Carrots are in the same category as broccoli…they’re all over the place, therefore lost their appeal and excitement.

Once in a while, I like to feature one of those “ordinary” vegetables” and give them a make over. When you really look at the different ways to prepare them, and the amount of vitamin A they contain, they’re not that ordinary after all. Besides, I think it’s a great way to have kids eat their vegetables if they’re not very inclined to. I have been thinking about a recipe to combine gorgonzola and carrots, but I was not quite sure how to combine it all together, first a savory cake crossed my mind or as we call them cake sale, then, I wanted something lighter with less carbs and since I love vegetables galettes of all kinds, here it is.

In France we say, that carrots make you pleasant, les carottes ca rend aimable, so I guess with all the carrots I ate today, I must be a pure delight to be around.

I really need this, San Francisco is entering the terrible summer season, with the fog rolling in, I thought that would be postponed to July-August and unfortunately, it seems like this year it’s happening sooner. I will probably end up eating carrots all summer!

The carrot-almond-cumin-gorgonzola combination worked very well together. The sweeteness of the carrots is a little toned down by the pungent gorgonzola and you get soft after taste of the almonds. The cucumber salad is quite simple and balances the whole dish.

The galettes tend to be tender because they do not contain egg, you might want to add extra almond flour. They need to be handled carefully.

Ingredients for about 6-7 galettes

For the galettes

• 3 large carrots, peeled and cut in halves crosswise
• 5 tbs almond flour or almond meal
• 1/2 ts cumin seeds roasted and crushed
• 1 tbs sliced almonds
• 6 small pieces gorgonzola, diced
• salt and pepper

For the salad

• 3 Persian cucumbers, peeled
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbs chives, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Steam carrots. When cooked mash with a potato masher into a fine consistency. Add almond flour, and cumin seeds, salt and pepper. Mix well and form little patties. Add one piece of gorgonzola in the middle of each pattie and close it to “seal” the cheese inside. Add extra almond flour on to coat each side of the patties. top it with sliced almonds. Place on a parchement paper and cook in a pre-heated oven at 375F for about 15 minutes until the top is slightly golden and cheese has melted.

For the salad, slice cucumber very finely using a mandoline. Squeeze excess water using your hands. Add all ingredients and mix well. If you get too much water, squeeze cucumbers again.

Serve on a small plate with a small portion of cucumber salad and carrot galettes on top.

Il y a du citron mais pas de vanille! Doesn’t this feel like summer? I am so ready for it…well a real summer somewhere…where it’s warm and sunny, where you can wear tank tops without a sweater on top, and where the fog doesn’t make your hair curl (it was my teenage nightmare, now I cut it, so no more curls).  Oh well, I’m sure I can find this place, I just have to drive 20 miles North or South from the city. In the meantime, I got myself in the summer mood with a chilled soup. I made this a while ago and since I had a lot of ripe avocados left, I thought it would be a good remake.

When I think of avocado, I think about skin care products, avocado’s flesh is incredibly smooth that I just want to spread it on my face, extremely delicate and subtle. Cucumber is also a wonderful ingredient for skin care as a matter of fact, so eating this soup makes me feel like I am just getting double benefits, nutritious and beautiful skin, even though I doubt that I will wake up tomorrow with a smooth and peachy skin like you see on magazines! Anyway, on peut toujours rêver, you can always dream about it.

I bought so many of those mini glasses for mise en bouche while I was in France, and they did not even break in the suitcase, so now I have to use them, and this chilled soup is perfect for these mini presentations. Actually I like to use mini glasses for avocado soup, avocado being quite high in calories, it’s better to serve it in small portions than regular plates.

What’s more perfect for informal dinners where you want to serve small bites and cute apéritifs to nibble on without feeling stuffed?

I don’t know about you, but my favorite dishes to prepare are appetizers and hors d’oeuvres. It’s where I have the most fun, probably because they are related to entertainment and that’s really one of my favorite activity (if that can be called one).

This soup needs to be consumed chilled, so you can prepare it in advance and leave it in the refrigerator until serving. It’s quick, tasty and delicious, so a “keeper” in my food world.

Ingredients for 15-20 mini glasses

• 1.5 avocado
• 1/2 English cucumber, peeled and seeds removed
• juice of 1 Meyer lemon
• 3 tbs Greek yogurt or regular yogurt
• 2 scallions, chopped
• cayenne pepper
• 1 cup or more vegetable broth
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Remove the flesh of the avocado, mix with cucumber and add lemon juice. Mix all ingredients well. Add all other ingredients and, using a hand blend, mix to obtain a smooth consistency.

For the broth, I added it gradually until I got the consistency I wanted. Avocado being creamy, you might need to add more broth.

Refrigerate for a few hours, and serve chilled.