than canned, but I’m just not always that organized.  I’ll keep working towards this goal; in the meantime, I always buy canned chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans).  When they’re on sale, I stock up. 

They serve so many purposes for me.  As a single person cooking for one, I like that I am able to work one can into several, completely different meals. I always rinse and drain the chickpeas before use. Here are a few of my favorite uses:

1.  Soup: Chickpeas go great in soups, both broth-based and pureed, and go particularly well with sweet potatoes and butternut squash, (add chickpeas near the end of cook time).

2.  Green Salad: Toss in with mixed greens, sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, crispy prosciutto, and a basil vinaigrette.

3.  Salad (good for lunch to-go): Toss in with pearl barley, golden raisins, toasted almonds, green onion, and a red wine vinaigrette.

4.  Pasta: Sauté the chickpeas with garlic, red onion and spinach, toss with farfalle and a simple brown butter sauce.

5.  Braised Meats: Add to a slow-cooker meal with lamb, onion, tomatoes, curry, warm spices, and dried apricots.

In short, the possibilities are endless.  These are just a few of my personal favorites, but you can find plenty of recipes containing chickpeas, such as Chickpeas with Spinach recipe (pictured), on MyRecipes.com.

Black garlic —- if you haven't run into it yet, you will soon. First developed in Korea in 2004, it's the hot new ingredientamong trendy chefs, and promises to be more widely available to consumers this year.

To create black garlic, inventor Scott Kim puts conventional heads of garlic through a month-long, high-heat fermentation process. Kim's company, Black Garlic Inc., claims that the process gives black garlic about twice as many antioxidants as raw garlic. I can't find any studies to confirm that, but I can vouch for black garlic's utterly unique taste and texture. The cloves are soft and slightly gummy, akin to dried figs. And the flavor is similar to roasted garlic, though the pungency is diminished (so much that you can eat it raw without it lingering on your breath for days; instructions on the package even suggest keeping a head or two on hand for snacking, but that seems like pushing it to me) and it boasts a molasses-like sweetness.

I first used it the other night in an spaghetti aglio e olio-type dish, dressing the pasta with little more than extra-virgin olive oil, salt, some crushed red pepper flakes, chopped parsley, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, so I could spotlight the black garlic flavor. I noticed that it's substantially different from unfermented garlic, and not necessarily interchangeable. I plan to try it in some Asian dishes next, or other dishes where its rich, deep sweetness will be welcome. I have a feeling it'll become a pantry staple before long.

The other night I had friends over for dinner and one of them brought some pita bread and hummus for us to nibble on as I cooked.  As she left, I tried to send the hummus home with her, but her response was, “No, you keep it. I don’t think I’ll eat it.”

I couldn’t comprehend the statement! Hummus has more uses than you can shake a carrot stick at.

Hummus can be more than just a party dip or appetizer -- you've just got to think outside the pita.    It's no secret that hummus makes a fine complement to just about any fresh vegetable.  (My favorite is baby carrots.)  It also makes an excellent spread for  sandwiches, wraps, or paninis.   If meat is a must, think California Club: toast some whole wheat bread and top with turkey, bacon, avocado, sprouts, and tomatoes--but replace the mayo with hummus.  I like to spread it on warm flatbread with grilled zucchini and yellow squash, tomatoes, and feta (you could even tuck some leftover tabbouleh in there).

Recently I used extra hummus to replace eggs as a binder in mini chicken burgers that I served with mango chutney as part of a tapas spread.  I sautéed about ¼ cup each of celery and red onion and mixed it with a pound of ground chicken, ¼ cup hummus, 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs, some Indian spices, and fresh herbs.  I formed the mix into little patties and  pan-fried them in a skillet with a little oil.  They were moist and delicious.   If you like to improvise, get creative with the spices and herbs to suit your taste.

Hummus is just a good thing to have on hand -- as an easy dip to offer to unexpected company, a quick and healthy snack, and a great complement for many other leftover foods.   Whatever the use, I love that garlicky tang and definitely won’t let it go to waste!

Making your own hummus is easy. I make my hummus with a combination of equal-parts chickpeas and cannellini beans; I think it creates the perfect blend of flavor and texture. Try our Traditional Hummus recipe, which has three additional variations: Feta-Baked Hummus, Spicy Red Pepper Hummus, and White Bean and Roasted Garlic Hummus.

I keep plenty of cinnamon in my pantry; I find its uses endless, from baking, to drinks, to savory meat dishes. Since my favorite foods hail from North African and Indian cuisine, I would be lost without this spice. So, imagine my surprise when I learned that the cinnamon people use in some of those countries might not be the same “cinnamon” found in the typical United States grocery store. Some investigation was in order.

