“I am still convinced that a good, simple, homemade cookie is preferable to all the store-bought cookies one can find.”
James Beard
One of those days … non stop rain, a holiday, loads to do, laundry too, kids at home and hungry! Food Food Food! The poor baker stirred some chicken korma in the morning, rushed off to cart the teen to and from extra art classes, then the hub requested for some cookies as he was off to HKG! Loves to carry the taste of home with him! So in the middle of the mayhem, these were born – Not Quite Anzac Cookies!I’ve baked several versions of Anzacs in the past, loved this one especially. The basic recipe is from the Thermomix cookbook, but now has been made over so many times that its evolved into something else. Seemingly lost the characteristic Anzac Cookie-ness … no coconut for one, yet delicious addictive bites. They sit in the jar and call your name! This version was no different.I like these eggless cookies; can have them all day long. They are nice, chewy if you like them them that way, and crisp if you bake them longer! I loved the flavours trapped within – brown sugar and butter create some delightful butterscotch like magic, and the walnut meal adds yummy taste. {I grind the walnuts since the teen doesn’t like nuts in her cookies & brownies}. She loved these! Oats for texture and you would want more cookie with each bite!I’ve been reading up economics all yesterday to tutor the daughter for her first semester exams. Am surprised at how much I’ve learnt, this after doing my honours in economics!! Look at what got stuck in the head? Desires and wants form the basis of human economics. If you desire something, that’s good, but it’s just a wish. BUT if you want something, you have to make an effort to achieve it … and then the wheels of the economy begin to turn from the micro level right out to the macro level. Cool eh? This is going to be a short post since writers block has landed in my head after all that ‘back to books’ that happened to me. I’m off to have a cookie! Come share mine virtually if you ‘desire’ some. If you want some, you know what you are going to have to do, right? Yes, get the elbow grease on the job!
[print_this]Recipe: Not Quite Anzac Cookies
Summary: They are nice, chewy if you like them them that way, and crisp if you bake them longer! I loved the flavours trapped within – brown sugar and butter create some delightful butterscotch like magic, and the walnut meal adds delicious taste.
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
75ml golden syrup {or 100ml golden syrup and no honey}
25ml honey
1tsp baking soda
55g natural sugar or granulated sugar {I used bura,a raw sugar available in India}
55gm brown sugar
100gm plain flour
100gm rolled oats
100gm walnuts
Method:
Preheat oven to 150C
Run the walnuts in the processor with the flour until you get a fine-meal.
Heat butter, honey and golden syrup in a pan over low heat till the butter melts and the two mix together. {Can do it in the microwave too}
Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. The dough will be a little stiff.
Drop tbsp of dough on parchment lined cookie sheets, flatten with the tines of a fork. {I rolled the dough into balls, flattened them slightly with the palm of my hand, and then further flattened them by pressing down with a fork.}.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Leave to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes {they are quite tender when they come out of the oven} , and then transfer on racks to cool completely.
Thermomix Recipe:
Run the walnuts in the TM bowl with the flour on speed 7 for 30 seconds to get a fine-meal. Scrape and repeat if necessary. Turn into a bowl and reserve.
Place butter, honey and golden syrup into TM bowl. Heat for 2 minutes at 60C on speed 2 until fully dissolved. Place bicarb into bowl and mix for 5 seconds on speed 3.
Add remaining ingredients and set dial to closed position and mix for 30-35 seconds on interval speed…. then continue as above from step 4.
“When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.”
