Crabcake variation

When I first came to the States, there were four things I could never have enough of: pancakes, cheesecake, crab cakes and blue cheese dressing. I have stayed true to the third one. Come summer, I crave a lunch of crab cakes and cucumber salad. It took me some time to perfect one that would be equally solid and light. As to the solidity, the secret is twofold: use a silicone mold, and bake twice, refrigerating in between. The advantages for a busy hostess are obvious: a reheated dish with a better taste can be made a day ahead. For the lightness, I use light store bought mayonnaise. That same mayonnaise is the basis of the dip. Crab cakes are not limited to lunch: they are also a great and very convenient hors-d’oeuvre. Once I had crab on my mind, and given my love of Asian inspired food, I decided to play with the idea of crab finger food. To dissociate the Asian crab from the American, I decided to forgo spicy and choose green tea as a flavoring instead. My crab package is made of a mixture of crabmeat, minced chives, green tea and ricotta held in a brick, and slightly cooked in a frying pan. It should be eaten hot with a green tea dip. By making larger squares and serving two with a salad it can turn equally well into a light lunch.

Crab cakes

Ingredients:

1 lbs (500g) jumbo crabmeat, bones removed

1cup (250 ml) light mayonnaise

½ cup (125g) Panko or bread crumbs and some more for dusting the silicone molds

1 shallot finely minced

1 yellow, green or red pepper finely minced

1 clove garlic finely minced

1/3 cup (80g) of chives

1tablespoon olive oil

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

¼ teaspoon salt

Material:

Large or small silicone muffin molds

1 salad bowl and wooden spoon

1 frying pan

Set the frying pan on the stove on the low setting. Pour the tablespoon of oil and add the shallot, garlic and pepper to soften for five minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.

Mix in the salad bowl the crabmeat, mayonnaise, and the half-cup of Panko. When the vegetables are cold, add them too. Mix well. Sprinkle Panko crumbs in the silicone molds. Fill the mold with the crab mix. Sprinkle the top of the crab cakes with crumbs as well. Place in the fridge for an hour.

Turn the oven on at 360F (180C) and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place in the refrigerator when it has cooled.

Before serving, remove from the refrigerator. Preheat the oven at 360F (180C) and bake for 10 minutes.

24 appetizers or 8 large crab cakes

Serve with dill mayonnaise and, if you are having lunch a cucumber salad.

Dill dip

Ingredients:

½ cup (125g) nonfat mayonnaise

½ cup (125g) Kefir or yoghurt

1 tablespoon dill, washed, dried and minced

1 clove garlic peeled

Salt and pepper

Material:

Food processor

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until well mixed.

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

4 small cucumbers

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 tablespoon seasoned Japanese vinegar

1 tablespoon dried seaweeds

1 tablespoon minced chives

Material:

Peeler

Knife

Grapefruit spoon

Salad bowl

Place the seaweeds in warm water according to the manufacturer.

Peel the cucumbers. Cut them in half and remove the seeds with the grapefruit spoon. Cut the cucumber in thin slices.

Mix in the salad bowl the sugar and vinegar until well dissolved. Add the cucumber slices and toss until well coated with the vinegar.

Drain the seaweeds and add to the salad. Toss and serve.

Asian crab squares

Ingredients:

8 brick sheets

1 lbs crabmeat

1 tablespoon chives

2 teaspoon green tea powder

½ (125g) cup ricotta cheese

Salt and pepper

Material

Fine strainer

Salad bowl

Non-stick frying pan

Place the ricotta in the salad bowl. Strain the green tea powder above the salad bowl. Mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the chives, and the crabmeat. Mix well.

For the larger square, place the crabmeat mixture in the center of the brick sheet and fold over. For the small hors-d’oeuvre, cut the brick sheets in four. Follow the method outlined above to obtain 32 small squares.

Place the frying pan on the low range of the gas stove. When it is warm, add the squares. Cook on each side for 3 minutes each or until golden,

Serve with Green Tea sauce.

