You have 8 bottles of wines in front of you, all of which are covered up. Four reds, four whites. Your mission to drink very slowly until you can identify the grape varietals for each wine bottle or you pass out, which ever comes first. If you like wines you should be able to identify these wines before you keel over with these very general guidelines.

French Chardonnay--Chablis

Appearance: colourless with green hues

Aroma: citrus, apple, pear, tropical fruit

Taste: in general, mineral, citrus, thin

Sauvignon Blanc:

Appearance: almost colourless, green hues, deepens slightly with age

Aroma: citrus, apple, pear, apricot, peach, nectarine, tropical fruit, fresh/green, asparagus.

Taste: fresh, grassy, crisp, punchy, big round melon tastes 

Gewurztraminer

Appearance: yellow pink/gold

Aroma: citrus, tropical fruit, floral

Taste: rosewater, sweet, spice

Muscat

Appearance: deep yellow to deepest gold, age dependent

Aroma: tropical fruit, floral

Taste: orange blossom, sweet

Pinot Noir

Appearance: brick red

Aroma: berry, plum, cherry, prune, dried fruit.

Taste: tannic, acid

Cabernet Sauvignon

Appearance: blue/black

Aroma: berry, dried fruit, fresh (cut grass, bell pepper), green/black olives

Taste: fruity, crisp

Zinfandel

Appearance: deep black with purple notes

Aroma: berry, dried fruit

Taste: dark fruit , oak

Shiraz

Appearance: dark red

Aroma: berry, cherry, plum, prune

Taste: berry, dark fruit, spice

wines

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White Wine

2007 Conundrum California White Table Wine. This is a not-to-be missed white blend. It combines sauvignon blanc, Muscat, canelli, chardonnay and viognier. Aromas and flavours of peach, mango, herbs and spice. Lush texture. Lovely.

Conundrum

Red Wine

2005 Salento Primitivo Puglia Italy. This is a super dark red wine with intense strawberry, spicy-peppery flavours; in short, one classy wine.

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I have no trouble making moussaka, dolmades, spanakopita, or tzaziki, and turning phyllo into baklava, but my Greek dishes always turn out to be super greasy and heavy. Why?  I can’t seem make this stuff, I fail at it. How bad is it? I get horrible soggy goo all the time. On the surface of things, this a very simple, not complicated cuisine--all you need is an olive grove, fields filled with sheep, and swimming beautiful blue ocean of squid. Not coincidentally, all of these aren't nearby. 

Maybe you will have better luck than me with these recipes. 

Moussaka

1 large eggplant, about a pound sliced ¼ inch thick

2 tbsp olive oil

Meat Sauce

1 cup onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb ground lamb or beef

1 cup canned tomato, coarsely chopped

2 tbsp tomato paste

½ cup white wine

2 tsp parsley, chopped

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

salt and pepper to taste

Cream Sauce

¼ cup butter

¼ cup flour

2 cups milk

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 egg, beaten

salt and pepper to taste

Directions 

Fry the eggplant slices in a skillet set over medium-high heat until softened and lightly golden on both sides, 2-3 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and cook the onion until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, cook 1 minute. Add ground meat, turn heat to high, and cook until well browned. Drain any excess fat, then add remaining sauce ingredients, reduce heat to medium and cook about 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Adjust seasoning.

Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat and stir in the flour; cook gently for 2 minutes. Add milk, stir to combine, turn heat to medium high and bring mixture to a boil, cook a further 2 minutes, remove from heat. Stir in nutmeg and 1 tbsp cheese, then cook mixture. When cool, stir in beaten egg into sauce and adjust seasoning to taste.

To assemble, lightly oil a 8x8 pan. Place eggplant in a layer to cover the bottom of the pan, top with meat sauce, repeat with a second layer of eggplant and sauce, then top with cream sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.

Serves 4-6.

Moussaka

Dolmades

8 oz preserved vine leaves

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 cup minced onion

¼ cup pine nuts

1 cup long grain rice

½ tsp ground allspice

1 tsp salt

1 ½ cups chicken stock or water

fresh ground black pepper to taste

2 tbsp mint, minced

4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions 

Drain brine from leaves, rinse in cold water and then blanch in boiling water for 1 minute.

Place olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the onion until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the pine nuts, rice, allspice, 1 tsp salt, and the stock or water. Cover, turn the heat to medium-low and cook until the rice is somewhat tender but still quite al dente, about 10-12 minutes.

