Ingredients: Mango, Mustard, Lime Juice

Expand beyond honey mustard horizons and experiment with spicy, savory fruits combinations in America. This recipe is taken from the streets of Bangladesh, where vendors slice green mangoes in april, months before mangoes are ripe. Discovered by Joseph in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Cuisine: Bengali, South Asian

Ingredients: Dates, Crystallized Ginger, Almonds

Experiment with stuffed dates. Dates are used to break the long day of fasting during Ramadan in Morocco. Stuffing the complex sugars of dates with ginger perfumes the dates and increases digestion, as ginger is a penetrating spice that creates heat. Almonds provides fats that deepen and balance this recipe, making it smooth.

My friend Lucia DelVecchio stuffs her dates with feta cheese. I've also seen experiments with grated coconut.

Discovered by Joseph visiting chef Ali Essakari at Earthdance in the Berkshires, MA.

Ingredients: Apples, Lemon Rind, Honey

Experiment with freshening up fruits. Lemons bring cleansing freshness to apples, and honey adds a penetrating, deep fire. Discovered by Joseph in Oren Weinrib's Kitchen, Cambridge, MA.

Experiment with fresh fruits topped with cooling herbs. Sliced peaches garnished with chopped mint. Discovered by Joseph in Henry Kaufman's Kitchen in Boston, MA.

Experiment with spicy Middle Eastern Desserts. Discovered at Mohammed Laghmari's home · in Fes, Morocco by Joseph

Cuisine: Moroccan, Middle Eastern, North African, Ramadan Break Fast

Experiment with "dark liquorish" and other "pungent" spices and dates. Discovered by Joseph in Fes, Morocco. (Additional Keywords: North African)

Thinly sliced toasted bread melts away when topped with tart apple and honey-cinnamon roasted almonds. Designed by Joseph.

Bananas are richer, deeper when fried and cooked in spices. Discovered by Chef Yacov of the Vulcano Lodge in Guatemala.

Experiment with nurturing, warming, pungent cookies with coconut oil, tahini and coriander. Light and crispy, grounding oatmeal based snacks, they are also flavored with sweet spices like cinnamon and cardamom, and smooth maple syrup.

Discovered by Sally Miller, an Ayurvedic student from Philadelphia, PA

Boiled Turkish apricots release a smoky, deep nectar. Cardamom and lemon juice complete the syrup which is drizzled over the apricots after they are baked and covered with cool yoghurt. Garnished with roasted parchment and pistachios. Discovered by Joseph in "The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean" by Paula Wolfert; Harper Collins, NY 1994.

Experiment with sweet spices and tea in ice cream, including cinnamon, cardamom, rounded with pungent ginger. Discovered by Ellie Hadsall, Program Administrator at the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, NM.

Experiment with all natural, raw, vegan pies with tropical ingredients. Date crust includes walnuts, cinnamon, orange rind, and coconut shavings. Followed by a layer of bananas and topped with blended cashew coconut milk whip cream. Discovered by Tricia Gourley of Austin,TX.

Basil is a pungent relative of mint. It’s sharp taste complements soft cream. Discovered by Kate Hirst, herbalist out of Eugene, OR.

Creamy avocados are popular as smoothies in Morocco. Mixed with coconut can make a delicious vegan ice cream. Discovered by Ellia Hadsall of Albuquerque, NM.

Blended dates, warm ghee, and cardamom sauce poured over split bananas.
Discovered by Michele Schulz of Alchemy of Tastes, Albuquerque, NM. [micheleschulz@gmail.com]

Crunchy chocolate cookies, brown and earthy with cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Aromatic coconut flakes and pecans. Discovered by Frank Cook’s mom in Washington D.C.

Sweetened Yoghurt blended with ground indian spices nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamom taste just like a delicious chai. Discovered by Sally Miller, a yoga instructor from Philadelphia, PA.

Explore chocolate drinks with nuts and aromatics. Use ground cacao beans or melted chocolate. Almonds & rosewater make an amaretto finish. Discovered by Chocolate Historian Mark J. Sciscenti of Kakawa Choclates, Santa Fe, NM. http://www.kakawachocolates.com

[Reported by Marie Silva of http://sustainablelivingcoalition.org]

For those who are ready to make the leap into salt and ice-cream. Discovered by Sarah Miller on http://foodandpaper.blogspot.com/.