Green tea sauce

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon green tea powder

½ cup mayonnaise

Salt and pepper

Material

Blender

Strainer

Place the mayonnaise in the blender. Strain the tea powder over it and mix well. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired.

Ubiquitous Mussels

Ocean bivalve molluscs and humans have had a close relation for thousands of years, in part because they were a fascinating prey for hunting populations. Clumped together on a wave beaten rock, they both defeat the strength of the water and attract our interest. I particularly remember a gorgeous summer day in Belle-Isle, an island off the coast of Brittany. With water to my knees, a bucket in hand, I caught our lunch in less than an hour. After a good scrubbing under running water, removal of the beards with a knife, the mussels are ready to meet their fate. As a live mussel will close in contact with the air, make sure you discard any which stay open before cooking.

They are a Belgium specialty. A chain of restaurant serves them in their most popular form, in a wine and garlic broth, with French fries on the side. In Italy tomatoes and spaghettis are added to the mix. In Asia whether India or China, the broth turns spicy. They are a good source of selenium and zinc and I have never met a child who will not eat them. The following recipes are inspired by France and Thailand and will serve 4 for lunch or dinner. The leftover make an appetizer, dressed with shallots, oil and vinegar and surrounded by greens.

Cream of mussels (Moules poulette)

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

Ingredients:

4 lbs (2 kg) mussels

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium size onion

2 garlic cloves

3 celery branches

2 cups (500ml) white wine

½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream

Material:

Paring knife and cutting board

Large stockpot with cover

Clean the mussels under running water. Remove the beards.

Peel and cube the onion. Peel and slice the cloves. Wash, dry and slice finely the celery branches. Pour the olive oil in the stockpot. Place the pot on the medium setting of the gas. Add the onion cubes, cloves and celery, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Add the wine and cream and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper. Add the mussels and cover. The mussels are cooked when they open.

Serve immediately in soup bowls with an empty container for the shells. Place a glass with a paper towel filled with fries next to each soup bowl. The broth is delicious in and of itself.

Thai Mussels

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

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon sesame oil

4 green onions

1 tablespoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

1 green jalapeno pepper or red pepper flakes

2 lemon grass stalks

2 garlic cloves

The juice of a lemon

3 cups (750ml) coconut milk

1 cup (250 ml) water

4 lbs (2 kg) mussels

1 bunch of coriander leaves

Material:

Paring knife and cutting board

Large stockpot with cover

Discard the tops of the green onions. Remove the seeds of the pepper. Cut the green onions and the pepper finely on a diagonal. Discard the outer leaves of the lemon stalks and cut finely the heart. Peel and slice the garlic cloves.

Place the stockpot on the medium range of the gas. Pour the oil. Add the green onions, pepper, garlic and lemon stalk slices. Stir-fry for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Sprinkle the turmeric powder and the salt. Add the coconut milk, water and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add the mussels and cover. The mussels are ready when they open about 10 minutes later.

Serve on top of a bowl of rice decorated with washed coriander leaves. Do not forget to propose a spoon as the rice in mussel broth gives it the consistency of a soup.

5 dinners for 1

As I prepare to fly away leaving guiltily my eldest daughter to her summer job, I try to make sure that she eats well despite my absence and her demanding schedule. I have therefore made up a shopping list, which accommodates five meals for one person. She needs only visit the grocery store once on a Sunday. Then she will wash the cabbage and shred it, wash and separate the broccolis in florets, peel and cut the carrots in sticks, wash and dry the spinach. Finally she will make the tomato sauce. She will store each vegetable in separate plastic bags, in the refrigerator. The Sunday handling following the supermarket trip insures that the dinners will be ready faster and effortlessly. I have kept preparation time to a minimum, generally about 15 minutes. The longest baking time, 30 minutes concerns the chicken, and then the chicken broth, an additional 30 minutes on the stove, which is used in the pot sticker recipe. The recipes from Tuesday to Thursday are sequentially related. The leftover from the baked chicken are used in the stir-fry. The stir-fry leftovers are coarsely chopped in the food processor and used in the pot stickers along with the chicken broth. Flavors are brought by the addition of herbs and spices. The pyramid requirements and the attempt to limit meat intakes are respected: protein is brought by the consumption of chicken and fish in small portions and not every night. The fruit eaten daily as a dessert and the smoothies for breakfast will help achieve the proper balance. And the budget is great: 50$ for five days worth of meal.