Cool in a large bowl, check the seasoning, and add the pepper, mint and half of the lemon juice.

Place one grape leaf shiny side down on a cutting board and put 1 tbsp mixture in the middle of the leaf. Fold over the stem end, then the side then roll up.

Place stuffed leaves in a roasting pan, add more stock or water to come halfway up the dolma, and cook covered over low heat for about 30 minutes.

Drain, serve at room temperature, sprinked with remaining lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil.

Makes about 30 dolmas.

Dolmades

Spanakopita

2 lb spinach

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup onion, minced

½ cup scallion, minced

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 lb feta cheese, crumbled

¼ cup fresh dill, minced

1 lb phyllo dough

8 oz melted butter

Directions 

Parboil the spinach until it wilts, then drain, squeeze dry, and chop.

Place olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add the onion and scallion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl.

Add the spinach, feta cheese, dill and season to taste.

Roll in phyllo into triangle shape.

Bake in a pre-heated 350F oven from about 20 minutes, or until nicely browned.

Makes over 40 pieces.

Rolling Phyllo

Spanakopita

Tzaziki

1 cup plain yoghurt

1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and shredded

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp mint leaves, minced

salt and fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Drain the yoghurt for about 1 hour in a colander lined with cheesecloth. The yoghurt will lose about a third of its volume and be creamier and thickened.

Press the grated cucumber in a sieve to remove all excess moisture.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, stir to combine, adjust the seasoning. Refrigerate for 1 hour to let flavours develop.

Serve a dip or condiment.

Serves 4.

 

Draining Yoghurt

Tzaziki

 

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When I wasn't cooking or hiding from the rain, I spent it outside, around the house, in the forest. I took my camera on a couple of my walks with my little sweet Tao. So interesting what you see when you have a camera on hand. I couldn’t believe the beauty that surrounded me; the lovely specs of flowers, and the warm dying flowers were pretty. And then, I turned my attention to the tree trunks. I saw detail--texture, shapes and layers of patterns--maybe for the first time. Walking home, I could only think I live in one beautiful place. 

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DSC_0676

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Reds

2005 Tedeschi Amarone Classico della Valpolicella

Whites

2008 R.H. Phillips Toasted Head Chardonnay.  Oak with buttery texture. I would match this one with smoked salmon.

2006 La Chablisienne Chablis Les Vénérables Vielles Vignes . Floral and fruit flavours Well balanced wine. An elegant wine.

Out of the two whites I enjoyed most the Chablis. I believe this Chablis makes me happy. 

2006 La Chablisienne Chablis Les Vénérables Vielles Vignes

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Over the years I've discovered that Chinese food is high in nutrients, low in calories and well-balanced. Meat doesn’t dominate the cuisine—vegetables do, and fish plays an important role. There are no dairy products, very few animal fats, and grains are plentiful. Sweets? Well, there’s not much. The texture is usually crisp, delicate, but I’ve tried heavy and oily dishes plastered with MSG-- not  a big fan of the stuff.

The other thing that’s unique about Chinese cooking is the technique; it’s pretty much all about stir-frying. A small amount of oil is poured into a super hot work and few ingredients are added, stirred and cooked in a short period of time; there’s no slow cooking here. It's all about speed. This technique requires ingredients chopped up into uniformly small pieces so that the food will cook evenly, absorb the seasoning and retain their freshness, juiciness and crispness.

Here are a couple of my favourite healthy, easy-to-do recipes: a soup, an appetizer, and main dish. 

