By SHAVAUGHN MOSS, Lifestyles Editor

Alexandra Lynch has a degree in political science, but a passion for food, that has birthed a woman who seems to turn out perfect tasting food anytime she puts her mind to whipping up a little something, whether it be Greek, Bahamian, Vietnamese, Thai, Moroccan, African or whatever.

She has always been exposed to food, as she traveled the world with her parents in her early childhood days. To this day, she says she can still remember the garlic escargots she smelled cooking in Luxembourg, and vowed to herself that she would duplicate it.

She grew up in Nassau, but attended university in England, where she was exposed to some of the best Iranian, Thai and Vietnamese foods. Upon her return to Nassau, and leaving all that good food behind, the young woman who loves to cook and loves food was left wanting — wanting to know what she would eat.

That led Alexandra who was supposed to enter the legal profession, to form a catering company, she named simply — Alexandra, which she has been operating for the past 18 years.

"I said let's have fun, I have nothing to lose, so I started training myself on the taste that I remembered from my childhood of the garlic escargots," and Alexandra's catering company was born.

A little over two years ago, she purchased a coffee/sandwich shop in the plaza outside the Lyford Cay gates, and that was the beginning of August Moon Cafe, an intimate, homey restaurant. It's so intimate that when the indoor seating seats six people, but you could probably squeeze in up to 10. If you prefer to dine outdoors, then you need to be one of the lucky 30 people that can be seated comfortably.

At August Moon, you're served up foods in little trios. No Cheesecake Factory-styled servings. Just little portions, which leave you feeling satisfied at the end, as she strays away from other people's ideal that to satisfy a customer, that huge portions have to fill a dinner plate.

"The idea between the small plates is I'm the kind of person who likes a lot of taste. I hate it when they put Cheesecake Factory-styled food in front of me, because I'm immediately like I wanted that, and I wanted that," she said.

The tasting trios she says also brings people together, as they can sample from each other. Her philosophy is that food brings people together like nothing else does. "It crosses all cultural barriers, racial barriers, financial ... whatever, and that's why we do what we do at August Moon. Even though technically we shouldn't do what we do, in the restaurant world, a piece of chicken is a piece of chicken. It's only a matter of spices that changes that chicken to being Thai, Vietnamese, Greek, Bahamian or whatever."

She's not classically trained, and as for not having attended culinary school, Lynch says her gift of preparing delicious food comes from God, but she does lots of research when she's cooking new cuisine, so the menu at August Moon is an ever-revolving door. Case in point, last week she even had an ode to Beijing on offer, with the Olympics going on and all, and diners could indulge in a three-course meal of Sesame Shrimp Toast with Lemon, Velvet Chicken Corn Soup and Crispy Aromatic Duck Pancakes with Hoisin, Cucumber and Spring Onion.

If Asian wasn't your flavor, there was Caribbean Jazz which showcased two of Alexandra's original recipes, Conch and Crab Spring Rolls with Spicy Cocktail Mayo, Coconut Shrimp with Spicy Apricot Sauce and Thyme Mustard and Goat Stew with White Rice. Or you could take a detour through the Greek Isles with the Dolmades (Meat and Rice-stuffed Grape Vine Leaves), Kefetdkia (meatballs) with Tzatziki and Pita and Baked Pastichio. And under the You Only Live Twice category, there was Fresh Salad Greens with Miso-Peanut Dressing, Cold Lobster with Ginger Sauce and Fried Snapper Tempura with Soy Sauce and Wasabi.

Her menus are available as tasting trios for $20 for lunch, and $25 for dinner. For those persons wishing to mix and match, individual items may be ordered a la carte at $8.50 per small plate at lunch or $12.50 per plate at dinner.

And of course, dessert is not to be forgotten, you can get a huge piece of dessert under the Sweet Hands menu for $10.00, and they're more than enough to share. Last week, August Moon showcased Greek Baklava and fresh orange wedges, another Alexandra original, Mango Cheesecake with fresh mangoes, Bacardi Rum Cake with Vanilla ice cream and Chocolate-Coconut Bonbons.

Alexandra's prices are low, which has her accountants hounding her, but she's fighting them tooth and nail about raising her prices, because she wants people to be able to afford to eat at August Moon, and enjoy it.

"I want to dispel that myth that only the wealthy get good food. I hate the 'hoity toityness' of five star which is really where the barrier of money comes in," she says.

Her quaint restaurant where she displays souvenirs from her travels, just like you would in the family room at your house she says is a reflection of who she really is. "This is really who I am. You're supposed to feel like you came to our family. You should feel friendly and comfortable. We have a lot of people who come and eat alone, and they're not afraid to sit in here, and they don't feel embarrassed. It's almost like eating in your mother's house, where you can see your mom preparing food in her kitchen."

If you decide to sit inside at one of the two high tables inside the restaurant, you can actually see Alexandra at work as she prepares the food.

And in her catering company, you can call on her to do almost anything, and this Greek-Bahamian has cooked up Indian, Moroccan, Lebanese, African cuisine, and of course Bahamian.

"I don't just get a recipe and say this is what I'm cooking. When I have to do a special catering, and I have to do an Indian or Moroccan meal, I get into the mind of the people I'm cooking from. I did a big Moroccan catering, and I spent weeks trying to understand how the Moroccan people think. If you don't understand where people are coming from, you don't really understand the culture," she said.

