Frozen Food

The days lengthen, but here in North America, spring is still far away… except on our plates. A wide array of frozen vegetables and fruit readily available in supermarkets everywhere can bring the pleasures of renewal to our taste buds. They bring most of the vitamins and antioxidants of their fresh counterparts at a fraction of the cost of their long hauled South Continents cousins. When you buy, just check the consistency of the package: the content should be both loose and frozen. Store immediately in the freezer section of your refrigerator.
The following recipes use frozen peas, asparagus and raspberries for a light and rapidly prepared three courses meal for 4 people. Minimal cooking should ensure that the vegetables keep their nutritional value.

Pea soup
(Cheap, Preparation and cooking time: 10 minutes, Easy)

Ingredients:
1 slice white bread
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
1 sprig of thyme
1 tablespoon canola oil
½ cup (113 g) finely chopped onion
¼ cup (60 g) finely chopped celery
1 lb (543 g) frozen peas
2 cups (500 ml) water
Drops of Maggi aromatics
1 sprig mint
¼ cup (60ml) crème fraîche
Salt and Pepper to taste

Material:
1 4-quart saucepan
1 blender
1 cookie sheet covered with parchment paper
1 bread knife and board

Preheat the oven at 325F (162 C). Cube the white bread and lay it on the cooking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil and thyme leaves. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, turning at mid point.
Pour the oil in the saucepan. Turn the gas stove top on high. Add the onion and celery and sauté them for 3 minutes at a lower temperature. Add the water. Bring to a boil and add the frozen peas and the sprig of mint. Simmer covered at a lower temperature for five minutes. Retrieve and discard the sprig of mint. Pour the vegetables and water in the blender and mix until you reach a smooth consistency.
Pour the soup back into the saucepan. Heat up over a very low flame. Add the crème fraîche and simmer for another two minutes. Serve immediately in 4 soup bowls with the croutons sprinkled on top.

Asparagus Soufflé
(Easy, Preparation time and cooking: 30 minutes, Cheap)

Ingredients:
6 organic eggs
½ cup (113 ml) milk
1tablespoon (14 g) flour
1tablespoon (14 g) butter
4 oz (113 g) hard goat cheese with truffle or Gruyere
8 oz (226 g) frozen asparagus

Material:
2 salad bowls
1 eggbeater
1 silicone spatula
1 wooden spoon
1 small saucepan
1 soufflé dish buttered and floured

Preheat the oven at 360 F (182 C).
Separate the white and the yolks in two separate salad bowls.
Place the saucepan on the lowest setting of the gas stove and melt the butter. Add the flour while mixing. Pour the milk over the mixture and keep on stirring until the béchamel forms about 3 minutes. Remove from the stove.
Place the asparagus into the top part of a steamer, sprinkle a teaspoon of salt and cook for about 7 minutes. Cut into 1-inch pieces and reserve.
Grate the cheese and add to the béchamel. Add the yolks and stir. Beat the white until peaks form. Add the whites to the batter carefully lifting them with a silicone spatula until well mixed. Add the asparagus pieces and transfer the batter to the soufflé dish.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve immediately with a green salad.

Raspberries tart crème brûlée
(Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 1 hour, Cheap)

12 oz (340 g) frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon Rose syrup
½ recipe sweet pastry dough (recipe follows)
1 egg
¼ cup (50 g) crystallized sugar
¼ cup (50 ml) crème fraîche
¼ cup (50 ml) milk
Confectioner sugar to dust

Sweet pastry dough:
1 stick (113 g) butter cut in small pieces
1cup (226 g) pastry flour
1teaspoon salt
¼ cup (50 g) sugar
Ice water

Material:
8-inch (22 cm) pie mold buttered and floured
Parchment paper
Rice to weigh the pie
Salad bowl
Colander

Preheat the oven at 360 F (182 C).
Place the raspberries in the colander over a salad bowl to defrost. The raspberries juice can be added to plain red wine vinegar to make raspberry vinegar.
Place the butter, flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a pastry blade attachment. Mix until the mixture is coarse. Through the top opening, and while the food processor is running pour a thin stream of ice water. Pause and observe whether a ball of dough forms. If it does not, continue to sparsely feed water to the machine until it does. Once it does, stop the machine, scoop the ball and place it in a plastic bag or wrap in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough and garnish a pie mold with it. Place parchment paper on top. Weigh it down with rice. Lay the extra rolled out dough on a parchment paper, and bake both for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven. Store the rice back in a container for further pie cooking. Discard the parchment. Place the extra dough in the cleaned food processor fitted with the regular blade and reduce it in powder.
Crack the eggs in a salad bowl and beat them for 2 minutes. Add the sugar, and beat for another 2 minutes. Add the milk, cream and the rose syrup. Beat until well mixed.
Place the raspberries on top of the dough in one layer. Sprinkle with the powdered dough. Pour carefully the batter on top. If there is a surplus, start by baking the cake for 5 minutes before adding the remaining batter. Bake for another 35 minutes. Retrieve the pie from the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
Sprinkle confectioner sugar on top and bake just under the grill until the top is caramelized and golden.

