Blueberry Bran Muffins

An edible berry of a plant native to South and Central America, the Aztec word tomatl is the original derivative for the word tomato that once started out as a tiny wild fruit. An immensely popular vegetable across cultures and a rich source of umami flavor, the tomato has however, also been the victim of rampant genetic modifications to make it bigger, more abundant on the vine, give it color variations and resistant to bugs.  At the time, I paid little attention to the richly red tomatoes my mother would use in cooking but on trips in recent years, I notice how deeply flavorful tomatoes are in India. While in New York, I also grew to appreciate the famous New Jersey tomato that appears in farmer’s markets across state lines late July and August, which many swear is the best tomato in America.

In Houston however, the local fresh tomato season is no more than 2 to 3 months and heralds the end of spring and the beginning of summer. For the past few weeks, I’ve been gleefully picking out giant yellow, orange, and red heirloom tomatoes from Good Thyme Farms and dropping them in dals and curries or in salads and sandwiches. Most of them have ripened on the vine and are packed with flavor. Trying to mimic a tomato soup we enjoyed at a cardamom farm while in India earlier this year, I made a new version every few days until I arrived at one that gave me the satisfaction the one in India did. A few small spoons of aromatic spices elevate the soup; the cardamom adds a sweet aroma and the coriander a lemony flavor to accentuate the tomato. Enjoy it warm or chilled.

A few days ago, I overheard a friend say that pho is his all-time favorite go to food, be it for celebration, comfort, or sickness. I can understand why, chicken soup is beloved around the world and the Vietnamese pho is particularly delicious with its rich broth and infusion of aromatic herbs. But it got me thinking that chicken soup is also like a blank canvas that can take on the flavors of all regions of the world from Tuscany to Chengdu to Kerala. India is not a country of soups however there are umpteen aromatic soup like lentil and vegetable stews and curries, usually eaten with rice or such.

Here is a soup inspired by the coast of Kerala using cardamom and black pepper native to that region. Like most curries, this soup tastes best a few hours later or the day after when all the flavors have had some time together and mellowed out. The most flavorful bones to use for soup are chicken feet, which until recently, were only available in Asian grocery stores. Coconut milk adds a touch of creaminess, and the ginger adds a sharp bite. If you have leftovers, freeze it and it will make for a wonderful meal a few months down the road.

With cold weather in the rear view and balmy summers to look forward to, the edible joys of spring are all around us. From sugar snap peas to fennel to about a dozen varieties of greens, the farmer’s table stands at Urban Harvest farmer’s market are bursting with beautiful produce. Last weekend, I had my first local peach and blueberry sighting of the year.  Lightsey Farms had arrived with their first spring harvest of local plums and peaches and there was another farmer with boxes and boxes of local wild blueberries. I brought them home and turned them into a lightly spiced lemonade of sorts. Growing up in a time and place when local was the only way we ate and drank, I remember my mother buying baskets of plums or apricots during peak summer season and making a variety of sweetened concentrated syrups, called sherbat. She’d puree the fruit at its ripest, sometimes cook it down or other times just strain and combine with sugar and other seasonings and store them in tall bottles. We would add water or club soda to turn them into drinks all year long. My parents would have adult versions with generous splashes of gin or vodka. Here is a gently spiced lemonade to welcome a Texas spring, it’s only lightly sweetened, adjust and spike as needed.