yogurt

Quinoa, Mixed Peppers and Avocado Cream Verrines

06.04.2011 83 Comments

Living with food allergies sucks. Living with food intolerances also sucks. Don’t ask me which one is less sucky. It all depends on the person and how they see the sun shine when they get up. I can only talk about personal experiences and of those around me.

Lauren at Celiac Teen for example is allergic to gluten. I am gluten intolerant. While she will get really strong physical reactions within hours, mine will build over days. Hers will manifest after one speck of gluten ingested by taking her digestive track for a spin, making her brain as cottony as the pillow she’ll use to sleep it off. It will take several days of glutenized meals for me to get vertigo, tinnitus, aura fullness where I’ll have to lie down and hope it stops soon so I can get back to work again.

Instant. Over days. Stomach. Ears. Brain fogged up. Lying down. It just sucks. And as far as I can tell, we’re not wearing a line on our foreheads that reads "gluten can’t pass these lips." We just deal with it. So when my friends, family or anyone coming to eat at my table says "I am allergic to this or that." I don’t question. I accommodate.

I get terribly aggravated when I have to explain I am gluten intolerant and can’t have "regular" flour and I can tell the first thought in some people’s mind is "here’s another low card fad freak." Ugh no. I can have carbs. I can have truckloads of carbs. I can swim in carbs if I wanted to. They just should not contain gluten. That kind of thoughtless reaction bugs the heck out of me. If I were to say "I am allergic to dairy" I’d probably get a sympathetic "Oh you poor thing!". How can they tell that I am not using that as an excuse to avoid calorie ladden ice creams sundaes (just an example. I love sundaes. There)

Somehow, some people make these kinds of decisions in their mind about what is an ok allergy and what just looks like a fad. That’s sad. And wrong. It can create a whole lot of discomfort for someone you don’t know and who places a part of humanity upon you. Trust. I was raised by a father who used to say "if someone says they don’t like this, don’t ask them why. Don’t put them on the spot and don’t make them feel uncomfortable. Trust that they know what they need."

When Flo Makanai sent me a copy of her book "Les Intolerances Alimentaires", it took on a whole level of compassion with me. Flo’s daughters have a lot of different food allergies they must deal with on a daily basis. And in France no less where allergy awareness is still in baby steps. Flo’s book is the best thing that could happen to keep on educating people on food allergies and intolerances. I love my peeps but when I hear things "oh yes, the grilled veggies with camembert sandwich is dairy free." I just get very, very worried.

I truly feel for her young daughters going through trial and error of finding what they can and cannot eat. No to mention the reactions from others at times must be hard to bear for such young souls. I love how fierce a fighter Flo is for her daughters. I am not a mom but I know that’s what mothers do. I know I would not let go until I’d see my daughter smile again.

Flo did it. She then wrote it all down in such a detailed and simple, precise and researched way that I can’t recommend her book strongly enough to anyone who reads/speak French. I know, here I am recommending a book in another language that only some of you will be able to read. For those who can’t read or understand French as well (or at all), I only hope I was able to transmit the notion that food allergies are real, and we should keep on getting educated about them. In whatever language you speak.

When friends came over for dinner, one of them gave me a call the day before saying that he was bringing a guest who was allergic to cow’s milk. Dairy was ok. Just not from a cow. No problem I was wasn’t planning on serving any dairy….oh wait! Duh! I was. One of the dishes I wanted to do, (inspired by Flo’s quinoa and green lentil dish, was a verrine of layered quinoa, roasted peppers and avocado cream and it did contain yogurt. Zut alors! (yikes!) That was by far the easiest allergen orientated change one could have to make. I used goat’s milk yogurt instead.

I know some people who because they don’t think these things are "real" would have said, "oh well, the recipe calls for just 1/4 cup. That’s nothing! That can’t possibly hurt her." Yes it can. It will. Changing a recipe to help someone enjoy the evening and the hours afterwards can be a learning curve but it can also lead to very tasty discoveries in the kitchen. It sure did for me in this recipe. The goat’s milk yogurt gave more of a cheesy creamy bite than cow’s milk yogurt did in previous occasions. I don’t think I’ll change the recipe again after this, actually!

Hope you enjoy this as a refreshing appetizer or light side dish. Everyone at our table was able to partake. That’s what matters.

