Time flies and my trip back home is sadly over. As years go by, it’s more difficult to be far away from my friends and family, probably because as you grow older, you realize what the essential in a lifetime is.

The good thing is that I am back to San Francisco with lots of new ideas. My layover this time was over 4 hours in beautiful Island. The airport is small but the quality of the stores is amazing as everything else in Island. I have used all my fancy Islandic salts from my previous trip, and lucky me, they had more for sale at the airport. This time I bought some grey lava salt with Islandic herbs.

I am still on my vegan diet and experiments and I love it. Even though France has a history and a culture of meat eaters, over the years it’s easier to find more and more vegetarian and vegan options.

This dish was inspired by my boring 8 hours flight from Reykjavik to San Francisco with nothing else to read and no other distraction than my magazines and meditation books! Believe it or not this is an express dish that is ready in less than 30 minutes, so something to keep handy when you have unexpected guests. For the salt substitute you can use any grainy salt like fleur de sel or anything with a crunchy bite.

The citrussy vinaigrette enhanced by ginger adds a wonderful touch to the zucchini. You will love this simple dish with bold yet smooth flavors.

Ingredients for 3-4

For the yams and avocado tartine

• 2 medium sized yams, peeled lengthwise and cut into 1 cm slices
• olive oil for drizzling
• salt and pepper
• 4 medium ripe avocado
• zest of 1 lime
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbs red onion, finely diced
• Islandic grey lava salt with thyme or fleur de sel
• avocado oil for drizzling

For the zucchini tagliatelle

• 3 zucchini
• 1 cup edamame
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs tangerine vinegar
• 1 tbs tangerine juice
• 1 tbs chives, chopped
• 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 tsp agave nectar
• salt

Preparation

For the yams

In a large tray, place yam slices and drizzle with olive salt, salt and pepper. Broil in the oven on both sides for about 10 minutes. The yams need to be tender but still firm, in order that they won’t break when handling them. Keep warm.

In a mixing bowl, scoop avocado flesh and mash with a fork. Keep some texture and do not mash to thinly. Add onion, lime. Keep avocado oil and lava salt for the end to drizzle.

For the zucchini/edamame

Form ribbons with zucchini using a spiral slicer or alternatively a julienne slicer, add edamame. In a mixing bowl, mix all vinaigrette ingredients. Pour vinaigrette on top of zucchini/edamame mixture and mix well.

Place some zucchini ribbons on a plate. Add one slice of yams and top it with avocado mash. sprinkle with avocado oil and lava salt.

I bought a juicer a long time ago. I thought I would start juicing, then after one week, I got tired of cleaning the juicer, so that went in the basement, where all the unused “things” sit. My basement almost looks like a museum of kitchen gadgets.

One week ago, for whatever reason, I decided to start juicing carrots again and bringing back the juicer from the dungeon. A boost of vitamin A would definitely not hurt my skin. My neighbor was telling me how her forehead skin spots (almost like vitiligo) disappeared after one week of drinking carrot juice. I love those kinds of stories, involving vegetables and proven health benefits, and not reading from a magazine.

So here I am at the store buying a tons of all kinds of carrots, thinking my skin will look soon gorgeous. I bought all the possible carrots I saw on the shelves: yellow, purple, thin, fat, long and short. It seems like there is a carrot party in the refrigerator.

After one day of juicing, I remembered why that machine was left in the basement for so long…the cleaning. It’s really annoying (that’s the least I can say), and it went straight back in the basement. Now, I have a lot of carrots to play with, it is a fun toy because you can use them and their greens in so many different ways.

Like any other root vegetable, you can eat the stems. You can make many things with carrot stems, such as soups, pesto, eat it as a saute green, etc…You no longer have to throw those away when you buy carrots by the bunch.

They don’t have a strong taste such as the mustard greens, they’re more subtle. These galettes are light and you need to eat more than two to feel replete, so eat them with a side dish other than a salad. You can add other spices but I like the combination of cumin, coriander and paprika.