John Ruskin
It’s a delicious book on Indian cooking. An almost impish face smiles back at you from the cover, the earnest cook, with a twinkle in his eyes. It’s Aditya Bal the Indian model turned chef stirring up some magic. ‘The Chakhle India‘ Cookbook is based on the most popular food show Indian TV. From the book I offer a quintessential Indian curry – Butter Chicken {Pan fried version}, and a chickpea dish – Punjabi Chole.I looked at the book with initial skepticism as I don’t follow too many TV cookery shows. Took it along when I went to pick up the older teen from detention! {Yes that happens too as she didn’t submit a project in time. She had completed it but forgot to submit it!}! I love the lessons school can teach that we can’t! Got there 30 minutes early armed with the book; it was the most fruitful 30 minutes I’ve spent of late. It was an instant connect! He seemed warm, real, ‘talked’ to with you, a peoples person, had a wonderful rapport and was entertaining. Explains why he runs the most popular food show!Food is good when it is real, when stories are woven around it, when you know where they are coming from and what influences the style …a face behind the name makes it even better! Not so long ago we met Shamita,Ms India Universe, at the Four Seasons Wine Tasting event and marveled at how grounded she was. More recently we got ‘up close and personal‘ with one of India’s top chefs Saby at the Olive Bar & Kitchen … another fabulous person! Haven’t met Aditya but already feel like I know him a li’l bit. He talks fondly of growing up in Kashmir {I love Kashmir and it is on my list of places to revisit but with the hub}. I have beautiful memories of Srinagar which we visited as kids; Aditya stirred those up beautifully.The author lived an idyllic life in Srinagar, the culinary side reflected by Wazwan, potlucks, Sunday roasts reminiscent of his maternal grandmothers cooking; then had an unfortunate displacement from the state he loved due to civil unrest. He modeled for a few years and eventually found his calling in food. The book is packed with recipes from different corners of India, reflected in the title Chakle India {literally translates into Taste India}…I love the simple explanations, the ‘deglazing’ of the pan now and then, asking you to check the balance of flavours, taking in the magic of Indian spices. Other “foodies” like Chantal Royer do a great job at analyzing some of the traditional Indian spices from her travels. For all you meat lovers there, there is plenty of ‘meaty goodness’ that he tempts you to try. I made butter chicken from his book when I got home. Why Butter Chicken?Because it is one of India’s most popular dishes, the kids love it, I haven’t made a ‘butter’ laden butter chicken in ages, it was the weekend, there was no electricity and the recipe was a pan fried version, it uses fresh tomatoes which are in abundance … more simply, because I wanted to!It’s a good, homey, comforting recipe … a nice balance of flavours, not like the original butter chicken as that uses oven baked tandoori chicken, but finger licking good nevertheless. The son asked for it 2 days in a row! I make a low fat version often, yet to be blogged, but for now this version is for you!There are plenty of vegetarian recipes too. I reached for the book a second time as I had chickpeas soaking for a salad for the dieting diva. Made the Punjabi Cholas and they were fabulous! Loved the astoefitida {hing} in them, and also loved that it didn’t use commercial chana masala. I served them with boiled rice but they would taste great with flatbread too, or just as a snack.Nice to see a book with seemingly more emphasis on the meaty dishes, yet one that offers a liberal dose of vegetarian main course and snacks. The dessert section is SWEET! I have my eye on a mango kheer which I find rather intriguing and haven’t heard of before! Pick up the book and you’ll find it easy to cook from it. The ingredients are simple pantry staples and the methods aren’t cumbersome. Some recipes do appear long with many ingredients and instructions … a little complicated but really aren’t. The only downside, if ever so slightly there is one, is the pictures. I like my food photographs to show the dish from a short distance to get a better idea of the dish. Most frames are shot really close up, though there are plenty of them. The book is a delicious take on homey, comforting and make-able Indian cuisine, food from the heart, flavours that speak for themselves and the energy to make you want to cook! It’s a good addition to my ever growing collection of cookbooks.
Thank you for Anushree for sending me a copy to review. I really enjoyed the book!
Summary: A flavoursome home style butter chicken bursting with the goodness of fresh tomatoes. A recipe in which the marinated chicken pan fried as against traditionally grilled. Recipe from The Chakle India Cookbook by Aditya Bal
Ingredients:
500gm boneless chicken {cut into tikka sized pieces}
1 tsp salt
Few drops refined oil
50g butter
1/2 tsp sugar
Juice of 1/2 lime
The Marinade
3 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/2 onion, pureed
4tbsp whisked curd
1tsp coriander powder
1tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1tsp hot red chili powder
Juice of 1 lime
Rich Tomato Gravy
7-8 ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, puréed
Few drops of refined oil
50g butter
1/2″ piece ginger chopped fine
2 green chilies, chopped fine
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1tsp hot red chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1sp coriander powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2tsp sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes
4-5 tsp full cream {I used low fat 2 tsp}
Garnish
2-3tsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
Knob of butter
Method:
The Marinade
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Put the chicken into a large glass or plastic bowl. Add the marinade and mix it well into the chicken with your hands. Cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for a couple of hours
While the chicken is marinating, prepare the rich tomato gravy.
