Mustard seed

A sea of mustard seeds, whose color is something that I always find quite curious: at first looking black, but then more blue and purple and even red as they are lit more brightly and as I look closer.

Quinoa

Quinoa, the weirdest little grain I know, with the little teeny white circle bits around its diameter that come out when it's cooked.

Basmati rice

 Basmati rice, looking like solid glassy crystal needles.

Red chilis

Big long flat and dried red chilis, glistening with their latent spicy oils.

Turmeric root

Logs of astringent whole turmeric root, all hard, medicinal smelling and ready to stain your clothing yellow.

Panch puran

 Panch puran, which literally means "five spices," is a frequently used mix in various Bengali dishes.

Fenugreek

I still don't know what to do with fenugreek, also known as methi, though I like its kernel shapes.

Corander seed

Corander seed is another ubiquitous South Asian spice with little use in standard Western dishes, though we often use the leaves for things.

Cloves

Whole cloves, a potent spice that I've never had much use for in my European styles of cooking, except a bit of mulling wine or cider here or there. Switching from sweet to savory, though, they work quite well in many Indian dishes.

Cumin seed

 Another closer view of cumin seeds, bringing out the stripy ridges on their sides.

Cumin seed

Cumin seeds: long, dark, and savory when sautéd whole. I've come to appreciate whole spices greatly as I slowly figure out more how to cook South Asian styles of dishes. 

Garlic and shallot

Garlic heads surround a single darker shallot.

Dessert popcorn

Sweet dessert popcorn created by our eight-year-old, dusted with cocoa powder and embedded with little nuggets of adherent caramel.

Rusk fault

Boundary between tight-packed pieces of cake rusk, looking like a geographic fault line to my eyes.

Sooji

 Granular formations of cooked sooji, also known as semolina.

Apples and grapefruit

Apples resting on a bed of grapefruit.

Kiwis, pears, and plums

 A cool-colored mix of kiwis, pears, and plums.

Mangos and mandarins

Warm colors of fruit, with mangos resting atop a pile of mandarin oranges.

Brussels sprouts

 Jumbled pile of uncooked Brussels sprouts. I love to roast them with olive oil and ground pepper.

Cucumbers and zucchini

 Cucumbers and zucchinis, packed together in a crisper drawer.

Zucchini in cucumbers

Zucchini, nestled amongst a group of cucumbers.

Frozen juneberries

We have a couple of juneberry trees in our yard, and while stuck at home last year I begin to harvest from them for the first time in earnest. Their taste is a little like blueberries, only more watery and with larger seed, and they don't keep for long before they turn.

Porcini mushrooms

 Another complex porcini mushroom landscape.

Porcini mushrooms

This next series of images are all about food. Food is something so familiar to us that it often disappears into near invisibility. We might appreciate a fancy preparation, but how often have you stopped to appreciate the shape and form and colors of your raw ingredients? And so I would invite you to spend a little time with me the next few weeks and see what there is to be seen in something that's so everyday indeed, starting with the craggy features of these dried porcini mushrooms.

Compost lid

Lid of a small compost bin.

Jewelry hanger

 Another wire jewelry hanger, this one in the shape of a clothier's dummy.

Jewelry hanger

Metal rings for hanging jewelry.

Parasol

Center of a purple parasol.

Tunnels

 Mountain range folds of collapsable kiddie tunnels.

Fabric flowers

Big, colorful fabric flowers