"<b>Cook Healthy With Marble Mortar & Pestle No one loves bland food!</b><br> However, adding store-bought sauces to your food not only adds up to hundreds of dollars wasted per year, but also jeopardizes your family’s health.<br> Anything stored in jars is laden with chemicals and preservatives. Why deny yourself the gustatory experience and health benefits that come with fresh ingredients?<br> Cooking with mortar and pestle will expand your palate, broaden your culinary skills and help you prepare delicious dish. <br> <br><b> Before using a mortar and pestle for the first time, it is important to season it to avoid any unwanted flavors.  This process will also clean out the stone dust that is inherently left during the manufacturing process. Clean the mortar and pestle under running water with a stiff cleaning brush. Allow to air dry.</b><br> Place 1/3 cup of uncooked rice in the mortar and grind it to powder with the pestle . The color of the pulverized rice should be white once you finish grinding it. Discard the rice. <br> Place four peeled cloves of garlic and a teaspoon each of cumin, kosher salt and pepper into the mortar.  Grind until all the ingredients are pulverized together. Discard the ingredients. <br>