Menus
Monday: Steamed Fish in baked Parchment (January 12th blog) without the dill with stir-fry spinach (June 4th blog)
Tuesday: Half Baked Chicken (January 1st blog) without the yam, sage and rosemary. Cabbage slaw (new).
Wednesday: Chicken Stir fry (new)
Thursday: Pot Stickers (new)
Friday: Pasta with tomato sauce and broccoli (new)

Shopping List
1 small flounder fillet
½ half organic chicken
1 lbs (500g) spinach
1 bunch of carrots
1 small head of cabbage
6 tomatoes
1 bunch broccoli
1 bunch green onion
1 onion
½ lbs small potatoes
A bunch of fresh coriander leaves
Garlic head
Ginger root
Sesame oil
Soy Sauce
Wonton wrappers
Whole-wheat spaghettis
Thyme
Laurel leaves in a jar
Red Pepper Flakes
1 pound strawberries*
1 pound blueberries*
1 pound cherries
2 peaches
1 plain yoghurt
Low-fat Mayonnaise
Parmesan flakes
1 Watermelon*
Cranberry juice*
Milk
Butter**
Goat cheese**
Whole-wheat bread**
Flax seeds*
*Morning Smoothie
**Breakfast item

Recipes

Cole Slaw
Preparation time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
½ cabbage
1 carrot shredded
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
¼ (60ml) cup plain yoghurt

Material:
Food processor
Salad Bowl

Use the shredder feature of the food processor to transform the cabbage and carrot in slaw.
Mix in the salad bowl the mayonnaise and yoghurt. Add salt and pepper. Add the slaw and toss until well coated.

Chicken Stir-fry
Preparation and cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Leftover chicken meat from the baked chicken
1 clove garlic peeled and minced
1-inch piece of ginger peeled and minced
A few broccoli florets
A few carrot sticks
A few spinach leaves
Half of the cabbage
Soy sauce

Material:
Wok
Wood spoon
Knife
Spoon

Peel the garlic clove and cut it finely. Run the tip of a spoon the length of the ginger root: it will peel away its skin. Cut in small pieces
Place the wok on the medium range of the gas stove. Pour the sesame oil in. After a minute, when the oil is warm sauté the ginger and garlic. Add the carrot sticks. 4 minutes, add the broccoli florets. Another three minutes after, add the chopped cabbage. Pour a tablespoon of soy sauce and add the chicken pieces. Lower the gas and cover for another three minutes.
Serves 1
Place the leftover in a food processor and pulse until you have smaller but recognizable pieces of everything. Add a tablespoon of sesame oil. Store in a container in the refrigerator.

Pot Stickers
Preparation and cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
Stir-fry leftover
Wonton wrappers
1 tablespoon coriander leaves cleaned and minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 cup (250ml) chicken stock

Material:
Bowl of water
Tablespoon
Nonstick frying pan

Remove the stir-fry leftover from the refrigerator. Add the minced coriander leaves and the red pepper flakes. Mix.
Place 15 wrappers on the counter top. Have the bowl of water handy. Spoon out 1 mount of the mixture in the middle of each wrapper. Wet the borders of a wrapper and fold it around its content, forming pleats. Repeat until you run out of wrappers.
Pour the sesame oil in the frying pan and the frying pan over the medium range of the stove. When the oil is warm place the pot stickers in the pan. When they are fried (about 5 minutes) pour enough chicken stock to cover the pot stickers without turning them. Place a cover on top for two minutes.
Serve 1 in a soup bowl

Basic Tomato sauce
Preparation time: 10 minutes, Cooking: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
6 tomatoes
1 large onion peeled and sliced
3 carrots peeled and slices
1 peeled inch-thick slice of ginger root
2 stems of thyme, 1 laurel leave
Salt and Pepper

