Le goûter-Snack time by Ismael

Ismael is eight years old. He is my assistant and my son. He wants to have a sandwich and a snack  section in this blog. We will share some of his favorite snacks and treats. Here is our first snack time post, blueberries and strawberries.Well, no cooking involved, we  were practicing with our camera!!!

Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking by Nathan Myhrvold

I am really eager to read this book! It is praised as the ultimate book on culinary arts and science. I love science and food. I am sure it will be a delicious read but the price is out of my league ($468 at Amazon). It is a six-volume cookbook. I am hoping that public libraries around me will purchase this book. So I can keep on saving for my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer Architect 6 Qt Bowl lift at $499 to upgrade my cooking lab:)

This book is coming out  on  March 14.

"A revolution is underway in the art of cooking. Just as French Impressionists upended centuries of tradition, Modernist cuisine has in recent years blown through the boundaries of the culinary arts. Borrowing techniques from the laboratory, pioneering chefs at world-renowned restaurants such as elBulli, The Fat Duck, Alinea, and wd~50 have incorporated a deeper understanding of science and advances in cooking technology into their culinary art.

In Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking, Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet--scientists, inventors, and accomplished cooks in their own right--have created a six-volume, 2,400-page set that reveals science-inspired techniques for preparing food that ranges from the otherworldly to the sublime. The authors and their 20-person team at The Cooking Lab have achieved astounding new flavors and textures by using tools such as water baths, homogenizers, centrifuges, and ingredients such as hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, and enzymes. It is a work destined to reinvent cooking.

How do you make an omelet light and tender on the outside, but rich and creamy inside? Or French fries with a light and fluffy interior and a delicate, crisp crust that doesn't go soggy? Imagine being able to encase a mussel in a gelled sphere of its own sweet and briny juice. Or to create a silky-smooth pistachio cream made from nothing more than the nuts themselves. Modernist Cuisine offers step-by-step, illustrated instructions, as well as clear explanations of how these techniques work. Through thousands of original photographs and diagrams, the lavishly illustrated books make the science and technology of the culinary arts clear and engaging. Stunning new photographic techniques take the reader inside the food to see cooking in action all the way from microscopic meat fibers to an entire Weber grill in cross-section. You will view cooking and eating in a whole new light. A sampling of what you'll discover:

• Why plunging food in ice water doesn't stop the cooking process
• When boiling cooks faster than steaming
• Why raising the grill doesn't lower the heat
• How low-cost pots and pans can perform better than expensive ones
• Why baking is mostly a drying process
• Why deep-fried food tastes best and browns better when the oil is older
• How modern cooking techniques can achieve ideal results without the perfect timing or good luck that traditional methods demand

Many invaluable features include:

• Insights into the surprising science behind traditional food preparation methods such as grilling, smoking, and stir-frying
• The most comprehensive guide yet published on cooking sous vide, including the best options for water baths, packaging materials, and sealing equipment; cooking strategies; and troubleshooting tips
• More than 256 pages on meat and seafood and 130 pages on fruits, vegetables, and grains, including hundreds of parametric recipes and step-by-step techniques
• Extensive chapters explaining how to achieve amazing results by using modern thickeners, gels, emulsions, and foams, including example recipes and many formulas
• More than 300 pages of new recipes for plated dishes suitable for service at top-tier restaurants, plus recipes adapted from master chefs including Grant Achatz, Ferran Adrià , Heston Blumenthal, David Chang, Wylie Dufresne, David Kinch, and many others

From the professional chef to the home cook, Modernist Cuisine is an indispensable guide for anyone who is passionate about the art and science of cooking."

Cassava Leaves in my mind

Yesterday, I explored three Asian stores for frozen Cassava leaves!!! Tomorrow, I will try stores specialized in Filipino products. It has been years since my last plate of cassava leaves. In Comoros, it is called Mataba, home it is also called isombe or sombe, and commonly known as Saka saka or Pondu.  I did call my mother for the recipe!! It seems that a lot of people around here might be craving those leaves. Seriously three stores were out! Nevertheless, I did find grated cassava. It is perfect for a gluten free recipes:“Cassava Bibingka” a Filipino cake, or Bâton de Manioc steamed  in banana leaves, a sort of central African bread.

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) leaves contained a high level of protein. That is why they are so popular. They have a high content of protein, minerals and vitamins. In Humanity Development Library, it is said that "Eating 50 grams of cassava leaves-the equivalent of a large salad-or a mere three grams of red palm oil per day could prevent a child from going blind. Yet half a million children are destined to blindness, and two-thirds of them to die, for lack of a daily supply of the crucial amounts of vitamin A contained in such common tropical foods". According to studies, consumption of 400g cassava leaves is equivalent to protein intake of 45 to 50 grams. It is a smart addition to any vegetarian meals.  According to Wikipedia, the leaves are used to treat hypertension, headache, irritable bowel syndrome and pain. Personally, they are a taste of home loaded with protein and a souvenir of my childhood.

In pursue of Cassava leaves ...