Love Me Tender – Valentine’s Day for Sumptuous, Sensuous, Healthy Fare

By: Jean Johnson for Body1

Plopped part way between Christmas and Easter, Valentine’s Day is perhaps most significant for marking our way through the dark, cold months. Also, with singles jockeying alongside couples for recognition, what was once a rather saccharin holiday strictly for lovers has expanded to embrace the whole of the population interested in feasting on sumptuous fare. Clearly it will be that way for Ashton Sterling of Beaverton, Oregon, who cruising solo, is hosting a dinner for four.

Eat Right

Are the recipes in our story a bit too gourmet or time-consuming? There are many doors into tasty, healthy cuisine, and half the secret in making a memorable meal is good ingredients. Some healthy, tasteful suggestions include: Smoked wild salmon Whole cashews Plump Mejol dates Greek olives Good cheeses, but remember to get them out in time to bring up to room temperature. (Usually an hour or two ahead does it.)

“For me Valentine’s always used to be about the chocolate. I even remember one year when I was alone as usual, I went and got myself a huge heart-shaped box of chocolates,” confessed Sterling Ashton. “Pretty pathetic, I know. And I would never have let you know about that little embarrassment if I hadn’t moved on considerably since then. Not that I still don’t have a few dalliances with my dear old chocolate friends, of course.” As Ashton blinks thick black lashes down over gorgeous blue eyes, it’s hard to imagine how she has not yet gotten her life entwined with another’s.

Truffles – Sweet and Savory

We at Body1 met Ashton in the produce section of New Seasons, an upscale market devoted to local, organic produce, milk straight from small mom and pop dairies, fish fresh from the sea, crusty artisan breads, local meats, and more flavors of olive oil and vinegar than one might have imagined existed.

“These days when I think Valentines Day, I think truffles,” said Ashton, although unlike most she’s actually thinking about the mushroom variety. “See these truffles? They’re from Oregon – both the black and white ones. Just like the French truffle gatherers take pigs out to find. They are so aromatic that the pigs root them out of the needles and duff under evergreen trees. It’s very big business since the French truffles go from $50 to $100 an ounce. That makes our Oregon ones seem cheap at just over $10 an ounce.”

She plans to make truffle whipped cream for a dense, chocolate torte held together by nothing more than ground almonds. “I’ll buy the torte from the bakery here since it’s a work day and I’ll only have time to do so much. That way, all I do is whip the cream – I get the local stuff in the glass bottles and leave mine plain without extra sugar – and fold the truffles in. After a three-course meal, you need something with a lot of zing that makes people perk up along side port and coffee.”

For those who’d like to try savory truffles, the rule of thumb is to clean and rinse the fungi well using a brush or tip of a knife to remove dirt from all the crevices. Store them no longer than a few days in an airtight, refrigerated container to contain their aroma.

Also, know that truffles take well to a little heat but never too much. One nice way to use either white or black truffles is to use them in a butter spread for melting onto baked winter squashes and potatoes, or thick halibut steaks. Chop the truffles finely and mix into softened butter which can be formed into a log, rolled in parchment or waxed paper and frozen for slicing as needed any time of the year.

Gratins

Truffles also work wonderfully on golden-crusted gratins, another French-inspired way to fill your loved ones’ mouths with morsels of totally sensuous and healthy food. Gratins are essentially baked vegetables or fish – or fruits for that matter – that have been first par boiled and then arranged in thin-layered casseroles along with things like crème fraiche and all manner of cheeses. Gratins come out of the oven bubbling and so nicely browned that they keep the fans coming back for more – especially if spiked with a scattering of thinly sliced truffles.

Cauliflower, sliced onion, and St. Marcelins cheese is one of our favorites, but since it’s Valentine’s, we thought perhaps author Christopher Felder’s recipe for oyster and champagne gratin was in order.

Oysters

For every six large oysters on the half shell, Felder uses a quarter cup of champagne and the strained oyster juice. He brings the whole works to a boil over medium heat and then immediately removes the oysters and puts them back into their shells on a baking sheet. While the broiler is heating, he reduces the oyster-champagne brew by half and whisks in three eggs and a quarter cup of crème fraiche. Once he spoons this over the oysters, he sprinkles the tops with a half cup of Gruyère cheese. Put everything under the broiler until the sauce is like any gratin is supposed to be – lightly browned and bubbling. Felder says to serve immediately, but we suggest scattering a liberal dash of truffles over the whole affair.

If oysters pique your fancy but large ones just don’t appeal, you can fry them like Ashton plans to do. “I plan on pan frying extra-small oysters and serving them with Myer’s lemon slices and glasses of champagne for a starter,” Ashton said. “Just a bit of bubbly, though, since it is a work night and also everyone knows that while a little alcohol furthers amorous intentions, too much puts a damper on the party – and the libido.” Ashton chuckles and blushes, but she still won’t say if cupid has a loved one in store for her this year.

After her fried oyster appetizer, Ashton will also move to gratins, although hers will be a mixed vegetable dish. “This is where I’m a Portlander all the way, so I’ll be working with what’s local and in season. My gratin will have carrots, beets, kales, parsnips, turnips, onion, garlic cloves that guests peel as we eat, and Brussels sprouts. It’s a gorgeous platter made that way with all the colors sectioned off and peering out from under crème fraiche and parmesan that I use for the gratin. Simply a superb dish, and one of Ralph’s favorites.” Ralph? Once again, Ashton colors and black lashes cover blue eyes.

Citrus and Whole Grains – For Valentine’s Day Breakfast

To us here at Body1, nothing has zing like citrus does. What’s more, if you’re trying to eat more in rhythm with the seasons like Ashton, now’s the time for citrus – ruby red Texas pink grapefruits, easy peel Satsuma mandarins, heirloom naval oranges.

We recommend getting a chevré, a nice round oval of goat cheese, bringing it up to room temp, and mixing it well with enough orange zest to get attention—but not overly so. Once armed with that, you’re ready for a Valentine’s Day breakfast to remember, whether consumed leisurely at the table with the newspaper or munched while easing into the morning commute, rich double espresso in the cup holder.

Basically the idea is to plop a nice spoonful of the zingy cheese onto some sort of warm whole grain breakfast bread – pancake or waffle (heart-shaped if you have one of those wonderful Scandinavian irons) or even a toasted English muffin – along with a few orange segments that could be sliced away from their membranes, if you have time. This simple creation nourishes the body as it says “I love you.”

Feed your honey and yourself this lovely way as the day begins, and you’ll find there’s more than enough energy come the evening to celebrate.

Whether you go for breakfast or our dinner ideas, we at Body1 hope you send the message to all the bodies that you feed this Valentine’s that they are worth great nutritious food prepared thoughtfully.

Last updated: 14-Feb-06