Hot and Sour Soup

7 oz extra firm tofu, drained

4 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

3 tbsp cornstarch, plus an additional 1 ½  tsp

1 boneless breast of chicken, cut into 1 X 1/8 inch matchsticks

3 tbsp cold water, plus 1 additional tsp

1 large egg

6 cups chicken broth

1 cup bamboo shoots

2 oz dried shiitake mushroom, soaked in hot water to soften and sliced thin

5 tbsp black Chinese vinegar

1-2 tsp chili oil

1 tsp ground white pepper

3 medium scallions, sliced thin

 Garnish

cilantro

Directions

1. Press tofu between two pie plates weighted with a heavy can for 15 minutes.
2. Combine soy sauce, sesame oil, and 1 tsp cornstarch with chicken in a bowl, let marinate for 10 minutes.
3. Combine 3 tbsp cornstarch with 3 tbsp water, set aside.
4. Combine remaining ½ tsp cornstarch with remaining 1 tsp water in a small bowl, add egg and beat with a fork until combined, set bowl aside.
5. Bring broth to a boil in a pot over medium-high heat.
6. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the mushroom and bamboo shoots.
7. Dice the tofu into half-inch cubes, and add to soup along with the chicken, including the marinade, stirring to separate any chicken that sticks together.
8. Simmer for 3-5 minutes.
9. Stir cornstarch to recombine. Add to the soup, increase heat to medium-high and cook until soup thickens and turns translucent, about 1 minute.
10. Stir in vinegar, chill oil, pepper, and remaining 3 tbsp soy sauce, turn off heat.
11. Drizzle the egg mixture into soup slowly in circular motion.
12. Let soup sit 1 minute, then bring to a gently boil and stir to distribute the egg.
13. Serve in bowls with scallion garnish.

Tofu and Cilantro

Shitake and Bamboo Shoots

Chicken and Scallions

Hot and Sour Soup

Postickers

2 cups napa cabbage, chopped

½ tbsp salt

½ lb ground pork or shrimp

2 tbsp ginger, minced

1 ½ tbsp garlic, minced

2 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp sesame oil

1 egg

1-2 cups chicken stock

package of Chinese dumpling  or wonton wrappers

Cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp cornstarch and 3 tbsp water)

Directions

1. Salt cabbage and let stand in a colander for 20 minutes. Rinse with water and pat dry.
2. Combine remaining ingredients except the stock in a large bowl.
3. Place a small mound of filling in centre of wrapper and brush edges with cornstarch slurry.
4. Crimp the edges if desired and rest the dumplings with sealed edges straight up.
5. In a hot sauté pan coated with oil, place dumplings flat side down and cook until golden brown. With the pan cover ready, add one cup of stock, cover immediately. Be very careful here, the liquid will splatter.
6. Cover until the filling is firm, about 3 minutes, then remove the cover and boil the liquid until it evaporates and the dumplings become crisp again.
7. Serve with dipping sauce.

Potstickers

Potstickers

Spicy Soy Dipping

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1/3 cup sliced scallions

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp sambal oelek (chili sauce)

Directions

Combine in bowl and serve with potstickers. 

Tangy Citrus Noodle

½ lb dried spaghetti or vermicelli style noodles

1 tbsp garlic, finely minced

2 tbsp oil

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp dry sherry or sake

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp light brown sugar

¼ tsp Chinese chili sauce

¼ tsp Sichuan peppercorns, grounded

1 tsp orange peel, grated or finely minced

½ cup green onion, chopped

¼ cup sesame seeds

Directions

1. Combine garlic with oil, set aside.
2. Combine remaining sauce ingredients in a bowl.
3. Toast sesame seeds in an ungreased skillet set over high heat until golden brown , add to sauce.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Lightly salt water, and then add noodles and cook until al dente, 3-5 minutes.
5. Drain noodles and transfer to a large serving bowl.
6. In a small skillet over medium heat, sauté garlic for 30 seconds, then add remaining sauce ingredients and bring to low boil.
7. Add sauce to the noodles, and toss well 

You can add steamed vegetables or shrimp to this dish

Citrus Noodle

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Friends I spent time with in Paris over the summer love Moroccan food, and took us to one of the hotest restaurants in the 11th arrondissement. I was surprised by the cool Paris and heavy duty North African vibe of the restaurant.  I was also surprised by the simplicity and the fresh combination of flavours of the dishes—from savoury tagine (stew), zucchini, and potatoes to the sweet and flacky shredded chicken with ground almonds. I recently bought Paula Wolfert’s Couscous and Other Good Food From Morocco, and working through the cookbook, so far I’ve had a chance to make one appetizer and three unforgettable, spicy yet sweet salads. You'll be surprised by how much you like these, and in particular, the colourful orange and walnut salad.

The appetizer is Bisteeya. This is a type of sweet and savory pie common in Moroccan cuisine. It's made from phyllo enveloping a filling of shredded meat or chicken, ground almonds, and spices. The most traditional meat is pigeon meat rather than chicken; you can also use shrimp or fish.

