Stop worrying start cooking

Armenian style crackers

2009-04-02T11:30:00.002-04:00

When my daughter comes to me saying "Mom, I want something to eat, but something that's bad for you", I know I'm in for trouble.

To me, it illustrates perfectly the deep emotional completely irrational relationship we have with food. Beyond our basic appetite for food which results from hunger we may sometimes find ourselves inexplicably tied up in a love/hate relationship with food. We may want to gorge on more food, faster, or junkfood not to satisfy our stomachs but our minds.

This is why I take proper care to smooth out any sudden cravings of my children or myself by giving in the occasional indulgence or blatantly refusing to let go. I know this relationship with food needs nurturing and balance as our health both mental and physical, our wellbeing and happiness are at stake.

One of the keys to success is to educate my kids about what goes in their mouths. When I mention to my daughter there are chemicals in processed foods or on fruit and vegetables, her natural instinct is to say what? chemicals? I'm not eating that. Now she knows what organic means.

She also knows the steak on her plate comes from a cow. Her initial apprehension was rapidly won over by her quick curious child mind and she asked what part. I responded the butt. She laughed, made an expression of disgust and went on eating thinking we adults definitely do funny things. But what I ensured was that she doesn't make what could be a shocking discovery at a later age, explained in a way that could lead to a dramatic change in her diet and in herself.

The benefits of eating from a varied plate are not only measurable in calories and vitamin intake but equally importantly in the unquantifiable pleasure of taste that satisfies the soul. I want to empower my children with confidence, knowledge and respect for food so that when they're old enough they don't turn around and gulp down all the junk food they'll feel they've been deprived of all their youth. So that when they are on their own, they do what comes naturally to them. So that wholesome healthy food becomes to them good to eat and good to think and that emotional battle with food bad food, too much food is finally over.

At home, I'm trying my hand at some of the foods I know my kids will love snacking on and I can feel good about giving them such as those crackers. It is basically a slightly sweetened bread dough that is rolled out so thin it crisps up in the oven. You can either precut the dough to have uniform shapes or just cut off shards when baked.

Warm edamame salad with mirin and citrus vinaigrette

2009-03-23T13:45:00.000-04:00

An easy way to prepare a tasty satisfying lunch in no time is to give it an Asian touch. The ingredients are straightforward and healthy, and the preparation requires nothing more than a little chopping and stir-frying.

Sometimes I will impatiently shred some pieces off a leftover roast I may have in the fridge and toss it together with some steamed greens. Arrange a quick sauce with soy sauce and toasted sesame oil, and I’m good to go.

Other times, especially in winter, I’ll make a quick miso soup with a dashi and kombu as a base and just throw in whatever I feel like or happen to have on hand : chopped scallions, a handful of fresh shitake, dried or fresh wakame, some cubed tofu, and of course red miso paste.

The idea for this recipe just popped out of nowhere one day I was really hungry but not willing to give up on taste. It is relatively easy to prepare especially if like me you always keep unseasoned steamed vegetables in the fridge (my 20 month old will eat up about 2 pounds of those a week which explains why I always have them ready to go).

For this warm edamame salad I proceeded as follows. I first pan fried firm tofu, tossed in frozen edamame I had first blanched, added chopped scallions and steamed broccoli florets. I microplaned a clove of garlic and a slice of ginger for extra zing. I then combined mirin, freshly squeezed orange juice, soy sauce and rice vinegar for my mirin citrus vinaigrette I and poured it on top at the last minute. For the final touch, I used chopped cilantro and a drizzle of sesame oil.

I absolutely loved the way the crunch of the edamame balanced out the soft smooth tofu to create a texturally balanced dish.

The concept is pretty versatile and would taste great with many different foods you might already have. So play around with the ingredients add sugar snaps, asparagus, chicken, shitake or any kind of mushroom, shreds of toasted nori, any kind of toasted seed or nut. The only rule is to use healthy, minimally handled, just cooked through, fresh ingredients.

Mini cream cheese center chocolate cupcakes

2009-03-12T15:50:00.009-04:00

Over the years, I have developed an eye for recipes. When I browse through a food magazine or a cooking book, I can usually "smell" a good recipe right away. I have my own personal indicators of what a tasty dish requires and glancing rapidly through the list of ingredients, the amount of time needed and/or simply the title can reveal a lot about what to expect in your plate. More importantly I am now able to quickly evaluate whether or not the final taste will be worth those long hours spent in the kitchen.

