A Summer Lunch For Two

When I was a little girl, I loved day trips. Sometimes it was the beach, other times the countryside. I loved packing lunches and even then, I expected to have multiple courses and snacks to munch on throughout the day. In retrospect, I think food was actually the thing I looked forward to the most, more so than the destination itself.



A few days ago, as I was completely submerged in writing, I looked up at my computer screen. "It is 4 o'clock and I have not left the house all day!" I thought. Seems to happen often these days.

Kids arrived home shortly after. They craved my attention, but my mind was elsewhere. It is hard to come out of your head when you have been in it for so many hours, isn't it? I asked the babysitter to stay a bit longer and I decided to go for a run to clear my head.

I thought of those day trips and the outdoor lunches in the summer heat. Sometimes even on the side of the road, close to a stream, or under an oak tree. I remembered my dad cutting melon slices for all of us while my mom finished her lunch. An array of small plates and nibbles always followed by a tart or shortbread we took from our family's pastry shop.



The following day, I woke up knowing I still had lots of work to do, but thought it would be fun to prepare a quick meal Miren and I could eat outside. Partly for her, but mostly for me. Just to get a break and some fresh air.

We had ripe heirloom tomatoes that I blended into a gazpacho with cucumber, scallions, fresh herbs, and a drizzle of avocado oil. Toasted gluten-free bread, rubbed juicy tomato all over it, and topped it with shaved Idiazabal. Miren's favorite.

We also enjoyed a simple salad with greens, berries, and pan seared salmon. And for dessert, plum and currant crumble.

"One for you, one for me."





Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup

Serves 2

3 medium heirloom tomatoes, stem removed and diced
1/2 cucumber, diced
3 scallions, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
small bunch of oregano
2 sprigs thyme
salt pepper
avocado oil, to garnish
2 slices toasted bread
Idiazabal or Manchego cheese, shaved

Puree all ingredients in the blender and chill for 1 hour.

Serve with toasted bread rubbed with tomato and shaved Manchego cheese.

Salmon and Berry Salad

Serves 2

8 ounces wild-caught salmon (mine was Coho)
2 cup mixed greens (frisee, baby romaine, watercress, arugula, parsley...)
1/4 cup yellow raspberries
1/4 cup blackberries
1/4 cup red currants
1 scallion, sliced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for salmon
salt and pepper

In a small saute pan, cook the salmon for 2 minutes (depending on the thickness) with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Flip over and finish cooking for another 2 minutes. Set aside.

In a bowl, toss together the greens and all the berries.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar and olive oil. Drizzle the vinaigrette over salad. Season with salt. Toss to combine and top with seared salmon pieces.

Red Plum, Currant, and Almond Crumble

Serves 4

1/2 cup (70 grams) superfine brown rice flour
3/4 cup (70 grams) almond meal
1/3 cup (70 grams) natural cane sugar
5 Tbs (70 grams) cold unsalted butter, diced
6 red plums, pit removed and sliced
1/4 cup red currants
1/4 cup white currants
1 Tbs natural cane sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs cornstarch

Preheat oven to 400F (220C).

In the food processor, combine the first four ingredients and pulse until it forms a crumbly sand. Transfer to a bowl and chill until ready to use.

Toss the rest of ingredients in a bowl. Divide amongst 4 (8-ounce) bowls. Top with crumble.

Bake for 30 minutes until filling bubbling and crumble is golden.

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A Summer Lunch For Two

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Friends I Can Rely On and BlogHer Food'10

Sometimes it's hard to explain all the little obstacles that come along with being an ex-pat. Having to leave all friends and family behind, all contacts and all resources to start a new life somewhere else. I came into this country with two suitcases, one filed with clothes, the other with books and CDs. All my possessions, or so I thought at that time.



I suppose those were indeed all my possessions, my material ones, but there is always something else in one's life beyond the material. A support system is the thing that perhaps I underestimated the most when I left my home. Don't get me wrong, I came here for love and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world, but now I realize how much more difficult life can be without that support system, which is built through years of belonging in one place.

The people you know to call when you need something specific, the friends that will watch your kids when you need to run to the doctor, the ones that know someone who knows someone...



You might be wondering why I'm mentioning this to you now. Well, I suppose having children changes everything. The saying "it takes a village to raise a child" has never felt so true to me. Having people we can rely on and trust becomes a necessity. You see, I am leaving for San Francisco this Thursday to attend BlogHer Food '10. I am utterly excited to be there, catch up with dear friends and connect with new ones. (Perhaps you might even be there this weekend and if so, please come by and say hello!).