Bisteeya

1 cup butter, divided

2 cups slivered almonds

1 tsp icing sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup onion, minced

½ cup parsley, chopped

½ cup cilantro, chopped

4 cloves garlic

4 boneless chicken breasts

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp saffron threads, crumbled

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp tumeric

1 cup water

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

6 eggs, beaten

1 package phyllo dough

Directions

1. Melt 1 tbsp butter  in a skillet. Add almonds, cook and stir until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Coarsely chop almonds and toss with icing sugar and cinnamon, then set aside.
2. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a heavy large pot, add onion, herbs, spices, and chicken breast and water. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Remove chicken, let cool, then shred into 1 ½  inch pieces.
3. Bring remaining mixture in the heavy pot to a boil and cook until the liquid has mostly evaporated but is still moist. Add ¼ cup of lemon juice to pan.
4. Pour beaten eggs into pan and stir until the eggs softly set. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Heat oven to 400 F.
6. Melt remaining butter in a pot.
7. Unroll phyllo dough and place once sheet on the work surface and brush with butter, repeating with three more sheets into total. With a sharp knife, divide phyllo in four sections. Place some of the shredded chicken in the centre of each square, add some of the reserved egg mixture and top off with almond mixture.
8. Draw up corner of the phyllo and bring them together to form a small purse-shaped bundle, pressing gently to seal. Lightly brush exterior with melted butter and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
9. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.
10. Dust with cinnamon and icing sugar.

Bisteeya

Carrot Salad with Charmoula Vinaigrette

6-8 medium carrots, julienne

½ cup fresh lemon juice

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp cayenne

2 tsp ground cumin

½ cup parsley, chopped

½ cup cilantro, chopped

1 ¼ cups olive oil

salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Peel carrots and cut into julienne. Blanch briefly in boiling slated water and immediately refresh in ice water to stop the cooking and set the colour.
2. For the vinaigrette, combine the lemon juice, garlic, paprika, cayenne, and cumin in a bowl. Whisk in herbs and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Dress the carrots with the vinaigrette.

Carrot Salad with Charmoula Vinaigrette

Tomato and Green Pepper Salad

3 sweet green peppers

4 large red tomatoes, cored

I clove garlic, minced

Pinch of paprika

¼ tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

¼ preserved lemon (optional)

salt and pepper

Directions

1. Roast peppers over a grill or gas flame to blacken completely on all sides,  then place in a bowl and cover with saran wrap to steam for 5-10 minutes. Remove skins, core and seed and slice them into thin strips (see http://cordonblues.vox.com/library/post/so-easy-grilling-sweet-peppers.html).
2. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Drop in the tomatoes and boil for 15 seconds. When cool, peel tomatoes and remove skins and seeds. Cut into slices.
3. Combine peppers, tomatoes and remaining ingredients, except preserved lemon into a bowl.
4. Rinse preserved lemon under running water, cut away the pulp. Cut the peel into fine dice and sprinkle over salad.
5. Serve cool.

Preserved Lemons

Tomato and Green Pepper Salad

Orange and Walnut Salad

3 navel oranges

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp sugar

pinch of salt

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp orange flower water

¾ cup walnuts

Directions

1. Toast the walnuts in a 350 F oven for 4-5 minutes. Cool and chop coarsely.
2. Peel the oranges with a paring knife, and remove each segment carefully while working over a bowl to catch the juice.
3. Make a dressing by mixing the lemon juice, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange flower water, and 2 tbsp of reserved orange juice.
4. Arrange the orange sections on a serving plate, tops with dressing sprinkle with walnuts and dust with cinnamon. 

Orange and Walnut Salad

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Lina's wine doodle

After seeing the beautiful wine country of Burgundy and meeting wine makers in France, and tasting their product I realized I had to learn more about wine. So here I am in my first sommelier class; getting drunk and doodling a lot. 

This kind of hands-on study was surprisingly a lot of work. First we had to yank corks out of bottles, then identify appearance, aroma, taste, texture and guess each bottle of wine. This was not easy. Appearance? Hmmm….yellow, what kinda of yellow? I won’t go there. Aroma? Sailors breath? Sunday morning regret? Taste? Jelly beans and anti-freeze? All wrong. 

Actually this was one of the happiest sit-down classes--everyone was positively happy. What I am going to get out of this? I am going to learn how to taste wine and appreciate it, and know the best wines on the market.