This cupcake recipe was no exception.

I stumbled upon it in the March issue of Bon Appétit and proceeded as I usually do. I marked down the title and page number on my recipe notebook and knew I would get down to it sooner or later. There are so many recipes out there worth trying, I mark down rigorously all those I want to try. When in need of inspiration, just browsing those notes is usually enough to trigger a good mouthwatering and make me want to start cooking.

For this recipe, a chocolate cupcake batter is made and poured into cups, then hollowed out to put in the cream cheese filling. I also covered some of them with more chocolate batter, to keep a cream cheese center. I was very satisfied with how they turned out. The crumb was moist and dense with a nice chocolate flavor and the cream cheese gave it a nice milky, slightly sour aftertaste.

Classic white bread

2009-03-03T11:21:00.007-05:00

Baking bread is magical, mystical, there is something almost sacred about it and kneading the dough by hand is intrinsically part of it. That dream I had of kneading my own dough is what motivated me to start taking up bread baking a little more seriously. As I mentioned before flour and I have not been good friends in the past and only very recently have I started to apply myself in a consistent way to the art of baking. It is a beautiful journey I have to admit and as I discover how 4 basic ingredients mixed skillfully can yield world class bread, I am also inevitably faced with learning my basics in chemistry.

First and foremost I'm asking myself what may sound like a simplistic pointless question but in my view a quick reminder never hurt anyone or so I'll ask anyway. Why knead dough? Kneading the dough is crucial to achieve proper gluten development. Gluten is a protein found in wheat that is reponsible for both structure and flavor and starts activating with hydration and warmth (exactly like yeast).

That being said, there are 2 types of breads : lean and enriched. The lean breads are a combination of flour, salt, yeast and water. French baguette falls in this category. The taste of the final bread relies solely on fermentation to develop the complex flavors of the wheat. In order to activate the fermentation yeast is needed (commercial or wild also known as sourdough). Yeast needs moisture, warmth and feeds on sugar to expand. As it grows it produces carbon dioxide and alcohol (in this case ethanol which evaporates when baking). It is also good to know that a few things will also kill the yeast, among which heat and salt.

In the enriched bread category, such as brioche or as a matter of fact any dough enriched by eggs, milk and or butter, the flavor will also come from these additions thus relying less on fermentation to develop flavor. I find this category easier to start with and by no means less appetizing.

This classic white bread comes from a recipe from the Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. It was a perfect book for the challenged somewhat perplex baker I was. It falls in the enriched bread category but still remains a leaner bread requiring only 4tbs of butter, 1 egg, 1 1/2 cups of milk and 3 tbs of sugar on top of flour, yeast and salt to yield 2 1 pound loaves.

I combined all the a.m. ingredients* with a metal spoon and quickly transfered the dough to the counter kneading it only for 2 to 3 minutes and letting it rest for 20 minutes. It's a good baker's tip that the French bakers call autolyse which allows the gluten to start activating. After 20 minutes I knead it by hand until the gluten is fully developped and the dough passes the windowpane test (which is well illustrated here). The dough is lightly oiled to avoid cracking. It then has to ferment until doubled in volume which is inherently dependent on the ambient temperature : the warmer the faster. It is then degassed and divided into 2 balls and let to rest for 20 minutes. Then comes shaping. Each ball is shaped into a log, placed into a pan and again proofed until doubled in volume before going in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.

Bread baking is indeed a world of its own and I'm happy I opened the door.

*Another good tip when baking bread is to measure your ingredients by weight instead of volume for more accuracy.

Sweet potato gratin with chipotle cream

2009-02-24T20:31:00.006-05:00

This is the first in what I hope will be a long list of tried-and-true comfort food recipes. It's chilly out there and Spring still seems far away, so let's cozy up in the kitchen warm up the oven and why not while we're at it add a few new favorites to our ever-growing comfort food repertoire.

This recipe is adapted from Bobby Flay and is one which for once doesn't call for 25 different ingredients, and I means this literally. Fast and easy to whip up, not much shopping, hard to source ingredients or prepping time. Doesn't sound too much like Bobby right? Well wait until you taste it, the final dish screams Bobby and in a good way.

