This Light Salad is really quick to prepare and even you don't have a mess to clean up afterwards. This because you only need a grill pan and a mixing bowl plus the obvious chopping board. You can marinate your veggies few hours prior to grill or you can just marinate them until you have your grill hot and ready to be used.

For this Salad I used vegetables found freshly in every market but other substitutes like aubergines, onions, peppers and leeks can also be used.

Grilled Vegetables Salad

Ingredients

2 courgettes, cut into round slices

4 mushrooms caps

2 tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

few parmessan shavings

extra virgin olive oil

1/2 romaine lettuce

pinch of tarragon herb

salt & pepper

Method

• In a mixing bowl marinate the courgettes, mushroom caps and the tomatoes in 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tsp of Tarragon herb & salt & pepper.

• Heat up the grill pan and start off to grill all your vegetables. They should take approximately same cooking time about 2/3 mins on each side.

• After you wash and dry your romaine lettuce, break it into small pieces with your hands and place it as your base for the salad.

• Plate your grilled vegetables onto the salad leafs and in the end add some parmessan shavings. A drizzle of balsamic vinegar can be added to give a sharp taste to this light salad.

• When you have to cut and then wash your Lettuce always use your hands as when you use a knife your lettuce leafs will turn brown after some hours

• Make sure you dry well your lettuce with a help of a salad spinner your lettuce or other salad leafs can long for 3 days in a tip top condition.

• Make sure your grill is hot when you place your vegetables to obtain a great result. If the grill is not hot you'll going to have a boiled vegetables and without that beautiful grill marks.

Mr. Christopher Cutajar has just won the 2 bottles of Wine after his participation in the PTF February Competition. The answer was 'Strawberries'.

Thanks everyone who have took part once again in this FREE Competition.

By adding less stock liquid or water required to your soups helps also for the right and perfect creamy consistency. Adjust after you have blended the soup itself and correct by adding more hot stock in case you need to.

In this Courgette & Carrot Soup, I used to fry the vegetables in the sun dried tomato oil that I preserve in a tight lid jar. This oil is just another amazing add on to use instead of the olive oil. It just gives you that flavor kick for this delicious soup.

Courgette & Carrot Soup

Ingredients

2 onions, medium size roughly chopped

4 courgettes, medium size roughly chopped

4 carrots, medium size roughly chopped

150g pumpkin roughly chopped

2 potatoes, medium size roughly chopped

4 bay leafs

2 sprigs of rosemary

1 litre vegetable stock

2 tbsp sun dried tomato oil

salt & pepper

Method

- In a deep pot heat up the sun dried tomato oil and then add the onions to sweat off.

- Add the carrots, courgettes and pumpkin to the pot to continue the process of frying.

- While mixing continously add the bay leafs, the rosemary and the potatoes.

- Leave to cook for about 3 mins and then add the vegetable stock

- Boil for 8-10 mins then blend everything. Season with salt and pepper

- Serve hot with fresh bread or toasted bread

Make sure to take a note of these Aphrodisiac Foods than will enhance the vibe of your romantic night this Valentine. If you are going out eating dinner in a restaurant try to choose some of the food ingredients below. Or if you are going to impress your lover with a homemade dinner course try to introduce these ingredients in your romantic menu.

Strawberries - They were cultivated by the Romans as early as 200 BC and in mediaeval times strawberries were regarded as an aphrodisiac and a soup made of strawberries, borage and soured cream was traditionally served to newly-weds at their wedding breakfast.

Rocket - The peppery flavoured leaf Rocket was always rumoured to be an aphrodisiac, and was banned from monasteries in twelfth century Italy.

Oysters - contains very high levels of zinc - a known stimulant for the prostate and therefore an aphrodisiac for men in particular.

Ginger - Spicy food has a long history of spicing up love affairs. In India ginger and cardamom are added to food to give couples more zest in the bedroom. There, more than anywhere, the relationship between delicious meals and a successful love life are vital.

Asparagus - Many foods thought to be aphrodisiacs were considered so because of their phallic shape. Asparagus however, has more than suggestive form. It is rich in vitamin E, a vitamin considered to stimulate production of our sex hormones and may be essential for a healthy sex life.

For More Aphrodisiac Foods… click here

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Watch out for the food that will turn off your romantic mood. Try to avoid them if you are to choose from a Menu you’ll be handed in that special night. Read well the Menu description not just the Romantic Dishes names that you will fall in love with. If you are not sure ask the waiter for more assistance.

5 Anti-Aphrodisiac Foods

Coriander - coriander is regarded as an aphrodisiac--and, indeed, if consumed in large quantities, it acts as a narcotic. Its crushed seeds--which now primarily come from Morocco and Romania--are today used to flavor gin, liqueurs, hotdogs, chewing gum, and cigarettes.

Cornflakes - Cornflakes originally had no sugar and were served to the patients in his psych ward. Kellogg the inventor of cornflakes believed that bland cornflakes equaled a bland bedroom.

Marjoram -This is just the opposite of being an aphrodisiac. This helps suppress or control the sexual desires. This property is beneficial for those who are suffering from abnormal and extreme sexual urges.

Soy - There's a persistent rumor that monks eat soy to stave off sexual urges.