Ingredients for 2

For the galettes

• 1 bunch carrots with stems
• 1 cup oats and oat bran (50-50)
• cashew milk
• 2 eggs
• cumin powder
• paprika
• coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• salt and pepper

For the carrots and edamame

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/3 onion, chopped
• 4-5 small carrots, peeled and cut in about 1.5 inches pieces
• 1 cup edamame, shelled
• 1 garlic clove, crushed

For the yogurt-tahini sauce

• 3 tbs Greek yogurt
• 3 tbs tahini
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon
• zest of q/2 Meyer lemon
• 1 tbs cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the galettes

In a mixing container, mix well carrots greens, oat bran and oats. Add cashew milk and eggs, let sit until the oats start absorbing the liquid and the mixture starts to thicken, and turns into a pasty texture. Add milk gradually so you will see the quantity you need. You don’t want extra milk to sit at the bottom of the bowl. That would mean you added too much. Add all other ingredients and mix well.

Heat olive oil in a pan and add the quantity of 2-3 tbs of mixture. When the galettes are golden brown on one side, turn on other side. Remove from pan and keep warm.

For the carrots and edamame

Heat olive oil in a pan, add onion, cook stirring until fragrant, then add carrots and edamame. Add 2 tbs dry white wine, salt and pepper and cover with lid. Let cook at medium temperature until the vegetables are soft but a bit crunchy. Add garlic and stir for a few minutes.

For the yogurt tahini sauce

Mix well all ingredients together and serve sauce with galettes.

Today I had to battle my demons, and stop obsessing about some terrible thing that happened recently, so I decided to try anything I could, and went for a long run. It did help somehow. After a few hours of running in circles, I went home and had no idea what I would make for lunch. I had no appetite and and no inspiration either. I found among my million items in my pantry those edamame fettucine I bought along with the black bean spaghetti a while ago.

So basically, edamame and mung bean fettucine are simply a type of pasta made with edamame and mung bean flour, that’s why they have this beautiful light green color. In the picture they could be blending with the cabbage color, but if you look closely, you can distinguish the fettucine.

This type of pasta is filled with fibers and proteins, so you will not feel bloated or stuffed as you would when eating regular white flour pasta. They are easily digestible, nutritious and very delicious. They remain a bit chewy and al dente, and personally I love chewy textures.

The combination of the sweetness of the cabbage and peas, complement the nuttiness of the noodles, so we have a very balance dish as far as textures and flavors. I ate two whole plates so this portion is enough for three people, or two if one of them is very hungry.

Ingredients for 2-3

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/3 yellow onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cabbage, finely sliced
• 1 tbs mirin
• 1/2 cup peas
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 handful of shrimps, peeled and deveined
• about 3.5 oz (or 120 grams) edamame fettucine
• salt and pepper

 Preparation

Heat olive oil in a pan, add onion and let soften about 5 minutes at medium temperature. Add cabbage and mirin. Cook and cover until cabbage softens but still a bit firm and mirin evaporates. Add peas, shrimps and garlic. Cook until peas and shrimps are cooked. Adjust with salt and pepper. In the meantime, cook fettucine in hot salted boiling water until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain and serve with cabbage, peas, shrimps mixture. Drizzle some extra unrefined extra virgin oil on top and serve hot.

I usually eat my beets cooked. This time I decided to eat them raw and grate them, like you would do with carrots. They’re equally delicious, and thinking about it, prefer them raw, their texture is crunchy like a carrot and their sweetness is even more pronounced. For people who hate beets, I would suggest to give it a try to eat them raw. France is a big importer and consumer of hearts of palm, I remember when I was young, my mom used them a lot in salads, so I was glad I could find some in the store here. Basically it’s the middle of the palm trunk that has been cooked. This salad has a lot of textures, and complimentary flavors (nutiness of the edamame, sweetness of beets and carrots) so it’s quite interesting for the palate. It’s bright, it’s fresh, it’s crunchy, so pretty to look at too. The carrots are cut with a peeler to make ribbons, you can’t really yell on the picture since they’re at the bottom of the plate. I used a special vinegar I brought back from France, it’s made with raspberry pulp and is not as acid as regular raspberry vinegar but more fruity and thicker. Here it is – Those fruit pulp vinegars are becoming very popular, they add a lot of character to any dish. You can find different flavors such as mango, fig, etc… Ingredients for 2

• 2 medium size golden beets, peeled and grated
• 4 medium size carrots, peeled and cut in ribbons
• 1 can of hearts of palm, cut in 1 inch pieces
• 4 tbs edamame

For the vinaigrette

• 4 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs raspberry pulp vinegar
• 1 tsp cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Make ribbons with carrots using a potato peeler. Grate beets. Place carrot ribbons on a plate, then add beets.

