On leaving catering college my life's dream was to work on board private yachts as a personal chef and travel the world, a dream I realized within 4 years.
My first yacht was a small 90ft motor yacht in Antibes, South of France ( with a full crew of 3) and it was this first trip to France that opened my eyes to fresh fruits, vegetables and fish that can be brought to market...French "farmers"Markets are the best, there is no comparison anywhere in the world...you could smell the fresh herbs and flowers streets away form the actual market and the selection was always incredible...and don't get me started on the fresh cheeses or the breads!
I will always remember the little old ladies in the market, dressed head to foot in black with head scarves whose only produce were small baskets of live snails or perhaps 7 heads of lettuce from their own back garden..they always were cheery and helpful about the market and stall holders.
I bought fresh snails from them but was not sure how to prepare them, I took them back to the ship's galley and gave them some lettuce leaves and planned to cook them somehow for dinner..pretty soon I had snails all over the place....Gaston the skipper laughed and then showed me the correct way to clean snails was to cover them in salt..they would then release all their toxins in a green slime..after washing them and boiling them with some garlic and herbs...they came out of their shells and were ready for the garlic butter,parsley and grated cheese for grilling...delicious!!
Obviously I have more tales to tell as I eventually worked on 3 more yachts, some over 200ft long.(with a full crew of 20 and 2 large speed boats and onboard helicopters!) those tales will come later or maybe I should write a book?
Anyway the reason for this little tale is to give you a feast for your eyes as today I am prepping my vegetables to make a Provence inspired rustic roasted vegetable tart with a sea vegetable and sunflower seed pesto..quite a mouthful and a wonderful mouthful when consumed.
Just like in South of France I am using fresh herbs form my garden, and until the spring/summer harvest comes in proper I am using produce that are much better roasted to produce more intense flavors
The tart dough is made with wholewheat flour and ground flax seed, and this will be rolled into a square shape then, covered with a layer of the pesto, then , the grilled vegetables that have been marinating in olive oil, dry vermouth and fresh herbs, then baked tomorrow..I am enclosing photographs of today's prep.
I am also making Baba Ganoush ( smoked eggplant dip) and chickpea hommus that I learned from my days of living and working in Kuwait City & London & France for a family from Kuwait ( before the invasion)...yes that tale is a whole chapter at least..photos of dips also provided...amazing how I can have over 40 yrs of catering experience and still be only 47!..lol.
I got into vegetarian cooking as I don't trust my friends with dishes including meat or fish as they may keep then in fridge longer than is safe..then I got more interested in this cuisine and have now ventured in Vegan, which I now totally embrace.
The secret to good Vegetarian and Vegan dishes is to layer the flavors and use the freshest ingredients as possible.
Enjoy the photographs:
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| roasting the eggplant directly over flame for Baba Ganoush |
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| Fresh veggies & lemons air drying |
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| Vegetables washed and air drying |
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| almost fully roasted and smoked eggplant..this has to be done over an open flame |
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| strawberries for preserving |
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| the fully smoked eggplant in plastic bag to loosen the skin |
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| tomatoes ready for roasting |
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| red onions about to be roasted |
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| fresh culinary sage flowering..my back garden |
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| English thyme |
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| eggplant..rinsed with salt and drained |
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| garlic and bell peppers to be roasted |
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| perpetual basil..has spicy flavor |
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| own grown orange tomatoes |
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| French Lavender the MUST HAVE for Provence herbs |
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| the yeasted flax seed dough on first rise |
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| rosemary |
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| the tray for the fully roasted veggies to marinate on over night...herbs: rosemary, thyme, lavender olive oil |
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| the flesh of the smoked,peeled eggplant in food processor |
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| the completed Baba Ganoush with tahini, garlic, olive oil |
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| Baba Ganoush ready for packing |
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| roasted tomatoes |
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| completed chickpea hommus |
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| column basil..sweeter taste |
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| Dulse ( sea Vegetable) soaking to remove some of the salt |
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| how the dulse is packaged ..this is ready to eat and is not hard dried |
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| The fully roasted veggies ready for marinating overnight then to be baked in pie |
Tonight I am making roasted pecan, raisin, carrot oatmeal cookies, a RAW dip, 4 soups, 2 other pies and pastries, ..delivery tomorrow afternoon, just the West Side.
I hope this entertains
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