I strongly believe that dietary habits play a large role in our ability to live a fulfilled life. Food is an essential element that aids in optimal physical and emotional well being. The body needs whole foods, foods in the natural state, and as nature provides them in order to function well. If this is done then balance is achieved both emotional and physically.

One may question how emotional well being is linked with the food you choose to eat. In order to have a feeling of rightness about yourself and where you are in life you must first be happy with yourself. In my experience the only way to be fully happy with yourself is to feel good from the inside out. A way to achieve happiness on the inside is to fuel your body with nourishing foods. Ones that will aid in proper function of all your organs. When your organs are all completing their assigned jobs the mind will be clear and allow you to feel appropriate emotions in any situation.

It is well known that physical well being is linked with a healthy diet. To be physically fit is to have a body and mind that functions easily. It is the feeling of physical strength, endurance, and the effortless movement of your body. Your body needs specific nutrients in order for this to happen. These nutrients are found in real food, not food made by man or in factories.

Once balance is achieved it becomes easier to have a healthy attitude towards life, to care for yourself, and others.

Once I graduate the culinary program (two weeks...yikes) I hope to educate on the nutritional aspects of living a happy healthier life through good food. It is my goal is make the world a healthier place one palate at a time.

It seems like just yesterday my mom and I were unpacking my suitcases and getting me settled into my apartment here in New York. That was three and a half months ago. She arrived back in New York last Friday. She, Steve, my Grandma, Susie, Lynnie, Uncle Chuck, and a handful of family friends are in town to attend my "Friday Night Dinner". Although I was beyond thrilled to have everyone fly in for the event, it was nice to have my mom to myself for a couple of days.

On Saturday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and walked down to The Chelsea Market. One thing I love about my mom is her ability to walk anywhere, even when she has on uncomfortable shoes. By the time we got down to the market we were ready for lunch. One of her favorite East Coast treat is a lobster roll. Luckily for her there is a fantastic seafood mart in the Chelsea Market. After polishing off lunch we continued browsing the cute little shops and bakeries. We were planning on taking a picnic aboard The Intrepid ship for the Summer Movie Series that evening for dinner, so we bought cheese, bread, olives, veggies, and fruit to fill our basket.

The summer movies series event takes place every Saturday night aboard the Intrepid ship. The chosen movie is played on a big screen after sunset. Laying on the flight deck while surrounded with vintage airplanes and a beautiful sunset makes for an amazing back drop to an outdoor movie. So perfect that I managed to stay awake for the entire movie, a major accomplishment for me.

In addition to the cheese, bread, salad, and fruit we also brought some chilled tomato soup I had made in school. It was the perfect addition to our picnic.

CHILLED TOMATO SOUP
INGREDIENTS
-2 yellow tomatoes (4 to 5 oz each)
- 2 red tomatoes (4 to 5 oz each)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons chile-pepper water
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic

PROCEDURE
-Preheat oven to 300°F.
-Bake tomatoes in a shallow baking pan in middle of oven 10 minutes.
-Coarsely chop yellow and red tomatoes separately.
-Blend yellow tomatoes, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon chile-pepper water, and 1 teaspoon garlic in a blender until smooth.
-Force soup through a fine sieve into a large liquid-measuring cup, pressing hard on solids, and season with salt.
-Make red-tomato soup in same manner with remaining soup ingredients, straining into a separate liquid-measuring cup.
-Chill soups, covered, until cold.

Pour soups simultaneously from opposite sides into a bowl (colors will remain separate), using about one fourth of each soup.

Market Fresh

Going to the Green Market is a bi-weekly occurrence for me. Here shoppers not only have access to homegrown produce, meats, cheeses, jams, and honeys but a chance to meet the local farmers, bakers, and harvesters.Communicating with the farmers makes it apparent how much passion goes into the production of the food sold here. Much of the fare is organically grown, and all of it is local, including the grass-fed beef, farm fresh eggs/dairy, and poultry. To add icing to the cake, more than a few farmers donate end-of-day unsold produce to City Harvest, which directs food donations to food pantries and soup kitchens citywide.

I am a fast walker, as is my mom and sisters (it must be hereditary). Walking through the market is one of the few times I slow my pace down. I am one of the annoying shoppers walking at a snails pace stopping to observe every booth and snapping pictures. I borderline stalk the fresh produce. If restraining orders were given out for lurking around and starring at fresh produce too long I would be slapped with one (proudly).

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in a cooking demo at the market. We made a delicious garlic scape and purple potato soup. The smell of the garlic and the free samples lured the shoppers to our tent. Telling by how many shoppers bought garlic scape and potatoes, the soup was a success.

I recommend heading down to your local farmers market, picking up ingredients, and making the following Market Fresh recipe. All of the ingredients can be found at my local green market and hopefully yours too.