Divide edamame around and lay hearts of palm all around the plate. Poach eggs.

For the vinaigrette, mix ingredients together. Pour vinaigrette on top of the salad. Add egg and add extra vinaigrette on top.

Nouille in French means noodle of course, but if you call someone a “nouille“it’s not really a compliment and means you are calling this person an idiot. So today, I do feel like a nouille, because I keep buying soba noodles and never eat them. Actually, I rarely think of preparing or eating soba noodles, probably due to my Italian upbringing…even though my pantry is filled with all kinds of soba.

I see them every day, but no… the idea of eating them, does not even cross my mind. I look at them and think, oh wow! I have so many soba in there. That’s it…the thought stops there. Isn’t that strange? It’s funny how we get stuck into habits. Well, today I decided to make a change, free some space in the cabinets = EAT SOBA. Of course, soba being Japanese, I didn’t want to prepare them the Italian way, and offend them. I tried to be faithful to their essence. For whatever reason, soba reminds me of Geisha, something delicate, and complex at the same time.

Since I have been cooking a lot of vegan meals lately, I can assure you that this dish would please any vegan out there. I combined some Eastern-Western flavors and everything made sense in this dish, from the textures, to the flavors, the colors. Yes, everything. The herbs make it fragrant, taste fresh, the lemon gives it a clean aftertaste, and all combined with the natural nuttiness and sweetness of the buckwheat make it a perfectly balanced and delightful dish. As we say in French “Essayer, c’est l’adopter“, to try it, is to adopt it…so just try it.

Ingredients for 2

• 220 g buckwheat soba
• 1 cup edamame, frozen
• 2 zucchini, sliced
• 4 Chinese cabbage leaves, thinly chopped
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1.5 cups basil leaves
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

In a blender mix garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Blend to a fine consistency. Add lemon zest. Set aside.

Grill zucchini on both sides using a grill pan. Cut in 4 pieces. Boil edamame in boiling water for a few minutes or place in microwave to defrost. Saute cabbage in 1 tsp olive oil.

Cook soba for about 5 minutes in a slightly salted boiling water. Rinse in cold water. Combine all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Add pesto and toss well. Eat cold or at room temperature.

Quail eggs are underused in my opinion…aren’t those adorable? l love those tiny and cute eggs, they’re so delicate with a very fragile shell, and certainly can enhance any velouté. I like anything that comes in a small portion, the beauty of such a tiny egg is that you can fit it all in your mouth and break it inside if you like or break it on top of your soup. As far as eggs are concerned, I have this thing about breaking them, and I hate to see the yolk all over the place.

You can make this soup with just fava beans or peas, or also a mixture of both, they both have very velvety and sweet flavors when puréed. The edamame remain a little crunchy, so it’s important to cook them a little longer and blend them longer too so they are completely puréed into a smooth texture.

If you cannot find quail eggs, you can always use one regular poached egg instead.

When poaching eggs, adding some vinegar is quite an important part of a successful process. Usually the quantity of vinegar is about 10% of the water quantity, and the water needs to boil at high temperature, then to be decreased when pouring the eggs, this way, the whites coagulates around the yolks and don’t get spread out in the water.

Ingredients for 4

• 12.34 oz (or 350 g) fava beans (net weight without the pods)
• 3.52 oz (or 100 g) edamame (fresh or frozen)
• 1.5 shallots, chopped
• 2 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tbs crème fraîche
• vegetable broth
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 12 quail eggs

Preparation

Cook fava beans in a pot of boilng water for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and peel them. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a pan, then add shallots and garlic and brown them. If using frozen edamame, add them and cook for about 10-15 minutes, then add peeled fava beans.