Quinoa, Mixed Peppers and Avocado Cream Verrines:

Makes 6 to 8

For the quinoa:
1 cup raw quinoa
1.5 cups water
pinch of salt

For the mixed peppers:
1/2 red pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
or one 10 oz box of mixed baby peppers
olive oil
salt and pepper

For the avocado cream:
1/2 avocado
juice of half a lime
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1 green onion, finely chopped (or 1 tablespoon red onion, chopped)
1/4 cup yogurt (your choice)

Prepare the quinos:
In a medium saucepan, combine the quinoa, water and salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 15 to 20 minutes until the quinoa feels tender. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

For the mixed peppers:
preheat the oven to 400F. Place the peppers on a baking sheet and drizzle with a splash of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast until the peppers start to blister (20 minutes). Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Cut the peppers in half, remove the seeds and set the peppers aside.

For the avocado cream:
In a large non reactive bowl, mash the avocado with the rest of the ingredients until smooth with the back of a fork or a potato masher.

Start layering the verrine with some a layer of peppers, a layer of avocado cream, a layer of quinoa, repeat once or twice depending on the size of your glasses and finish with some of the cream on top. Add a couple of blanched asparagus tips if desired for garnish.

Honey Yogurt Mousse With Raspberry Coulis & Shortbread Cookies

17.09.2010 62 Comments

Time flies. Let’s face it, the only time when it doesn’t is when we twirl our thumbs. And even then, I have seen people twirl they thumbs long enough to realize how time flew by – along with life – as they were doing so. The only thing I’ve twirled this week were my hair while sitting at the computer to edit pictures and lastly the spoon in my verrine of Honey Yogurt Mousse with Raspberry Coulis. And cookies! I have twirled a cookie around my little finger. My life is now complete…

Ok, you know that’s sarcasm. There is more to life than mousse and cookies… although…Simplicity has been the motus operandi lately around the house and will remain for a little while (more on that later) and as such, these fit the bill perfectly. I could not help but giggle as I was spooning the different layers in the glasses. I kept thinking of my niece Camille who looked at me with wide open eyes one morning I was twirling honey and yogurt for my cereals.

She’s at the age of food discoveries and adventures. Foods that look good touching, separated, stacked. Textures that play well together. Or not. Colors. Foods that fly on spoon to get into your belly. Those especially rock. And I was happy to oblige and fly that spoon for her. I’ll always treasure those moments alone just as much as those spent with her sister or with her sister alone. These two are just beautiful inside-out and I am proud of my brother for that. Awesome parenting.

The little things that are second nature to an adult like mixing honey and yogurt mean a great deal to her right now. Other food related questions were pretty entertaining too. How do you make the air bubble up in a mousse? Why do you turn your spoon in your cup as you eat? Our morning rituals were about the essentials of food. Came four o’clock and we were into Disney Princesses and their lack of fashion sense. Go figure.

All these moments came rushing back in my head as I was making these and taking great care in separating the layers of yogurt mousse and raspberry sauce. Why? No idea since it would all turn into a giant swirly twirly mess once we’d start digging. It reminded me of the day Camille spent 15 minutes separating her steak from her tabouleh salad only to mix it all up in the end. It’s food. It’s fun. And if you don’t mind eating cold, play along.

When I say we have to do simple these days, I am not exaggerating. I don’t usually talk a whole lot about work here (that’s what the "tear sheet" section of my portfolio is here for – needs an update too) but the next few weeks, months, will be trying my energy to come here to post. Right before leaving for France I signed a contract with Gibbs Smith Publisher to do the photography and styling for Holly Herrick's new book on Tarts. Holly is wrapping up the writing and I have started the photography as we speak (Fall/winter 2011 release). I am completely psyched about it!

It’s Holly’s third book as an author, my second as photographer & stylist and our first together. With a blog titled Tartelette, I also think it was kismet…

It is as rewarding as it sounds. It’s a lot of hard work too. I am doing the shopping, cooking, styling, photographing, post processing, etc… Holly is an accomplished recipe writer (and food stylist – team work!) so I do work with the assurance that the recipes will work. I just take extra steps since we only have one shot to tell you a thousand thoughts. So yes, there is necessary tweezer action in pulling that piece of tomato forward to even out colors or tucking that slice of peach sticking out like a cowlick on a baby’s head.

Some of you have emailed wondering about another book. I can tell you that Carrie’s book that I styled and photographed, Deliciously Organic will be released in November. I just got the chance to look at the final manuscript and I got such a strong pinch in my heart. I am so honored to have participated in Carrie’s vision and message and at the same time worked with such a professional team. And the food…ah the food! It will knock your socks off!

