Taste Buddies

In Awe of Raw

There's a whole raw food movement going on in LA, and I'm sure other places, of which I have been quite ignorant.

I had heard about 'raw foodism' but quite honestly, the thought of eating uncooked vegetables for the rest of my days was quite unappealing. That was until my recent trip to LA where I was introduced to two very exciting raw food restaurants, Juliano's Raw and RAWvolution, both in Santa Monica.

The premise behind raw food is eating primarily uncooked, unprocessed and organic fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds and nuts. Raw foodists believe that cooking food either kills most of the essential vitamins, minerals and enzymes or transforms them into carcinogens or 'free radicals'.  So to get the most out of most foods, it is important to eat them either raw or cooked at temperatures under 100F (38C).

There are recipes for raw breads, cakes, soups and even French fries. While I am not a complete raw food convert by any means, I was really impressed by the creativity, diversity and deliciousness of some of the raw meals I tried whilst in LA.

Take, for instance, the two meals in my photos, both from RAWvolution, run by renowned raw food chef, Matt Amsden. The first image is a trio of salads including a finely chopped broccolini with parsley and olive oil, cauliflower cous cous, and a 'mock tuna' salad with macadamia nuts, parsley, zucchini, olive oil and nama shoyu; raw organic unpasteurized soy sauce. The little crackers on the side were made from leftover almond pulp, flax seeds and rosemary.

Below is the 'cocophoria burger'. The 'bun' was made from ground onions and the filling was salad and 'coconut jerky' -- basically sun-dried coconut flesh marinated in curry powder and nama shoyu.

All this was followed by a dessert of coconut pie and one of the best chocolate brownies I've ever tasted - all raw.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos from Juliano's restaurant but trust me when I say that his 'strawberry parfait' was taste bud blowing. It was made of pinenuts, vanilla bean, honey, strawberries and a secret ingredient which I'm afraid I can't share. The parfait was rich and velvety and I savoured every mouthful.

If you're curious to find out about some chef Juliano's raw food secrets, he holds cooking classes on the first Saturday of each month.

RAWvolution
2301 Main Street, Santa Monica 90405
310.392.9501

Juliano's Raw
609 Broadway Ave. Santa Monica, CA 90405
310.587.1552

The Fiddlehead

I’m heading down to LA for several days but I just wanted to share a quick recipe with you from last night’s dinner: sautéed Fiddlehead Ferns.

This was my first time eating them and certainly not my last. I’ve read articles comparing Fiddleheads to asparagus but, other than the fact that they're green, I can't agree. Their flavour is more delicate and their crunch, more substantial.

Fiddleheads are the young, tightly coiled leaves of the Ostrich fern. The springtime delicacy was eaten by Malseet Indians, who lived in what is now known as New Brunswick, and is believed to have been introduced into the colonial diet in the 1700s.

Today commercial Fiddleheaders harvest the leaves in parts of coastal Canada and the northeastern United States.

Some important things to note about the Fiddlehead: it can only be eaten when it is young and must be thoroughly cleaned and cooked prior to consumption. I gave them two cold water baths to get rid of the little brown skins. You also must be sure to snip off the brown parts of the stem.

I boiled them for 10 minutes in lightly salted water and then sautéed them in butter, garlic and a dash of soy sauce.

Delicious and nutritious – they’re a good source of potassium and also contain vitamin C, iron and niacin.

Thai Red Curry Mussels

I made these mussels a few nights ago with my homemade red curry paste.

The alchemy of the fragrant curry paste, coconut milk and the sweet, salty mussel liquor stimulated all of my senses.

This recipe was very simple to make. It was just a case of heating up the curry paste in a saucepan, adding coconut milk, bringing it to a simmer and then popping in the mussels, which took about five minutes to cook.

Even if you don't make your own curry paste, you can just substitute a commercial brand which will still be good. However, as I said in my last post, once you do make your own, you'll never look back!

Homemade red curry paste: I'll never go back

In my recent Thai Green Curry post, I was ashamed to admit that even though I'm half Thai, I had never attempted to make my own curry paste.

Well I finally did it and now I'm left wondering why I didn't try it earlier. The result was quite spectacular and I'm not sure I'll be able to eat the store-bought paste again.

It wasn't the easiest thing to do however that being said, it also wasn't too laborious. I even used my small mortar and pestle to do the job. As you can see in the photo above there are still some small flecks of chili which didn't grind down but it was fine.

It took me about 40 minutes to make the paste. I had to wear my ski goggles during the pounding so as not to get blinded by the juice of 15 or so chilis.  I highly recommend this. Wear sunglasses if you have to.

Ok, let's start with the smell. It was intoxicating. The pulverizing of the Makrut lime skin, lemongrass and galangal with shallots and a mixture of dried and fresh red chilis, released the most incredible, pungent aroma.

Now just to give you a quick run down on some of the ingredients, a Makrut lime is recognisable by its knobbly skin. It has a lovely fragrance, similar to that of a grapefruit. Galangal is a rhizome, similar to ginger, however it has a much sweeter aroma. Asian shallots are small and red with brown skin. For this recipe only the white part of the lemongrass is used as this is the most fragrant and fresh part.

...and now for something completely different

I'm really excited to tell you that today I officially became the About.com Guide to Australian & New Zealand Food.

In my new role I'll cook traditional and modern Aussie/Kiwi recipes and write reviews and articles on all things food.

On my guide site, you can discover how to get the most out of your barbecue, how to cook a great lamb roast, or find out how to make the perfect Pavlova with easy step-by-step photos.

But Aussie food isn't just all Pavlovas and Meat Pies (although there is a pretty delicious steak and mushroom pie waiting there for you). Australian & Kiwi cuisine has evolved into some of the most innovative and exciting in the world. Australian chefs and restaurants are constantly pushing boundaries, winning awards and dazzling taste buds.

The picture above is a little taste of some of my recipes. There's a Kumara and Crab Bisque, the humble Lamington, Macadamia Nut Pesto, Thai Chicken Sausage Rolls, Barbecued Prawns and a Passionfruit Soufflé.

Taste Buddies will continue as usual. From time to time, though, I will feature something delicious from the new site on Taste Buddies.

I hope you enjoy it!

ANZAC Biscuits

Anzac Biscuits (cookies are called biscuits in Australia and New Zealand) represent something special. On 25 April 1915, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) landed at Gallipoli in Turkey where thousands lost their lives.

The soldiers' bravery in that campaign has become legendary in both countries. I am not one for patriotic fanfare, but, if you're a Kiwi or an Aussie, you can't help but feel the emotion of this story.

ANZAC Day is celebrated in Australia and New Zealand every April 25. Each year we reflect on the valour these young men showed as they were "going over the top". And, as always, you cannot but be struck by the staggering waste of life and the wretched futility of war.

Anyway, this post is about biscuits. It is believed that ANZAC biscuits were made by soldiers' families and wives during the First World War. They were specifically made to endure the long journey at sea to the troops. The recipe has changed in the intervening century to now include butter and coconut.

ANZAC biscuits are baked and enjoyed all year round, although they have a special significance on April 25.

The biscuits themselves smell great - even while you're mixing the dough, it's hard to be restrained. They are buttery and have the perfect combination of sweet and salty. The coconut is perfect for them and it's hard to stop at eating just four... or five.