A little background: Cinnamon has been a prized spice for centuries. It was highly valued in the ancient spice trade and the traders developed elaborate tales about its true origin to protect their profits. Despite these myths, we know cinnamon comes from the inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree. The bark curls into quills as it dries, which can be cut and sold as pieces or ground into powder.

There are two varieties: Ceylon cinnamon, or true cinnamon, and cassia or Chinese cinnamon (what we generally see in the U.S.). In fact, in England and Australia it is illegal to sell cassia as “cinnamon”. The warm, sweet fragrances and flavors of both are similar; but Ceylon cinnamon has a lighter hue and a more delicate flavor with hints of citrus. It is grown in Sri Lanka (once known as Ceylon) and South America, while cassia is grown in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Central America. Cassia has a deeper, reddish hue, a more pungent, sweet, flavor, and the texture is a bit smoother when it is ground. One extremely potent type of cassia is Vietnamese or Saigon Cinnamon.

Saigon cinnamon: If you are not cooking it in a specific dish, sauce, drink, or baked good, you can simply sprinkle a little bit over yogurt, cereal or toast. For this purpose, I recommend looking for Saigon or Vietnamese cinnamon in the store; its not much more expensive and I find the texture and flavor more appealing in its raw form. Spice Islands is one large manufacturer that produces Saigon cinnamon.

Cassia cinnamon: This is a great choice for savory dishes that may have other strong spices and flavors to complement and balance out the cinnamon.  It is also great in baked goods  when you want that punch of cinnamon, and is even a great addition to potpourri and holiday decorating.  On the other hand, Ceylon cinnamon is good choice for recipes that don't have a lot of competing flavors that could overpower the spice. Think along the lines of dessert: custards, ice cream, baked fruits, syrups, and spiced tea or cocoa.

If a recipe calls for cinnamon, it will be fine to use whatever variety you may have on hand. 

All this cinnamon talk has me craving some Indian curry, and I just remembered I have butternut squash in the pantry. I know what I’m having for dinner! For an easy and delicious meal that highlights the warmth and sweetness of cinnamon, check out our Moroccan Chicken Thighs recipe.

In our Test Kitchens you will rarely see anything truly fried. Unless we are testing a "heavy" version of a recipe for the Lighten Up column, everything is oven-fried or pan-seared to develop a crust similar to frying, without the fat frying requires.

One of my favorite ingredients gives the texture and appearance of frying without the calories -- panko breadcrumbs. These Asian-style breadcrumbs are coarser than the American version, and so create a crunchy crust that can be just as satisfying as the crust on a deep-fried food. Panko breadcrumbs are available in most regular grocery stores now.

Give them a try in our Shrimp Fritters, Oven-Fried Chicken or Crab Cakes. I think you'll love the results.

Heavy cream... whipping cream... I get stumped every time I stand in the dairy aisle wondering which is best to use for certain recipes and what the real difference is between the two. With the help of joyofbaking.com, I learned that heavy cream and heavy whipping cream are essentially the same thing: cream that contains 36 percent or more milk fat. Whipping cream is a bit lighter, with only 30 percent milk fat.

Heavy cream will whip better and hold it's shape longer than whipping cream. Therefore, it is recommended more for piping, pastry fillings, and toppings. Whipping cream will still whip well, but it is likely to lose it's loft and become liquid again more quickly.

TK TIP: Chill your cream, bowl, and beaters before making whipped cream for a faster and better end product.

Photo: Courtesy Rhett Sutphin on Flickr.

Bored with the limited variety of winter fruits? Pepino melons could be just the ticket for keeping your palate entertained. Also known as melon pears, tree melons, or mellowfruit, Pepinos are mild and fragrant with a soft, smooth texture. They're a wonderful alternative to other melons, and have many of the same culinary uses.

The Pepino's smooth skin is a creamy to pale green color with purple stripes when it is ripe. To ripen, leave it uncovered at room temperature and out of direct sun. Once ripe, it will be fragrant and can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Native to South America, the fruit is now also grown in California and New Zealand. While Pepino melons are similar to melons and pears in taste and shape, they are only distantly related. They are closer to the nightshade family, including the tomato. The entire fruit is edible, but the skin easily peels away.