Material:
Heavy-bottom saucepan
Paring knife
Blender

Pour water in the heavy-bottom saucepan and set on the medium range of the gas stove. When the water boils, drop the tomatoes. When the water boils again, retrieve the tomatoes. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle remove the skin. Cut them in quarter and remove the seeds. Reserve the quartered tomatoes.
Put the same saucepan on the low setting of the gas stove. Add oil. After one minute, add the onion slices and the carrots. Cook for five minutes. Tie the thyme and laurel leave with a piece of kitchen rope to form a bouquet garni. Pour the tomatoes in the saucepan and add the bouquet garni and the ginger. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook for twenty minutes.
To obtain a smooth sauce, mix in the blender.
Divide the sauce in 3 parts. Keep one for the following recipe and store 2 small containers in the freezer for another usage.

Spaghetti with broccoli

Ingredients:
Remaining broccoli florets,
¼ of the spaghetti package
Reserved basic tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
Parmesan flakes

Material:
1 large stockpot
Strainer

Pour 2 cups water and the salt in the stockpot. Place the pot over the medium range of the gas stove. Bring to a boil and add the spaghettis. Cook according to the package instruction. About 3 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the broccoli florets.
Strain the spaghettis and broccoli florets. Put back in the stockpot. Add the reserved tomato sauce. Place the stockpot back on to the medium range of the stove, stirring constantly. When the sauce bubbles, it is ready.
Serve with a pepper grinder near by, some olive oil and flakes of Parmesan cheese.

Less red meat, more duck

My two daughters are back at home for the summer, and the family diet needs adjusting to take into account two young adult bodies. Whereas my husband and I can perfectly subside and even prosper on soup and salad, my daughters resist a steady diet of fish, steamed vegetables and chicken. To eat meat in lesser quantities, I add a lot of colorful vegetables and choose lamb and duck rather than beef. Duck breasts are a wonderful and fast cooking option. And to keep the meal interesting it suffices to dig into two old culinary cultures: Chinese and French. To the Chinese, the crispy skin of their Peking duck and the incomparable richness of the French side dishes. Two classics come to mind: baked duck in an orange sauce paired with turnips and duck confit with sautéed potatoes. The dish that starts shaping up in my mind includes duck breasts baked at high temperature in the oven, sautéed potatoes and a stir-fry of root vegetables. Availability then becomes a factor: I do not grow turnips but I have an overabundance of radishes. Tired of eating them raw, I have started preserving them in red wine vinegar and sugar. Their slightly tart taste and lovely red color calls for the orange of some carrot sticks. To match and mix traditions, I add fresh ginger and orange juice. The sauce is now created in the vegetable medium rather than in the meat and gains lightness. The whole meal requires a 40 minutes preparation and cooking time and serves four. The duck leftover combined with a green onion, a cucumber, store bought plum sauce and Mexican flour tortillas can be used to create an appetizer.

Pickled Radishes (Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes, Cheap)
Ingredients:
1 bunch radishes
¼ cup (60 ml) vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

Material:
1 saucepan and cover
1 plastic container and lid

Wash and dry the radishes. Cut off the leaves. Cut each radish in quarters.
Place the sugar and vinegar in the saucepan over the medium setting of the gas. Bring to a boil while stirring. Lower the temperature and add the radishes. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the radishes are easily pierced with a knife.
Carrot Stir-fry (Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 20 minutes, Cheap)
Ingredients:
6 medium-sized carrots
1 3-inch (9cm) fresh ginger piece
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 recipe of pickled radishes
The juice of ½ an orange

Material:
Wok or large frying pan
Wooden spoon
Paring knife
Peeler

Peel the carrots and ginger piece. Form matchsticks out of the carrots and ginger.
Place the sesame oil in the wok and set the gas medium to high. After 1 minute, add the ginger sticks. Let them color lightly. Add the carrots, stirring constantly. After five minutes, add the orange juice and lower the gas. Add the radishes and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the carrots soften.
Baked duck breasts (Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 12 minutes, Reasonable)
Ingredients:
Two duck breasts
Coarse salt and pepper

Material
Baking dish
Paring knife

Remove the breasts from the refrigerator an hour in advance. With the knife, crisscross the skin without piercing it all the way to the meat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Move the shelf in the oven as high and close to the grill as the baking dish will allow.
Preheat the oven at 425 F (220 C) and turn on the grill function.
Bake for 10 minutes. The meat will be rare and the skin crisp.

