I eat therefore I cook.

From the local market to my table. This is my story of the joy of food.
From an early start I have had a passion for food. At four years old I created my first menu in my restaurant under a table in my parents basement. It served no food but had an inviting atmosphere for such a small place. I recall going on excursions to farms many miles away to collect the freshest of ingredients for a Sunday dinner. These excursions allowed a glimpse at the production of the food at our daily table an experience everyone should enjoy. Food was fun and of course you had to eat what you were given.

From this time I have enjoyed cooking for friends and family. With their encouragement I went on to study under Chef Oliver Andriene at Dubrulle French Culinary School, and have gone on to work as a caterer on a part time basis, serving a variety of functions from private parties to large gatherings. I have also enjoyed a unique opportunity as a carpenter, to swap recipes while working on homes, even taking part of every day at one project to watch a cooking show with the home owner. Everyone enjoyed the passion I radiated when talking about food from shopping for ingredients to the methods and recipes.

Now on to the recipes.

Ice Cream

It's hard not to dig ice cream
It's quite simple. It's just a lot of mixing. Constant mixing of a hot part and periodic mixing of the cold mixture. There really is nothing like homemade ice cream. With so many ways to flavor, you can gain pounds just thinking of it. This makes over a liter.

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean

10 large egg yolks

Method

Into a large non reactive sauce pan, like stainless steel, combine the cream, milk and 1/3 of a cup of the sugar. Cut the vanilla bean length ways and scrape the seeds into the pan. Also add the vanilla pod. Bring to a simmer, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and cover for about thirty minutes to let the flavors come together. Place a metal bowl that is large enough to mix together the eggs and cream mixture, over an ice bath. Reheat the cream mixture until warm. At the same time as the cream is reheating, and not in the same bowl as the one that is in the ice bath, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until it thickens and becomes lighter in color. Then while whisking constantly gradually pour about one third of the cream mixture into the egg yolks to temper them. Return the mixture back to the sauce pan and cook over low heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for about ten minutes or until the custard has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. To check this run your finger across the spoon, the line you make should remain. Now pour the custard into the bowl that is in the ice bath and stir occasionally until it has cooled. Next strain the cooled mixture into another bowl and refrigerate covered for a few hours or overnight for better results. Now place a container for the ice cream in the freezer to get cold. If you have an ice cream maker, follow the manufactures instructions. If not place the custard in the bowl into a larger bowl of ice and salt and some water, kind of like slush. Place this whole contraption into the freezer. Occasionally, about every ten minutes, stir the custard mixture until it's a soft serve texture. Then transfer to the chilled container and place back in the freezer to harden. Now eat it. You don't want to leave it around more then a couple of days. I don't think it lasts even that long. Yummy.

Tomato Soup

For those confused easily.
This is really simple. I use about one and a half tomato's per serving. These would be real tomato's, not those things grown in a hot house. Beefsteak or Roma's work quite good. Maybe I use three Roma's per serving.

Ingredients

good tomato's

olive oil

salt

pepper

Method

Remove top core

Cut "x" in bottom

Place "x" side up in heat proof dish

Roast tomato's at 375 for about one hour, the skins should pull away

Put tomato's and tomato water in a bender

Blend until smooth puree

Pour through a strainer to remove seeds

Serve

Garnish with fresh basil

About tomatos, there are so many variety of tomato. I just try to always get the freshest outdoor grown tomato. There are any number of colors and flavors. Tomatos are magical and sexy, a beautiful food.

Mussel Soup

This is one of my favorites.
It is very simple. Use six mussels per person's serving or a minimum of 12 mussels, this is to build the flavor base of the soup. I also like to use beer with this recipe. A wheat beer of Belgium style is excellent, but any beer will work as long as it is not to hoppy. Hops are great in beer but don't work with the mussels or the cream. Also the commercial beers are lousy for the task they just have nasty tastes when cooked. You can of course substitute anything liquid you want. Some other good choices are white wine, sparking wine or champagne, seasoned water, and buttermilk.

