Vitamins Part One! As the summer progresses it is time to stock up on essential nutrients such as vitamins. We will cover the most important vitamins in two parts; from a to b6, which will cover one part and then the rest. What is important is that in a healthy diet one seeks nutrients that are balanced out over the different groups and hold the essential oils, vitamins and mineral, something we will cover in future issues. What I have done is I have made a selection of the most needed vitamins what they are doing in the body and which sources are rich of them. Vitamin A Important for skin, helps with eyesight, and it is a powerful antioxidant. Richest Sources: Cod liver oil, halibut liver oil, ox liver, chicken liver, lamb’s liver, pumpkin, spinach, sweet potato, dried apricots, broccoli, cabbage, mature carrots, cooked carrots, cantaloupe melon, cheddar cheese, cherries, eel, kale, papaya, mango, sweet peppers, chilli peppers, peaches, prunes, tomato, watercress, dark green leaves and herbs, water melon, whole powdered milk, eggs, fresh apricots, organic butter. Vitamin B1 Essential it is, for the proper functioning of nerves, and all muscles including the heart.

As promised, here are the spices we have identified for you to have a look at. Spices have become very popular in contemporary Western cuisine. What would an apple pie be without cinnamon? Or a piece of roast meat without some freshly ground black pepper? Indeed, we use many spices and some of them come from very far. As their cuisines already reveal, India and Sri Lanka are some of the richest spice countries on the planet. When going a bit further east we find the Thai and Malay kitchens where also lots of fresh herbs and spices are used. We have a Thai Shrimp Soup on the menu in which I use lemon grass, black pepper, coriander, coriander leaves, lime leaves and Garlic. It’s fantastic. However for some really good Indian food I can just recommend Sue’s Indian Raja, they prepare very authentic and delicious Indian dishes. My favorite is palak with mushrooms instead of paneer. It contains lots of spinach, some cardamom and other spices and is ideal with some Naan bread and a salted Lassi! (Courtesy of Raymond Blanc, from the Book Blanc Vite) Cardamom is a natural diuretic and can help digestion.

Flor de sal is the Portuguese fleur de sel, the flower of salt. This salt comes to us from Rui Simeão a producer on the southern coast of Portugal in the Ria Formosa area. Their flor de sal is collected by hand using special tools that skim the surface of the salt pan to collect the thin layer of salt "flower" that forms on top of the water as the water evaporates.

Flor do sal is prized for its small grains, lightly crunchy texture and balanced, briny flavor. This flor de sal is certified by the French environmental organization Nature et Progres to be free of the industrial contaminants sometimes found in mechanically harvested sea salt. 

Section Five: Sharpening Step by Step