Fruits + Sushi

I was a vegetarian for 4 years and that gave me a lot of experience of how to take the animal protein out of most of my dishes. Sorry for who doesn't know about it but you are only supposed to eat two small portions per day.

Any way, one of the things that I learned is that one of the best things is to add fruit in everything, from salty sauces, to salads and everything else you can imagine. One of my favorites is the sushi roll that I learned how to make with a good friend of mine, the mexican chef Ricardo Lopez.

Veggie Sushi

japanese rice

japanese vinegar

nori (sea weed)

any kind of fruits that you like

cream cheese

Directions 

Make the rice as it is said in the pack and add the vinegar. Put a nori, press a thin layer of rice and than add thin slices of fruit and the cream cheese. You can put the cream cheese in a zip lock and cut a little hole on the side and that way you'll put only a little bit and make it easier to roll. 

Fruit sashimi is also delicious. I had that as a desert in a japanese restaurant and it was really beautifully made. You just have to use your imagination to cut thin layers of different fruits and arrange it together with some tiny candles and some honey. 

 

Sweet equals good?

Right now I'm watching Top Chef. I do like the show. But the reason why I'm mentioning it is because most of the time I see something in this show that keeps going on in every restaurant!

The chefs are not really specialized in pastry. That is  bad for us costumers and it totally reflects, even in good restaurants, in our meals. I'm so tired of coming from a perfectly seasoned salad or an amazing shrimp, that d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y puts me in the mood for desert, and than end up with something that in the menu sounds perfect and instead is something way less than acceptable. 

Sugary, to much chocolate and lack of imagination are some of the most common problem, but I've been facing even worst things like so called chefs making foods tasting bad!!! Fortunately there are exceptions. Just to name two good ones there are the interesting combination of the deserts in Casa Calvet* and the whole new concept of Spai Sucre - a restaurant dedicated to the sugar.   

*Both restaurants are from Barcelona - Spain. As a plus to it's great food, Casa Calvet is located inside the building that has the same name. It was designed by Antonio Gaudi. He is the famous architected of Park Guel and Sagrada Familia.

Crema Catalana

Creme Brulee I'm sure you heard about. Crema Catalana is consider the spanish version of the desert. It is simple to prepare. It's not one of those horrible deserts that are really, really sweet. I think it is worth it to try... 

Crema Catalana 

Ingredients: 

35 oz of milk

7 oz of sugar

6 oz of  yolk

1.7 0z of corn starch

cinnamon and lime skin

Directions

1 - In a bowl mix a little bit of the milk with the corn starch until it is all dissolved and than add the yolks. 

2 - Put the rest of the milk to heat in a pot  with the sticks of cinnamon and the lime skin. Wait until it starts to boil. 

3- Take the sticks and the skin of the pot and add the first mixture. It is really important to remove the hole time. It is really quick for it to become a thick cream.

4 - You just need to put it in 4 separate ceramic bowls. And wait for it to cool down. But try to serve it in the same day.

5 - When is time to serve put a consider amount of sugar on top (5 spoons) . You can use a kitchen torch or the griller of the oven to make the top crispy.  And serve right away.

 

 

The sugar and I

I don't really know where or how it all started but it wasn't a long time ago... I just know that in the last year or so I realized that I totally fell in love with all sweet flavors of life. I mean, literally.  Me - the usual defender of the sour taste. But what can I do? People do change!

The next thing I know,  I was studying with pastry Chefs in europe to find out more and more about it.  And that's what I want to be sharing here with you. Recipes, comments and places that makes our lives sweeter.  Bon Appetit, buen provecho, enjoy!