La Cuajada de Oveja

[Specialité au lait de Brebis Caillé]

What's this? Looks like a sort of yoghurt in a pretty pot, but it's not. It's la cuajada, a traditional milk-based dessert. The real ones are those made from ewe's milk and left to curdle with rennet from the ewe itself. I have come across it in the dessert section of traditional spanish restaurants' menu. Most popular in the North-eastern region of Spain where it originated, like Navarre and País Basco (Basque Country), cuajada is sometimes served with honey and fruit for breakfast, in place of yoghurt.

The creamy but light milk curd is sold commercially today with cow's milk. What a shame! The ones that come in packages, which you can make at home has starch and plant-extracted rennet instead. Hmmm....

Thankfully I found this pretty original version in an earthen pot in a typical small carniceria that also sells some cheese and other traditional food products. Also spotted this particular brand on the shelves of a fromagerie at Rue Mouffetard too. It seems like the food marketing strategy of this spanish product is pretty successful across the border. Oh, by the way, "Cuajada" means "curdled" in Spanish. Original huh?

Fine Teas Finds

[Sans y Sans Fine Tea]

If you stroll down Carrer de L’Argenteria towards the Cathedral de Santa Maria del Mar, look out for a classy little tea shop on the left side just across from the popular tapas bar Sagradi. Once you step in, your senses will be captivated by the fragrances coming from the varieties of teas, tucked in giant-sized tins on the floor-to-ceiling dark wood shelves. Let the simplicity and stylish displays draw you in as you flick down the pages of their tea catalogue to find a tea that suits your mood.

My first encounter with this Catalan fine tea outpost -- Sans & Sans Fine Tea Merchants, was a bag of rooibos and black tea blend called Samurai given to Lionel by one of his friends on his birthday last year. The red rooibos was infused with a certain fragrant and a type of blue flowers. Unfortunately I found out that they do not stock this particular flavor anymore.

The closest I got to was Flor Del Desierto, a rooibos with bits of dried papaya, traces of chocolate and orange, and real rose petals (pictured above). Yumm! Best of all, it's caffeine-free so it makes an ideal tisane (herbal tea) before calling it a night. Right now this "tea" is my favorite. The taste of the infusion is as sweet as the tea itself. It smells so good that I've been toying with the idea of doubling it as a drawer freshener by filling it up in a handmade sachet.

[Earl Grey Green Tea infused with Bergamot]
The other tea that I discovered is called Luxus. It's a green tea infused with Bergamot oil. So many teas to fit each one's taste... what could be done is making a sampler of your own since you can get everything in 100gm bags. Or if you fancy to enhance your tea caddy collection, they've got really cute tea tins in gorgeous colors for between 4-10€.

IN THE KNOW
Sans & Sans Fine Tea Merchants
C/Argenteria 59
Metro: « Jaume I »
Tel:93 319 6081
www.sansisans-finetea.com

More antioxidant-rich greens my way

[Easy Brocolli Salad]

Can't get enough of life-enhancing and age-rejuvenating greens? No problem. There's an easy way to make sure your fridge is stocked with a delicious tiny meal or snack packed with vitamins and antioxidants.

This brocolli-themed salad has all the health benefits associated to this produce. Traditionally used in Chinese medicine to treat eye diseases, western medicine have also proven that frequently adding this green into your diet will help fight against anemia and cancer. If you're like me, just barely grazing meat, than this important iron-source of the vege world needs to be a regular on the dining table.

[A good dose of beta-carotene and potassium]

A recipe given to me by an ex-colleague in the States. She told me that this was the only way she was successful in getting her kids chow down a bowlful of brocolli without them wincing the whole time. I love the fact that it could be a healthy snack alternative because of the raisins and sunflower seeds added.

Having brocolli raw in this salad also means that the vitamin-content is in its fullest. But don't worry, it's really pleasing to the palate because the apple cider works its wonder to soften the vegetables just to the right texture overnight. And here you go, the really easy recipe, in a low-fat version...

Easy Brocolli Salad
1/2 cup mayo (Original recipe calls for 1 cup, but I think that's too much!)
1 tablespoon mustard
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoon sugar
2 heads of brocolli, cut into tiny flowerets and pieces.
a handful of sunflower seeds (I used black sesame seeds instead in the pic above)
1/2 onion finely diced
a handful of raisins
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything up and keep covered in the refrigerator overnight. Serve cold.

*If you are not at all anxious about training for a beach-ready body, you can add the original 6 bacon strips that the recipe calls for. Just pan-fry them till crispy and cut them into tiny pieces and add them in with the rest of the ingredients.

(A Weekend Herb Blogging post hosted by Kalyn's Kitchen.)

Tarte Grand Mère

[Granny's apple tart from France]

Doesn't this look abosolutely irresistible? This is a dessert that we got in a patisserie in Paris before boarding the TGV train to Valence during the Easter/Semana Santa holidays. I can't remember the name of the place but it was at the corner of Boulevard St Germain and Rue de Bièvre near Maubert Mutualité.

What a treat! I have no idea how they were able to make such a thin and tasty pastry crust. Love the layout of the quartered apples. i found a recipe online, and it's in French. I did not decipher it but if you're interested, I'm sure you can find an excuse to use your French dictionary :) The recipe looks easy enough but I doubt I can recreate such a delightful dessert tart. To be honest, I have yet to hone my pâte à tarte skills. Knowing that a good pastry is the deal-maker, I've been somewhat fearful of this Baking 101 basic. Any brave foodies out there daring to take up the challenge?

[ Tarte Grand Mère ]
Pâte à tarte
Cassonade claire
Apples
Composition pour tartes au sucre
Crème pâtissière

-Faire une pâte à tartes, peser 180 gr.
-Abaisser, mettre en platine, remonter les bords.
-Piquer le fond, étendre une fine couche de crème pâtissière.
-Mettre une couche de cassonade.
-Déposer des rondelles de pommes épluchées et évidées.
-Verser de la composition à tartes au sucre, cuisson.