Ingredients

mussels 12 minimum

250 ml poaching liquid

1 shallot finely chopped

2 tbl butter

300ml cream per serving

green onion fine chop for garnish

Method

Heat pan of adequate size to hold mussels.

Place mussels in heated pan

Add shallot and 1 tbl butter

Add poaching liquid and cover for a few minutes

lift cover, when mussels have opened they are done, remove from heat

Remove mussels from pan leaving liquid

Strain liquid and rinse pan add liquid back to pan

Place pan back on heat add cream and reduce down by about 1/3

Remove mussels from shell and place in bottom of serving bowl

Ladle soup over mussels in bowl

Garnish with the green onion

Serve with fresh bread and a glass of the same liquid as you used for poaching.

Mussels and Clams with a Wasabi Lemon Butter Sauce

More Mollusks. I like them. This time I try to marry the spice of Japanese Horseradish to the mussels and clams. The recipe is simple and the taste is exquisite. I paired this dish with a 1996 Chardonnay from the Le Comte Estate, Okanagan, British Columbia.
The flavors in this wine work just right with what I'm presenting. The match is really good, which is a fluke as I just picked this wine off the shelf as a choice from many.

Ingredients

mussels about 1 dozen

clams about 2 dozen

2 lemons

6 tbl butter

250 ml white wine

4 tbl wasabi

asparagus blanched

spinach blanched

Method

Heat pan of adequate size to hold mussels and clams.

Place mussels and clams in heated pan

Add 1 1/2 lemons squeezed into pan

Add 4 tbl butter

Add white wine and cover for a few minutes

lift cover, when mussels and clams have opened they are done, remove from heat

Remove mussels and clams from pan leaving liquid

Add remaining lemon half

Add wasabi

Reduce liquid down by about 2/3's

Reduce heat and blend in remaining butter

Place spinach in bottom of serving bowl

Remove mussels and clams from shell and place on spinach

Dress with lemon wasabi butter

Garnish with the asparagus

Serve with fresh bread and a glass of the same liquid as you used for poaching.

Peanut Sauce

This spicy sauce is either for dipping or for cooking.
You can adjust or even change the ingredients as you like, to make this recipe. The chilies that provide that cool spicy flavoring many of us enjoy are probably where you could start.

Ingredients

1 tbl peanut oil

1 tbl butter unsalted please

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves

1 cup chunky peanut butter

1/2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp molasses

1 or more jalapeno

1 tbl soy sauce

1 1/2 cups water

2 tbl fresh lime juice

Salt to taste

Method

In a pan heat oil and butter

Add onion, garlic, Jalapeno

Reduce heat to medium and saut? until onions are translucent

Add peanut butter, brown sugar, molasses, soy sauce and water

Stir occasionally, until sauce has thickened

Add lime juice and salt to taste

Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature before using.

Sauce will keep for up to 1 week refrigerated.

Tomato Salsa

A classic salsa, so simple to make.
This recipe is best with the freshest ingredients, organic when possible. It is based on the amount for about one 454 gram bag of tortilla chips.

Ingredients

8 roma tomatoes

1 small red onion

jalapeno hot or not you decide

garlic pick a number

1 lime

Salt to taste

Method

So simple.

Chop tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, garlic

Add together in a bowl

Squeeze lime

Season with salt

Mix

Taste

Adjust seasoning

Cover and let stand refrigerated over night for best results

Papaya Salsa

A new classic salsa, so simple to make.
This recipe is best with the freshest ingredients, organic when possible. It is based on the amount for about one 454 gram bag of tortilla chips.

Ingredients

1 or 2 papaya

1 small red onion

jalapeno hot or not you decide

garlic pick a number

1 lime

Salt to taste

Method

So simple.

Chop papaya, onion, jalapeno, garlic

Add together in a bowl

Squeeze lime

Season with salt

Mix

Taste

Adjust seasoning

Cover and let stand refrigerated a few hours for best results