This is an extract from Lilith’s “Cooking with the Stars” segment on belly on February 15, 2010
AQUARIUS is the sign of ultimate individuality. It’s hard even for me to
generalize about Aquarians because each one’s a law unto themselves, but
their tastes in tucker do tend towards the experimental – an Aquarian once
gave me a cook book called Science Experiments You Can Eat.
They’re always delightfully different deviations from the norm who find the
tried and true ordinary and boring. Aquarians adore exploring new taste sensations and especially love inventing their own recipes which are distinctive and usually untraditional, because an Aquarian breaking rules is always a happy Aquarian.
Aquarian gourmets include the author COLETTE, who was born and brought up in
Burgundy and writes so incredibly sensually about food, thespian sauce
inventor PAUL NEWMAN and radical 20th century chef PAUL BOCUSE who invented
nouvelle cuisine, practically a culinary version of the French revolution
because it broke away from the traditionally rich, fattening cuisine
classique to present simpler dishes with lighter sauces.
Aquarians usually being ahead of their time in the trend setting department, they also like collecting retro recipes and usually have some family favorites handed down from their great great grandparents.
Another endearing Aquarian chef was The Galloping Gourmet GRAHAM KERR, who
the Heart and Stroke Foundation once called the Most Dangerous Man in
America because of his outrageously high fat, high cholesterol, high calorie
recipes accompanied by vast quantities of vino quaffed with gusto on his
tremendously popular TV cooking show. After his wife’s stroke and heart
attack, Kerr promptly did a 360 degree turnaround and created a whole new
style of cooking he called Minimax which minimized fats and maximized taste,
plus a TV series for the American Cancer Council featuring fruits and
vegetables called Do Yourself A Flavor Aquarians being nothing if not
adaptable.
Aquarian kitchens can be as eccentric as their owners and may contain an
absinthe fountain, grow your own mushroom kit and a food dryer but mightn’t
be equipped with a bottle opener or a sieve. Aquarians tend to be
magnetically drawn to bizarre combinations of ingredients. They’ll take experimentation to the outer limits – with varying degrees of success, but you’ve got to love the way they have a
go. Notable dishes I’ve been served by Aquarians include broccoli with blue
cheese and black olives, lamb cooked in coffee, lavender and rosemary shortbread and durian mousse.
Keeping in mind Aquarians’ love of the esoteric and obscure I’ve chosen a retro recipe from the Vogue Autumn Collection of 1987.
TOMATO ICECREAM WITH TOMATO COINTREAU SAUCE
Ingredients for Icecream:
4 medium tomatoes chopped
grated rind of 2 lemons, juice of 1 lemon
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1cup milk, dash vanilla
300 mL thickened cream
Ingredients for Sauce:
6 tomatoes chopped, peeled, seeded
grated rind + juice of half a lemon,
grated rind + juice of half an orange
half cup sugar
generous Graham Kerr size slosh of Cointreau
sweet basil leaves to garnish
Method for Icecream: Cook tomatoes till the consistency of thin jam and let
cool. Puree the cooled mix, pass through a sieve, discard solids, add lemon
rind and juice, set aside. Beat egg yolks and sugar together, add milk and
vanilla, cook over low heat till mix coats back of a spoon, let cool. Then
combine the 2 mixtures together, add cream and freeze.
Method for Sauce: Cook all ingredients except Cointreau to a thin jam.
Puree in blender, pass through sieve, discard solids, add Cointreau to
remainder and chill.
Serve a little sauce on each chilled dessert plate with tomato icecream in
the centre garnished with a sweet basil leaf.
by Lilith, belly astrogourmet and hula goddess
* see links to Aquarian chefs in the February 15, 2010 post in archives