Personally, I'm not crazy about honeydew or cantaloupe, but I do enjoy Pepinos. Try to find them now for a nice change from typical winter fruits. Here are a few ideas for what to do with one:

• Cut it in half and simply spoon it out for breakfast or a snack; the flavor is enhanced with a little sprinkling of salt or squeeze of citrus.
• Cube it up and toss it on your yogurt and granola or into a morning smoothie.
• For lunch, cube or slice one up to add to a spinach salad with a citrus vinaigrette, sesame seeds and roasted cashews.
• It would be a great replacement for typical melons in a fruit salad.
• Follow your instincts and whims: Try Pepinos as a garnish, in desserts, cocktails, appetizers.
• Like Prosciutto-wrapped melon? Why not try Prosciutto-wrapped Pepino?
• How about in a spicy fruit salsa to accompany macadamia-nut-crusted Tilapia?

Nutrition tip: As an added bonus, Pepino melons are a good option for getting our daily servings of fruit. A medium Pepino is just 80 calories, has 5g of fiber and is a good source of Vitamin C.

Photos: courtesy Thue and Peter Greenwell on Wikimedia.

Folks on the CLBB have a conversation rolling about dry vermouth. Specifically, how to use it for cooking. Some have pointed out that you can use it in place of white wine. Very true. But there are differences, because vermouth brings a little something extra to the party.

Vermouth is an aromatized wine, which means that herbs and spices are added to the mix, typically dozens of botanicals such as allspice, anise, clove, ginger, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and vanilla. The faint spice, herbal, and floral notes make it a particularly appealing substitute for white wine. These extra flavors won’t overpower a dish, but they lend a welcome complexity to the overall flavor. (Again, we’re talking about dry vermouth here; sweet vermouth is a whole different story. And be aware that one major producer, Noilly Prat, has recently changed its recipe, making it much sweeter; if you’re subbing it for white wine, you probably won’t want that.)

Vermouth is also lightly fortified with unaged brandy, giving it a slightly higher alcohol content than white wine, so it may need to cook longer to burn off  most of its alcohol. I find that vermouth works extremely well with shellfish, as in this Linguine with Mussels recipe.

Photo courtesy: Cote at Flickr

In the colder months, when it's too frigid to fire up the grill, I always add smoky flavors to my dishes to recreate that charred taste I love.

One of my favorites is smoked paprika. It provides a sweet, cool, smoky flavor without the heat. Smoked paprika can be found at your local specialty market or online. Just last night, faced with below freezing temperatures and a craving for something smoky, I used my go-to dried spice rub on a flank steak. You could cook your flank steak in a grill pan or broil it. Here's my personal recipe:

• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl; rub evenly over flank steak. Let stand 30 minutes before cooking. You might want to try smoked paprika on your tacos, in your soups, or your salads. There's a million uses, so start the new year on an adventurous (and smoky) note.

Photo: Courtesy foodistablog

My cooking goal for 2009 is to expand my Japanese culinary repertoire. I got started early in December by learning how to make dashi. This clear, basic stock is fundamental to Japanese cooking, the base for most soups and a key ingredient in many non-soup dishes. Its flavor is very subtle, yet when it's done right, it can take a dish from good to great.

Intriguingly, dashi is appearing in the cuisine of some established Western chefs, including Eric Ripert (Le Bernardin) and Jonathan Benno (Per Se). Check out the New York Times story about this trend.

Making dashi is easy, but it requires a trip to an Asian market for the two key ingredients: kombu, an edible type of kelp cultivated in Japan, and katsuobushi, fine shavings of dried bonito, a type of tuna.

The process is simple: Place a 4- to 5-inch strip of kombu in a pot with about 5 cups of cold water and slowly bring the water to a boil. Just before the water boils, remove the kelp and turn off the heat. Add a handful (2 or 3 Tablespoons) of bonito flakes and steep. When the flakes sink to the bottom of the pot, strain the liquid through a fine sieve. What's left is a very delicate, clear broth that smells faintly of the sea.

I had always used the shortcut of instant dashi (or even chicken bouillon, which is what my Japanese-American mother often uses in her cooking). If you're in a pinch, this certainly won't ruin a recipe. But instant dashi can be harsh and salty compared to the real thing. And now that I've learned how simple it is to make dashi from scratch, I don't think I'll go back to those shortcuts.

So far I've used dashi as a base for miso soup, for udon, and as an ingredient in dishes such as braised gobo (burdock) with carrots, a traditional Japanese New Year's food. It appears in most of the recipes I've been eyeing in various Japanese cookbooks.

Check out the video below the jump for a decent demo of making dashi. Note that it appears to use different proportions and an extra step (adding cold water before putting in the bonito flakes) from my simpler, handed-down recipe (which, by the way, is untested by our Test Kitchens). You can also try our vegegarian dashi recipe for a fishless alternative.