But there is a lot of planning that goes on with leaving for so many days. Making sure the kids are looked after, maintaining a routine, being fed... Yes, kids require a lot and this trip was no different.



It was my friend Karen who came to the rescue this week. Sometimes when I most need it, she comes to my rescue always with a smile and pure generosity. I couldn't ask for a better friend who I can trust and rely on. Always. And she never asks for anything in return. That is what I'm talking about.



My way of paying her back is always through food. I don't think I have ever met a person so grateful for everything I make. It makes me happy to see her enjoy all my experiments or even my everyday staples, like a simple lentil soup. So of course, I cooked and baked for her to show her my appreciation.

A plate full of quinoa spaghetti with roasted golden baby beets, red kuri squash, bacon, garlic and chilis. So simple, but so much flavor.

For dessert, these black plum, almond and chocolate cakes. Gluten free and so moist. Almost like a brownie.



She was happy and that made my day.

If you attending BlogHer Food '10, I will see you there. Can't wait.

Roasted Golden Baby Beet, Squash and Bacon Quinoa Spaghetti

makes 2 servings

2 bunches of baby golden beets, peeled
1/2 medium red kuri squash, peeled and sliced
2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 slices of bacon, sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 Tbs red chili flakes
8 oz quinoa spaghetti (or any kind you like)
Beet greens or spinach

Toss the beets and red kuri squash with the olive oil and salt. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for about 20-30 minutes or until tender.

Place the bacon in a pan and start browning it. Add the garlic when it starts to get some color and the red pepper flakes. Set aside.

In the meantime, cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water. Reserve a little bit of the cooking liquid and drain. Toss the pasta with the bacon, garlic and roasted vegetables. Add a little bit of the cooking liquid if needed. Serve with some beet leaves or spinach.

Plum, Almond and Chocolate Cakes

makes 6 4" cakes

2 eggs
1/2 cup (100 grams) cane sugar
1/2 cup or 1 stick (110 grams) butter or non-hydrogenated shortening
2 oz (55 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup (120 grams) almond flour
1/4 cup (40 grams) superfine brown rice flour
2 Tbs (20 grams) cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 black plums, sliced

Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set this over a water bath to melt. Let it cool slightly.

Sift the dry ingredients together.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and the sugar. Add the melted chocolate and butter and whisk. Add the sifted dry ingredients and whisk until combined.

Spray molds with cooking spray. Divide the batter between the molds and top with the slices of plum.

Bake at 375F for about 20-25 minutes or until center cooked.

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Friends I Can Rely On and BlogHer Food'10

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{Sunday Lunch} Fava and Quinoa Salad and a Plum, Oat and Rosemary Crisp

Weekend meals in our house are a bit of a hodgepodge of sorts. I play around with food, C. likes to experiment with the smoker, I bake all sorts of sweets... So I would say we graze all day long and maybe have one decent, sit down meal, which is usually breakfast.

I grew up in a family where all our activities revolved around our meal times. Lunch was always served at 1:30pm during the week and 2:30pm on the weekends. Even to this day, if I call my parents at that time and they are not home, my internal alarm immediately goes off wondering if something has happened. There is something very comforting about that and that's perhaps why I crave routine so much.



I think it's clear I love to cook, especially I love to cook for my family. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to work from home and to have a flexible schedule so I can always fit our dinnertime together. I am very passionate about what I feed my children, but above all, I love the task itself. I love peeling, sauteeing, dressing, roasting, dicing, icing... I love the action that happens in the kitchen. The smells and sounds that come out of it.

But weekends are different... On weekends, I like to feel no obligation to have lunch on the table at a certain time or to have to rush home to prepare dinner. I just want to play around and have fun.



So early this morning, when I had barely finished cleaning our breakfast dishes, I got back in the kitchen and started cooking our lunch. C. took our little boy out for some errands and M. napped peacefully. I sat at the dining room table and started patiently peeling the bag of fava beans I got at the market yesterday. Brought back memories of my dad snapping and cutting flat green beans for my mom. Put me in a trance.

I quickly blanched the favas in salted, boiling water and made a salad with red quinoa, the fava beans, shallots and a soft boiled egg. All dressed very simply with salt, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and some mini purple basil leaves.



For dessert, we had a gluten-free plum, oat and rosemary crisp. I know it might seem odd to add rosemary to a crisp, but believe me, it worked. The lemon zest and the rosemary complimented the sweet and slightly acidic fruit very, very well. Even J. agreed. I snapped these photos in a pinch while the skies were threatening rain. I can see the grayness in them. I like it.