Cover with broth, adjust with salt and pepper and cook for another 10 minutes. Add cream and blend in mixer or using an immersion blender. Pass the soup through a sieve and keep warm. IF the soup is too thick add broth to desired consistency.

For the quail eggs, bring about 2 cups of water to a boil with vinegar (preferably white vinegar). Reduce heat. Break carefully quail eggs in a container, then pour them in water, making sure the whites remain around the yolk, using a spoon, keep whites close to the yolks. Cook for one minute, remove from water, and place in a cold water to stop the cooking process.

Divide soups in bowls, then add three poached eggs, sprinkle with paprika and olive oil and serve.

Yes spring is on its way, well some days it feels like summer, then the following day the rain keeps pouring but I just want to believe spring is coming (never under estimate the power of denial), so I am starting to eat and experiment more salads dishes to get in that mood..but to be honest, it’s especially because my diet has been lacking raw leaves lately.

As much as I love San Francisco, I miss the four seasons, and not the two seasons of summer and winter like in some areas of the East Coast. The four seasons with four different climates, therefore a more gradual change of vegetation and variation of garde-robe (wardrobe). Here you go from wearing boots to wearing sandals, which is somehow radical, there is no springs clothes. It makes things easy at least.

This salad is not necessary “springy” nor “summery” since it doesn’t have any seasonal vegetables, but it’s very fresh and has a great combination of textures. The addition of edamame in salads is always a big pleasure, their delicate crunchy bites is delightful, and more so with a ginger-lime vinaigrette. I love to use avocado oil when combined with ginger, it’s as fruity as olive oil but not as strong and enhances the dressing without drowning the dish due to the powerful flavor of the ginger.

The other characteristic of this salad is that the shrimps and langoustines are mixed with the spinach while hot, so the spinach leaves get entangled with the seafood and become semi-cooked and lukewarm, therefore absorb the vinaigrette much better. Lukewarm spinach salads are my favorites.

Ingredients for 2

• 10 medium size shrimps
• 10 langoustine tales
• 1.5 cups baby spinach
• 1/2 cup edamame, shelled
• 1 inch ginger root, peeled and grated
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbs avocado oil
• cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the vinaigrette, mix lime juice, avocado oil, ginger, cayenne, salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir all ingredients well.

Saute shrimps and langoustines tales in hot olive oil, add salt and pepper. Drain olive oil.

Mix edamame with spinach, add hot seafood to the spinach and vinaigrette. Toss well and serve.

Summer is around the corner and we just want more greens and lighter meals for those hot summer nights…I don’t know if you’re like me, but during summer I mainly eat salads, fruits and greens. I just had my first peach of the season tonight, it was still a little hard, and not very sweet…I can’t wait for summer to show up so I can live on peaches.

With six zucchini, you can make a huge quantity of those tagliatelle (tagliatelle is the Italian pasta, it’s flat and long and 1/2 inch thick, not sure how you call this in English). I really like the combination of zucchini and edamame, they both remain crunchy and full of texture. The interesting thing is that you feel like you are eating carbs but you’re just eating vegetables so you feel light and energized.

I try not to eat carbs at night, I tend to sleep better and I love to go to bed feeling light as a feather, and get up in the morning with a healthy hunger, avec le ventre qui gargouille.

I like those as a main vegetarian dish with nothing else, they’re so satisfying, but you can serve them with any grain or meat dish of your choice. 

Ingredients for 4

• 6 zucchini
• 1/2 lb edamame
• 1 shallot
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 1 tbs black sesame seeds
• olive oil
• rice vinegar
• salt and pepper

Preparation

First slice the zucchini with a potato peeler. Keep in a large container.

In a wok, heat up olive oil, add shallots, brown them. Add ginger and garlic, stir then add zucchini. Cook for a few minutes only, to keep them crunchy. Add edamame, vinegar, salt and pepper, sesame seeds. Stir carefully not to break the zucchini, mix all ingredients. Add cilantro at the end and serve hot.