Sweet potatoes are peeled and finely sliced using a mandoline. I used chipotle chilies in adobo sauce that I minced and pureed down pressing with the blade of my knife then added them to heavy cream and added salt and pepper. I stirred the mixture being careful not to overwhip or even introduce too much air into it as the purpose is solely to get the ingredients combined, not to wind up with whipped cream. The sweet potatoes are then layered in a gratin dish and seasoned before adding some of the chipotle cream. After 4 layers, my gratin was ready to be baked in the oven for about an hour and fifteen minutes.

I know it does sound like a long time, but besides cooking the potatoes, you want them to absorb as much of the liquid as possible. I let the gratin rest in the dish for a good 1/2 hour. When ready to eat I added just a drizzle of maple syrup on top to bring out the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. It was an amazing dish, sweet and creamy with just a hint of heat. The sweet potatoes had this wonderful melt-in your-mouth texture making this dish an instant success for a top-of-the-list comfort food favorite.

Sweet treats for Valentine's

2009-02-13T11:18:00.006-05:00

My Chrismas cookies for my daughter's school had not gone unnoticed, and I had been asked again to provide for this year's Valentine's party. I was excited and more than happy to oblige but I had to come up with a plan and it better be good, at least as good as the Christmas cookies.

After some internet research of my own, I started to feel inspired and my plan of attack was taking shape. I would not go with one particular type of cookie but rather make three of my favorite sweet treats to choose from and the Valentine's theme had to clearly predominate. I decided I would go for a medley of classic chocolate chip cookies for the finicky eaters, heart-shaped bite size brownies and mini cheesecake hearts.

The cheesecakes are made with a classic graham cracker crust* pressed on the bottom of the pans. The filling is a combination of cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, sour cream and flour. Not all cheesecake recipes call for flour, but personally I like the the way it affects the texture of the cake, giving it a less silky more chewy bite. I bake them in a bath of boiling water, just as you would with any entremet, to ensure even cooking.

For the chocolate chip cookies I use a very classic but infallible recipe. I am so familiar with this recipe that I have perfect control over how they're going to turn out : 8 minutes in the oven will yield a soft cookie with a gooey center, 14 minutes will make crispy cookies. My favorite batch will come out after 11 minutes.

The brownies follow a recipe from Ina Garten from the Food Network. They are the best brownies I have ever made. Just the way a brownie should be : a perfect compromise between a cakey and fudgy brownie and a strong chocolate flavor .

The morning of the party, I delivered everything to the school and the teacher greeted me with a "You make the best cookies, no really, you should go into baking". I thanked her for the compliment and left with an invitation to come back in the afternoon for the party.

Everything went really well, other adults were attending, the kids were really happy, and the teacher grateful to have such dedicated parents.

*I recently discovered that graham crackers contain hydrogenated fats which I avoid consistently, so I will be looking for a more healthful alternative and welcome any suggestions you might have for substitution.

New Food Calendar

2009-02-11T07:53:00.003-05:00

As you can see I have added a new feature to my blog. The Food Calendar is where all food related events happening around the world will be posted.

I decided to create this calendar because I wanted to be able to find all in one place where and when food events were being held.

I hope this food calendar can help food enthusiasts like me become more aware of what's going on in the food world and hopefully attend a lot more events in the future.

So if you are organizing, sponsoring or taking part in such an event contact me and your event will be added on the calendar.

French onion soup

2009-01-30T15:39:00.006-05:00

There's nothing better in those cold winter days than warming up to a hot bowl of soup. French onion soup is an especially good and comforting one and really a cinch to make. It can literally be whipped up in under 30mn.

All you need is 2 to 3 medium onions, some butter, water, a good Swiss Emmentaler or French Gruyere and a nice piece of stale bread. Now I do insist on the fact that the bread has to be a good 3 to 4 days old in order to absorb a maximum of liquid. If using old bread doesn't sound too appealing, you can always substitute fresh bread, but the result won't be comparable. Fresh bread has a higher water content and therefore cannot absorb moisture in the same proportion as a more dehydrated bread would.

