“The Elegance of the Hedgehog”, Isaiah Berlin, Tolstoy, “The Last Station” & spicy beet and coconut soup

I dropped out of college last semester because I wanted to focus on my cooking business. I started working with several clients a week, filling their fridges with delicious home cooked meals. This meant that I needed to focus on how to take care of each client’s varied food requirements and how best to utilize my time. These demands on myself have proven to be successfully set into place and my clients are happy with their full fridges when they arrive home from a long day of work.
When I am bored I start getting involved in other people’s lives and try to sort out their problems. This role I take on only ends up with me losing friends and a distrust of human nature. A book on tape seemed like a good solution and more movie going. This week I have started reading “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” and I went to see “The Last Station”. The book has been translated from french. The writer, Muriel Burbery was a french philosphy teacher in Paris. She writes using the first person voice of Renée, a short, ugly and plump 54 year old and Paloma, a 12 year old tenant in the fancy building where Renée is the concierge. They both reflect on life, art, literature, class, privilege and power. Barbery chose an adolescent child and a poor lady because they are typical stereo types from social groups that feel trapped in their situation. Both Renée and Paloma hide behind the perception others have of their roles. They are less perceptive of themselves. Renée isn’t seen beyond her profession and appearance. The tenants are unaware of her love of Tolstoy, Japanese cinema and Mahler. Both Renée and Paloma comment on the class conscious tenants in the building. Eventually Paloma becomes aware of Renée and guesses that the concierge has the same simple refinement as the hedgehog” quills on the outside but “fiercely solitary – and terribly elegant”.
Thus the title of the book. This title brings to mind Isaiah Berlin’s essay “The hedgehog and the Fox”. He believes that there are two kinds of thinkers. The fox gathers multiple, unrelated ideas and the hedgehog includes everything into a controlled vision. Renée, like Tolstoy gathers her ideas from all sources of life and yet she rejects the theory of life. Therefore they are both by nature a fox but believed in being a hedgehog. Hence the title for this book. I will keep on listening (the audiobook is available on itunes for $6.95).
This brings me to “The Last Station”. I enjoyed the film because I have never read or learned anything about Tolstoy. In the last few years he has gained in popularity and “War and Peace” has been given the accolade, by many magazines and newspapers, of being the greatest novel ever written. The movie proved that he was both a fox and a hedgehog. The viewer, like myself who didn’t know anything about Tolstoy was kept in suspense as to whether he would sign away the copyrights to his writing to the people of Russia or whether he would will it to his wife and children. I will not ruin the ending for those who are as ignorant about Tolstoy as I am.
Los Angeles has plenty of rain this week. There are talks of flooding and being prepared for the homes sliding down the hills. I live in a home that will not suffer the effects of the rain. Therefore I am contented to see the land getting moistened and air being free of contaminants. Long live the rain!!
This means a cooking day at home to celebrate the gloom. Soup. I will make Simon Rimmer’s Spicy Beet and coconut soup, in celebration of the Russian Borscht. My russian knowledge of Tolstoy needs a food accompaniment.

Simon Rimmer’s recipe from “The Accidental Vegetarian”:

Ingredients
500g/1lb 2oz fresh beetroot, scrubbed
vegetable oil, for coating and frying
2 banana shallots, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
600ml/1 pint vegetable stock
400ml/14fl oz can of coconut milk
sea salt
fresh mint, cilantro and chopped, de-seeded cucumber, to serve

For the paste
2 stalks of lemongrass
2 garlic cloves
3 red chillies (de-seeded if you like)
5cm/1in piece of fresh ginger, peeled
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 lime, juice only

Method

1. Put all the ingredients for the paste into a blender and blend until smooth (the smoother the paste the nicer the soup, so take your time).
2. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Put the scrubbed beets into an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with oil and sea salt, then wrap in foil and roast for about 35 minutes until soft. When cool enough to handle, peel and chop the beets.
3. Gently fry the shallots and cumin seeds in a little oil, then add half the paste and cook for five minutes to release the fragrance.
4. Add half the beets, cook for a couple of minutes, then add the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for about 7-8 minutes.
5. Just before serving, put the soup, coconut milk, the rest of the paste and beetroot in a blender and blend until smooth. It will be a bright pink. The soup should be hot enough, but if necesssary reheat gently for a minute or two.
6. Check the seasoning, then serve immediately topped with mint, cilantro and cucumber.

