Chefie’s World

This is the third installment to my healthy two weeks of events that I went through. Last March 14, I was invited by the Nutritionists and Dieticians Association of the Philippines to give a lecture on spa cuisine. It was exciting with loads of work since I had to prepare a tasting set of three dishes for 800 participants, this I had to do for three days with the help of my students based in Davao. Sponsored by California Raisin, I had one of the most nutritious and great tasting dried fruit in all 3 of my recipes. All three I am sharing with you.

So what did I talk about, spa cuisine, healthy eating that’s actually common sense cooking since you remove the use of butter and cream in all the cooking. Also methods of cooking are kept to the simplest without the addition of any oil or fat in the process so poaching (again?), grilling, roasting, cooking in papillote – that’s steam kept inside the paper cooks the food inside. Interesting, right? Even the latest trends in ingredients I also discussed with the new set of grains, like quinoa – a grain with tons of protein that originates from the Andes mountains, couscous becoming so popular now with Moroccan type of stew and the blend of Asian ingredients to increase the flavor of food. I also used a lot of fresh herbs to complement the main ingredient of any dish as oppose to the use of too much salt in the dish. Marination was a technique that I discussed since it was done just before some of the cooking for absorption of the marinade which is needed for better eating for everyone. Salsas, vinaigrettes, yoghurt based sauces are the in thing to use in this type of cuisine.

I like doing something as large as this one to promote healthier methods of eating. A lot of us don’t eat right and it is maybe time that more and more people know about this. When I found out I had diabetes I tried my very best to change a lifestyle that was family based and I get to continue doing it since now I cook for myself and I hope that someday people around me will get infected with it. It is really the cooking that will matter, remove the fat all of it as much as possible.

And here is what I served during the talk. Enjoy the recipes!

RAISIN ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
RECIPES for NDAP ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Davao City, March 14, 2008
By Chef Jun Jun De Guzman

SQUID SALAD WITH CALIFORNIA RAISIN DRESSING

Raisin Dressing:
¼ cup distilled white vinegar
2 tbsps honey
½ tsp prepared mustard
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp celery seeds
¼ cup finely chopped onions
3 tbsps raisins

Procedure:
Boil vinegar and honey for one minute.
Put in a mixing bowl and mix on high speed. Add olive oil.
Add in salt, mustard, celery seeds and finely chopped onions.
Add in raisins and marinate for 4 hours or overnight. Refrigerate.
Dressing can be made one day in advance.
Shelf life is several weeks when refrigerated

Salad:
½ head ice berg lettuce or another salad greens, washed and dried
2 pcs squid, cleaned and grilled

Procedure:
Slice squid into rings. Toss lettuce in dressing.
Garnish with squid rings and serve.
If desired, you may add fresh fruits slices and other vegetables.

GRILLED TUNA STEAK WITH CALIFORNIA RAISIN WASABI SAUCE

Ingredients:
2 pcs tuna steak, cleaned
salt and pepper

Procedure:
Season tuna steak with salt and pepper. Grill over heat for 3 minutes per side.
Remove from heat. Put in serving platter and spoon sauce over. Serve.

Sauce:
1 cup California Raisins
½ cup warm water
1 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp wasabi powder

Procedure:
Rehydrate the California raisins in warm water. Put in blender and puree.
Add lemon juice and wasabi powder. Season to taste. Serve with tuna steak.

CALIFORNIA RAISIN WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Ingredients:
300 gms whole wheat flour
200 gms bread flour
7 gms instant yeast
5 gms salt
350 gms water
90 gms California Raisins

Procedure:
Mix whole wheat and bread flour. Add in instant yeast, salt and water. Mix well.
Knead for 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
Add California Raisins and mix into dough. Put dough in an oiled bowl & cover.
Let rise for an hour or until double in size.
Divide dough into two pieces and shape. Proof until double.
Bake at 400ºF for 20 minutes. Cool well before slicing.

• Chefie’s Tips
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• Betina
• Healthy Dinner for Doctors
• No Work Today

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 3:43 pm and is filed under Food, personal, recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.