Here is my twist on it. The butter is first melted in a cast iron pot on high heat. The onions are peeled, cut in half and sliced. Then they're tossed in the pot along with a good pinch of kosher salt to help them break down. They have to become sweet and tender and caramelize all around. The caramelization is important as it is what will yield its typical brown color to the soup. You might want to play around with the heat a little in order to get that nice caramelization without burning the onions.

When the onions are ready 3 to 4 cups of water are added along with a good tablespoon of kosher salt. The heat is turned on high to bring it to a boil. It is then simmered over low heat for about 20mn and seasoning is adjusted. I personnally like this soup with a lot of freshly ground black pepper.

When ready to serve first arrange several pieces of bread in a bowl, then laddle the hot soup over and sprinkle all over with cheese. Wait 5 mn until the cheese has melted and forms a kind of "crust" on top.

If you're after that beautiful golden brown top, the soup needs to go under a hot broiler for about 5mn. Ideally, the soup should be served in stoneware bowls for that special rustic look, but any kind of ovenproof dish would do the trick.

Swiss chocolate sandwich cookies

2009-01-26T09:46:00.004-05:00

I never buy dessert, except may be for ice cream. I realized Saturday evening that my latest batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies had already been devoured (I have 2 little monsters who love sneaking in the kitchen and trying out mommy's confections especially when it involves chocolate and cookies). As for the pint of chocolate ice cream in the freezer...What chocolate ice cream in the freezer?

I remembered this recipe for chocolate sandwich cookies I had read about two months ago (I never forget a good recipe) and now was the right time to give it a try. This recipe was adapted by Nick Malgieri from "Swiss baking and Confectionery" by Walter Bachmann.

It's basically a chocolate cookie dough rolled and cut out with a fluted round 2 inch cookie cutter and a double chocolate (milk and semi-sweet) filling for the chocolate lovers like me. The filling is spread evenly between 2 cookies and a light dusting of powdered sugar makes them as sweet to look at as they are to eat.

Brown rice with butternut squash and toasted pumpkin seeds

2009-01-22T22:34:00.004-05:00

I love meat. Sautéed, simmered, stewed, roasted, boiled, grilled, boneless or bone in, ground, skewered, as a steak, sausage or roast, raw, I love meat.

This is why, after reading Michael Pollan’s book : “The omnivore’s dilemma”, I started thinking about the way I, we, eat meat. It felt so right to me hearing someone say that the killing of an animal should be done in the most respectful way, a kind of ritual in which Man is reminded of where he comes from, thanks Mother Nature for the animal giving up his life so that his species can live on and will eventually in return feed the soil that will feed the animal grazing in the prairie. A perfect circle of life.

On a more practical level, it also reminded me of the importance of knowing where your meat comes from and how the animal was raised and put down. Whenever I see the name of a restaurant chain or beef on sale at ridiculous prices there’s this thought of Steer 534…
This whole industrial meat chain is horrifying, disgusting, shocking. It is like a scene from a horror movie except you can’t close your eyes, it’s there, it’s happening right now! I guess what strikes me most, besides the conditions surrounding the animals’ lives and deaths, is the fact that some people actually work there. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t think those guys are any worse than you or me. I don’t think they are to blame. They just got the job they could get and that’s that.

What I am most upset about is the fact that some people “have” to take these jobs. How can they go to work everyday without their sense of pride getting more and more tarnished as the days go by? How can they get rid of the lingering smells on their skin, in their mind? How can they sleep peacefully at night? How can they live with themselves? How can they stay sane? Here’s the trick, I think they can’t.

Because this is all rather upsetting to me and because I want my dollars to go directly support the causes I believe in I have decided to watch my meat intake. Like Michael Pollan suggests, a human being can only kill so many animals and at the same time remain respectful of the life he’s taking away. Therefore (and don’t forget I’m a meat lover) once or twice a week in my house dinner will be free of animal protein. It’s not a big sacrifice, and it helps remind us to be more thankful for the meat we do eat.

Which is what brings me to my meatless dish of the week Brown rice with butternut squash and toasted pumpkin seeds. A satisfying winter dish that could easily get meatier with the addition of mushrooms. The butternut squash is first peeled and cut into bite size chunks, then boiled for about 12 mn until just tender. Then I toss it in some olive oil on medium heat I add salt, pepper, garlic, ginger, flat leaf parsley, when all incorporated, my already cooked unsalted rice goes in with a good splash of tamari, some toasted pumpkin seeds and scallions.