Serve with Michel’s sautéed potatoes (January 12th blog)

Next day Chinese duck appetizer (Easy, Preparation time: 10 minutes, Cheap)
Ingredients:
Leftover duck meat cut in long strips
Mexican flour tortillas
Bunch of scallions
Cucumber
Jar of plum sauce

Material:
Peeler
Knife
Cutting Board

Peel the cucumber and cut in sticks, discarding the seeds in the center. Wash the scallions, discard the green part and cut in three. Form a flower by cutting each top crosswise. Cut each tortilla in 4.
Plunge the flower in the plum sauce and brush the tortilla all over its surface. Place a piece of meat, a stick of cucumber and the scallion used as a paintbrush in the middle. Fold the tortilla as an envelope over the filling. Repeat until you run out of material.
Propose more plum sauce to dip.

Strawberry field

Our vegetable gardens are now filled with strawberries, a paradoxical fruit which bears its seeds as a coat. Its name seems to instruct the gardener to place straw between the plant and the soil, a technique well designed to prevent spoilage. In fact, the word preceded the custom: it designates the ability of the plant to spread by sending off runners. Although strawberries are listed in the King’s Vegetable Garden in the seventeenth century catalog, the Sun King did not gorge on the same “fruit” we now enjoy. His was the woodsy variety, ours a happy marriage of the native Virginian (for the taste) and Chilean (for the size) plants celebrated on European soil.
What to do with all the strawberries we gather at this time of the year, besides eating them with a dusting of sugar and or dipped in heavy cream? Strawberry and rhubarb is a match made on earth: they come out at the same time and enhance each other's sweet tartness in a pie. For the chocoholics, the combination of chocolate, caramel beurre salé and strawberry sauce can prove addictive, but delaying consumption may be an even better option. To freeze them: clean them, remove the stem and just lay them on a cookie sheet in the freezer until hardened or for a day. Then, place them in a labeled plastic bag and put them back into the freezer. In the winter time, indulge in a spring strawberry and banana smoothie. Or make a strawberry and rose sherbet, which will taste lovely when the red currant and raspberries are ripe.
Rhubarb and Strawberry Pie
(Easy, Preparation time and cooking time: 40 minutes, 1 hour resting time, Cheap)

Ingredients:
For the sweet dough (broken pastry)*:
1 stick (113g) butter
1 cup (230g) flour
¼ cup (60g) sugar
1 egg
For the garnish:
6 stalks rhubarb
¼ cup(60g) sugar
2 cups (500g) strawberries
2 tablespoons red tea syrup

Material:
Food processor
Knife
Parchment paper
Rolling pin
1 11-inch (25 cm) pie mold with a removable bottom
1 saucepan with cover

Cut the butter in pieces. Place it with the sugar in the food processor fitted with the dough blade. Pulse. Add the flour and the egg and pulse until the dough resembles coarse meal. Gather into a ball or a disk and place in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for an hour.
Cut and discard both ends of the rhubarb stalks. Cut the rhubarb in one-inch pieces and place in the saucepan. Sprinkle the sugar on top and cover with a lid. Place on the low range of the gas stove and cook covered. When the content boils, the rhubarb sauce is ready.
Wash the strawberries. Remove the stem and reserve.
Preheat the oven at 360F (180C).
Butter and flour the mold. Roll out the dough on a parchment paper or, as the dough is very fragile using your hands press it evenly into the mold. Pierce with a fork. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
When the pastry sheet is cool, dispose it on a serving platter. Layer with the rhubarb sauce. Add the strawberries on top and glaze with the red tea syrup.
*Pâte brisée in French is a sweet pastry to which an egg has been added. It is particularly suitable when dealing with a pie the garnish of which does not request additional cooking.

