GOOD LIFE Living Well: Name dropping

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Name dropping

What's in a name?....well if it's on a menu it can mean the difference from a popular item to something that becomes a "special" later in the week.

Did you know:
The original name for Chillean Sea Bass was Patagonia tooth fish, in it's original name no one wanted it, now it has been fished almost to extinction;

Cornmeal mush a staple of the Amish would not sell well but when it is called Polenta..it is now more popular than ever.

Leek and potato soup...a staple of The British Isles, is given a lavish flair when called Vichysoisse and eaten chilled.

I love good food but I don't like being "fobbed off" with foolish terms so that I will pay more.
One of my old catering professors would often say that during his catering days in the early 50's in London, when any supplier suddenly doubled the price for no apparent reason he would decline saying "No thanks, not even if Princess Margret picked it"...a term that often comes to mind when I see ridiculously termed/priced produce in local LA markets..the worst culprits being the "trendy" markets..another example is "fat free fresh spinach"..it never has any fat in it to begin with!

So tomorrow I am preparing the following menu for my clients:

Lentil and tomato soup..there is something about the earthy quality of lentils that seems to appeal to everyone

Leek and potato soup..made with rice milk and coconut cream..smooth and "creamy". In it's traditional form, a fav. of the artist Mr. David Hockney.

A fabulous fresh tasting jicama ( a south American tuber, that is a cross between a potato and a water chestnut in flavor and texture) & red cabbage salad with a cilantro-pineapple dressing.
Very refreshing and again earthy because of the cilantro.

The following entrees are to show that vegetarian food is not all soups and casseroles:

Whole wheat crepes with tomatoes & mushrooms with a yogurt lime zest sauce..to be filled and baked like canneloni at the client's home..very popular with my clients in Kuwait City but there served with a fresh tomato sauce

Cornmeal mush triangles ( coarse cornmeal with red peppers & leeks, cooked on stove top then placed on oiled trays..to be cut into triangles and dipped in blue cornmeal to be fried at clients home) with a sauce of mushrooms, leeks, parsley, onions & brandy.

Spicy baked red peppers filled with a great mix of beige lentils and eggplant with olives, also comes with some steamed brown rice..

A side of caramelized cauliflower-broccoli with pumpkin seeds and lime juice...blanch the veggies quickly, in boiling salted water and drain well...saute in very hot grape seed oil, a very thick bottomed pan, preferred, until brown on all sides (be patient and allow to color), strain onto a wire cooking rack and dust with lime zest, top with raw pumpkin seeds, serve.

* most nuts are better served raw, as sometimes cooking wrecks the nutritional value of their oils, almonds HAVE to be soaked to remove the toxin on their outer skins.

2 mixed greens..collards and mustard, with onion and garlic