It is sweltering!
The thought of making dinner is overwhelming.
There are two solutions:
If you insist on cooking, keep it simple and this summer salad is the perfect answer, easy, tasty and filling.
Forget magret de canard and moules frites – couscous served with its savoury slow-cooked stews is popular in French cuisine. It was voted France’s 3rd favourite meal in a study conducted for Vie Pratique Gourmand (2011). There are references to couscous consumption in France that date as far back as 1630 (Toulon) and 1699 (Brittany).
Nutmeg has learned a few things about technology in the last couple months including:
Luckily, there are a few loyal readers including CardaMOM, who prints everything. Nutmeg has rebuilt the recipe database on this blog over the last few weeks, and she has been able to recover 99% of the recipes. The new format is much better for printing. Rather than make you search back through old posts for the French recipes, some of them are captured below (click the links) and enjoy!
Halloween (“Old Hallows Even”) has been typically associated with the Celtic festival of Samhain. The name means summer’s end. The celebration is to denote the end of the lighter half of the year and the start of the darker part of the year. Ginger loves Halloween, a big kid at heart he loves to buy the candy and hand it out to the many visitors who come by on that evening. Ginger loves the interaction with all the ghosts, goblins, princesses, cats, action figures, pirates and anything else that shows up looking for a sweet hand-out. Nutmeg is not as interested in this process of moving into the darker part of the year. She does however, love to see how her brother (Papa Q) and sister-in-law (Sugar) celebrate the event with much joy and festivity (and crazy outfits). Continue reading
Have you ever had an interview, and after an hour they have tested your ability to answer probing questions like:
Then out of left field they throw in the wild card question, you know the interview is almost over at this point. What fruit would you use to describe you and why? Nutmeg was able to answer that one without hesitation. Without a doubt, her answer is the mango, it grows in warm, frost-free climates, it has a unique flavor, very sweet when ripe and it is widely used in tropical and Asian cuisine.
There are many kinds of mangoes and the growing season varies around the globe. In May and June, the North American grocery stores are filled with produce from Mexico including the Champagne or Ataulfo variety. The Alphonso, which grows in India, is considered the global premium variety. The total world-wide production of mangoes is 33 million tons, India produces almost 50% at 13 million tons, followed by China then Mexico.
Mangoes are a great source of Vitamins A, C and E, although you should not eat the peel it contains urushiol, the same chemical as poison ivy. The best way to eat a mango is to cut out the juicy fruit and enjoy. Other options are of course smoothies, salsa, gelato, belininis etc.. One of Nutmeg’s absolute favourite recipies is actually green mangoes salad here is the recipe:
SIDE NOTE: Nutmeg did not get the job so you may want to prepare a better answer for your next interview.
Quinoa pronounced “keen-wha” is a really old grain. It is classified as a pseudocereal, which means it is not a cereal or a grain. Quinoa is a chenopod, so it is the same family as beets and spinach. It was a sacred grain for the Inca’s, who called it chissaya mama “mother of all grains”. It has been cultivated for over 6000 years in the Andes. It does not grow like a rice; quinoa has a long growing season, likes well drained soil and easily grows at high altitudes up to 4000 meters. The Spanish conquistadors (really bad guys) who called it “food for Indians” forbade the production and strongly encouraged the farming of corn (maize). Quinoa is also really good for you, it is gluten-free, high in phosphorus, magnesium, iron and it is high in protein. Best of all it cooks in 15 minutes or less.
Ginger hates quinoa but he is away…. so Nutmeg (who loves it) got a great recipe from Hot Chili to try. The recipe is great but even better the next day when the flavors soak in.
Enjoy.
Chili Pepper (Nutmeg’s Dad) loves the “wedge” salad. Essentially, a large wedge of iceberg lettuce with blue cheese dressing. This salad can be found in every steak restaurant in North America, if they do not have it on the menu you may want to check their credentials. There are of course variations on the classic theme; add bacon bits (real or not so real) or add tomato pieces (mostly for color) or nuts (way too healthy). In the end there is very little nutritional value, although who really cares as it will most likely be followed by a rare steak and fully garnished baked potato. The wedge salad is truly a classic, there are historical references to the lettuce from the 1920s and to the salad mixture from the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Enjoy (on behalf of Nutmeg…she is eating Mache)