Chocolate-caramel pudding in a strawberry sauce
(Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 40 minutes, Cheap)

Ingredients
Pudding:
4 large eggs
¼ (50 g) cup granulated sugar
3 oz (88 g) butter
9 oz (250 g) 62% semisweet chocolate
Caramel:
3 oz (88 g) crystallized sugar
1½ oz (40 g) salted butter
¼ cup (60 ml) heavy cream
3 pinches salt flower
Sauce:
2 cups (500g) strawberries
¼ cup (60ml) red tea syrup

Material:
Eggbeater
Saucepan
2 medium bowls
Mixer
Rubber spatula
4 individual silicone muffin mold
1 ovenproof dish

1- Preheat oven at 360F (180C). Place the butter in a pan and melt it on the lowest gas setting. Turn off the gas and add the chocolate in small pieces. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Beat the eggs and sugar in a medium sized bowl until creamy yellow. Set the bowl over boiling water and stir until warm to the touch. Remove from the heat and beat with an eggbeater until light and fluffy. Fold into melted chocolate and butter. Place the silicone molds in an ovenproof dish. Fill about ¼ of the silicone muffin with the batter.
2- Pour the sugar in the non-stick pan and melt over the lowest setting of the gas. Do not stir while the sugar transforms into caramel in about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the gas and add slowly the cream while stirring. As the cream hits the caramel, it will boil. Add the butter and stir well. Set the pan over the low setting of the gas and stir constantly for another three minutes to melt any hard piece. Add the salt and stir. Pour on top of the batter. Spoon the rest of the chocolate batter on top of the caramel.
3- Add enough very hot water to the baking pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the cake emerge clean. The batter will somewhat rise.
4- Wash the strawberries. Remove their tops and place in the bowl of the mixer with the tea syrup. Blend and strain.
The cakes can be refrigerated up to a day. They should be served reversed on a plate and surrounded with the strawberry sauce.


Red Tea syrup
(Easy, Preparation time: 15 minutes, Cheap)

Ingredients:
2 cups (1l) cane syrup
8 teaspoons (100 g) tea leaves

Material:
1 saucepan
Strainer
Glass jar

Place the syrup and the tea leaves in a saucepan on the medium setting of the gas. Bring to a boil. Remove from the stove. Filter and store in a glass jar.

Strawberry and rose sherbet
(Easy, Preparation and freezing time: 1 hour)

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh strawberries washed, stem removed
½ cup sugar
1 cup rose syrup
The juice of a lemon

Material:
Blender
Ice cream maker
Plastic container

Place all the ingredients in the blender. Mix until smooth.
Follow the ice cream maker instructions. Either eat when ready or store in a plastic container in the freezer for up to three months.

Guy Savoy and the Pea

Le Roi-Soleil (French for Sun King) Guy Savoy and I all share a passion for le petit pois (peas in English). So Guy, a great chef and friend graciously gave me his “Myriad of young peas” recipe, already translated in English to share with you, the next best thing after going to his namesake three star restaurant in Paris. In the United States, you can taste his cuisine at his twin restaurant at the Caesar Palace in Las Vegas, opened in 2006 under the direction of his son, Franck.
Myriad of young peas is quintessential Guy. It concentrates on a simple seasonal product and combines a three-stage transformation on one plate. There is the jellified juice, the purée and the barely cooked pea itself. Add a soft-boiled egg, a few drops of chive-infused olive oil, some edible flowers and herbs, salt and pepper et voilà, a star is born. The original recipe calls for a wild flower, the cuckoo whose botanical name is cardamine pratensis. I suggest using instead a mixture of nasturtium, borage for their taste and viola for its look. If shiso is not readily available, any young mixed greens will work. I am lucky to grow all of these ingredients in my vegetable garden but they are also easily found in your local supermarket. The dish is quite simple to reproduce at home: I particularly enjoyed putting to good use all the machines that occupy my countertops. To prevent an almost natural phenomenon, the jumping pea from occurring, I suggest filling the juice extractor with the peas prior to turning it on. The recipe serves four.