In the words of Chocolate Historian Mark J Sciscenti, Pepper and Allspice "lend a dark spicy taste to chocolate. This drink has a very spicy, mysterious and almost indescribable flavor - accented by floral/honey undertones."

Discovered by Chocolate Historian Mark J. Sciscenti of Kakawa Choclates, Santa Fe, NM. http://www.kakawachocolates.com

Experiment with aromatics and yoghurt cheese (hanging yoghurt from a cheesecloth overnight). The delicate aromatics of saffron make this dessert, called Srikanda in South Asia, food for the gods. Discovered in Albuquerque, NM.

Experiment! Cheesecake is ready to absorb even subtler, delicate flavors. Sweet indian chai spices are exotic. I imagine replacing a graham cracker crust with chocolate crunchies.

Like bread pudding but with corn. Delicious with cranberries and big chunks of fresh corn. Discovered at 12 Bones, a southern smokehouse in Asheville, NC.

Experiment with soft, spongy layered crepe cakes. Designed by chef Koji Imai of Megu, New York City (http://www.megunyc.com).

[Reported by Anna Sapritsky of New York City]

Experiment with ginger and almond, a pungent and aromatic mix. Ginger and almond crusted peanuts, stuffed into dates, in rice cream and in pastries. We discovered this combination in a delectable pastry created by Chef Guy Reuge at Mirabelle's (http://www.restaurantmirabelle.com); St. James, Long Island, NY.

Reported by Jamie Gibbs of Port Jefferson, Long Island, NY.

Experiment with thousand layer crepe cakes! Easy to griddle and without an oven, thousand layer crepe cakes can be served with many flavors. Served here as a perfumed saffron milk delicacy reminiscent of the silk road. Discovered in Pune, India while cooking dinner for Rose’s birthday.

Experiment with pistachio milk crepe cakes! Discovered in Maharastra, India.

Experiment with candied flower buds. Simple to make and a beautiful finish to desserts. Reported by Sonya Masocco of the the Ayurvedic Institute. Many flowers can be candied, including Violets, Nasturtium, Mums, Mangold, Rose Periwinkle Pianthus, White Peony, Forsythia, Calendula, Lotus, Bachelor Buttons, Hibiscus, Linden.

Experiment with exotic, spicy chocolates. Called a "Naga Bar." Discovered by Vosges, gourmet chocolatier.

Ayurvedic ice creams are good for you because they include spices that break up mucous and aid digestion. We also use milk instead of heavy creams. Homemade ice-cream is easy to make by following this rule of thumb: Ice becomes ice cream by breaking large ice crystals into small ones. Creamier ingredients also make ice cream more creamy. Start by mixing all the ingredients together and put in the freezer for one hour. Afterwards, stir every half hour until the ice cream is completely frozen. Voila! This recipe discovered by Dr. Lad of the Ayurvedic Institute.

Optional: Experiment with essential oils like sandalwood or khus.

Sours wake up desire, moistening the lips and the palate, inspiring an artist or an aphrodisiac. Thick pudding calms the mind. I see this dish served as evening turns to night, chilled. Discovered by Jon Edwards, Ayurvedic practitioner.

Soft, jelly-like, translucent like cooked cucumber. Sweet and milk white. An unusual vegetable for this hemisphere. Discovered in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Kate Zuckerman, in her book "The Sweet Life", says of Chocolate Lime Tea Cakes, "Lime is an unusual addition to chocolate, but it gives chocolate an exotic tropical undertone that highlights the fruitiness and acidity of high quality chocolate."

Spirits of the dead are welcomed back to their homes with beautifully decorated altars made by their loved ones. Sugar skulls, marigolds, candles, incense and special foods adorn home altars. Families take the flowers and sugar skulls to the cemetery to decorate the tombs on November 2. Sugar skulls are colorfully decorated with icing, pieces of bright foil, colored sugars and usually bear the name of the deceased loved one being honored. They are easy to make by children and adults, and if kept dry, they can last a year. (from www.mexicansugarskull.com)