M-J’s Sweet or Savoury Coconut Flour Pancakes

My recipe for coconut flour pancakes can be adjusted to your taste. I sometimes add a few drops of Mapleine, which is in the spice section of the market, together with vanilla extract. For fewer carbohydrates per pancake, unsweetened almond milk is ideal to use rather than buttermilk. When making a savoury version, I usually serve sour cream on the side, perfect for a low-carb regimen.

Gelatine Dessert-Moulds

You can use nearly any wide-mouthed container in the kitchen for moulding gelatine, even milk-cartons. It’s fun getting creative with colourful stuff, even it’s going to disappear soon. Look at the trouble that goes into elaborate ice-sculptures. And hey, you can immortalise  your creations using a camera.

~~M-J

Tanimura & Antle’s Elegant Lettuce: Little Gems

I discovered Tanimura & Antle Little Gems lettuce lately, when my market was out of Romaine heads. These are so far superior to the usual Romaine that I’ve switched, and now only buy Little Gems. Not to be confused with my series of paintings from 2008 by the same name, which did come first. I’ve read that the Tanimura & Antle company trademarked it. For vegetable trays that feature dips, and for scooping tabbouleh, these lettuce leaves make excellent replacements for things like pitas and chips.~~M-J de Mesterton ©June 2017

Making Egg Pasta, or Pasta all’Uovo

Tiny, Highly-Functional Kitchen

One doesn’t need lots of space to have an elegant, organized kitchen like the one pictured here. Things just need to co-exist in coherent fashion. Large, white appliances combined with lemon yellow, orange and lime green cookware can give a unified appearance; I call the effect “harmonious clutter”. All the many tools in this kitchen are used frequently, so there really is no wasted space.
Heavy French and Danish pans are hung on stainless steel carts with practical S-hooks from the hardware store, saving the home-cook lots of kneeling and heavy-lifting at low cabinets. Ladles, spatulas, can-openers and other essential kitchen tools are hung the same way for easy access.
Cookware-Cleaning Tip: stubborn stains on cookware, sinks and fixtures can be reduced or eliminated by scrubbing them with a paste made by combining cream of tartar and a little vinegar. This acidic mixture is often more effective than an abrasive chlorine-based cleanser.

@M-J de Mesterton, May 2017

Simple Cake with Swiss Icing

You don’t have to be a perfectionist or a cake-decorating pro to make a layer cake look nice. Just get creative with some fluffy icing and add something charming as casual décor. Here, I’ve added some French dragées (candy resembling Jordan almonds) to a couple of white cake-layers filled and frosted with Swiss icing.

~~M-J de Mesterton, ©2017

M-J’s Potage Printanière aux Petits Pois

M-J’s Original Recipe: Potage Printanière aux Petits Pois

Photo and Recipe Copyright M-J de Mesterton 2007

I devised this spring pea soup for an elegant luncheon.

Potage Printanière aux Petits Pois

 

One 16-ounce bag of frozen petits pois, or tiny green peas (be sure to use the frozen variety for their intense colour)

Three cups of hot water

Herbs: savoury or herbes de Provence

1/3 Cup of sour cream or crême fraîche

Salt to taste

In a blender, mix together the hot water and frozen small peas until they are like soup. Pour the
mixture into a pot and heat it to simmering. Add a half-teaspoon of savoury or herbes de Provence, and a third-cup of crème fraîche or sour cream. Stir with a wire-whisk until the bits of cream are fully incorporated into the green soup. Heat again till just boiling, and serve. This recipe will serve four. Double the recipe by repeating the first step and adding the results to the pot, while repeating  the other ingredients as well. Add salt to your own preference. I use Himalayan salt. This soup may be served either hot or chilled. A small spoonful of sour cream or crême fraîche in the center of each bowlful will act as a garnish. 

~~Copyright M-J de Mesterton, March 2008

My Favourite Measuring Spoons

I like to keep my measuring spoons separate instead of on a ring, for ease of use. 

They’ve finally designed a set of measuring spoons that are engraved with both U.S. and metric capacities, shaped to fit into small containers, have four-inch handles, and are made of 18/8 stainless steel. Please visit M-J’s Traditional Household.

Making Pound Cake

M-J’s Pound Cake Recipe

2 Sticks of Room-Temperature Butter, OR One Stick of Butter and 1/2 Cup of Coconut Oil

2 Cups of Sugar

3 Cups of White or Unbleached White Flour

1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon of Salt

1 Tablespoon of Vanilla, OR Two Teaspoons of Vanilla and One Teaspoon of Almond Extract

4 Eggs

3/4 Cup of Buttermilk, OR Milk plus One Tablespoon of Lemon Juice

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream the butter and sugar, add vanilla and almond extracts, then beat until fluffy.  Blend in half of the eggs. Gradually add flour and other dry ingredients (I usually combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large measuring cup, & mix it with a fork so it’s ready to be incorporated into the batter); add the other two eggs, beating, then gradually add the milk. Beat for three minutes. Pour into a 13″ Pullman loaf pan, or two regular meatloaf-pans, and bake for 1.5 hours OR until a thin knife or skewer inserted into the cake’s center comes out clean.