Home Spa

Once in a while, I love to take a home spa break. It is a wonderful occasion to eat a lot of vegetables and fruit and finally reach the required daily number of 5 servings. It does wonder for the complexion, not to mention the figure. It must be the cocktail of natural vitamins being soaked by a parched body. And for those of us who think that beauty is more than skin deep, it cleanses the system. The length and frequency of the regime is up to you. I feel energized and enjoy pairing it with daily yoga or stretching session.
I use it whenever I have overindulged. A full winter weekend is a nice way to start. All you need is a blender, a juicer, a cutting board, paring knife, running water, fresh or frozen fruit, seasonal vegetables and the desire to take care of yourself. In between the intake of smoothies, drink a lot of vegetable broth, water and green tea: 6 8-oz (250 ml) glasses of green tea a day can help rev the metabolism. The flaxseeds I add to the smoothie contain Omega-3. It is a wonderful lubricant for the digestive system as well as for the skin. If you like massages, book one. It will provide the natural complement to the treat you are giving yourself.

Vegetable broth (Easy, preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes, Cheap)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil (28 ml)
2 medium onions peeled and thinly sliced
2 small leeks split lengthwise, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 medium fennel bulb, halved and thinly sliced
2 carrots peeled split lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 large tomato halved
1 whole garlic head, halved crosswise
2 large shallots peeled and thinly sliced
1teaspoon salt
1teaspoon peppercorns
2 thyme sprigs coarsely chopped
2 flat leaf parsley sprigs coarsely chopped
2 pints (890 ml) water

Material:
4-quart saucepan and its cover
Salad bowl
Strainer

In a large saucepan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the vegetables, garlic, shallots and salt. Cover and cook the vegetables for 10 minutes.
Add 2 pints of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium low and simmer uncovered for twenty minutes.
Add the thyme, and parsley. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat. Add the pepper and infuse covered for another 5 minutes.
Strain the stock in the salad bowl. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Make about 2 pints.
Once cold, you can drink it all day long. You may use it in place of water to blend the vegetables.

Cold green tea

Ingredients:
Green tea bags
2 pints (890 ml) cold water

Material
1 pitcher

Seep 4-6 green tea bags in 2 pints of water in the pitcher for 4 to 6 hours.
Drink immoderately.

Breakfast smoothie (Easy, Preparation time: 5 minutes, Cheap)

Ingredients:
¼ cup (60 g) flaxseed grains
2 cups (500 ml) watermelon peeled and finely sliced
1 cup (250 ml) pomegranate juice
1 cup (250 ml) frozen raspberries

Material:
Coffee grinder
Blender

Grind the flaxseeds in the coffee grinder. Transfer to the blender. Add the fruit and juice and blend until smooth. Divide in two tall glasses and drink instead of your usual breakfast.

Choose any of the following three juices in place of lunch and dinner.

Sunshine: Pumpkin juice (Easy, Preparation time: 5 minutes, Cheap)

Ingredients:
½ butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut in pieces
1-inch (3 cm) piece of ginger peeled and finely chopped
2 cups (500 ml) vegetable broth

Material:
Blender

Pour the broth in the blender. Add the vegetables and ginger. Blend until smooth. Divide in two glasses, refrigerate and drink within 24 hours.

Sunset: Beet Gazpacho (Easy, Preparation time: 5 minutes, Cheap)

Ingredients:
3½ oz (100 g) beetroot raw, peeled and chopped
1 pear peeled, cored and cut in pieces
2 stalks celery chopped
1-inch (3 cm) piece of ginger peeled and chopped
2 cups (500 g) tomato juice
1 cup (250 ml) vegetable broth
1 tablespoon (14 ml) red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons (28 ml) olive oil
Drops of Tabasco to taste

Material:
Blender

Pour the liquid in the blender. Add the vegetables and blend until smooth. Divide into two glasses, refrigerate and serve within 24 hours.

