This is a lovely dish for cold winter days. It’s creamy and warming, yet healthy and very low in fat. This risotto is delicious by itself, or you could serve it with some Italian bread or a small side salad.

Risotto With Carrots and Parsley (Serves 4)

1/4 bunch parsley, finely chopped
350ml vegetable broth
300g orange and yellow carrots, peeled and shredded
1 small red onion, finely chopped
olive oil
200g arborio rice
500ml carrot juice
80ml dry white wine
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
salt and pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a big pot and add chopped onion. Cook until translucent.
2. Add shredded carrots and sautee for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add rice and sautee until translucent.
4. Deglaze with wine and cook until wine has evaporated, stirring frequently.
5. Add broth and carrot juice in batches and cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed and rice is al dente. Stir frequently. The risotto should be creamy and moist.
6. Stir in cheese, and season with salt and pepper.
7. Add parsley.
8. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with extra cheese.

Enjoy!

I recently returned from a trip to Lisbon, where I had some of the best pastry. There was literally a pastelaria (pastry shop) on every corner, and no matter what I tried, it was all delicious.

However, my absolute favorites were pasteis de nata. These are crisp puff pastry shells filled with a heavenly soft custard that is faintly reminiscent of vanilla. The little pastries are eaten straight at the counter, as is tradition there. Along with their order, customers are handed powdered sugar and cinnamon, which are sprinkled over the tarts.

The most famous place to eat pasteis de nata in Lisbon is at Antiga Confeitaria de Belem, which is a sprawling cafe just outside the city in Belem. The place churns out thousands of pasteis de nata every day, and their recipe is top secret. Don’t expect to walk in and get right down to business though – the place is hugely popular with tourists, and there is always a line.

I was anxious to try them, but I actually didn’t like them. The shell was too thin, and the filling too soft and eggy for me. My favorite pasteis de nata came from Casa Brasileira in Baixa, an old neighborhood in downtown Lisbon. Everything was just right about them, and the perfect contrast between the crisp shell and the creamy filling made me come back to this pastelaria way too many times during my trip. I ate copious amounts of their pasteis de nata, and I would fly to Lisbon just for an order of them! In the meantime, I’m going to do the next best thing, and try baking them myself.

Pastelaria Casa Brasileira
Rua Augusta, 267-269
Lisbon, Portugal

Antiga Confeitaria de Belem
Rua de Belem, 84-92
Belem, Portugal
www.pasteisdebelem.pt

This is a great dish when you’re pressed for time. There’s not much chopping, and once all the ingredients are prepped, the dish is finished in less than five minutes.

Chicken Stir-Fry With Baby Corn (Serves 4)

500g boneless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
200g baby corn
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 red chili, seeded and finely chopped
3cm piece ginger, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
2 scallions, sliced
80g sugar snap peas
3 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons oyster sauce, or to taste
2 tablespoons fish sauce, or to taste
1 teaspoon palm sugar

1. Blanch baby corn in slightly salted boiling water. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat oil in wok over high heat.
3. Add garlic, chili, and ginger and stir fry for about 1 minute.
4. Add chicken and stir fry until brown.
5. Add vegetables, one at a time, and stir fry after each addition. Don’t over cook vegetables. They should still have a nice “bite”.
6. Stir in oyster sauce, fish sauce, and palm sugar.
7. Serve with jasmine rice.

Enjoy!

“Monsanto is an agricultural company. We apply innovation and technology to help farmers around the world produce more while conserving more. We help farmers grow yield sustainably so they can be successful, produce healthier foods, better animal feeds and more fiber, while also reducing agriculture’s impact on our environment.”

In the 1970′s US company Monsanto developed and introduced a new herbicide to the market, Roundup. Its main active ingredient is glyphosate, which is highly toxic and has been shown to have a number of serious effects on humans and animals, ranging from endocrine disruption to genetic damage. Oral ingestion of even small quantities has proven lethal in humans. Despite scientific evidence of Roundup’s toxicity, Monsanto has made various false claims regarding the product’s safety for humans and the environment, and the company has even paid scientists and labs to manufacture false “studies” and test results. Roundup has been the number one selling herbicide in the world for the past 30 years.

Since the mid-90′s Monsanto has been producing genetically modified (GM) seed crops that are resistant to Roundup, called Roundup Ready. Roundup Ready crops now include soybeans, corn, canola, and sugar beet. Wheat and alfalfa are still under development. About 95% of all soybeans and 80% of all corn grown in the US is based on GM seed patented by Monsanto.

In an effort to expand its already far reaching dominance of the genetically modified and hybrid seed market, Monsanto has resorted to bullying its clients (= farmers) into signing highly questionable licensing contracts. The Associated Press (AP) obtained these confidential agreements, which are now under investigation by the US Justice Department for possible antitrust violations. Among other things, these contracts prohibit farmers from mixing Monsanto GM seed with GM seed from other manufacturers.

While it seems to be of little relevance to the end consumer whether his cornflakes come from GM seeds produced by Monsanto or DuPont, a de facto elimination of any competition leaves Monsanto in charge of controlling the price for those cornflakes. In 2008, Monsanto raised prices of some of its corn seeds by 25%, with another 7% increase planned for this year. The company raised prices for its soybean seeds in 2008 by 28%, and may raise them again this year by another 6%.

Never tired of defending its spotless reputation, Monsanto posted a response to the AP’s investigation on the company blog, explaining the principles of the free market and why it is impossible for Monsanto to do anything but good. Which makes non-organic cornflakes taste that much staler, unless you eat them with a generous amount of Posilac pumped up milk, but that’s another story…

This cake is especially delicious with a cup of hot Punsch or Gluehwein.

Spiced Chocolate Guglhupf

200g unsalted butter
100g sugar
4 eggs, separated
150g dark chocolate (70% cacao)
5 tablespoons whipped cream
100g milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
100g flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tabelspoons powdered sugar + 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon for dusting

-  Preheat oven to 350F/180C
-  With an electric mixer, cream butter until soft and fluffy. Add egg yolks and sugar and beat
until light.
-  Melt chocolate and cream, and add to butter and egg mix, incorporating well.
-  Add milk chocolate chunks.
-  Whisk egg whites, pinch of salt, and sugar until stiff peaks form.
-  In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and spices.
-  Carefully fold stiff egg whites and flour mixture into chocolate batter.
-  Pour batter in guglhupf form.
-  Bake in lower half of oven for about 55 minutes.
-  Invert onto cooling rack and let cool completely.
-  Dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon.