TastyDesign

Food & Art: Gran Exposicion del Pintor Argentino Ricardo Celma

Me apasiona la pintura tanto como la cocina, al final, las dos son expresiones de arte y nosotros los artistas! Ricardo Celma es un excepcional artista argentino, super dotado de la pintura, con un don que yo catalogo como divino. Su obra expresa su pasion por la vida y su epoca, el amor apasionado sin olvidarse de lo que significa una ingenuidad pura e intacta. 

Desde inicios del 2004 me inicie como fiel admiradora de Celma. Pero es que con solo una vez que vi una de sus pinturas...quede extasiada.

Ahora, como un tributo a nuestro pintor favorito...

Les invitamos a la gran exposicion de "RICARDO CELMA" y a la recepcion a realizarse el proximo Jueves 21 de Julio, 2005, a las 6 PM en la Galeria ART AMERICAS. La invitacion la incluyo a continuacion...

Tendremos tambien un delicioso bufet preparado por el CHEF Modesto Moreno y valet parking. Para informacion llamar al 214-9612 y 214-9613

Abrazos,

Melissa

 

In the beginning-the eternal battle

Greetings from Panama! after receiving this poem from a friend a few days ago I thought it is so true and funny at the same time, that I have to share it with you.

Although I do not know the name of the author, I will give him/her full credit for it :)

Enjoy!

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the
Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli,
cauliflower, and spinach, green and yellow and red
vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would
live long and healthy lives.

Then, using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and
Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Kreme Donuts. And Satan
said, "You want chocolate with that?"

And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as
you're at it, add some sprinkles." And they gained 10
pounds. And Satan smiled.

And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might
keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan
brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar
from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from
size 6 to size 14.

So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan
presented Thousand-Island dressing, buttery croutons
and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman
unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said, "I have sent you heart-healthy
vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them." And
Satan brought forth deep-fried fish and chicken-fried
steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man
gained more weight and his cholesterol went through
the roof.

God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it
"Angel Food Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then
created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's Food."

God then brought forth running shoes so that His
children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave
cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have
to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman
laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and
gained pounds.

Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in
fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off
the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into
chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.

God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume
fewer  calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan
created McDonald's and its $ .99 double cheeseburger.
Then said, "You want fries with that?" And Man
replied, "Yes! And super-size them!" And Satan said,
"It is good."

And Man went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed and created quadruple-bypass surgery.
Then Satan created HMOs

Delicious Memories: The Oriental Thai Cooking School

I LOVE Thailand! Every day in Thailand was a dream. From the cooking, to the temples, the shopping, beaches, marvelous history, people and landscape. I love it all :) Hope to go back there soon...

In 2002 I had the privilege to take an intensive Thai cooking and culture program at the Oriental Hotel Cooking School in Bangkok. Wow...it was a blast. Expensive, ...yes, but a great investment too if you like to cook as a hobby, or cook professionally.  I remember I met many restaurant owners, chefs and people that love to cook. We had so much fun, that is very important!

The next photos were taken in April 2002 when the cooking program took place.

I was always the first one to arrive at the classroom :)

Before one of the classes,... the Chef doing some prep.

And...at the end of the program--

If you have the opportunity...GO!

Love,

Melissa

Vintage: MILK WEED CREAM

This is one of my favorite vintage ads...The fact is that MILK is the perfect food for Us -humans-, it is also a wonderful ingredient for beauty creams and lotions. 

Being a Professional Chef, I have used milk, cream and butter  every day. But I never learned the complete story with facts about -milk-. Now, after reading many books about nutrition, and one of my favorites: The Milk Book - The Milk Of Human Kindness Is Not Pasteurized- by William Campbell Douglass II, MD. I understand. Now I do.