Gin & Tonic - the principle ingredient in tonic water can lower testosterone levels. And gin, like any alcohol, can inhibit sexual performance. Of course, alcohol also inhibits inhibition itself, so maybe this one's neutral.

That’s what I always love, that I can find herbs and vegetables always fresh just around the corner. As a Pasta Lover I always make sure to use the freshest products as possible for my sauces. This Pasta sauce recipe is very light and refreshing to do for a wonderful lunch. I used Tuna in brine for the sauce for a much healthier sauce although you can use Tuna in olive oil if you already have stored in your dry food storage. Another thing that is more suitable to use is frozen chopped spinach which I find very useful to many sauces & soups. As fresh spinach can be seen of a too much work and hassle to prepare & use, the frozen chopped spinach is a great alternative for this recipe. I used the frozen spinach as of time management for the quick & healthy recipe.

Spaghetti Tuna & Spinach

Ingredients

1 big tin tuna chunks

2 fresh tomatoes, small diced

100g chopped spinach, fresh or frozen

2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

1 small onion, diced

pinch of ground ginger

olive oil

Method

- In a saute pan heat the olive oil and cook the chopped onions and chopped garlic.

- Add the chopped spinach and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Then add to the pan the tuna chunks, the ground ginger and the chopped tomatoes.

- If you see that the sauce is dry, add some hot water from the Pasta Pot that you are cooking the spaghetti.

- Season with a little salt & pepper and mix the cooked spaghetti with the tuna & spinach sauce. The chopped spinach will give you a nice greeny colour to the dish.

Small Hint - They say it's aphrodisiac and it's widely used in this period of time.

It's up to you Now!

First 'PTF Guess The Photo Competition' of 2010 was a successful one with the local participants guessed the kitchen gadget photo which wasn't that hard to get it right as you might say.

The Winner of January is Mr. Jean Paul Galea who was chosen at random from the many participants who took part in the ever growing competition. The answer was a 'Hand Blender' an indispensable kitchen gadget needed in every kitchen. Congratulations to the Winner and also to who took part in the 'PTF Guess The Photo Competition'.

Here is the blurred photo & the original photo of the Hand Blender.

Stay tuned for the February Competition... Coming Soon!

1. Lettuce

All the salad leafs should be used fresh as possible. When they are stored in the freezer they will lose shape and they become limp.

2. Cucumber

This food ingredient contains a great amount of liquid caused by the seeds that contains. It is not suitable to freeze because it will lose flavour, lose its shape, waterlogged and it gets limp.

3. Tomatoes

Use them fresh or canned/jarred. Raw Tomatoes can easily lose their shape when frozen as they have 95% water.

4. Custards

Preferably store in your fridge and use within 3-5 days. If you freeze custard will become watery and tasteless.

5. Yoghurt

The best way is to use it from the fridge. Your yoghurt will separate when it is stored in a freezer due to acid content.

6. Whole Milk

Nowadays you find UHT milk everywhere. Long shelve life Milk will do the trick unless you opt for fresh milk. When milk is frozen it will separate.

7. Mayonnaise

The egg and fat content in mayonnaise when it is frozen it will separate. I advice you to buy your mayonnaise for longer shelve life as fresh mayonnaise will keep no more than 3-4 days in a fridge.

8. Onions

Due to water content, raw onions are better left out from the freezer as the will become watery and very limp. If they are cooked they can be preserved in the freezer though once again the flavour won’t be the same.

9. Potatoes

Storing your potatoes in a freezer may cause discolouration as it changes colour, the same as when you leave potatoes without covering them with water in the fridge. Also their texture will be lost.

10. Fried foods

When fried foods are stored even in a fridge they lose crispness. When they are stored in a freezer they will not just lose their crispness but even become soggy.

11. Cooked Rice

Freezing cooked rice will result into mushy tasteless rice. Rice will like get mushy as ‘over cooked rice’ with the below 0 temperature.

12. Cooked Egg Whites

If you have cooked egg whites e.g Egg white Omelette, in a freezer it will get tough & rubbery.  It’s best to avoid from your freezer compartment.

13. Sauces with Cream & Milk

Sauces like Besciamelle, Custards & other cream sauces tend to separate due to cream & milk content as like in the previous foods are best to avoid from freezing.

14. Meringue

The dessert meringue shells when frozen they toughen up due to the egg whites. Best to store in a dry place in a tight lid container.

15. Pumpkin

It is another vegetable to avoid freezing when raw. It will become soggy and watery.

16. Mushrooms

As they contain 98% of water, mushrooms will become soggy and they tend to discolour when they are placed in a freezer.

17. Radishes

This vegetable will lose its texture and the quality will be poor when frozen.

18. Basil

Basil is recommended to be used fresh or dried. When Basil is frozen it will turn its awesome green colour into black and it will become also tasteless when used.

19. Cream Pies

When cream pies are prepared in advanced you better check out the quantity per use as if you freeze them they will become watery.

20. Sour Cream

Another cream content that will separate and will turn watery when it is placed and stored in a freezer.

When you store the right foods in your freezer make sure you cover them well to avoid freeze burn either with cling film or an appropriate container that is suitable to place in a freezer.

Stick a label/sticker and write down the date you are placing the item into the freezer and the item’s name. It will help you recognize the frozen item the next time you’ll look into your freezer.