Just thinking about the pile of work ahead makes me reach for one of those yogurt mousses. Soft, creamy, tangy from the raspberry and with that soft touch of honey through and through. Exactly what the doctor should prescribe on a Friday night. Make mine a double!! The cookie is a necessary icing on the cake so to speak. Trust me. Makes it even better…

Honey Yogurt Mousse With Raspberry Coulis:

Makes 4 to 6

Notes: the gelatin amount used in the mousse is small enough to help stabilize the whipped cream and prevent the liquids from separating but is not enough to gel it completely so the texture remains soft and silky.
You can use 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour instead of the rice, millet and potato flour used in the gluten free shortbread recipe.

For the coulis:
2 cups (500gr) fresh or frozen raspberries
a few springs of lemon thyme (or lemon verbena, lemon balm, mint, lavender, etc…)
1/4 cup honey

For the mousse:
1 teaspoon powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons water
1 cup (250ml) Greek yogurt
1/4 cup (60gr) honey (I use a lavender honey from the Hautes Alpes)
1 cup (250ml) heavy whipping cream

For the shortbread cookies:
1 stick (115 gr) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (95 gr) powdered sugar (unsifted)
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup superfine white rice flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 potato flour
(or replace the rice, millet and potato flour with 1 1/2 cups all purpose)
2 tablespoons milk
pinch of salt

Prepare the raspberry coulis:
Place the raspberries, lemon thyme and honey into a heavy saucepan. Cook on medium heat until the raspberries start to break down, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool and discard the lemon thyme if using. Set aside until ready to layer with the mousse.

Prepare the mousse:
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt and honey. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the cream to medium stiff peaks. Set aside.
Heat the gelatin in the microwave for 12 seconds or melt on top of a double boiler. Working quickly, pour the melted gelatin over the yogurt and whisk thoroughly. Gently fold in the whipped cream until everything is blended.

To assemble: layer about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mousse and 2-3 tablespoons coulis in glasses and repeat the layers one more time. Serve with shortbread cookies if desired.

Prepare the shortbread cookies:
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy on medium speed, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and mix until combined. Add the flours, milk and salt and mix briefly to incorporate. Dump the whole mixture onto a lightly floured board and gather the dough into a smooth ball. Do not work the dough while in the mixer or it will toughen up. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F and position a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
When the dough is nice and cold, roll it out on a lightly floured board or in between sheets of plastic wrap to about 1/4 – inch thick. Cut out rounds with a pastry ring or cookie cutter of your preferred size. Place them on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool.

Apricot And Wattleseeds Tea Cakes

05.08.2008 62 Comments

I know I am not the only one in this case and it might come as no surprise to you if I say that my husband rarely reads my blog. It’s not that he does not care but I talk about the post the moment I make the cake, dessert, pastry, etc…so by the time I take the said dessert out of the oven or off the stove, he already knows what I am going to write and talk about. You can imagine that the last post about the "faisselle" my father loves so much brought back a lot of memories and we spent a couple of evenings reminiscing about our childhood favorite summers.

It made me realize that I was a deeply nostalgic person, but not a sad nostalgic always wishing it were still the good old days. No, I am a content nostalgic. Memories appease me, wrap me up like a soft blanket and give me a sense of direction. It is hard to find the calm when words and events hurt you or saddened you and instead I try to find a way to let them in, to let them show me a missing key to that big puzzle that is life. August is a tough month for me, remembering my grandmother and my brother, missing granpa’s 98th birthday and as he said himself "statistics start to look less and less optimistic at that age"…now that just about cracked me up! But I have found comfort in continuity as I was observing C’s twins playing in the creek, fishing, riding their bikes through the neighborhood, perpetrating the same pranks and tricks we used to do with my cousins at the same age.

Some people need to touch things to feel connected, to visit places again…I can’t do any of that. I did not bring "things" to the US, just two suitcases, I can’t go home for a long weekend escapade. But I can remember and talk and with this grew my ever growing love for interactions with people. I am not one of those intruding neighbors always poking my head through the fence or stopping whomever and whatever on the street just to have a conversation. No, I am not saying I am shy either…I just think my brain is always turned on to the "outside/out there" mode. This may not be news for you, but after so many years, I feel actually quite wise (hmm, hmm!) that I have discovered one of my inner mechanisms: memories ground me in being and taking in the present.