Roasted golden beets and carrots with pastured pork chops

2009-01-13T10:32:00.000-05:00

There is no way back now. Winter is here to stay and so are root vegetables. This recipe comes from Jamie Oliver's new book Jamie at home. He was not a chef I particularly admired when he first started, but with the years, he has taken a direction which, I have to confess, adheres very much to my own principles of cooking and eating. Eat locally, organically, sustainably, responsibly.

I spotted some beautifully fresh organic golden beets the other day at my local Whole Foods and the first thing that came to my mind was "roasted beets". I'm happy Jamie and I now think along the same lines, as I was able to find his version of roasted golden beets. I had never had golden beets before....but their cousins the red beet. Oddly enough, I found their taste to be absolutely identical so I guess the interesting part lies in their playful vibrant colors and different nutritional contents (golden orange and deep purple couldn't possibly be made of the same phytonutrients).

They are very sweet and do have a sourness to them which vinegar usually enhances in a subtle way. But in that instance, the use of balsamic vinegar seemed to be an adequate choice for the beets, bringing out both their sweetness and sourness.

Both carrots and beets are first boiled to absorb enough water to cook properly and avoid the ''shriveling in the oven''. Anyone who has tried to roast vegetables in the oven before will know what I'm talking about*. They are then seasoned each in a different way : the juice of an orange, the leaves of a few thyme sprigs, smashed garlic cloves and olive oil for the carrots, balsamic vinegar along with a few unpeeled whole cloves of garlic for the beets, last but not least, fine gray sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper for everyone. Last step is roasting them in the oven**.

Moving on to the pork chops, I have to tell you that this pork is the best tasting pork I have ever had, and I'm not even kidding! I get it from a farm nearby, where I also get my eggs, chicken and beef. It's a small farm operated by a couple who uses the rotational grazing method. The animals spend their lives out in nature doing what they were meant to do and they are treated humanely. No pesticides, antibiotics, vaccines or growth hormones there, only the most respectful ways of treating living beings and the environment we all share. In return, the meat is spectacular.

For this recipe, the pork chops are seasoned scored and sage leaves are inserted in the slits. They are then seared, and cooked. Finally, the pan juices are deglazed with fresh lemon juice and poured over the chops.

I'd say not too bad for a weeknight's meal.

*Cook's illustrated this month features an article about roasting green beans and the shrivel action. It says : ''Wrinkles aren't always a sign of overzealous cooking. For roasted green beans, shriveled exteriors indicate a successful transformation from bland and stringy to tender and flavorful''.

**In Jamie's original recipe the vegetables are roasted in a 425 degree oven for 30mn. I would recommend bringing the temperature down to 375 (especially in a convection oven ) for about 20mn.

First brunch of the year

2009-01-02T14:54:00.000-05:00

I found this recipe about a month ago, and just reading it I knew it would be a perfect new year’s brunch : ricotta pancakes along with caramelized apples topped with cooked prociutto drizzled with warm maple syrup. I could feel how the rich sweetness of the maple syrup would pair perfectly with the saltiness of the prociutto and I couldn't wait to try it.

I made the pancake batter with a mixture of ricotta, buttermilk and organic lemon zest and peel. The apples were quartered cored and peeled, then tossed in melted butter and maple syrup and cooked in a warm oven until slightly browned on top. The prociutto was cooked on a baking sheet for about 10mn until crispy.

The result was up to my expectations. The ricotta made these pancakes unbelievably moist even though thoroughly cooked. The different textures gave the whole dish a certain dimension : the crunchiness of the salty procuitto against the melt-in-your-mouth consistency of the fruity apples. Just plain beautiful to start off the year on a sweet note.