Myriad of young peas
(Easy, Preparation time: 1 hour, Cooking time: 20 minutes, Cheap and Healthy)

Ingredients:
8 lbs (4 kg) fresh peas
1 small edible flowers tray cuckoo or nasturtium, borage and viola
1 small shiso or young mixed greens tray
1 bunch of chives
1/3cup and 2 tablespoons (100 ml) olive oil
Coarse and fine sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Gelatine sheets: 1 sheet per 1/3 cup and 2 tablespoons (100 ml)
½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream
4 eggs

Material:
Kitchen scale
Juice Extractor
Blender
Salad spinner
Paper towels
Saucepan
Strainer
3 glass bowls
1 rubber spatula
1 wooden spoon
Soft-boiled egg pan

Shell the peas. Weigh them and set aside half to produce the juice. Of the remaining half, half will be used to produce the purée. Try to separate the smallest ones to use barely cooked in the finished dish.
Wash the flowers and mixed salad in cold water. Dry in a salad spinner and lay out between two paper towels
The sauce: place half of the peas in the extractor, close the lid and turn the machine on. Weigh the juice. You should get a little over 1/3 of a cup. Place the gelatine sheet in a salad bowl, cover with water to soften. Warm the juice over the low setting of the gas. Remove the softened gelatin sheet from the water and add to the juice, gently stirring until the sheet has dissolved. Remove from the gas. Taste and add salt and pepper. Reserve.
The purée: cook half of the remaining peas in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes. Taste one: it should be soft. Put the peas in a blender with a small amount of liquid cream and a few ice cubes and blend until you obtain a homogeneous purée. Taste, add salt and pepper as needed and reserve.
The chive oil: pour the oil in a small glass container. Roughly cut the chives and add to the oil. Infuse for about 15 minutes. Strain and set aside.
The barely cooked peas: cook in a large amount of boiling water for three minutes. Strain and reserve in a glass bowl. Season with chive oil, salt and pepper.
The soft-boiled eggs: crack carefully each egg and place in the slightly oiled individual egg compartment. Pour water in the pan and set to a slow boil. Place the egg compartment on top. Close the lid and boil for 3 to 5 minutes.
To assemble the dish, pour a quarter of the thickened pea juice in a soup dish. Place a smaller concentric layer of pea purée on top. Form a smaller circle of edible flowers. Pour the barely cooked peas around. Dispose 3 mixed greens leaves on the cooked peas. Set the soft-boiled egg on the center. Season the egg with salt and pepper. Drizzle a circle of chive oil around the plate. Repeat three times. Serve with toasts.

Spinach: from simple to sophisticated

Its wild ancestors were already present in the medieval garden as The Mésnagier de Paris, written toward the end of the XIVth century by a Parisian burgher for the instruction of his young wife indicates. In it we learn that the chenopod bon-henri and the amaranth were grown in pots. As the edible part of the plant grew above ground, it was ideologically more valued than root plants. The modern spinach plant appeared by selection in the sixteenth century. Grown directly in the earth, it is less fibrous, tenderer, requires shorter cooking time and can be consumed raw in a salad. Although spinach is not the miracle food heralded by Popeye, it is a valuable source of minerals and vitamins: per 100gm, it contains 500 mg of potassium, 100 mg of calcium, 79 mg of sodium, 60 mg of magnesium, 4 mg of iron and traces of selenium, zinc and copper. When consumed raw, a ½ cup of spinach brings 50 mg of vitamin A. Cooked it contains 20 mg. It brings 50% of the daily requirements in folic acid and 100% in vitamin A. As a leaf it has a high water content (90% of its weight when raw) and is the ideal food for a diet. To eliminate some of the water it is preferable to stir-fry rather than boil spinach. The fibers are excellent for the digestion, as was advertised in the medical treaties of the Middle Ages.
The following recipes present the versatility of this vegetable. It can be served as an accompaniment, a vegan meal suitable for wheat and milk allergies, an appetizer inspired by the Greek islands, or a sophisticated supper.