When I wrote this post, one new(er) terrific blogger, Christy, emailed me with concerns and questions about moving far away from "home". We emailed back and forth and I tried to reassure her that it is looks more daunting that it actually is. With a good head on your shoulder, a sense of curiosity, an open mind and a good smile, (ok that is the condensed version of the expat "must haves"), it all goes pretty smoothly. She insisted on sending me something as a thank you for answering her questions and since she lives in Australia I thought about light stuff that would not cost her an arm and a leg to ship: the famous Tim Tam cookies, (check her generosity) and ground wattleseed.

Wattle – what? Ha! I blame my Aussie neighbor Liz down the street for that one since she was listing its origins, properties and many different uses. Wattleseed refers to the edible seeds from Australia Acacia (loose term because they are over 100 varieties), and ground acacia flour known as wattleseeds is not only use in baked goods, but also as a replacement for coffee or chocolate, nuts. Moreover it is completely gluten free, has a low glycemic index but a high nutritious content. I just wished they’d sell it by the bucket here because from the moment I took some tiny granules to my nose I was hooked. Nutty and toasty like hazelnuts with a texture similar to ground flax seeds. Guess after the tomatoes and ever growing wild lemongrass I will be growing acacia next!!

It did not take me long, once I tried tasted a tiny little bit, to figure out how I wanted to use them. That nutty aromas is perfect with juicy apricots and the flour aspect of wattleseeds made me think of tea cakes and substituting some of the all purpose flour with it. Next thought was about the kind of tea cakes I wanted. In my family, Sunday lunches often turned into tea times with my aunt Agnes famous yogurt cake. You can guess that tea breaks inevitably turned into light dinners before my grandparents would send everybody in their respective abodes…lucky us we lived next door! See…memories…So yogurt cake it was, with apricots, wattleseeds and the usual yogurt cake suspects (say that 3 times fast). The result was just the softest, nuttiest, apricot-est mini bites we had Sunday afternoon while the twins were playing fetch with Bailey who was too hot to be bothered!

Apricot And Wattleseeds Tea Cakes:

Makes about 12 (can be made in any dish/mold you have like regular muffin tins)

6 apricots
2 large eggs
6 oz (on standard US container) (about 180 gr) whole milk plain unsweetened yogurt
1/2 cup sugar (100g)
zest of one lemon
1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable or olive oil
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (115gr) ground wattleseeds
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 Tb lemon juice

Preheat your oven to 350° F, spray a muffin pan or 12 molds of your preference with cooking spray and set aside while you prepare the cake batter.

Cut the apricot in half and slice each half in thin slices, you will use about one half for each tea cake. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the eggs and sugar until pale. Add the yogurt, oil, vanilla, lemon zest and juice. Whip to combine and add the flour, wattleseeds and baking powder. Whip on medium speed for 30 seconds to make sure all the ingredients are combined and the batter is smooth. Scrape the bottom of your bowl if necessary and give the batter another 10 seconds whirl. Do not overwork the batter or your cake will turn out gummy. Divide the batter into the prepared tins, arrange the apricot slices on top and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a cake tester (skewer or tip of your knife) inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand for ten minutes, and transfer onto a rack to cool.

The Petit Suisse – Fresh Yogurt Experiments

07.07.2008 65 Comments

Not quite Petit Suisse…more like yogurt bulgare…a recipe in progress. Read the rest to find out.

One thing that every European expatriate residing in the States will tell you is that dairy products are different. Let’s take France for example since it is my home country: cottage cheese? Ugh…no not that present. Sour cream? Ugh…no again, we have "creme fraiche" which no matter how hard you try to convince me it is "like" sour cream….it ain’t. Yogurts are different too, some are even so creamy we call them "cremes bulgare". Finally you have my two favorites, fromage blanc and petit suisse. You can find fromage blanc and creme fraiche pretty easily nowadays at health food store like Whole Foods but they cost a pretty penny for what they are. I make my own creme fraiche if I really crave it (recipe below), not to mention that the odds were against me trying to take the easy route, the store was out of it, but I have not tried my hand at fromage blanc….yet!

When expats get together they start talking about everything and nothing and you guessed it, food. Dairy in particular and exchanging recipes on how to recreate them sharing the same recipes but going a little differently about it.