Haiti, plantains and Avatar

This is the image I woke up to this morning when I logged onto “The Huffington Post”. I am sure it is an image that many people saw and like myself felt helpless. I would love to be a part of the team flying into Haiti to help the children that are afraid and lost at this time. The best that I can do is donate money via a text on my phone. I have never visited Haiti, the closest I have been is Jamaica.
After seeing the image this morning, I looked up Haitian food. It is similar to the carribean diet of chicken, black beans, rice and plantains – delicious. One of my clients has nurses because he is ill. The girls that help are all from the carribean. They would share their food experiences with me. I discovered that plantains need to be really ripe before you can eat them. Once over ripe, cut on a diagonal and fry them in plenty of vegetable oil. To prepare the black beans carribean style, I fry some onion, garlic and green pepper until soft and then mash about a cup of the beans into the sautee with a bit of sugar. This is then added to the black beans that are warming and fully cooked. It is far more flavorful than plain black beans.

Yesterday I saw “Avatar 3D” in an Imax theater. The experience was totally different from any other film I have ever seen. Even though the story lacks any depth, the visual exposure to magical realism in 3D is incredible. I am completely in awe of the talent it took to create the images.
Time for cooking today. I am going to bake a whole fish with olive oil and rosemary. This is the first time I have tried my hand at such a thing. I keep thinking of that image of the frightened little boy and wish I could feed him plantains today.

London memories and Lady Antonia’s memoir “Must you go”

In The Guardian this week, I’ve been reading excerpts from Lady Antonia Fraser’s memoir to be released next week. The book is about her life with Harold Pinter. The title comes from the three important words that Pinter said to her the first night they met. This affected the journey they took together for the next thirty odd years. The memoir excerpt was factual and gave me a window into how they spent their day and the reason why Lady Antonia got to keep the family home in Kensington that she had deserted, leaving her husband and children for Pinter.
In 1980, just as this drama was settling down in Britain, due to the fact that Harold Pinter and Lady Antonia married. I began working for Lady Rachel Billington as a nanny for her four children. Lady Rachel and her husband Kevin lived in Holland Park, it was a 20 minute walk to Lady Antonia’s home. Rachel and Antonia were part of the Packenham family, Lord Longford was their father. Even though I was only nineteen and didn’t know much about life in those days, I was aware that Antonia was the sibling that everyone paid attention to. She was considered more grand than the other six. An accomplished historian married to a legendary playwright.
The Pinters were regular guests at dinner parties in the Billingtons’ home. I would be sent off to Lidgates, which is the best butcher’s in London, to buy lamb chops for dinner. I loved cooking for the guests on these occasions and Lady Rachel would leave me a bottle of wine in the kitchen to help me along with my creations of british fare. Whenever the Pinters came to dinner, John Cleese and Connie Booth, who were also neighbors were also invited. An extra six lamb chops were added because John Cleese loved his meat!
As I peruse through her memoir, I can’t help thinking how lacking in emotion the writing is. It is typical of her generation and breeding. Even though the book is being heralded as a passionate love affair. I would like to hear about her passion, her emotions and the heartache their relationship caused, instead of the cordial acceptance by her husband, Sir Hugh Fraser and her children, of which there were plenty.
Antonia always came on Thursday afternoons to do a dance class at the Billingtons. I hated seeing her in the house. She wasn’t cordial. I felt as if I didn’t exist. Unlike Rachel’s other siblings, with whom I spent numerous occasions in Sussex and Ireland playing tennis and sailing on the seas.
In Ireland we stayed in the family castle – Tullynally. Thomas Packenham, Lord Longford’s heir, who wouldn’t take a title because he didn’t believe in titles, ran the castle and its grounds. I vaguely remember the vast grounds and my beautiful regal bedroom with a four poster bed. Every morning I was woken up by the sound of bells around the cows necks on the way for milking. I often wonder what happened with the castle. I have never returned to Ireland since that trip. One day I hope to visit Dublin and taste their potatoes again