Visit M-J’s Traditional Household for More Information

 I use a 13″ Pullman pan for this recipe.

M-J’s Traditional Household

The Tiny and Highly Functional Kitchen

 

One doesn’t need lots of space to have an elegant, organized kitchen like the one pictured here. Things just need to co-exist in coherent fashion. Large, white appliances combined with lemon yellow, orange and lime green  cookware can give a unified appearance;  I call the effect “harmonious clutter”. All the many tools in this kitchen are used frequently, so there really is no wasted space.

@M-J de Mesterton, May 2017

Please Visit M-J’s Traditional Household  for tips on kitchen essentials.

An Elegant Kitchen Cupboard is Easily Arranged

Groups of like-objects present a tidy appearance in  the busy pantry or full kitchen cabinet. ©M-J de Mesterton, the Elegant Cook

Green Tea Fights Influenza

Article by the Nutrition Reporter, Jack Challam: Green Tea Reduces Children’s Risk of Contracting Flu

Excerpt:

“Green tea is known to contain antiviral components that prevent influenza infection,” wrote Hiroshi Yamada, MD, PhD, of the University of Shizuoka, Japan.

Yamada and his colleagues analyzed questionnaires from 2,050 students, ages six to 13 years, in elementary schools in Kikugawa City. The questionnaires included information about their consumption of green tea.

You Can Make Pita Bread at Home

M-J de Mesterton’s Recipe for Pita Bread at ElegantCook.net

With one simple recipe, three hours or less and a rectangular pizza-stone, you can make eight ultra-versatile, classic pita loaves. See M-J’s recipe for making pita bread at ElegantCook.net The stone is featured at M-J’s Elegant Cuisine.

M-J’s Elegant Southwestern Salad

M-J’s low-carb southwestern-style salad starts with warm sautéed ground beef, onion and celery that has been flavored with chile powder or taco seasoning, which is topped with shredded cheddar cheese, finely-chopped romaine lettuce, tomato-chunks, dots of sour cream and green salsa. The ingredients in this individual salad are arranged elegantly and are only mixed together by the person to whom it is served. Bowls of additional sour cream and salsa can be available at your table, as well as strips or chunks of avocado doused with lemon or lime to prevent turning brown. Eating hot salsa can raise one’s resistance to colds and flu, which are no longer just seasonal. Hot peppers such as cayenne, jalapeño and serrano also enhance one’s metabolism. Ground beef can be substituted with grilled chicken, and for the chile-pepper enthusiast, strips of broiled serranos can be artfully placed on the lettuce. This hearty salad is a good source of protein and health-promoting produce any time of year.

©M-J de Mesterton 2017

Elegant Walnut Salad

Simple and satisfying, a salad made with Romaine lettuce and crushed walnuts may be enhanced with Cheddar cheese to make a nutritious luncheon dish.  The best dressing for M-J’s Walnut-Romaine salad recipe is a honey-laced vinaigrette.  For an elegant salad-design, toss the lettuce in dressing before arranging the crushed walnuts around the edges of your bowl. ©M-J de Mesterton

Home-Made Pizza

I made my own pizza-dough as usual, and fitted it into a copper pan, decorated with sauce, cheese, parsley and pepperoni, then popped it into a 400-degree oven. This is the gorgeous pie that slipped right out of my pan onto a trivet.

Here is another home-made pizza, fashioned with dough from my versatile pain de mie recipe. The soft stuff was stretched onto a 14″ round Granite-Wear pizza pan that gives the bottom of the light dough a crispy finish.

©M-J de Mesterton, March 2017

 

M-J’s Old Classic Sweater by Red and Blue of Milan

 

M-J’s 15-year-Old Classic Sweater by Red and Blue of Milan, Bought at an Italian Tailor Shop: Sir Roger Moore Wore the “Same” Sweater Several Times in His 1970s Series, “The Persuaders”, with Tony Curtis

 

This elegant, double-breasted classic sweater by Red and Blue of Milan looks superb on all sides! It has brass buttons on its cuffs and front. The sweater is versatile charcoal grey and rib-knitted, just like Sir Roger’s. It even has double vents in the back.

Take good care of your clothes,

and they will serve you well for decades!

©M-J de Mesterton