HALIBUT TACOS WITH ONION RELISH
INGREDIENTS:
-1 1/2lb halibut fillets, bones removed
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1/2 teaspoon cumin
-1/2 lime, juiced
-1 tablespoon garlic, minced
-3 tablespoon cider vinegar
-4 tablespoon red or white onions, diced fine
-1/2 lb cherry tomatoes
-3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
-10 tortillas
-sea salt to taste

DIRECTIONS
- Pat fish dry and season with salt. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
-On a warm skillet, sear the fillet on one side until the edges of the fish before in turn opaque. Flip the fish with a spatula, and cook until the fish is opaque throughout, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle cumin over the fish, transfer to a shallow bowl and flake fish apart with a fork. Squeeze lime over the top.
-While fish is cooking, make the onion relish. Combine garlic, vinegar, and onions and salt. Allow to marinate for at least 10 minutes.
-Rub the tomatoes lightly with olive oil and seat on the hot skillet for about 4 minutes or until the skin begins to darken.
-Heat the tortillas briefly on the hot skillet just long enough to warm though.
-Drizzle some of the vinegar and garlic liquid from the onions over the fish. Place the fish, onion relish, tomatoes and cilantro in center of each tortilla.

One of the last nights Taber was here we stumbled upon a darling cafe making crepes to order. Both the delicious smell and jar of Nutella in the window drew us in. I made crepes in school a few weeks ago. We filled half of them with a variety of fresh fruits and the other half with savory vegetables. When I get home I plan on attempting a homemade chocolate hazelnut spread. One without sugar as one of the main ingredients. Crepes can be difficult to make.The first crepe in the pan will not be successful (usually). Don't let it frustrate you, snack on the deconstructed pieces of it as you transform the rest of the batter into beautiful golden blankets.

Fill the crepes with whatever your taste buds desire. Sweet, savory, or a combo of both. Anything goes with these. My favorite crepe from class was a berry banana filling topped with a dark chocolate chili sauce.

BASIC CREPES
INGREDIENTS:
-1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar, (for dessert crepes; optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup 1% organic milk
- 2 canola oil
- 1/2 cup seltzer water, or club soda

DIRECTION;

- Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, coconut sugar (if using), salt, eggs, milk and oil in a blender; process until smooth, scraping the sides once or twice. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- Slowly whisk seltzer water (or club soda) into the crepe batter. Lightly oil a small nonstick skillet with a crumpled paper towel; heat the skillet over medium-high heat. Ladle about 2 tablespoons batter into the skillet with a small ladle or measuring cup; immediately tilt and rotate the pan to spread the batter evenly over the bottom.
- Cook the crepe until the underside is lightly browned, about 30 seconds. Using a small metal spatula or a fork, lift the edge of the crepe, quickly grasp it with your fingers and flip. Cook until the second side is lightly browned, about 20 seconds longer. Slide the crepe onto a plate.
- If serving immediately, fill and roll or fold the crepe. Continue to cook crepes with the remaining batter, oiling the pan as needed and stacking crepes as you go.

**To make a savory crepe batter add dried herbs to the batter.

Jinx

I took my level of "uniform decoration" to an entire new level today. After spending an hour garnishing my strawberry almond torte (the recipe I posted yesterday)with kiwis and strawberries I put it on top of the speed rack for later use, which is two feet taller than me. At the time, I thought this would be a safe spot for my beautiful torte. Out of the way of the hustle and bustle of the other chefs and away from the hot ovens. Little did I know that the biggest threat to my torte would be my own two hands. I reached up to take it off the speed rack to cut for service. What happened next is both comical and depressing. The torte slid off the cake stand, onto my head, and then onto the floor. The entire kitchen stopped and all eyes were on me as I stood in a pile of strawberry, kiwi, orange, and almond cake. Their expressions were somber, waiting to see if I was going to burst into tears, throw something, or laugh. I choose to smile. Partly to keep my tears from flowing and partly because I was in disbelief that I had just dropped a torte on my head.

Next time you have a bad day imagine me in the middle of a busy kitchen covered from head to toe in torte. Or even better, imagine the entire process of the torte sliding in slow motion off the cake stand, onto my head, and slowly dripping down my body onto the kitchen floor. Hopefully it will help you crack a smile.

What Color Will My Uniform Be Today

I have stayed true to myself while in school...by the end of the day I am always the messiest student in class. If I am cooking with tomato sauce, I end up with a white and red uniform. If I am cooking with chocolate, I will be painted in brown. Last week I made a curry sauce and managed to get yellow sauce on my shoulder. Now that takes talent. I have two takes on it. One- I am trying to stand out in a sea of white chef uniforms. Two-If I have to pay $3.00 every time I do laundry I am going to make the washing machine work for my money.