Oxo cubes and Betty Friedan

In yesterday’s Guardian newspaper, there were photos out of Duncan McCorquodale’s new book “A Visual History of Cookery”. I liked the Oxo advertisement from the early 1900s. In today’s world, an ad would not present a mother with her children leaning over a pot of stew without a father present, it wouldn’t be deemed politically incorrect. Infact a family unit doesn’t necessarily represent a husband and wife today. In the 1950s American women were expected to be home cooking in the kitchen and taking care of their husband and children’s needs. Married women who didn’t fit the mold were locked away in insane asylums because it was believed that they were mad if they felt unfulfilled as a housewife. This American ideology gradually changed with the publication of Betty Friedan’s book “The Feminine Mystique” in 1963.

Women in the media also had to fight for their positions in the 1970s. Barbara Walters was the first woman tv news anchor allowed to read the news solo. She had been bullied by her male co-anchors and was expected to report the “fluffy” news. Barbara’s stamina rose above the male chauvinism and she led the way for serious female reporters to take their place in prime time television. The “Mary Tyler Moore” show represented an independent woman making choices to leave a fiance a start a new life elsewhere. We have come a long way in fifty years. But there is still further to go.
Better than Bouillon is today’s equivalent of Oxo. I don’t see any ads representing the happy family that uses it. Just a photo of veggies on the pot. The food movement today is concerned about the quality of food. I use this product because it means that I can leave a pot of it in a client’s fridge and if I forget to buy my favorite  brand of Pacific broth, there is the bouillon to fall back on. I do use the the bouillon in Tal Ronnen’s vegan soups. It adds a different salty flavor to the vegetables than a ready made container of broth. In his book “The Conscious Vegan”, which is recommended by Oprah, I especially like his Tomato Bisque soup. He has taught me a new trick. To get a creamy consistency in sauces or soups use raw cashews.

Today I am off to cook in the Pacific Palisades for a family with two grownup sons. They love my food. I mix childhood favorites with healthy fare. Today I will make Chili con carne with coleslaw, Roast yoghurt chicken with mashed butternut squash, sole picatta with spinach, grilled steak and salad. Sounds good to me for a week’s meals!!

Adios for now

The Wedding Banquet & Thyme

The aprons are in the wash. Time to enjoy meals with friends and try other chefs creations. Even though Usually I am not adventurous in where I eat or what I try at weekends, unless it is a special occasion. I frequent the same haunts. Saturday morning’s ritual is a hike in Temescal Canyon with Caroline and Gavin, followed by breakfast at Thyme Cafe and Market in Santa Monica. Once there, if we are lucky we hijack the large table because of the group of friends that usually join us. I always eat the same thing – slow cooked scrambled eggs with bacon, mushrooms and toast. I love food rituals, it is always more enjoyable because I have anticipated the different flavors on my way to the event. Thyme has added a new atmosphere to our neighborhood. Prior to their arrival the block of businesses on Ocean Park had a blue collar creative feel. Thyme has altered the environment because the cafe is bright, modern and upmarket. The decor is similar to Jones on Third – another market / cafe in West Hollywood. We jealously scowl at the clientele that are arriving from the “other” side of Santa Monica and Brentwood. I am especially fond of Maire, the chef and Michael her business partner, who runs the front of house.
The Venice canals is where I would most like to live in Los Angeles. I am lucky enough to often house sit on Carroll Canal. Recently there has been a new addition to the wildlife, pelicans. Yesterday I sat in the window watching these prehistoric birds swoop down on the water, in all their glory to consume fish. They are larger than I had imagined and cause the little dogs to bark wildly at the invasion of their calm environment. Surprisingly the ducks seem to pay little attention to this latest intrusion.
Last night I watched a 1993 movie of Ang Lee’s, “The Wedding Banquet”. He is one of my favorite directors and wanted to see his food involvement in the story. I was disappointed with the film Even though food played a major factor in the film, the shots and dinning experiences needed more expression. The story-line had potential and I had hoped for more.

