I'm Back!!!

I just found out that I suffer from a multiple personality disorder.  Not that it's a diagnosed medical condition, but it will certainly help me understand what goes on in this blog and why I feel totally impaired in reconciling three major aspects of my life.

One side of my kitchen wants to be devoted to making the best food I possibly can, given my training and being true to my roots.  This does not mean that all of this preparation needs to be French.  It can be new founds of the week, simply delicious recipes that I found on my numerous visits to fellow foodies blogs, or simply what appeals to me at the Farmer's Market and gives me that "I can't wait to be in the kitchen to try this out" attitude. 

The other part is based on my second life as a Chef: wanting to incorporate the foods of the people I cook for at the Malibu Beach Recovery Clinic, adapting my daily recipes to this particular group with their own restrictions (GI Diet, no white stuff, no sugar, plenty of fruit and vegetables) and allowing them a space where they can cook with little or no restrictions.

The third part is geared towards my own specific needs at the moment, meaning losing the weight that I have accumulated in the last seven years.  This being the most pressing issue as there is no way I can allow myself to turn a blind eye to what I see in the mirror any more.  Why do I always think the mirror is the one with a problem.....

I was so torn between these different aspects of my culinary life that it brought me away to what I love to do most: share my passion for food with you.

But life is not a slice of time with total disregard for what was true five minutes ago.  I am the same me who will indulge in a homemade intense chocolate sorbet and try to discover the miracles of sugar free meringues (still haven't figured that one out!).  Life is a mish-mash of individual moments, some of which are perfectly aligned in their timeliness, and others just a roller coaster of non-logical sequences. Maybe an oh-so-good moment of supreme decadence can be followed with a 2-point egg-white omelette to compensate.

My kitchen is just that: chaotic, full of inspiration, sometimes typically french, sometimes not so much so, sometime dipped in heavy cream and chocolate goodness, and others focused on healthier choices.

To all of you, thank you for helping me bring it all together, in all its disparate beauty and deliciousness.  Something's for sure,  it all tastes pretty darn good!

With love,

Licia

Back into the KITCHEN!!!

I am not going to start this blog for apologizing for not posting in the last year or so... I just did! Now that that's out of the way, I have to find a way to make this a wonderful habit, to get back in shape in the kitchen and stop making excuses for all sorts of reason not to cook... I find it hard to cook for two. The idea that generally runs around is that, when you cook for two, the other one is a spouse or a significant other, and while I dealy love my son, both his schedule and his personal taste in food really does not qualify him as a cooking partner. So, what does it require to keep being thrilled at discovering new recipes, .....

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Egg Almost-Whites Omelette

I, sometimes, despite my constant efforts, will come home for dinner with just a few points left over from my day's count.  This can be because I joined a work- or friend-related lunch that I could not foresee, or because my co-worker came to work with a neat little package of two brownies that "You just have to taste them".  When I don't know the point value, I have a tendency to overestimate them, just to be on the safe side.  This dish has been my life-saver in numerous instances, and has become my favorite go-to even when I have the poitns available.

The beauty is that you can stuff it however you like it, and, provided that your stuffing is wisely chosen, it will remain a 3-point meal fit for a king. 

I disliked the consistency and color of an all-white omelette, and added 1 whole egg quite by chance when one yolk escaped my nifty fingers when I was separating the egg, and ended in me saying a loud "what the heck!" I did not know that it would become a favorite of mine.  Furthermore, the yolk adds a pronounced yellow color and binds the whites together, preventing them to get that rubbery consistency that makes me want to gag.

So there it was... 3 egg whites and one whole.

Add to that whatever you have in the fridge, asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms, corn, cut in the smallest size so that it cooks and heats as fast as the omelette and you have your mix. 

Start by chopping fine a whole onion.  Add 1 tsp olive oil to a hot pan over medium heat and soften the onion.  Add salt and pepper to the onion, which will soften it further and allow it to caramelize by drawing out it's water and sugar content.

Beat egg whites and yolk in a bowl, 80 times with a fork.  Add the cooked vegetables to the eggs and pour into the pan on top of the onions.  Swirl the pan around so that the eggs cook consistently.  Let the pan cook on its own for a few minutes.  Collect all uncooked materials on top of the omelette and draw them to the sides of the pan to cook.  Using a wooden spatula, carefully lift the side of the omelette to ensure it is  not adhering to the pan, and slide it halfway onto the plate.  At the halfway mark, flip the omelette onto itself to make a perfect half-moon.

Top the omelette with your favorite salsa and you are ready to go!

Enjoy!

 

Corral Café Vegetable Soup

I love to read the requests for recipes from the LA Times.  So many people clinging to the memory of a life-changing meal and trying desperately to recreate until they come to their knees and ask the LA Times to pry, beg, bribe and come up with the triumphant recipe that will transform the fleeting memory into an everlasting feast of the senses.  That's the job of the LA Times, food section, page 10.

I have been following them for over twenty years now, and I must admit that their recipes are always reliable, tested through and a great source of travel-by-proxy.

This one caught my eye as I was looking for something thick and envigorating to make almost exclusively with vegetables.  The addition of pearl barley makes it even more sustaining.

The texture is velvety, the broth almost sweet and the combination of cube cut vegetables absolutely perfect for a taste that is neither too sweet not too off the charts.  Think about it as a vegetable stew. 

I made it yesterday night, after a long day at work, and was taken at the first bite. had it for lunch, then again for dinner and already made a second batch lest I should not have enough for lunch tomorrow.  This is a dangerous sign.... I am totally addicted....

Here it is!

 

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Creamy Cauliflower Soup

One of the main attraction of the Weight Watcher's diet for me is that it enables me to come back to very simple dishes where the flavors of the ingredients shine on their own.  Back to basics if you will.  I remember a book that I used to cook from all the time that was called "Recipes 1-2-3: Fabulous foods using only three ingredients". It is so funny that one cookbook that becomes your go-to and your bible when you first get it will, all of a sudden, get stashed away for years, dethroned by the next best thing.

However, there is something to say for really simple recipes.  Although this one uses few ingredients, the cooking process needs to be respected to infuse all the flavors and reach the creamy consistency that makes this soup a five star winner.

Make it once as indicated, and if you want to make tweaks after that, so be it.  In my book, it is perfect as it is and has become one of my favorites.

Make it once as indicated, and if you want to make tweaks after that, so be it. In my book, it is perfect as it is and has become one of my favorites.

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