With friends, we finally put our heads together and came up with a base recipe: creme fraiche, milk, buttermilk and heavy cream. This first experiment we did on our journey to crack down the petit suisse code produced some tasty thick dairy, very close to thick yogurt bulgare. Still….not petit suisse. You will find the recipes for this "yaourt bulgare" below. I encourage you to try it out, very good on its own, but you know what two women with a craving do to satisfy it, right? They keep at it. Back to the drawing board.

Not Quite Petit Suisse: Yogurt Bulgare

1/2 cup creme fraiche (to make your own: mix one cup heavy cream with 1/4 cup sour cream and let sit overnight in the oven with the pilot light on, uncovered, refrigerate after that)

2 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream (40% fat)

1/4 cup buttermilk

In a thoroughly cleaned bowl, mix all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon and incubate in a yogurt maker (read the manufacturer’s instructions).

If you do not have a yogurt maker, set the mixing bowl in the oven with the pilot light one, uncovered and let set overnight. Divide into containers and refrigerate.

Left: Petit Suisse with Xocomeli Chocolate Pearls (explanation below) and salted butter caramel sauce

Right: Petit Suisse, Strawberries and balsamic reduction

While working on a dessert one day, she found out that the taste was really close to what we remembered by adding heavy cream to fresh cheese. Further reading about the making of petit suisse, we realized that was the right track to follow. We had the taste figured out but what about the texture. We could not find any details on how drained the fresh cheese should be before adding the cream but it would not be problem to add whey back in if need be (whey being the liquid that drains out of curds or dairies, like the one in your big yogurt container right now).

Trying to make a long story short: on Monday last week I went and got my gallon of whole milk and my rennet to make fresh cheese. The fact that I chose vegetarian rennet is purely accidental since that was all that was available at the store the day I went.

Petit Suisse:

1 gallon whole milk

5 drops vegetarian rennet

1 Tb water

1 cup heavy cream

Heat the milk to 112F in a large pot or Dutch oven. Remove from the heat. Mix the rennet into the water and add to the milk. Cover with a clean towel. Place the large pot in the oven with the pilot light on. Leave it alone overnight. You should have large big curd chunks after that time. Line a strainer with cheesecloth over another large bowl to save some whey just in case you drain your curds to much. Let the curds drain for about 40-45 minutes. I tie all four corners of my cheesecloth to the faucet for that part and take away the strainer. It just helps the manoeuvre at first. Pass the cheese through a strainer if you want ultra smooth petit suisse over a bowl and then slowly whisk in the heavy cream. Divide in between containers and let set for a few hours (2-4).

Thick and creamy at the same time. A spoon would stand straight in it but so creamy it melts in your mouth. After that….I did have a little fun with the toppings for my newly made petit suisses as you can see from the pictures. Will I do another batch? I am as we speak, eheheh…It may not be the exact original and while many consider that children’s food, I consider it one of those wonderful little things in life. Digging into one is like putting your head on a soft pillow, savouring is bite is like the first sip of a cold cold beer on a hot day…heaven!

Plain Petit Suisse and Petit Suisse with Praline Sauce

I was working on a few sweet sauces for recipes in the book and thought I’d try them out with the petit suisse. I am evil to tempt you with them right now and not being able to write them out for you….arghhhh! Really it’s hard but I got to keep them hidden for a little while longer.

What I can talk about is the "Xocomeli" that I grated on top of one petit suisse. They were sent to me by a French blogger friend of mine, Mercotte, one of the French authorities on macarons and product tester extraordinaire. She had the chance to try out two of Valhrona’s newest chocolate releases: Xocopili and Xocomeli created by one of my favorites chefs, Frederic Bau. Xocopili is Venezuelan chocolate with 72% cocoa, with different spices such as curry and chili pepper while the Xocomeli is 57% cocoa with spices such as cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, etc… While I had an item she was looking for (package leaving tomorrow), I was really intrigued by the Xocomeli and once in my possession, very eager to grate on of those little pearls on my petit suisse. It brought a taste subtle taste of chocolate but gave the salted butter caramel sauce to a complete different level of intensity.

For the Cantaloupe Sensation Satine, I revisited this post and changed the mango jelly to cantaloupe and left the petit suisse in its original form (no gelatin necessary since it was thick enough). The diagonal layers are explained in that post.

Left: it all started with milk
Right: Revisiting the Sensation Satine: Petit Suisse and Cantaloupe, Fresh Berries.