The Wallenberger

A Swedish speciality is the Wallenberger. I know this because I have a Swedish client and whenever they have friends for dinner this is the dish that I need to prepare. A Wallenberger is ground veal mixed with egg yolks and cream. It has a runny consistency that requires six hours in the fridge before being rolled in breadcrumbs and fried. These creations are delish, especially served with the tradition of mash potatoes, peas and lingonberry sauce. As a Brit, who has never experienced this dish made by anyone but myself, I enjoy the appreciation and fond memories that it brings up for my clients guests.

For me, that is the joy of cooking for others. It is a creative endeavor, not a chore. The whole process of going to someone else’s home and preparing a meal in their kitchen, that they then experience is what this is all about for me. I now know how an actor or musician feels after a performance.

Food, like nature is an important experience of our daily lives. Taking an interest in the flavors and what we put in our bodies can affect how we will approach the day. I know that when I eat dairy I get headaches and feel tired. Maybe it is psychological. I know when I eat a large green salad with chicken breast I feel the most satisfaction with my food choices. As a chef people assume that I need to eat gourmet. No, I need to eat fresh, green and seasonal.

Christmas is always loaded with food experiences. Childhood memories are created. For me these include mince pies warmed with whipped cream on top. A turkey dinner is not complete unless followed by a mince pie. As usual this year I ate to agitate my heart and to over stuff my stomach. These meals were happy occasions spent with my Mother at other people’s home cooking for me. There is no greater joy in life than having a meal prepared for me in a friend’s home and watching the love and enjoyment that they put into the experience. These days friends feel the pressure to please me with their culinary talents. This should not be a concern because I just enjoy the event regardless of what they prepare.

Christmas time is an important time of year because it reflects the mood of the whole past year and sometimes it is setting up the coming year. I am always mindful of this as I go about my celebrations with loved ones.

Banana Dhal. “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll”

The pumpkin enchiladas will be saved for another day. After reading the ingredients, this wasn’t a dish to be eaten by one person. Making enchiladas with mashed butternut squash, with a mole sauce is an experience that needs to be shared with another. I picked another recipe from Simon Rimmer’s book – Banana Dhal.

Dhal has always provided personal comfort. As a child indian food was a staple in our home, at least once a week. If not provided by Mother, there was always the local take-out. As an adult I crave a curry at least once a week. It provides a solace from feelings of isolation, a sense of connection to my roots explodes in my brain when the first curried morsel arrives in my belly. Rimmer’s dhal dish took 1/2 an hour, I boiled white rice and made a green salad to go with. After having added the ingredients to the plate, the sliced bananas and chopped cilantro were add and mixed in to the dhal. His recipe was perfect and the addition of banana and cilantro really added a perfect complement to the dish. How clever. The most important aspect of vegetarian cooking is what foods taste best together. That’s why vegan and vegetarian dishes are so much more interesting and tasty than meat dishes.

As I ate the Dhal, those childhood feelings returned. My father and I would always go to pick up the takeaway. Of course there was the obligatory stop in the pub for a pint on the way. This was my personal time with my Dad. Standing at the bar with our pints, Dad would test my knowledge. In the pub this would be linked to alcohol. Did I know where Gales Ales was brewed? Why was whisky good for you? I loved our general knowledge outings prior to a good curry feast.

As an adult, dhal represents a meal I prepare when I am short of money. If I am out of work or saving up for a holiday, dhal becomes my staple diet. Just for today I don’t have those worries. The late 70s and early 80s proved to be the building blocks towards my spiral into alcoholism and need to eat dhal on a regular basis. Which brings me to the film I watched last night.

“Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” portrayed Ian Dury as a self-centered, immature, angry alcoholic, who surrounded himself with people who allowed him to self destruct. It was disturbing because I saw my own self destructive behavior in him. The film was well written and directed because of the idea of flashbacks he would have in his dreams. The main focus was his polio. He used his handicap as an excuse for bad behavior. After viewing the film I looked him up on Wikepedia, there was more to the talent than was portrayed in the film. Prior to his success as a musician he had been an art teacher and returned to his art after his music career dwindled. I tried to find a painting of his to post. I am glad that I survived the 70s and 80s and know there is a better world out there for me to be a part of.

