Call Me Crazy

You know I love to cook. You know I love to experiment. Well, last week I bought a mortar and pestle, a lovely, heavy granite piece of kitchen awesomeness.

After I’d gotten it home, I decided to do some “research” on how to use it correctly. I scoured You Tube, looking for instructional videos and information. I started with Jamie Oliver and moved on to a lot of other videos, discovering some interesting stuff along the way.

I’ve made guacamole using my new mortar and pestle (John declared it THE best guacamole he’s EVER had!). I’ve already made a batch of homemade Garam Masala, which smells heavenly! I’m now cooking up a curried chicken dish, using the Garam Masala and it smells heavenly! But it was this short video that got me excited. A kitchen rock… A rock! In the kitchen! How perfectly logical, and yet, how perfectly crazy!

Really, though, it does make a lot of sense, doesn’t it?

So, I went rock hunting. I didn’t have to go far. Last spring, in digging up the butterfly garden, we dug up quite a few rocks, some of which were the perfect size. We had used them to build up one corner of the garden, where it meets the driveway. I went out there this morning and picked up what I think will be the perfect rock.

What will I use it for? Well, I tried it for cracked pepper… Perfect! Yes, I can use the mortar and pestle for that, too, but for just a couple of peppercorns, a rock is perfect! I can see using it to split garlic heads, cracking the garlic cloves for peeling, cracking nuts, tenderizing meat… I suppose I’m only limited by my imagination, right?

I also figure that if you heat the rock in the oven, you could also use it to keep dinner rolls warm… or my hands.

Ok, call it crazy… or call it crazy smart!