And tell me, what did you cook this weekend?

Gluten-Free Plum, Oat and Rosemary Crisp

3 lbs sliced plums
2/3 cups palm sugar or cane sugar
3 Tbs plus 1 tsp cornstarch
1 vanilla bean, scraped
Juice of 1 lemon
pinch of salt

1/2 cup superfine brown rice flour
1/4 cup gluten-free oat flour
1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup palm sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbs finely chopped rosemary
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup melted butter

Toss together the sliced plums, cornstarch, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla bean and salt. Transfer to a 10" round baking dish.

In a bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, sugar, sea salt, rosemary and lemon zest. Add the melted butter and fold with a spatula until all the dry ingredients are moist with the butter. Crumble it on top of the fruit.

Bake at 350F until golden and filling starts to bubble. About 45 minutes. If the topping starts to get too dark, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper.

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{Sunday Lunch} Fava and Quinoa Salad and a Plum, Oat and Rosemary Crisp

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Some Roasted Plums, Coconut Milk Risotto and Muscovado Cakes

Last week, I had to deal with some unexpected (arent't they all?) health issues, which forced me into a blog hiatus and necessary rest. It was nothing serious, but enough to stop me from baking and shooting as much. Sometimes life has funny ways of making us slow down even if it's against our own will. I appreciate all the concerned emails wondering if something had happened or if I had gone into premature labor. All is well and just excited for the new season.



We received a big box of plums as a gift and have been enjoying them everyday. Purple, red, yellow pluots, prune plums... a beautiful assortment. It seems like every year plums mark the end of summer for me and the excitement for the new season begins.

I have been living vicariously through everyone else who gets to go apple picking and visiting orchards this time of year as we have none around us. But even that is exciting enough right now.



I have been baking with muscovado sugar a lot lately. It adds a richness and moistness to cakes and cookies that is hard to get any other way. No wonder it is called "moist sugar"! And even though I have never liked sugar in my coffee, I even started putting some muscovado in my morning dose following Ashley's advice.

The roasted plum and muscovado mini cakes are moist and rich with a touch of sour cream and lemon, but also unexpectedly light. We served these for friends during a play date on a rainy afternoon.



The coconut milk risotto is a slight variation on my arroz con leche recipe that I make all the time. It is much lighter, a bit less sweet and much faster to cook. I served it with the warm roasted plums, red currants and a sprinkle of pink peppercorns. My new favorite.



Coconut Milk Risotto

500 ml whole milk
20 grams sugar
pinch of salt
10 grams butter
60 grams arborio rice
120 grams coconut milk

In a saucepan, warm the whole milk, sugar and pinch of salt over a medium heat.

In the meantime, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the rice to it and sautee it for about a minute. Add about half of the warm milk and stir over medium heat. Let it bring to a light simmer and then reduce the heat if necessary. Cook the rice in the milk while constantly stirring. When that milk has reduced, add a little bit more of the remaining warm milk and continue stirring. Proceed like that until all the milk has been added and the rice is cooked, which will take about 20-25 minutes. (Note that if you have added all the milk but the rice still not tender, you may add extra just to finish cooking it).

Finish the cooking process with the coconut milk. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the risotto into a bowl to chill. I like mine at room temperature but you might store it in the refrigerator.

Roasted Plums

4 plums
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
pink peppercorns
star anise
Juice of half an orange
musvocado sugar, some for roasting and some for sprinkling at the end

Cut the plums in half and remove the pit. Place them on a roasting dish. Add the star anise, pink peppercorn, vanilla bean, orange juice and sprinkle each half plum with muscovado sugar.

Bake the plums at 350F for about 30-40 minutes until tender.

Cut them into wedges and serve them on top of the coconut milk risotto accompanied by some red currants, muscovado sugar and pink peppercorns.

Roasted Plum and Muscavado Sugar Cakes

Makes a dozen 3 inch mini cakes

180 grams butter, room temperature
150 grams muscovado sugar
125 grams granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
180 grams sour cream
180 grams flour
4 grams baking powder
6 plums
muscovado sugar for sprinkling

Cream butter, muscovado sugar, granulated sugar, lemon zest and vanilla together until light. Add the eggs one at a time. Scrape the bowl well. Add the sour cream and mix. Add the flour and baking powder and mix until batter comes together.

Lightly butter and flour mini cake molds (I used tart rings that are 3"x1"). Pipe the batter into the molds. Place thin slices of plum on top and sprinkle with some more muscovado sugar.

Bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Wait until slightly cool to unmold them.

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Some Roasted Plums, Coconut Milk Risotto and Muscovado Cakes

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Goodbye to Summer with a Plum and Almond Tart

I always find the changes in season very exciting. I am eager to cook with the new fruits and vegetables, bring home new flowers... I found some gorgeous decorative kale stems at my florist shop the other day that took my breath away. I am also known for drilling the produce "guy" about when they will be receiving this or that... it's thrilling to me, like unwrapping presents.

But autumn also brought the cold virus into our house, getting our little boy sick. I am hoping he will recover soon since we have plane tickets to go home this weekend. So far, so good, so this Sunday, we shall be on a transatlantic plane headed home!




Before we leave though, I wanted to make a simple, rustic tart with the last of the stone fruits that are available to us. This is simple as can be. Fresh plums baked in an almond batter making a delicious afternoon snack.

Plum and Almond Tart

150 grams egg whites
155 grams sugar
70 grams flour
65 grams almond flour
190 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Whisk together the egg whites and the sugar until combined. Add the flour and almond flour and mix. Slowly add the melted and cooled butter until it is incorporated. Refrigerate the batter overnight. Place the batter in a pastry bag and pipe it into tart pan. Fill the pan about half way up and top with halved plums.

Bake in a 350F oven until golden brown, which will take approximately 30 minutes, but it depends on the pan.

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Goodbye to Summer with a Plum and Almond Tart

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Creme Fraiche Blancmange and Plum Mousse Cake... and Petit Suisse Part Trois

Let me start by saying that I have made blancmange many times before, but this time, when I decided to add creme fraiche to it, I realized that I found a really good substitute for the petit suisse I have been craving for so long.

For those of you who have never had blancmange, it is similar to panna cotta in the sense that it is sweetened heavy cream that is stabilized with the addition of gelatin. This recipe however, does not warm the heavy cream, it is whipped instead, resulting in a very light, mousse-like layer. The addition of creme fraiche adds that richness and bit of tang similar to petit suisse.

I have always liked a dollop of creme fraiche with roasted fruits so I decided to use it in the blancmange. After I spread some on my mousse cake, I had some leftover that I piped into shot glasses. That was going to be my mid-afternoon snack. When I tried it, I realized it tasted just like petit suisse and then the lightbulb turned on in my head... "That's right! It makes complete sense!".

After my first attempt to make petit suisse, which resulted in a nice fromage frais, I started reading more about the petit suisse making process. It's very similar to the fromage frais but then at one point, after the milk has curdled, extra heavy cream is added. I wasn't clear on how to proceed with those instructions so I left it at that, but this blancmange tastes just like petit suisse and now I know why. It is a cross between a fresh, soft cheese and sweet cream.



I built this cake with an almond and roasted plum sponge as the base. Then the roasted plum mousse is thinly spread over it, the vanilla bean creme fraiche blancmange and it is all topped with burnt swiss meringue. I also made some bubble sugar as decoration. I know it might seem very intimidating to work with sugar at home, and it can be, but this decoration is really easy to make and I think it's a nice touch.



Plum and Almond Sponge
makes half a sheetpan

175 grams egg whites
90 grams sugar
150 grams almond flour
55 grams powdered sugar
30 grams flour
40 grams plum puree

In a bowl, sift together almond flour, powdered sugar and flour. Set aside.

Whip the egg whites to almost a full meringue. Slowly add the sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Sprinkle a third of the sifted dry ingredients and fold. Add another third, fold and add the rest. Fold gently. Add the plum puree and fold.

Spread the sponge batter on a half sheetpan with an offset spatula. Spread evenly.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until the top starts to turn color but not brown.

Plum Mousse

200 grams plum puree
20 grams sugar
2 gelatin sheets
200 grams heavy cream, soft peak

Warm the plum puree with the sugar. In the meantime, soften the gelatin in an ice bath. When the gelatin has softened, add it to the plum puree. When the plum puree is slightly cool, add the whipped cream into the base and fold gently until all ingredients are incoporated.

Spread the mousse evenly over the plum sponge and freeze right away.

Creme Fraiche Blancmange

350 grams heavy cream
2 vanilla beans
75 grams sugar
3 gelatin leaves
250 grams creme fraiche

Whip the heavy cream, vanilla and sugar to soft peaks. In the meantime, soften the gelatin leaves in ice water for about 5 minutes. Add about 3 Tbs of the whipped cream to the gelatin and melt it over a double boiler. Do not over heat it though. Stir so all the gelatin is dissolved.