Christmas cookies

2008-12-16T16:31:00.000-05:00

It all started a couple of days ago when my daughter came back from school with a note from her teacher asking me if I could donate a dozen cookies for an upcoming event at the school. It sounded all perfectly doable until I saw the handwritten side note specifying Christmas cookies.
Panic struck me : I had never baked Christmas cookies. As a matter of fact we are not very familiar with the my-kitchen-is-turned-into-a cookie-factory-for-the-entire-month-of-December kind of tradition that other families seem to wholeheartedly embrace or shall I say observe religiously each year. Anyway it came in a timely manner to remind me that I had yet to return that empty box to my neighbor who had given me a share of her yearly tradition…I would return the empty box full… with more Christmas cookies.
I still had to find both the inspiration and the recipe to start my little enterprise.
The Washington Post saved me. The Wednesday edition features a food section I always enjoy flipping through. I already had in mind the kind of cookies I wanted to make : a frosted sugar cookie.

Because a) I get to roll out my dough and have fun choosing and cutting the shapes and b) I get to choose the color of the frosting. That sounded like tons of fun. As I unfolded the paper my would-be cookies were making the front page : delicate, slightly iridescent snowflake cookies. They were part of a larger project consisting of an entire Christmas wreath as an edible ornament ; for me they would remain cookies and I was ready for the challenge.

Making my own roll out cookie dough proved trickier than I had hoped and more time consuming as the dough had to be refrigerated overnight then rolled to the desired thickness (also a tricky part) and cut without either sticking to the counter (definitely the trickiest part) or become a stretched melting deformed version of the original shape. It would then have to be refrigerated one more time before going in the oven.
Then came the frosting and my memorable first time using a piping bag armed with a number 2 tip. The result : pretty little sugary treats.
I still had to find a suitable way to package my confections for the school. I had kept a bulky plastic container which used to hold my organic baby arugula in its first life. I was going to give it a second one. I would tie a nice piece of ribbon around it to give it that festive look and there : my eco-chic cookie box.

And who knows it might even be a lucky salad container and get a third life as a craft box in a happy first grade classroom?

Chili

2008-12-11T20:23:00.000-05:00

What could possibly be more comforting and indeed tasty in those chilly wintry days than a nice bowl of chili? Right maybe a hearty soup loaded with root vegetables. But not today.

With winter coming and our most cherished farmer’s markets and CSA’s closing their doors until spring, fresh local seasonal vegetables are in short supply…forcing me to do some serious thinking if I want my children to not only eat their dinner but actually enjoy it too.

My chili making starts a day ahead. I never ever use canned beans….to me vegetables coming from a can are not to be trusted, taste or nutrition wise. In this recipe I use 3 different types of beans that I soak for about 16 hours and then cook for 4. Time consuming you’ll say ; well all the soaking requires is for you to fill up a bowl of water put the beans in and let it sit on the counter, then while the beans are bubbling away on the stove…well you get the picture.

The dish has simmered just long enough for the ingredients to start binding together (but not too long as I wouldn’t want my beans to start loosing their shape) in a large cast iron pot along with some ground beef, a chunky tomato sauce and other vegetables, spices and of course chili. In this case a chipotle chili in adobo sauce for some extra smokiness.

To serve ladle into a bowl and add sour cream (aka crema or crème fraiche) or grated cheese. I like my chili piping hot with a sprig of cilantro.

Challah here I come!

2008-12-05T12:45:00.000-05:00

I never quite really understood why when pursuing a culinary education there was automatically a divide between baking and cooking. “Thou shalt choose! Thou shalt become a pastry chef or a culinary chef!” in any case, not both!
And why not?

When I became a more enthusiast cook about 6 years ago (of course, I had fed myself before that!) I started to play around with more ingredients and new techniques and oddly enough I started to develop what I call a flourphobia.
Each and every time a recipe involved dipping my hands into flour my confections almost invariably turned out as hard as a rock and just plain inedible.
I was purposefully shying away from any recipe that would call for the slightest dusting of flour.