I promised myself that I wouldn’t photograph food and put it in my blogspot, but there it is on day 2. I hate unprofessional food photos. I promise you there will be few published

A VEGGIE START TO THE YEAR

Hello Everyone,

I am not able to keep up with my food menus as much as I would like to. Being a personal chef, cooking for clients keeps me occupied. I can’t grumble though because so many people aren’t working. I love my business and especially enjoy creating dishes. Even though most of my clients aren’t veggies, I love creating vegetarian dishes. Also vegan. My latest finds are two cook books – one vegetarian and the other is a vegan book. “The Accidental Vegetarian” by Simon Rimmer and “The Conscious Cook” by Tal Ronnen.

Here are my favorite dishes tried, tested and enjoyed from these books:

VEGGIE:
Spicy (or not) beet and coconut soup
Lemon, fennel and oyster mushroom salad
Plantain and mango curry
Oriental pie (a portobello, shitake and chickpea shepherds pie)
Italian bean casserole with fried risotto & sun dried tomato cakes
Wild mushroom pancakes with green beans and tomato sauce
Banana dahl
Chinese mushroom pancakes with plum sauce (great with peking duck for non veggies)
Pumpkin enchilladas with mole sauce

VEGAN:
Tomato Bisque
Lemongrass consomee with pea shoot and mushroom dumplings
Asparagus and meyer lemon risotto
Gardein “chicken” scaloppini with shitake sake sauce, braised pea shoots and crispy udon noodle cakes
Old bay tofu cakes with pan roasted summer vegetables, horseradish cream and apple & beets
Wild mushroom farinata with arichoke aioli and roasted cherry tomatoes

I hope these recipes will inspire you!!

Menu plan for a new client

Salads:
Chopped Mexican grilled salad
Baby Greens with Dried Cherries Pears and Pecans
Chopped Greek Salad with Garlic Croutons
Nicoise Salad with Tuna
Green Bean Salad with Tomatoes, Arugula and Basil
Arugula, Carrot & Celery Root salad with almonds
Blood orange radicchio salad with hazelnuts and shaved parmigiano
Feta and fennel with pomegranate seeds and sumac
Sesame, snow pea and shitake mushroom salad

Chicken & Turkey:
Cumin, Cilantro and Tumeric spice rubbed chicken
Vietnamese Style chicken salad
Crispy chicken Breasts with lemon and capers
Yoghurt marinated Butterflied chicken
Braised chicken with 40 cloves of garlic
Chicken Piccata
Marinated Turkey Breast with cumin, cilantro, mint and white wine

Fish:
Grilled Shrimp and Calamari
Paella de mariscos
Char – grilled tuna with warm cilantro and caper vinaigrette
Braised Red Snapper Puttanesca
Thai green curry shrimp
Roasted cod with lemon – parsley crumbs
Vietnamese Tilapia with Turmeric and Dill
Blackened Tilapia with cilantro lime slaw
Baked Halibut with tomatoes, capers and olive vinaigrette
Salmon with red pepper and hazelnut salsa
Garbanzo bean, parsley and salt cod stew
Grilled John Dory with lemon, thyme and charmoula
Roast stuffed monkfish with saffron, lemon, tomato and capers
Roast monkfish with crushed potatoes, olive oil and watercress
John Dory with warm potatoes, olives, capers and rosemary
Halibut with italian salsa verde
Sea Bass Kabobs with eggplant, peppers and charmoula

Veggies:
Spaghetti Squash with Indian spices
Sauteed Broccoli Raab with Chile, Garlic and lemon
Napa cabbage with garlic, fresh chile and basil
Roasted parsnips
Parmesan roasted asparagus
Grilled asparagus and zucchini with basil vinaigrette
French beans, snow peas with hazelnut and orange
Baked artichoke and fava beans and peas
Grilled broccoli with chilli and garlic
Roasted butternut squash with sunflower seeds and almonds
Mixed mushrooms with cinnamon and lemons
Portobello mushrooms with pearl barley and preserved lemons
Summer squash gratin with salsa verde and gruyere

Grains:
Red rice and quinoa with orange and pistachios
Couscous with dried apricots and butternut squash
Kosheri (green lentils, rice, vermicelli noodles with spicy tomato sauce)
Polenta
Quinoa
Quinoa salad with sugar snap peas
Red Bhutan rice and adzuki beans

