For the Spring 2009 Inspired by Compliments magazine I gave you a few ideas on how to use the good old kitchen staple "canned tomatoes". The "Tomato-Cheddar Soup" I created for the magazine is a favourite in my household, with the spicy and hearty "Turkey Meatballs Arrabbiata" a very close second!

At this time of the year we start thinking about our hearts, with February being Heart and Stroke Month (not to mention Valentines Day). I wanted to share a recipe that I created as a portion of my cook test during my interview for the Compliments Culinary Centre Chef’s position. In case you do not know, as a chef when you apply for a job they make you cook for a panel of interviewers. I was given Chickpeas and low fat yogurt and challenged to create a flavourful, innovative dish. Below is what I came up with, I think that they liked it, I got the job!!

I really enjoyed Chef Ian’s "Taste of Japan" story in the Spring 2009 Inspired by Compliments magazine it had such clean flavours, I cleared each plate at the tasting. His recipes inspired me so much that I wanted to try cooking a little Japanese at home!

Chef Ryan wrote a wonderful, fact filled blog about fibre and followed that with a delicious bean ragout recipe. I don’t want to repeat what Chef Ryan has already done but I did want to get on the bean band wagon, so to speak.

My bean of choice is the Chickpea. Here is a bean that has a long history and one that is produced by many different countries and eaten by a wide variety of people. I think that its popularity comes due to its versatility, it can be served hot or cold, whole or puréed, fried, roasted or boiled.

Tomatoes, like many other red coloured fruits and vegetables such as; guava, watermelon and pink grapefruit, get their colour from lycopene. It is a proven antioxidant that helps to neutralize free radicals that may do damage to our body’s cells. Lycopene is absorbed much more efficiently by our bodies from tomatoes if they have been cooked and or processed into; juice, sauce, paste or ketchup.