For Alexandra, it's a matter of the pride and joy she gets from being able to feed someone something that made them remember their childhood or their past. "That's my test. I compete with mothers not chefs. I did a Lebanese catering once, and a man said to me that he hadn't had Lebanese food that good since before the fall of Beirut, and that was a big compliment."

Alexandra has actually recently returned from a cooking competition in Mexico which she won. One of the comments from the judges was that her presentation blew them away.

Alexandra's older sister Maria Chisnall says her sister has always been fascinated by international cuisine. "I have to say that she has an unbelievable ability to capture the taste of countries' food. It's not like she can do just Chinese well, or Greek well or Bahamian well."

With Alexandra's ability to turn out good food from any country, her sister says, the most daring she has put on the table would be the Lion fish. She calls it daring simply because the public is not educated in the fish, which they see as poisonous, and which Chisnall says is absolutely delicious. "I've eaten it from her a number of times, prepared a number of different ways, and absolutely loved it. She's not afraid to try anything. She'll cook ox tongue, ox tail ... she's made an African Beef Peanut Stew."

Alexandra's regular customers know that her menu changes week-to-week, and if they know they're going to be dining with her on any given night, they can call her up and ask her to have their favorite on the menu. "She accommodates her customers," says Chisnall. "We can't do it every day in an instant, but she does what she can," she says.

Reservations are suggested if you want to dine at August Moon Cafe, Alexandra. One disappointment, August Moon Cafe is closed on Saturdays, because of Alexandra's catering business. If you haven't eaten at August Moon Cafe, you don't know what you're missing. If you have, and would like to try your hand at a recipe served at August Moon, check out the recipes Alexandra provided for us, and look out for Alexandra's soon to be released cookbook, which she is currently working on.

August Moon Cafe is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and dinner from 6:30 p.m. For reservations, telephone 362-6631, 422-4662 or 557-3557.

Tempura Lion fish

Lion fish can be cooked anyway that any other fish can is cooked — grilled, seared, fried, steamed, boiled, but Alexandra has found that the delicate flavor of the fish is not suited for curries and stews. She says there are no hard and fast rules, and that you should just be bold and experiment.

Lion fish fillets

Ginger

Garlic

Mirin

Salt

Rice Vinegar

Favorite tempura batter

Oil

Prepare the fish by lightly washing and patting dry.

Prepare the marinade of fresh ginger, garlic, mirin, salt and rice vinegar. Marinate fish as per your time allowance but up to 1 day

Make tempura batter (as per your favorite recipe)

Heat oil in pan

Dredge fillet in flour and dip in batter, and fry until lightly golden. Serve with favorite oriental sauce.

At August Moon Cafe, it is served with either a Wasabi Aioli/Nam Prik/Mango-Chili Sambal or whatever sauce Alexandra feels like serving at the time.

Keftedakia (meatballs)

2 slices bread, trimmed

1/4 cup ouzo

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 pound ground beef

1 egg

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Black pepper

1 cup flour

1/4 cup oil

Soak the bread in the ouzo for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and saute the onions for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl. Add the ground beef, egg, mint, garlic, and oregano. Season with black pepper. Mix well.

Shape meat mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the flour lightly. Refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Add 1/4 cup of oil to the skillet and heat over high heat. Cook one layer of meatballs for 8 to 10 minutes, browning on all sides. Transfer the meatballs to a platter and repeat.

Recipe: globalgourmet.com

Tzatzike pronounced dza-DZEE-kee

Tzatziki is traditionally served as an appetizer and can be left on the table as an accompaniment to foods throughout the meal. The key to great tzatziki is the thick creamy texture that allows it to be eaten alone, as a dip, as a spread, and as a condiment.

16 ounces (2 cups) of thick Greek yogurt

4 to 10 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/2 cup of diced or grated cucumber (Kirby or "English")

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

Prepare all ingredients in advance. Combine oil and lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl. Fold the yogurt in slowly, making sure it mixes completely with the oil. Add the garlic, according to taste, and the cucumber. Stir until evenly distributed. Garnish with a bit of green and serve well chilled.

Yield: about 2 1/2 cups

Add mint or dill: Slight variations include 1-2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh dill and/or fresh mint. Tasty additions!

Recipe: greekfood.about.com

MangoCheesecake

Pureed fresh mango gives this cheesecake a light and soft texture and subtle tropical fruit flavor.

Servings: Makes 12 servings.

Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup sugar

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

3 large very ripe mangoes (each about 13 ounces), peeled, pitted, coarsely chopped

3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs

Sliced peeled pitted mangoes

For crust: Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly butter 9-inch-diameter spring form pan with 2 -3/4-inch-high sides. Stir cracker crumbs and sugar in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and stir until evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom (not sides) of prepared pan. Bake until crust is set, about 12 minutes. Cool completely. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling: Puree mangoes in processor until smooth. Set aside 2 cups mango puree (reserve any remaining puree for another use). Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add 2 cups mango puree and beat until well blended. Pour filling over crust in pan.

Bake cake until set and puffed and golden around edges (center may move very slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour 25 minutes. Cool cake 1 hour. Refrigerate uncovered overnight. Run small knife between cake and sides of pan to loosen. Remove pan sides. Transfer cake to platter. Cut into wedges and serve with sliced mangoes.

Recipe: Epicurious.com