Rich Tomato Gravy
Heat a medium size sauté pan and add the oil and butter. Keep the pan on medium heat till the butter is foaming. The oil prevents the butter from burning as it as a much higher smoking point.
Once the foam subsides somewhat, add the chopped ginger and green chilies and sauté for a couple of minutes on medium heat.
Add the spice powders and sauté, till they are aromatic and richly coloured.
Now add the fresh tomato purée and stir to mix with the spices.
Simmer on low heat, till the tomato gravy is thick and has a rich and deep red colour and the oil rises to the top.
Season well with salt and add the sugar. Stir through and simmer for a few minutes longer. Turn of the heat and set the gravy aside to mature.
To cook the chicken
Remove the marinated chicken from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. season with salt and mix well.
Heat a heavy non stick frying pan and add a few drops of refined oil and the butter
Once the butter is hot, add a few chicken pieces at a time and sear them on high heat, till the develop a rich caramelized crust and are slightly charred around the edges. remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining pieces.
Now, return all the seared pieces to pan and fry them all together. ass the sugar, lime juice and any remaining marinate. continue to fry the chicken, till it is almost fully cooked and turns a lovely, charred, golden brown.
Add the thick spicy tomato gravy to the chicken and de-glaze the pan to lift up those intense pan deposits.
Cook on medium heat, stirring well to make sure the chicken is fully submerged and coated in the delicious gravy
Simmer uncovered to reduce the gravy
Turn the heat down to a simmer and add the thick cream. stir through to combine and cook for about five minutes to blend well
Check for a balance of flavours: the gravy should be rich and buttery, bursting with the spices and concentrated tomatoes; the chicken, perfectly tender and packed with the rich flavours of the creamy tomato gravy.
Add a knob of butter and enjoy this home-style butter chicken with naan or tandoori roti.
Recipe: Chola Masala {Spicy Chickpeas}
Summary: A real Punjabi classic which is eaten all over North India and is cooked with endless variation. This is a snack which can double up as a meal too. {I used just chickpeas but the recipe has gram too} Recipe from The Chakle India Cookbook by Aditya Bal
Ingredients:
1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 cup whole Bengal gram or kala chana, soaked overnight {I didn’t use these so I increased the chickpeas}
Curry Base
2 tsp refined oil {I used Leonardo olive oil from here}
1″ cassia stick
1tsp cumin seeds
4-5 cloves
1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns
4 green cardamoms
2 brown cardamoms
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 onions chopped fine
1/2″ ginger, chopped fine
5 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder
1tsp coriander powder
A pinch of asafoetida powder / hing {I used a big pinch}
1 tsp salt
3 tomatoes, chopped fine
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp butter {I used olive oil again}
Juice of 1/2 lime
2-4 tsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
Method:
Drain the soaked chickpeas and gram for any toxins, wash well and parboil in a pressure cooker with 3 cups water for 25-30 minutes {I use a pinch of baking soda too}. The chickpeas should hold shape but be soft enough to be mashed with a fork or between fingers.
Transfer them to a bowl and mash them lightly with a fork, keeping half of them whole. {I tend to do this when I add the chickpeas to the curry. I also reserve any remaining liquid and use it to this the curry later}
The Curry
Heat the oil in a wok/kadhai and add the whole spices and bay leaf. Saute on medium heat till they crackle and release their aroma.
When the whole spices are nutty and richly coloured, add the onions and sauté for a few minutes, till they turn light golden brown.
Stir in the ginger and garlic and sauté till they are softened and lightly coloured.
Sprinkle in the spice powders, salt and sauté for a couple of minutes till they are aromatic and toasted. Add a few drops of water to deglaze the pan and lift up the spices stuck to the pan. Bhuno {roast} the masala 3-4 times with water, till the base is homogeneous and oil rises to the surface.
Mix in the cooked chickpeas {and gram if using} and fry them in the masala base till they are well coated.
Add the tomatoes and continue to fry on high heat till they begin to disintegrate. Sprinkle in the sugar and mix well to combine.