The ones I liked in our first class was the:

-Pierre Sparr Alsace Gewurztraminer.  I think this white would be great with spicy food—Thai  or Indian.

Pierre Sparr Alsace Gewurztraminer

- Beringer White Zinfandel California. This rose would be good with appetizers. 

Beringer White Zinfandel California

-George Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages. Nice red to drink.

George Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages

They say Bordeaux is somewhat of an acquired taste, so I am not completely writing off the 2004 Chateau de Terrefort Quancard. This had a short finish, and it was a young wine, it was suggested that a Bordeaux is good when it’s at least 10 years old. 

2004 Chateau de Terrefort Quancard

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Lebanese food is one of my favourites. This middle-eastern gastronomy is rich in texture and ingredients, but it’s also very straightforward and inexpensive to put together. You'll love mixing up these herbs, spices and exotic flavours in the Lebanese pantry:

- nuts: pine nuts, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, almonds.

- spices: cloves, cumin, nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon, pepper, paprika, sumac, thyme

-lemons

-tahini

-chick peas

-yogurt

-vegetables: lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, spinach

-bulgar

-herbs: parsley, mint

With the ingredients you can make some delicious appetizers. Mezza, similar to the tapas in Spain and anti-pesto in Italy, is an elaborate variety of hot and cold dishes. A typical Mezza consists of salads, such as tabouli and fatoosh served with hummus and baba ghannuj, fatayers, zahtar, stuffed vine leaves and, believe me, a lot more, like kibbi, ground meat served raw (kibbi nayyi) or baked. I love it baked, and I’ve it tried it raw and it’s delicious. The Lebanese pita bread is essential to every Lebanese meal, and can be used to replace the usage of the fork.

Tabouli

3 large bunches of parsley

1/3 cup bulgur

2 cups water

4 green onions, with ends

¼ cup fresh mint, chopped or 2 tbsp dry

2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 ½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1/3 cup lemon juice

¼ cup olive oil or vegetable oil

Wash parsley well, drain and shake out excess moisture. Soak bulgar in water in a large mixing bowl for 2 minutes. Drain well. Set aside preparing other ingredients.

Remove stems from parsley and discard. Chop parsley very fine. Add to wheat. Chop onions fine and add to the mixture along with the remaining ingredients. If not serving immediately, do not add tomatoes and onions until just before serving. Toss well. Serve with Romaine lettuce leaves. Tear leaves into bite size pieces and use to scoop up salad for eating. Serve with kibbi nayi, hummus or shish kabob.

Hummus

1 19 oz can chick peas

¼ cup tahini

1 clove garlic

½ tsp salt

¼ cup lemon juice or more

1/3 cup water (optional)

salt and pepper

Garnish

paprika

olive oil

In a food processor combine all ingredients,  except water. Only add water as needed to make a smooth puree. Blend for 2 to 3 minutes to a smooth paste. Place in a small platter or shallow bowl. Sprinkle olive oil and paprika on top and garnish with sprig of parsley. Serve with fish recipe, baked kibbi, tabouli or shish kabob.

Baba Ghannuj

1 large egg plant

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tsp salt

¼ cup tahini

2 tbsp water

¼ cup lemon juice

Garnish

parsley

olive oil

Set oven at 375 F. Wash eggplant and remove stem. Pierce with fork 4-6 times. Place in baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven and run under cold water. Peel and mash, set aside. In serving bowl combine garlic, salt and tahini. Gradually add water and lemon juice, beating well. Fold in mashed eggplant. 

Pita Bread

2 tsp dry yeast

1 tbsp sugar

1 ¼ cup water

3 ¼ cup flour

1 ½ tsp salt

2 tbsp canola oil

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water. Stir together the flour and salt, add oil. Combine the yeast and water with the flour and salt and mix. In a greased mixer bowl,   knead the dough for several minutes on low speed. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place for 2-3 hrs. Preheat oven to 400 F. Divide the dough into equal parts, and using your palm of your hands roll the dough into balls. Using a rolling a floured rolling pin, pat and press each ball of dough into a 5-inch circle about ½ inch thick. If the dough is stick, add flour to the surface.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes or until the pita are light golden brown.

Tabouli

Pita Bread

This is only the beginning of Lebanese cuisine, I've tried between twenty or more different dishes in my lifetime, and all leaving me wanting more.  Hope you love it as much as I do!

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Colour of Fall

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