Add about a cup of the whipped cream to the gelatin mixture and whip. We are tempering the gelatin. If we were to add the melted, warm gelatin to the entire batch of cold whipped cream, the gelatin would set right away and we would be left with chunks of gelatin in the cream. So temper a little bit of the cream into the gelatin and whisk. Then fold in the rest.

Finally, fold the creme fraiche into the cream base. Evenly spread the blancmange over the plum mousse with an offset spatula. Let it set in the refrigerator or freezer.

Swiss Meringue

75 grams egg whites
150 grams sugar

Mix egg whites and sugar in a bowl and place over a double boiler. Whisk them together until sugar starts to melt. It will be hot to the touch and the color will change to white.

Transfer the bowl to the mixer and whip to a stiff meringue. Place the meringue in a pastry bag fitted with a round tip and pipe some meringue on top of the blancmange. Burn the meringue with a blowtorch.

Bubble sugar

180 grams sugar
90 grams water
30 grams glucose

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook to 317F degrees. In the meantime, take a piece of parchment paper and make it into a ball with your hands. Open it up and flatten it but we want to keep the texture. Rub a little bit of alcohol on the parchment paper and when the sugar reaches 317 degrees, pour a little bit of sugar on one edge of the paper. Lift it and let the sugar run down. The alcohol will make the sugar bubble up creating the bubble effect.

This is very hot so be careful when you handle it. Once the sugar has hardened, peel the paper off carefully. Store the bubble sugar in an airtight container.

This is obviously not how petit suisse is made, so there will be more coming on this subject. Stay tuned... I have an accomplice on this!

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Creme Fraiche Blancmange and Plum Mousse Cake... and Petit Suisse Part Trois

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Roasted Plums with Tarragon Ice Cream

I have been in a fresh herb kick lately. I think I have neglected them for a very long time and I don't know why. I love them just as much as I love fresh flowers. I respect them for their medicinal benefits and for what they add to food. I feel I have been redeeming myself and all I can think about are fresh herbs.

The first time I ever tried this ice cream was at a class I took with Sebastien Cannone from the French Pastry School and I will never forget it. Yes, it is delicious and perfectly balanced, but that is not the reason why. You see, I was assisting him in his class and I was asked to just get the mise en place ready for him. I had just started culinary school and I was very intimidated around all these professional chefs.

When I set myself out to scale the tarragon ice cream recipe, I think I forgot to zero out the scale at one point and I completely mis-scaled the entire recipe. Can you imagine how embarassed I was when he was cooking it and noticed the proportions were off? I thought that was the end of my professional career as a pastry chef. I thought, "what a disgrace, I can't even scale a simple recipe!" Well, he was a complete gentleman and didn't even say anything, just asked me to rescale it in a very polite matter. So I did. It worked and it was as perfect as I imagined it to be.



For those of you who have never tasted tarragon, I would say it is the licorice of the herb family. It reminds me a lot of licorice root or fennel. Very sweet and mild. I roasted the plums with a little bit of sugar (not much because they were very sweet naturally), vanilla bean, pink peppercorns and star anise which is also very licorice-y.

Sebastien's recipe has very specific guidelines on when to add ingredients, at what temperature, how to mix them... I didn't follow them as precisely but it turned out well, although not as smooth as when churned in a commercial ice cream machine. So the recipe below is not as accurate as his but it worked for me. Also, if you do not have access to some of these ingredients, you can make similar ice cream if you follow the recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago for mint chocolate chip. Just use tarragon instead.



Tarragon Ice Cream
adapted from Sebastien Cannone's recipe

490 grams whole milk
30 grams non fat dry milk powder
115 grams sugar
40 grams glucose powder
4 grams ice cream stabilizer
80 grams butter
5 grams fresh tarragon
60 grams egg yolks

Place the whole milk, tarragon, butter and milk powder in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil. In the meantime, whisk the sugar, glucose powder and ice cream stabilizer in a bowl. When the milk comes to a boil, add the sugar mixture and whisk. Return to a boil.

Temper the milk mixture into the egg yolks. Return this custard to the pan and cook while constantly stirring to 84C. Strain into a clean bowl through a fine sieve and cool completely over an ice bath.

Refrigerate for at least 12 hours so the ice cream matures properly. Churn in ice cream machine and freeze.

This recipe will be my entry for Mike's Table's "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Frozen Desserts". Remember you have until July 7th!

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Roasted Plums with Tarragon Ice Cream

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