Edible Garnishes
for Life After Mashed Potatoes

      So we have left behind the Old Days, when vegetables were apt to appear under a suffocating blanket of cream sauce, and/or cheese, with generous butter. 
     You could barely taste the vegetable, which might have been no great loss, since it was probably overcooked. Today we often eat fresh vegetables plain, relishing their own distinctive taste. Yet, particularly in absence of the vanished sauce or cheese, we do need a garnish. This can range from a sprinkle of something, perhaps mainly decorative like paprika, to quite substantial additions such as red peppers or toasted nuts. 

Sprinkles

     How often does a recipe tell us to "Sprinkle with _______ and serve." The blank is normally filled with parsley or paprika. 
     Sprinkles are for appearance and/or a taste accent. You don't do these for health reasons. While they may contain nutrients, they are too small in quantity to make a significant contribution. 
     For general purpose sprinkles on vegetables, we have become intrigued with three: half-sharp paprika, sumac, and Aleppo pepper. 
     These are hard to find, but the first two are available from Penzeys. Aleppo pepper was available there, but seems to have been dropped. 

Sumac
     This non-poisonous powder is a little sour, like lemon juice, but milder. It has a rich red color. We use this in an ever expanding variety of ways. 
     It is used in cooking as well, and we plan to try some recipes in due course. 

Half-Sharp Paprika
     The knock on paprika as always been that it needs to be very fresh, and so can't be kept long. You also sometimes hear the view that even fresh it has virtually no flavor, only fragrance. Certainly most will agree that it has very little taste, at best.  
     Half-sharp paprika has its own distinctive flavor, and lasts several months, particularly if refrigerated. It provides the gorgeous red of paprika, with a more interesting taste. 

Aleppo Pepper
     This is a sort of Prince of red pepper flakes. We have used it in place of the latter with good effect, and will experiment further.
     Aleppo pepper lasts well in the refrigerator.

Edible Garnishes

     Garnishes or additions appear in vegetable recipes throughout this site. Below are a few that we have come to use on a regular basis.

Nuts
     Raw nuts are tasty and offer a crunch. Toasted nuts are dramatic indeed and can make a bland dish interesting. If you also snack on nuts, use sparingly in cooking, as nuts do contain fat.

Raisins
     These are, of course, particularly good with nuts. Trail mix extends the combination to other ingredients. 

Thickened Yogurt Cream
     Once you get used to this you will find it almost necessary for certain dishes, and wonder how you ever did without it. 

Roasted Red Pepper 
     Bits of these can be an addition to mashed potatoes, or succotash, or almost anything.

Capers, or Anchovies, or Olives 
     We sometimes use all three, which we call The Sicilian Triangle. We like this with cauliflower, or in mashed potatoes, and expect to find other uses. To our taste, the three together are too piquant for everyday use. 

Bacon Bits
     We make bacon and freeze it for use as bacon bits. Turkey bacon is available. Also, turkey pastrami can be fried and reads as bacon. Even if you use ordinary bacon, the amount is so small that your diet can probably afford these on occasion.
     Bacon bits are traditional with greens. They can always be counted on to make a bland dish interesting, particularly for people not greatly enthusiastic about vegetables in general.