Ramadan - September 2007

wow, a tagine like this doesn't come along too often. Fadel (who is a chef) created this sublime dish with lamb, onions, prunes, apricots, almonds, little tomato concentrate (spices - paprika, little cumin, lot of cinnamon, honey and saffron). he fried the meat with honey and oil, tossed the onions in with the tomatoes and spices. he let it cook for 1/2 hour or so, added the fruit/almonds and voila - scrumptious tagine served with bread and salad. yum.
this tagine came after 'breakfast' which was served after the sun went down - moroccan sweets, harrira (veg soup), eggs cheese. after the tagine came dessert - pear sorbet with vanilla ice cream topped with chantilly (whipped cream). mon dieu. apparently this happens the whole month of ramadan. feast and famine my friend.

Crawfish (Ecrevisse) Chowder

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter	2 tbsp flour
1 chopped onion	300gm or so cooked crawfish
500ml or so milk or soja milk	1 can corn
1 can whole kernel corn	1 potato
2 pods of garlic chopped fine	1/2 cup chopped parsley (opt) 1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup green onion (opt)	salt, pepper to taste
Directions
In a medium saucepan over low heat blend together the butter then add flour. Add the onions, bell pepper, and garlic - maybe with a little oil if it starts to burn. Cook until veggies are tender. Add corn, milk, cayenne pepper, potato and blend well. Add pepper to taste and add crawfish. Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat stirring to prevent scorching. Add the parsley and green onions and cook for 5 minutes more.

we see a fair bit of crawfish in the south of france and this hearty number hits the spot.

Summer Soups

this summer was definitely filled with cold soups. from cucumber/mint, beetroot, melon, vichyssoise, avocado/cucumber to the old fave gazpacho - we had them all. an easy and tasty way to get your weggies up.
Recipes usually included plain yogurt, shallots, chive and stock - a little of whatever was around - creme fraiche if feeling special. hand blend all ingredients and chill very well.

cucumber/mint soup

2 cucumbers
handful fresh mint, some chives if handy
2 pots natural yogurt
salt, pepper to taste

c'est tout! blend and chill.

beetroot soup

2 cooked beetroot
300ml or so stock of choice
1 pot yogurt or 3-4 tablespoons creme fraiche
small onion
salt, pepper to taste

melon soup

1 orange or green melon
1 onion
2 pots yogurt
chives or other herbs
1-2 tablespoons red wine vinager (could use another type here)
bit of water maybe
salt, pepper to taste

The perfect squid recipe

Alas, I lost it... But here's as much as I remember, and if it comes up again I'll update this.

I have loved squid ever since I saw my mum tear a transparent plastic spear (the spine) from the flabby white flesh. It was a Ripley vs. the alien moment. The marshmellow-like texture and rich meaty taste also fuelled my love. However, each time I've tried to cook squid the texture has been closer to that of a condom rather than a mousse.

Recently we decided to try again and came across a superb recipe which we've subsequently lost. But the gist of it was something like this...

Mince together a tomato, onion, red pepper, chilli and a couple of cloves of garlic. A hand blender is ideal for this.

Take 3-4 medium-sized cleaned squid and fry for 3 minutes on a hot flame with a little oil. Add a couple of tablespoons of pastis (I guess Pernod would do) and flambe ie. set the whole thing alight. Better not to be wearing hairspray at this point. Set squid aside.

In the same pan, add the sauce mixture, cook for a couple of minutes and then add the squid, cover and cook for a further 15 minutes on low heat. Garnish and voila.

The rule we learnt about squid: you have to cook them for either a really long time or a really short time.

Monkfish in Red Peppers recipe

"Monkfish in Red Peppers recipe"

olive oil (for greasing pan)
8 large roasted whole red peppers (from a jar or deli)
4 monkfish tails (about 1 pound)
salt to taste
juice of half a lemon
1 garlic clove, slivered
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup white wine or broth
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream (optional - or try creme fraiche)

This recipe has gone down a treat in France, not least because of the availability of good, cheap (ie. not too expensive) monkfish. Also, the result belies its simplicity - it really is one of the most straightforward fish dishes you could make.

As an aside, I recently read about a London chef recounting how cheap monkfish had been 30 years ago in London. Being not the prettiest looking fish, it was generally given away for practically nothing. How times can change in the fish world.

Food pH List - Balancing Acid/Alkaline Foods

"It is important that your daily dietary intake of food naturally acts to balance your body pH. To maintain health, the diet should consist of at least 60% alkaline forming foods and at most 40% acid forming foods. To restore health, the diet should consist of 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acid forming foods."

OK, so this one's not exactly a recipe - just a useful guide for anyone interested in food and its potential benefits. The point here is that our diet contains a lot of acid and we can help balance out our bodies by making sure we take in at least some foods with alkalising properties.

But beware - things aren't always what you expect. Although the average lemon is high in acid, when we digest it the residue is alkaline. Trippy, but true.

Cinque Terre - What does it mean? 5 towns linked together by food...no, by a winding trail that only feet can travel. this was my favorite easter meal - pasta alla vongole (with clams), not only for easter mind you. simple, apparently: olive oil, garlic, parsley and clams - yet to try it myself.

Birthday extravaganza

meal at le moulin a mougin was beyond expectations. here's some photos.

BBC - Food - Recipes - Cabbage with mustard seeds

"Cabbage with mustard seeds"

Ingredients
1 small cabbage finely shredded [Savoy]
2 tbsp sunflower oil
¼ tsp mustard seeds
12 curry leaves [we didn't have any, but would like to try it]
1 freshly picked orange or dried red chilli, broken, seeds removed
2 small onions, sliced
2cm/¾in fresh ginger, finely shredded
2 cloves of garlic also found their way in

This Indian veggie marvel was tonight's star attraction. Would love to try with extra coconut (pref fresh grated).