"The Milk Book - How Science Is Destroying Nature's Neatly Perfect Food. Children are denied whole milk because pediatricians are obsessed with the cholesterol myth. These same gutless wonders don't say anything about children drinking half-a-dozen bottles of Coca-Cola a day, stating before breakfast! But kids can't get a decent glass of milk. Adding vitamin D to milk is a risky business. The New England Journal of Medicine reported many cases of vitamin D intoxication resulting from excessive fortification of commercial milk. Today, you can't get a decent glass of milk. Even if you buy whole milk, thinking it is better than that sickly blue stuff called skim, you can't win, because all of the commercial milk is homogenized. I am convinced that homogenization is even more detrimental to the nutritional quality of milk than the heat processing called pasteurization."

Enjoy your MILK!

Melissa

Dog Chef : List Famous Liver Bread

Now for your four legged friends, the all time favorite LIVER BREAD:

It has been a long time since I saw last or baked this scrumptious recipe. How come time flyes so fast? ...Oh well, I was just thinking how much my Bela-Bu loved Liver Bread. You couldn't possibly be in the house when I was baking THIS stuff. Stinky bake for most of you...but for the rest of US (dog+dog_chef), it was gold :)

I was first introduced to Liver Bread and the Barf Diet in late 2000 by my dearest friend and Vizsla breeder in Northern California: Kit Richards. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

To learn about the Barf Diet please read an article I wrote and published sometime ago HERE in this same blog :)

G
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MESSIEST

THING TO MAKE. Although this may sound revolting to two-legged creatures, the four-legged critters love it. Liver Bread is great for baiting in the ring, not messy and great for snacks. Be forewarned though, Liver Bread is the ugliest and messiest thing you've ever seen when preparing it. If you can get pass that, your dogs will love you! Will Snyder. Napa, California, USA.

So, here you have THE recipe:

Ingredients:

1 lb. beef liver, 2 cups flour and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder.

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Place the raw liver in a blender and process on high until smooth and frothy. Pour into a mixing bowl and add flour and garlic powder. Mix thoroughly and spread out onto a greased 8x8" baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Cut into squares while warm. When cool store in airtight containers in the refrigerator or freezer.

HUGS,

Melissa

Delicious Memories: USPCI 2001

Today I was going through my photo drawer and found lots of great pics. During the next months I will be sharing some of them with you.

So, please do not be shocked when you find a young-ER looking Chef Melissa---yes, I understand your surprise, BUT come on...it happens to ALL of Us: we make hundreds of brownies, a zillion different kinds of  breads, hm mm...can't remember how many cakes and cookies, gourmet dinners parties, personal chef services..., etc, etc...and the BEST/WORST part is that: WE EAT MOST OF IT, right...well, almost.  Maybe I am exaggerating, but I guess you get the point.

I LOVE IT thou.

The next THREE photos were taken in Jan 2001, during my Personal Chef training at the USPCI (United States Personal Chef Institute) in New Mexico, U.S.

Chef Melissa and Chef Vince Likar (Now, Chef Likar is the National Director of the USPCA) Congratulations Vince!!!

The Chef's night out, why not? :)

A girl has to eat. Well, then, YES. Now I just have to lose all that weight :(

...No doubt those were unforgettable days. Only great, talented people I met at the USPCI & USPCA

Love,

Chef Melissa

Vintage: Assert your Freedom

I love vintage advertisements! This one is from Arm&Hammer and The Cow Brand Baking Soda (1930).

Enjoy your day!

Melissa

TODAY @ cookingdiva.net: "EM's Gourmet"

Purple Peruvian Punch

Only rarely do visitors to Peru become acquainted with the popular native drink, called "Chicha Morada", or Purple Punch, unless they have the good fortune to be entertained in some of the native homes, or attended a strictly Peruvian party. Soon after my arrival in Lima, I attended a -fiesta- in the home of an old-line Peruvian family, who prided themselves, among other things, on their recipes which have been handed down from generation to generation from early colonial times.

...what are you waiting to try this fantastic drink, well kept in the heart of the Peruvian tradition?