Six years down the road I am a more experienced baker, it took some time, but I guess I could never quite bring myself to give up on flour and dough, and I have to confess that today I find it almost addictive to work with flour.
One of the lessons I learned though was that when you’re baking you’re dealing with much more than just ingredients, your pots and pans and a goodwill to make something yummy. Baking involves chemistry, which honestly I am not eager to learn so I’ll just stick to the fundamentals. When I bake I feel I am truly creating something. Baking makes me feel like a magician, it is an art that I find irresistibly attractive, warm and comforting, almost the essence of life ….so reducing it to a couple of formulas….no thank you.
Today I am attempting to make my first Challah. I came across Challah when I lived in New-York. The sweet, buttery, soft and chewy texture of Challah was a perfect replica of my childhood’s brioche.
And here it is right out of the oven. I guess all I have to say is Mazel tov!

foraging for food

2008-10-16T11:54:00.000-04:00

When hunting for food I find that farmer’s markets have no comparable equivalent and I decidedly want to support their activity for many reasons. But besides the Saturday morning lively market place, I have a few other places I will keep returning to as I can trust they’ll undoubtedly carry this very special ingredient on my latest recipe find. Among them is Whole Foods. It’s a great source of inspiration for those new, different, unusual ingredients I was referring to yesterday.

Entering into Fall is a special moment for me. It’s harvest time with the treasures of nature fully matured and ready for the table. Fruit in abundance ripened all Summer long by the tirelessly blazing sun until the fragile skin bursts and lets out the sweet nectar of life. The time where all Seasons suddenly make sense.

One of my favorite things is that fall yields so many varieties of Squash. I am completely fascinated by Squash. The colors and shapes inspire me: they’re beautiful and the way they grow in the garden is intriguing, almost poetic. I love them and want to try them all.

So on my last visit to Whole Foods I discovered a squash I had never encountered before: the Hubbard Squash. Beautiful and oddly shaped, with a mysterious green skin hiding what I could only envision of the flesh beneath. What color could it be hiding? It was a deep yellow. The taste was unbelievably nutty (much more so than the butternut squash), dense and sweet. I enjoyed it the simplest way possible: steamed with a drizzle of olive oil. As I am still experimenting, there will certainly be more to come on the various ways of enjoying squash.

There you go: my best example of where to go to find variations and diversity. Whole Foods is a great start. Go to their site, click on store locator and give it a try next time you find yourself bored as can be on a Sunday afternoon.

There’s a lot to be tempted about. They have a great selection of fruit and vegetables, organic locally sourced specials and if you’re not so much into raw ingredients, take a look at the refrigerated section and pick a yoghurt that advertises all types of ferments and active cultures and chances are you’re in for a sweet and tangy healthy treat. Their bread aisle is also fantastic…so many things to try French lean breads, creamy ciabattas or whole grain seed-crowded loaves. It’s all there.

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and get cooking.

FLORENCE

some food for thought

2008-10-15T14:02:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends,

I would like to share some thoughts with you today on my approach to food and eating in general.

As mentioned in my Monday post, I feel there is a little too much panicking going on where food is concerned. People are generally wary of what they eat and the complex and ever changing advice they receive from their surroundings doesn’t make things any easier. Should I avoid saturated fats or white pasta? Can I ever eat out again?

My feeling is that the only things to be avoided are those non-food elements which have been added to our current diet as a result of farming or manufacturing techniques inherent to food cultivation, processing, transport and storage, such as pesticides, food coloring, artificial flavors, preservatives, GMOs, hydrogenated fats (transfats), etc. These are not food stuffs we were ever meant to eat, but are added to food for ulterior motives or which are simply hard to keep out of our food supply. These food stuffs cannot be totally excluded from your diet (as they are added to most products you buy in the supermarket). However, worse than eating them, is giving in to the fear and panic that surrounds them. Creating a bad relationship with food is the worst thing you can do!

All other food is fair game, keeping in mind that a healthy diet should be consumed in moderation and contain a healthy variety of food. Eating should be a pleasurable experience! Taking pleasure in what you eat is fundamental to cultivating healthy eating habits.

Diets should not be about deprivation, but about positive consumption of the many and varied food stuffs out there. Just be aware of what you are eating by keeping in mind the different nutritional value of ingredients.
Be wary of diets which proclaim the total exclusion of certain food elements: no more meat or white starches for instance. Just think about it: the Japanese eat white rice three times a day and, as we know, live longer than most of us!
Rather than depriving yourself, look for new elements to include in your diet, such as seaweed, seeds and spices, variations on traditional vegetables, natural sweeteners (such as rice, agave or maple syrup) etc. Try other methods of food preparation, which may bring out different flavors, textures and nutritional content.