Fruity veggie mix (Easy, Preparation time: 5 minutes, Cheap)

Ingredients:
4 Granny smith apples washed and quartered
1 fennel bulb washed and halved
4 celery stalks washed
3 carrots washed
1 1-inch (3 cm) ginger root peeled

Material:
Juicer

Juice the fruit and vegetables. Divide the liquid into two glasses and drink immediately.

Valentine Roses

A rose is a rose is a rose…comes in many shades and is the symbol of Valentine. Why not create a centerpiece in all the shades of your dinner: salmon for the starter and the appetizer, coral for the main course, pink and red for the dessert.
As to the claim that some foods are aphrodisiac, I leave it to you, but I threw in for good measure, oysters, salmon eggs, and Champagne. Deserved or not they all have that enviable reputation. As for me, I started by quoting Gertrude Stein, because nothing is sexier than a spirited conversation. Start the day before for the hors d’oeuvre, the vodka sauce of the lobster and the dessert and enjoy La Vie en Rose.

Smoked Salmon pizza (Easy, Preparation time a day before 2 hours, Cooking time: 20 minutes, Expensive)

Ingredients:
For the pizza dough
1package active dry yeast
1½ cups (350 ml) of warm water
3½ cups (794 gm) flour
1teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (28 gm) extra virgin olive oil

For the cream:
4-oz (113 gm) sour cream
4-oz (113 gm) low fat cream cheese
1 bunch of dill
Salt and pepper to taste

¼ lb (113 gm) of smoked salmon thinly sliced

Material:
Salad Bowl
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Rolling pin
Food processor

Proof the yeast in a half-cup warm water for 15 minutes.
In the salad bowl combine flour and salt. Form a well in the center and fill it with the yeast mixture and the oil. Stir with your hand adding the remaining water little by little until a ball of dough forms. Knead until smooth and elastic about 10 minutes. If it is too wet add more flour, more water if too dry.
Shape the dough into a ball and place in the cleaned salad bowl, dried and oiled with a cloth cover. Let it double for an hour and a half.
Divide into 4 balls. Freeze three for up to three months. Keep the fourth one in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day, turn the oven on at 360 F (182 C).
Roll the dough as thinly as possible between two layers of parchment. Remove the top layer. Transfer the lower layer and pizza dough to the cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Let the pizza cool to room temperature.
Wash the dill and keep the ferns. Mix the cream cheese, sour cream and dill ferns in the food processor. Add salt and pepper. Layer on to the pizza. Garnish generously with the smoked salmon and cut in small pieces. Serve as an appetizer with the remainder of the Champagne bottle.
Note: this pizza dough can be the basis of a traditional pizza. Before baking, add a purée of washed basil leaves, oil and garlic. Layer on top thin slices of Parmesan cheese and tomato slices. Bake for 20 minutes and serve with a salad as a light lunch.

Oysters on the half shell (Easy, Preparation time: 2 minutes, Expensive)

Ingredients:
12 oysters on the ½ shell
1 small jar of smoked salmon eggs
1 lime

Cut the lime in 4.
Pour 1 teaspoon of salmon eggs in each oyster
Garnish each plate with 6 oysters and 1 lime quarter in the center.

Note: if you do not own oyster plates, form six little mounds of crystal salt in a plate and settle each oyster shell on its salt nest.

Lobster Flambé (Easy, Preparation time: 20 minutes, Cooking time: 30 minutes, Expensive)

Ingredients:
2 lobsters 1lbs ¼ (567 gm) each
¼ cup (57 gm) cognac
1tbsp (14 gm) olive oil
Sauce:
1 lbs (454 gm) peeled and cut tomatoes
1 small carrot peeled and cubed
½ onion peeled and sliced
1 tbsp (14 mg) olive oil
1 tsp. Saffron
¼ cup (57 ml) Vodka
½ cup (113 ml) heavy cream
Salt and Pepper to taste

Material:
6-quart pot and its cover
Large frying pan and its cover
Matches
Wooden spoon
Food processor

Set the lobster pot full of water on the stove on high with the cover on. When the water boils, add the lobsters, one at a time, headfirst. When the boil starts over, remove the lobsters with tongs. Place them in the sink and wait until they are cool enough to handle.
Put the oil in the saucepan and turn the heat to low. After 1 minute add the onions and carrots to color lightly. Add the tomatoes.
Pour the tsp of saffron in the vodka and let the aroma develop.
After the sauce has simmered for 15 minutes, add the vodka, stir with the wooden spoon and let it cook for another five minutes. Last, add the cream, stirring and cook for two minutes. Pour the result in the food processor to obtain a smooth sauce.
Set the lobsters into a large recipient when cutting them to save all the juices. Separate the head. Cut the lobsters in slices. Crack the claws and the legs.
Pour the oil in the frying pan and sauté the lobster slices, the heads and the claws. Add the saved juices and the cognac. When it boils, light up the preparation with a match to flambé the lobster pieces. Remove the heads and discard. Add the sauce and warm up for five minutes.
Serve with linguini.
Note: the sauce in itself is a classic Italian Vodka sauce and is delicious on ravioli. The ingredient quantities in the recipe are sufficient for another entrée. For the classic lobster bisque, remove the lobster meat from the lobster and reserve. Place the lobster shells and heads, add the cognac and flambé. Add 2 cups water (450 ml) and simmer 15 minutes before removing the shells and adding the vodka sauce. Serve steaming in a soup bowl with the sliced lobster meat in the middle as a lobster bisque appetizer.