At the buffet, I discovered this interesting beverage. It's color first attracted me. It looked like the most delicious grape juice, but in the glass, held to the light, it had the fine ruby-red light of raspberry jelly. After a sip, I learned that it tasted as good as it looked: delicious, refreshing and MORE-ish.

It was not opportune to ask the recipe from my hostess then, BUT I did NOT forget this great beverage and finally secured the following instructions:

• 1-1/4 pounds dried dark red corn on the cob
• 1 medium pineapple, ripe
• 12 lemons
• 12 large oranges
• 11 whole cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, grated
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 - 1 cup of sugar, to taste

1. Wash the corn and boil it in 2 gallons of water (cob and all). Add the cloves, cinnamon sticks and grated nutmeg. Cut one lemon in quarters and put in. Wash the pinneaple well, peel it rather thick and remove the core. Add the peeling and the core to the boiling mixture.
2. Allow the mixture to boil moderately for about 2 hours, or until the liquid becomes a deep, rich, reddish purple in color. Remove from the fire and strain the mixture through avery fine sieve OR several thicknesses of cheese cloth, in order to get a very clear liquid.
3. Up to this point, the preparation of this punch can well be done from the day before up to a week earlier, as it perfectly keeps in the fridge for several days (up to a week,  I would say).
4. A few hours before serving, process in the blender the pineapple (cubed), orange juice, lemon juice and sugar to taste, until smoth. THEN, combine with the corn mixture and let rest in the fridge for several hours, allowing the punch to ripen.
5. Place the cold mixture in a punch bowl with a large piece of ice. Some like to add sliced strawberries or halved cherries just before serving, as garnish.

Now you have a beautiful, refreshing and very pretty drink to serve your guests in your next party! They would NOT forget about it! :)

Hugs,

Melissa

The Cinnamon Peeler

Certainly this is one of my favorite poems...Love how nicely it expresses the way love lingers on the body, even away from the loved one. And yes, wouldn't it be marvelous to go about smelling like chocolate? Scrumptious. The Cinnamon Peeler, by Michael Ondaatje

If I were a cinnamon peeler I would ride your bed And leave the yellow bark dust On your pillow. Your breasts and shoulders would reek You could never walk through markets without the profession of my fingers floating over you. The blind would stumble certain of whom they approached though you might bathe under rain gutters, monsoon. Here on the upper thigh at this smooth pasture neighbor to you hair or the crease that cuts your back. This ankle. You will be known among strangers as the cinnamon peeler's wife. I could hardly glance at you before marriage never touch you --your keen nosed mother, your rough brothers. I buried my hands in saffron, disguised them over smoking tar, helped the honey gatherers... When we swam once I touched you in the water and our bodies remained free, you could hold me and be blind of smell. you climbed the bank and said this is how you touch other women the grass cutter's wife, the lime burner's daughter. And you searched your arms for the missing perfume and knew what good is it to be the lime burner's daughter left with no trace as if not spoken to in the act of love as if wounded without the pleasure of a scar. You touched your belly to my hands in the dry air and said I am the cinnamon Peeler's wife. Smell me.

Her Ambition

This poem was written in 1929, when the only comfort that was offered the farmer was to take a tip from the housekeepers, adjust himself to the changed conditions and regulate his produce accordingly.

People were consuming food for their own pleasure or profit, regardless of whether it meant ruin or prosperity for some one else.

Her Ambition

by Earl D. Van Deman

Some sculpture dreams in marble blocks,

And some in fancy's words of fire,

And some their inner souls unlock

With soothing music's  raimbow lyre;

While others make, in piles of stone,

Cathedrals, castels, halls of state

Ambition's refuge, grand but lone.

My heart desires no fame so great.

I'd rather mix an "angel cake"

Than model, sing or pen a book.

My dreams within a loaf I bake:

I'd rather be my husband's cook.