I've had cardamom on the brain recently. And I blame Padma Lakshmi.

We weren't even talking about food--we were discussing jewelry for a Wall Street Journal fashion piece, for heaven's sake. 

But then the "Top Chef" host started describing a long gold chain that she liked that's flecked with little gold nubs. "Like cardamom pods," Padma explained.

I immediately began thinking about cardamom cookies and haven't stopped since.

I've always wondered why you don't see the spice used more often in baking or called out in restaurant menus. (Outside of Indian restaurants, that is.) I was delighted last year to see it make an appearance in an inventive orange-cardamom jam cocktail at Double Crown in New York. (You take a teaspoonful of the spicy jam and mix it into a vodka concoction. Quite brilliant -- and refreshing, to boot.)

In my own kitchen, as much as I love cardamom, outside of curries and Singaporean stews, I pretty much just use it in cookies and, sometimes, pancakes and waffles. It's such a robust spice I often shy away from tossing even a smidgen of it into something just for kicks.

This weekend, however, I met someone who encouraged me to broaden my horizons with cardamom.

To read more, and get my favorite recipe for cardamom-walnut cookies, check out: A Tiger In The Kitchen