Today I decorated myself in red while making strawberry filling for my Almond Fruit Torte.

ALMOND FRUIT TORTE
INGREDIENTS:
-1 1/2 cups blanched almonds
- 3 eggs
-1/2 cup Maple syrup
-1 teaspoon almond extract
-1 tablespoon agar flakes (thickening agent)
-3/4 cup water
-1 pint strawberries, sliced
-4-5 tablespoons maple syrup
-1 tablespoon kuzu, dissolved in a tablespoon water
-2 kiwis, sliced thin
-2 oranges, supremed

DIRECTIONS
-Preheat oven to 350
- Oil and flour an 8 1/2 inch spring form pan
-Powder almonds in a Cuisinart. Add eggs, maple syrup, and almond extract. Process until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.
-Bake fir 20 min or until lightly golden. Top should be firm to the touch. DO not remove from the pan.Set aside
-In a one quart saucepan, soften agar flakes in water for 10 minutes. Cook covered, stirring often until agar is dissolved.
-In a separate pot, combine strawberries with 1/4 cup maple syrup and cook over medium, heat, covered, until soft. Puree in a blender. Put through sieve to remove seeds.
-Add strawberry puree to agar mixture, stirring well. Add dissolved kuzu to the pot stirring constantly, bring to boil. Continue cooking until thick consistency.
-Adjust sweetness with maple syrup, if desired.
-Allow strawberry mixture to cool slightly. Pour over cake (while cake is still in pan)
-Let mixture set then remove sides of spring form pan.
-Garnish with kiwis and oranges.

I made a whipped coconut cream by taking the milk fat off the top of the coconut milk (while still in the can), whipping it in the Kitchen Aid with some maple crystals, and vanilla. It was a nice compliment to the strawberries. It was also a nice compliment to my white chefs coat.

Great friends, fresh air, the ocean, and amazing food. Those four words sum up my weekend. A woman in my program invited the entire class to her house on Fishers island. We spent the weekend kayaking, swimming, clamming, cooking, and relaxing. It was the perfect getaway from the loud busy city.
Having eight culinary students in the same kitchen for the weekend ensures the meals will be good. On the menu- fresh guacamole, salsa, bruschetta, grilled pizzas with roasted pepper sauce, spring fava beans with asparagus, corn, and feta in a lemon dressing, and caprese salad for dinner. Followed by gourmet s'mores for dessert. For brunch we made pancakes topped with rhubarb strawberry compote and pecans. My piece of advice for everyone...invite a few culinary students on your next vacation. Your stomach will thank you.

GRILLED VEGGIE PIZZA
INGREDIENTS:
-1 cup warm water
-1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast (1 tablespoon)
-1 tablespoon rice syrup OR maple syrup
-1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
-2 1/2- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon kosher salt OR sea salt
-assortment of vegetable to grill and choice of cheese

DIRECTIONS:
-Combine water, yeast, and sweetener in a medium mixing bowl and stir until the yeast and sweetener dissolves. Stir in oil and 1 cup of flour. Stir in second cup of flour and salt. Sprinkle some of the remaining flour over a work surface and on your hands. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto the work surface. Gradually knead in additional flour until the dough no longer feels sticky
-Lightly oil a large bowl. Shae the dough into a ball and rotate it in the bowl to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft free place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Punch the dough down and knead it for about 1 minutes. Return dough to the bowl and let rise again, about 15 minutes.
-Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Form each piece into small disk. Brush oil on both sides.
-On an oiled grill, grill pizza on one side for about 2-3 minutes (until cooked halfway through)
-Flip pizza. Add the sauce, an assortment of veggies, and the cheese of your choice.
-Cook until the cheese melts and the dough is cooked through.
-To speed up cooking time, once the pizza is flipped and the toppings added you may place a large bowl over the pizza (trapping the heat).

We grilled eggplant, zucchini, onions, and peppers. For cheese we used fresh mozzarella and goats cheese. For the sauce we roasted red peppers, combined them with sweated onions, garlic, and salt. Into the blender it went until creamy. It was finished off with a splash of Tabasco sauce. It was a nice alternative to the basic tomato pizza sauce.

Our best culinary creation may have been the s'mores. We grilled them on the griddle to ensure the chocolate melted entirely.

GOURMET S'MORES
INGREDIENTS:
-8 whole Graham crackers broken in half
-one Theo's organic chili chocolate bar(70% dark)
-8 marshmallows (we used vegan marshmallows found at Whole Foods. One of the girls is a vegetation and regular marshmallows contain Gelatin)

DIRECTIONS:
-Preheat griddle
-Place one marshmallow and two chocolate squares on half of the graham crackers (8 halves).
-Top with second graham cracker half.
-Wrap each s'more in tin foil. Place on top of griddle until chocolate is melted through.
-serve immediately.