Stir-fried spinach (Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 10 minutes, Cheap)
Ingredients:
1 lb (500g) fresh spinach
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon vegetal oil

Material:
Large saucepan or wok
Set of tongues
Salad spinner
Peel and slice the garlic cloves.
Wash the spinach leaves in cold water. Dry in a salad spinner.
Place the wok on the medium setting of the stove. Add the oil. After a minute, add the garlic, stirring it constantly so that it does not color. Add the spinach. Stir from time to time, until the leaves withers.
Serve immediately or keep for the following two recipes.
Do not hesitate to refrigerate the washed spinach overnight in a kitchen towel before cooking. For the recipes that call for cooked spinach, press them with your fist in a colander to express all the water out.

Spinach brick appetizer (Delicate, Preparation and cooking time: 50 minutes, Cheap)
Ingredients:
5 brick sheets
½ lb (200g) fresh goat cheese
1 recipe stir-fried spinach
1 cilantro bouquet
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 egg and 1 white
Salt and pepper
Vegetal oil for frying

Material
Parchment paper
Salad bowl
Scissors
Large wok or pan
Set of tongues

Crack the egg in the salad bowl and beat it. Wash and mince the cilantro. Mince the cooked spinach and garlic cloves. Add it to the salad bowl. Add the cheese in pieces, the spinach shredded, salt and pepper. Mix until you obtain a uniform paste.
Cut each brick sheet in 3. Set them side by side on a piece of parchment paper. Set a spoonful of filling a little after the lowest extremity of a brick strip. Using your index finger, paint the rest of the strip with the egg white. Fold the extremity closest to the filling over it at an angle. Form a triangle by folding and refolding once toward the left, once towards the right. Repeat the process until you are out of bricks and filling.
Pour the oil into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Fry a few triangles at a time until they are golden. Remove them with a spatula or a set of tongues and set on a paper towel until all are cooked
Serve the 15 pastries warm as an appetizer.

Vegan spinach pie (Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 45 minutes, Cheap)
Ingredients
1 frozen pastry sheet unfrozen overnight in the refrigerator
1 stir-fry spinach recipe strained
1 cup spelt flower
1½ (340g) cups silken tofu blended
½ cup (130g) sunflower oil
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Material:
1 11-inch (25 cm) pie mold with a removable bottom
Rolling pin
Parchment paper
Rice to weigh the pie
Salad bowl
Whip

Preheat the oven at 360 F (180 C).
Roll out the pastry sheet on the parchment paper. Butter and flour the pie mold. Lay out the pastry sheet on the pie mold. Pierce with a fork.
Place the spinach to cover the pastry sheet. In a bowl, mix the silken tofu, sunflower oil salt, red pepper flakes. Add the spelt flower until well blended. Cover the spinach with the batter.
Cook for 35 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted in the pie comes out clean.
Serves 4 for a light lunch. A salad composed of young fresh spinach with a fruity dressing provides the perfect complement.

Fruity dressing (Easy, Preparation time: 3 minute, Cheap)
Ingredients:
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 drops of Maggi seasoning
2 tablespoons fresh herbs (chives, dill or basil)
1 tablespoon shallots minced

Material:
Salad bowl
Whisk

Put the salt and pepper in the bowl. Whisk in all the other ingredients starting with the vinegar.
I keep my old jam jars and use them as I would a shaker, pouring in all the ingredients of the salad dressing.

Spinach flounder and scallop roll (Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes)
Ingredients:
4 fillets of flounder
8 sea scallops
8 spinach leaves
2 cups (500ml) fish stock

Material:
1 4-quart pot
1 ovenproof dish
Set of tongues
Paper towel
Toothpicks

Preheat the oven at 360F (180C).
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Dip the spinach leaves in the boiling water for a minute. Remove from the boiling water with the set of tongues and lay on a paper towel to dry.
Separate each flounder fillet in two by the middle. Lay a spinach leave on top. Place the scallop on the side of the fillet closest to you and roll until the scallop is nested within the fillet. Secure with toothpicks. Repeat 7 times.
Place the 8 rolls in the ovenproof dish. Cover with fish stock. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Serves four with rice and stir-fried spinach.