Again, a healthy diet is also about creating a healthy mentality towards food. We should not feel guilty when we eat and we should not have to deprive ourselves of foods we enjoy. Think of the pleasures you are missing out on if on your next visit to New Orleans you pass on a local dish of Shrimp Creole because you read it may contain saturated fats?

Don’t get me wrong though, there are good reasons for avoiding food if you are afraid of the chemical content or perhaps for environmental reasons (if the aforementioned shrimp are literally being fished to extinction). However, these reasons aside, we should try to explore new foods, rather than depriving ourselves. Be adventurous, there are so many dishes to try!

And yes, you should be smart about what you eat. Know your ingredients and how they affect your body. But rather than avoiding certain (non-chemical) ingredients outright, consume them in moderation. Avoidance is an unhappy approach to food which can easily lead to frustration.

And lastly, do not confuse healthy eating with longevity or weight loss. Sadly, we cannot control our surroundings and there are many things we may die of. As for weight loss: yes, a healthy approach to food could help you loose weight if you are carrying real excess weight, even though this is not the main purpose. But we also need to accept that our body changes over time and may loose some of its initial vivacity as we grow older. Luckily, there are other joys that come with age to compensate for this loss (like family, children, independence, etc.). A healthy approach to food will help you live better now and guarantee better performance of vital bodily functions at a later age.

I hope the above insights may help you enjoy your food and I welcome any thoughts you may want to share.

All the best,

Cheers FLORENCE

new tidbits

2008-10-14T09:52:00.000-04:00

Hello friends!

I would like to use this moment to share some kitchen discoveries I recently made.

I have wanted to try my hand at baking for a while. Until now, I have focused almost exclusively on cooking, which comes more naturally to me through my family heritage (regional foods and traditional cooking have always played a central role in my family). I thought a good place to start would be with the most common American cakes and pastries, such as brownies and chocolate chip cookies. My intent is to find one good recipe I can rely on for each staple food.

My first attempt came after watching an episode on brownies as presented by the Barefoot Contessa on Food Network. I feel this program is a good source of information on traditional American food, more specifically where baking is concerned.

The recipe however, as mentioned on their website, called for the use of a sheet pan. After consulting some of my reference sites, I headed to Williams Sonoma to purchase a heavy gauge aluminum sheet pan as this appeared best suited to the task and came with a no-guilt price tag. The results were amazing: even baking and no burnt bottom. I highly recommend using these pans, as they are very versatile and can be used for roasting as well as many other baking needs.

As for the recipe, I indeed found what I was looking for! With my staple brownie recipe and all-purpose sheet pan in hand, I ventured into new waters with a chocolate chip cookie recipe from the King Arthur Flour website. Again a resounding success, judging from the reactions of my all-too-willing and yet brutally honest, in-house connoisseurs.

That’s it for now. Stay tuned for more adventures to come!

FLORENCE

My first post

2008-10-13T09:29:00.000-04:00

So this is it: my first post.

I am a food enthusiast and like many other enthusiasts, spend a good deal of time consuming media bites on what to eat and how to do it (Food Network, Bon Appetit and other food blogs such as 101cookbooks and chocolateandzucchini, both of which I highly recommend). Everywhere I look I’m pushed or pulled in one direction or another. Eating isn't simple anymore. But one thing has become clear to me through the barrage of sensory stimuli: we all need to calm down a little! Why does everything need to be so complicated? Why do I have to feel guilty every time I put my fork in my mouth?

In my opinion, there are three major ingredients to eating well: a basic understanding of food preparation, distinguishing good natural and unprocessed ingredients from bad ones, and understanding the effect your emotional wellbeing can have on your eating habits. I believe that we can create durable healthy eating habits only through the application of this three thronged approach.

When approaching this subject, we should distinguish good emotions from bad ones. Eating is not a platonic experience; it can and should get emotional at times! We can and should feel joy and passion when we eat. I want to reach down to reconnect with my most basic natural instincts and appreciate food the way we were meant to.

I can (and do to a large degree) spend most of my days in the kitchen and even when not physically present, I have kitchen on my mind. I collect recipes, shop for food and utensils and cook. Luckily, I am blessed with a hungry family to gobble up my creations.

That’s all I have time for. Be back soon. Cheers, FLORENCE