Vegan complete meal:
Paella with roasted tomato sauce and tofu roasted garlic aioli
Summer ratatouille lasagna with fresh tomato sauce and mixed lettuces
Pasta with Fresh Shiitakes, tomatoes & basil, Mediterranean salad & mushroom nuggets

The young ones specials:
Turkey Bolognese
Meat balls
Oven baked fried chicken
Fish cakes
Fish pie

New menu ideas for clients this fall

Appetizers / Starters
Minestrone soup
Miso soup
Butternut squash soup
Red lentil and chard soup
Homemade wheat – free bread available

Salad & Veggies & Grains side dishes
Butter beans with sweet chili sauce and herbs
Mecca Aztecca salad w. Mango lime vinaigrette (NF 167)
Chopped Greek Salad w. Garlic Croutons
Chopped Mexican Salad with Corn, Red Pepper, Tomatoes
Green Bean, Tomato, Arugula and Mozarella Salad with Basil Dressing
Potato Salad with Olives, Scallions and Garden Herbs
Quinoa w. dried Iranian Lime
Mango and Coconut Rice Salad
Lentils, Eggplant, Tomato and Herbs Salad
M Café’s Scarlet Quinoa Salad
French beans and snow peas with hazelnuts and orange
Sweet broccolini with tofu, sesame and cilantro
Sweet and sour celery root and swede
Roasted sweet potatoes with pecan and maple
Red rice and quinoa with orange and pistachios
Couscous with dried apricots and butternut squash
Puy lentils with sour cherries, bacon and gorgonzola
Chickpeas and spinach with honeyed sweet potatoes
Kosheri – lentils, rice, vermicelli noodles with spicy tomato sauce
Roasted winter root veggies
Quinoa tabouli

Main – Seafood
Seafood paella
Garlicky shrimp with basil
Halibut Red Thai Curry with Polenta
Nobu’s miso black cod
Large scallops with hoisin sauce and sauteed spinach with cilantro
Seared scallops with pea puree
Vietnamese style tilapia
Braised red snapper puttanesca
Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto
Teryaki Salmon
Grilled squid with lime and thyme

Main – chicken
Spiced rubbed chicken with salsas:
Southwestern rub with green grape,scallions & mint salsa
Caribbean rub with pineapple, radishes, peppers and cilantro salsa
Mediterranean rub with cherry tomato, capers and green olives salsa
Honey barbequed chicken
Grilled chicken with apricot glaze
Vietnamese style caramel braised chicken
Middle eastern turkey burger with cucumber and yoghurt salsa
Chicken, lemon and olive stew with saffron rice
Braised chicken with 40 cloves of garlic
Chicken Piccata
Roast chicken with saffron, hazelnuts and honey
Roast chicken with sumac, za’ta and lemon
Turkey and sweetcorn meatballs with roasted pepper sauce
Marinated turkey breast with cumin, coriander and white wine

Vegan meals
Succotash with spicy polenta
Warm chickpea, artichoke and sundried tomato salad with fresh corn, millet and rice croquettes and a jalapeno – potato tofu cream
Baked tempeh with creole sauce, Cajun sweet-corn relish and rice with parsley and lemon
African groundnut stew with spicy sautéed spaghetti squash, ginger baked tofu and quinoa and millet pilaf
Thai vegetable stew with baked tofu triangles served with jasmine coconut rice and a mint, orange and red onion salad
Paella with roasted tomato sauce and tofu – roasted garlic aioli with sautéed cherry tomatoes
Summer ratatouille lasagna with fresh tomato sauce and mixed lettuces in a reduced balsamic vinaigrette
Pasta with fresh shitakes, tomatoes and basil with Mediterranean salad and mushroom nuggets

Child friendly dishes
Shepherd’s pie
Spaghetti Bolognese
Meatballs
Baked ‘fried’ chicken
Roast chicken
Mash potatoes / Baked fries
Frozen peas / Carrots / broccoli
Breaded chicken cutlets
Burgers
Beef stew
Mushu chicken

Deserts
Flourless Olive Oil, Almonds and Orange Cake with berries
Apple and blackberry summer crumble