Valentine Fizz
(Easy, Preparation Time:30 minutes one day ahead, Expensive)

Ingredients:

For the fizz:
½ bottle dry pink Champagne
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
½ cup (113 ml) cold water
½ cup (113 gm) sugar

For the sweet sabayon:
10 oz (283 ml) of sweet wine such as Sauterne
2 yolks
¼ cup (54 gm) fine sugar

For the compote:
2 pears
1 apple
1/3cup (54 ml) rose syrup and additional to drizzle over the raspberries
1pint raspberries
1pint blueberries

Material:
Small pan
Wooden spoon
Shallow plastic container with its cover
A double boiler
A salad bowl
A whip

1-fizz
Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a small pan and let soften about 5 minutes. Put the pan over low heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the gelatin has dissolved. Stir in the sugar and remove from the heat. Then stir in the Champagne. Pour into the shallow container. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours, until the gelatin has solidified. With a fork, scramble the gelatin in small pieces.

2-sabayon
In a bowl, mix the yolks and the sugar. Add the sweet wine. Put water in the lower part of the double boiler and set over the stove at medium heat. Insert the bowl on the top part of the double boiler and beat the batter into a cream. It takes about 30 minutes of alternatively stirring the mixture and covering the double boiler to obtain a cream. The cream will thicken as it cools.

3-compote
Peel and cube the apple and pears. Pour the rose syrup in the pan. Bring to a boil over medium fire. Add the fruit and lower the fire. Cook for 5 minutes or until the fruit softens.

In a margarita glass, layer the fizz, the compote, the raspberries, blueberries and the sabayon. Reserve in the refrigerator until ready to serve. There is enough to serve 6 people, as the dessert is even tastier the next day or the day after as the aroma develops.

Out of India

Travelers love to find familiar sights in exotic places. India rates high on both counts. The backwaters of Kerala are reminiscent of Venice up to the ferries’ presence. The tandoori is a kind of pizza oven, where the dough is cooked hanging on one side of the wall. And to play further on the similarities, I modified the recipes kindly provided by Subin Michael, the Executive Chef of the Kumarakom Lake resort to take on a milder fusion taste.
Kerala cuisine uses spices Europe and the countries around the Mediterranean Sea have known since the middle ages such as turmeric, chilies, mustard seeds and ginger. Other native ingredients are not as frequently used outside of Asia. Tamarind paste is traditionally added to preserve the curry preparations (any spicy stew with curry leaves) without the help of refrigeration. Curry leaves or, to use the botanical name: Murraya Koenigii, are valued in Ayruvedic medicine, a unique science native to Kerala, for their anti-diabetic, and antioxidant properties. To offset the slightly bitter taste of tamarind, coconut, which grows profusely on the rich land of Kerala, is added at the end of the preparation.
All the recipes serve four

Indian Pizza: Basic recipe for Bhatura or Nan or Chappati) (Easy, Preparation time: 20 minutes, Resting Time: 3 hours, Cheap)

Ingredients:
21/3 cups (550 g) pastry flour
2/3 cup (152 g) semolina flour
½ teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (170 ml) warm water
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 package yeast
1/3 cup (76 ml) milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons (28 ml) Kefir or yoghurt
2 tablespoons (28 ml) olive oil
½ cup (113 ml) vegetal oil for frying

Material:
Food Processor with pastry blade attachment
Salad bowl
Kitchen towel
Wok

Pour all the dry ingredients in the bowl of the food processor.
Pour the sugar and yeast into the warm water and let it proof for five minutes or until bubbles form on the surface.
Beat the egg in a bowl. Add the milk, kefir and olive oil. Pour into the dry ingredients. Add the yeast/water/sugar proof. Mix until a ball forms in the food processor. If the content is too liquid, add a little flour, if too solid, a little water until the ball shapes.
Place the ball in the salad bowl. Cover with a linen and let it raised for at least two hours. It should double in volume.
After two hours, you should form 8 to 9 little balls and either use them immediately or freeze them for up to three months.
After flattening the dough with a rolling pin to a ½ inch (1.5 cm) thickness, you can either bake the nan or chappati in as hot a oven temperature as possible and will obtain a pizza like bread, or fry it in a pan for 5 minutes on each side. The result is called a Bhatura. It is a lovely slightly soufflé concoction, which needs to be eaten immediately accompanied by curried lentils or chickpeas.

