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This week it's the seeds and bark that changed the planet. We're talking spices, the stuff of wonderment and avarice in the medieval world with Paul Freedman, author of Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination. It's a St. Augustine, Florida special for Jane and Michael Stern at Saltwater Cowboy's. We talk with Peter Shafer, our Gastrosexual for the month of June. Tea purist Bill Waddington, proprietor of St. Paul's TeaSource, has summer in a glass — iced teas for the lazy at heart, and culinary improv artist Sally Schneider has a brief on the wallflower of the farm stand… the beet.

Recipes

Tagliatelle with Caramelized Oranges and Almonds

At 16th-century banquets this pasta accompanied poultry and meats. Try the combination with a capon or a high-quality bird for an important dinner. Get the full recipe.

Corn as Italians Would Eat It

In Mexico, I have seen groovy little stands where the vendors poach ears of corn and then paint it with mayonnaise, dust it with chili flakes and grated queso fresco, and squeeze lime juice all over the whole thing. They don't do that in Italy, but this recipe is what they might do. It's fantastic. Get the full recipe.

Making Iced Tea

Bill Waddington, proprietor of the TeaSource shop in St. Paul, Minnesota offers a few methods for brewing perfect iced tea, along with a list of suggested teas. Get the recipes.

Warm Beet Juice Vinaigrette

This unusual vinaigrette is delicious with grilled, roasted, or sautéed fish or sea scallops, braised leeks, sliced warm new potatoes, roasted onions, and buckwheat noodles. Get the full recipe.

Features

Jane and Michael Stern: Saltwater Cowboy's, St. Augustine, FL

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St. Augustine, Florida has a cuisine all its own, brought to the area by Minorcan settlers in the mid-19th century. Several traditional dishes feature the datil pepper, a small, very hot pepper similar to the habanero that's grown in the St. Augustine area. The Sterns discovered it at Saltwater Cowboy's, a funky, relaxed place resembling the old salt marsh fish camps of a century ago.

Seafood and regional specialties figure heavily on the menu here: frog legs, cooter (soft-shell turtle), catfish, alligator tail, freshly shucked oysters, great fried shrimp, boiled crawfish with Cajun spices, and deviled crab. A house special, Minorcan Clam Chowder, resembles Manhattan chowder but with the smoky bite of datil peppers. It's a must try for spicy food fans.

Saltwater Cowboy's
Dondanville Road
St. Augustine, FL
904-471-2332
www.saltwatercowboys.com

Gastrosexual of the Month

Peter Shafer from Ridgefield, Washington is our Gastrosexual for the month of June. He phoned in and talked with Lynne about why bread is the sexiest food. Read more about Peter, and the rest of the June finalists on the Gastrosexuals page.

Audio Highlights

• Jane and Michael Stern visit Saltwater Cowboy's in St. Augustine, FL
  
• Peter Shafer, our Gastrosexual of the month for June
  
• Paul Freedman talks with Lynne about Spices And The Medieval Imagination
  
• Bill Waddington with some tips on making iced tea
  
• Sally Schneider with the scoop on beets
  

Music

• "Better Road" by Dan Israel, from Time I Get Home, Eclectone
• "Sexy Results" by Death From Above 1979, from You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine, Last Gang
• "Definitely Beachy" by Air Miami, from Me Me Me, teenbeat
• "Nijaay" by Orchestra Baobab, from Made in Dakar, Nonesuch
• "7/4 (Shoreline)" by Broken Social Scene, from Broken Social Scene Arts & Crafts
• "Blue Beat" by Tussle, from Kling Klang, Troubleman Unlimited
• "Call Me" by Astrud Gilberto, from Beach Samba, Verve (USA)
• "The Splendid Table Theme" is written and performed by Billy Barber, "Two for the Road" (used for the Sterns segment) was written by Henry Mancini for the film of the same name. It's also performed by Billy Barber.

Books

• Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination by Paul Freedman
• The Improvisational Cook by Sally Schneider
• 500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late by Jane and Michael Stern

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