Indian Crêpe: Appam (Easy, Preparation Time: 20 minutes, resting Time: 9 hours)

Ingredients:
½ cup (113 g) raw Basmati rice
½ cup (113 g) cooked Basmati rice
1 package yeast
1 package sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 (237 ml) cup coconut milk
1½ cup (350 ml) warm water

Material:
Food processor
Nonstick pan

Wash the rice and soak it for 3 hours. Proof the yeast in warm water sweetened with the sugar package for at least five minutes or until bubbles appear at the surface.
Drain the soaked rice, add the cooked rice, the coconut milk, the salt and the water, yeast and sugar mixture. Blend in the Food processor until smooth and let it rest for 6 hours. The consistence of the batter should be as liquid as a crêpe batter. If it is not, add some water.
Place the nonstick pan on the stove at medium temperature. Pour about ¼ cup of batter in the hot pan, swishing it around until you obtain a small plate size crêpe. When the bubbles subside and the crêpe slides easily on the pan, flip it over and cook it until it slides easily onto a plate. Repeat the process another 8 times.

Chickpea curry (Easy, Preparation time: 10 minutes, cooking time: 8 hours unattended, Cheap)

Ingredients:
8 oz (237g) dried chickpeas or garbanzo bean
8 oz (237g) cabbage sliced finely
1cup (237) basic tomato sauce homemade or store bought
1 tablespoon (14g) of olive oil
1 lemongrass stalk, outer leaves removed finely sliced
1 onion peeled and chopped
1 inch fresh ginger peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
1/3cup (76g) tamarind paste mixed with 1/3cup (76ml) warm water
1teaspoon ground cumin
1teaspoon ground coriander
1teaspoon ground turmeric
Cayenne Pepper to taste
1 cinnamon stick
1teaspoon sugar
Salt

Material:
Food processor
Slow cooker or heavy bottom 4-quart pan
Frying pan

Soak the garbanzo bean overnight, or put the garbanzo bean in a pan. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let soak for an hour. In both cases, drain and rinse before putting in the slow cooker or in the 4-quart pan.

Over the gas stove set on low, stir-fry in the olive oil the ginger, lemon stalk, hot peppers, onion and garlic. Add the spices, and the tamarind. Pour the content of the stir-fry into the bowl of the food processor and pulse until blended. Pour the content of the blender over the garbanzo bean and the cabbage. Sprinkle the sugar on top. Add the tomato sauce. Cook on the low setting for 8 hours. Alternately cook over the gas of the stovetop set on low for 2 hours.
Serve a bathura on the side for a light meal.

Indian crêpe Florentine (originally prawn mappas) (Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes, Reasonable)

Ingredients:
1 lbs (474g) spinach leaves
1lbs (474 g) shrimp
1/3 (76g) cup grated coconut
1/3 cup (76g) raw mango
1 cup (237ml) peeled, sliced and seeded tomatoes
Cayenne pepper to taste
I inch ginger root peeled and sliced
2 garlic cloves peeled and sliced
1teaspoon fennel seeds
1teaspoon mustard seeds
2 shallots sliced
4 curry leaves
1 teaspoon Tamarind paste mixed with 1/3 (76ml) cup of water
1tablespoon (14g) vegetal oil
Salt

Material:
Frying pan
Pan
Salad spinner
Food processor
Salad bowl

In the salad bowl, mix together the mango, grated coconut and tomatoes and season with cayenne pepper.
Boil the spinach leaves for 2 minutes. Drain the leaves and purée them in the food processor.
Pour the vegetal oil in the frying pan. Place over the high range of the gas stove. Add the fennel and mustard seeds and the curry leaves. When they sizzle, add the sliced ginger, garlic, and shallots. When they turn gold add the content of the salad bowl. Add the tamarind juice. Finally cook the shrimps for 5 minutes in the sauce. Taste and add salt and cayenne pepper if needed.
To assemble the crêpe, place an appam on a plate. Spoon the shrimp mappa on half of the crêpe, top with spinach. Spoon a little more sauce and fold the appam empty half over the filling.
Serve two filled crêpes per person.