Pour in enough water {I used the reserved liquid here} to come 1″ above the contents of the pan. Stir to combine, bring to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer gently for about an hour or more. {I have to confess I just popped everything back into the cooker and gave it a whistle within!}
Cook until the starch glutenizes with the liquid, so they are soft and creamy in texture and the gravy thickens. Taste and adjust salt if required.
Now add the butter and lime juice to lift the flavours, then sprinkle the coriander leaves and stir well.
Check for balance of flavours: The cholas should be extremely soft and creamy but with a little bite to them ad should have the robust taste of whole spices. The dish should be thick and concentrated in flavour.
“Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”
Julia Child
Those lines by Julia Child defined my spirit of blogging from day one. To celebrate Julia’s 100th birthday on the 15th of August, 2012, I chose and adapted this beautiful everyday dessert – Oven Roasted Plum & Almond Cakes from Baking With Julia.There was an energy about her, the chef who changed the way America cooked and baked. Food bloggers worldwide woke up to a new identity after Julie & Julia. People looked at us differently, suddenly recognising the band of foodies who passionately belted out deliciousness online day after day.The ever sweet Suma @ Cakes & More sent me Dorie Greenspansamazing book Baking With Julia as a gift. The book is packed with sweet and savoury recipes from the PBS series that Julia hosted, and doubles up as a baking encyclopedia too. The commentary is warm and friendly, puts you at ease instantly as Dorie talks to you through each recipe. Baking With Julia now shares place of honour on my bookshelf with both volumes of Julia Child’sMastering the Art of French Cooking!Bread is what I wanted to bake, a Fougasse, but I didn’t plan well in time as the dough needed to sit for 24 hours to get bubbly and squeaky! I love the way Dorie writes that because even the bread dough has ’emotions’! My next natural choice was a simple everyday dessert. With plums in the fridge, these little Oven Roasted Plum & Almond Cakes were but going to happen!I changed the recipe a little bit, and pretty soon realised that I might have to ‘grin and bear it‘ soon. The batter was runnier than required. Into it went some almond meal, and since the eggs were small I went for 3 knowing pretty well that 2 whole + 1 yolk should do the trick! Should have used ramekins, threw caution to the wind and used dessert rings. I knew I was in trouble when the plums on top sank right in; with them my heart!!I fixed it though, topped the cakelets with more plum halves {and slices} halfway through baking, safe in the knowledge that maybe an invisible Julia peered over my shoulder. This is the untold joy of baking with a good book.It keeps you company, the characters pop up all over the place giving you tips, hints, telling you all is well, yelling at you when not! My time in the kitchen is always virtually in good company!I am fortunate to have some good company in reality too – a little plum thief that I have raised. Coco, our cocker spaniel took a shine to plums when she came to our home in the summer of 2011! Nothing’s changed! She didn’t notice me looking at her, and soon nicked a ‘plum prop’ and made a meal out of it, the little blighter! It was really tart!!She has great taste and will be any Mums delight! Loves her greens {beans, spinach, purslane, peas – raw or cooked}, loves her protein {eggs, cottage cheese, chickpeas} and even loves fruit {banana, mango, kiwi , plums, peaches, cherries, strawberries!}That’s just how well my time in the kitchen is spent! I love it! Creating food is almost an obsession and I love the culinary adventures that great chefs like Julia Child encourage.“This is really good you know!” exclaimed the 16 year old aka the dieting diva. {She couldn’t resist my ‘maybe you’d like to try some’ nonchalant reference to a plum cake in the oven !} “YUM! Can I have another?” was the more excited response from the junior teen who was hoping for a yes but got a NO instead! The little cakes were indeed delicious. Well balanced, beautiful light crumb and just right with the sweetness too. The plums gave up their juices and became delectable part of the cake. Topped with vanilla ice cream or even some low fat unsweetened cream … mmm! Dorie suggests a chocolate sauce … that must taste divine!
Summary: Tiny little delicious dessert cakes that celebrate summer, stone fruit and plums! They are light and delightful, the almond meal adding beautiful texture to the crumb! Recipe adapted minimally from Marsel Desaulniers, Baking With Julia. {Makes 8 3″ cakes}
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw sugar {khand}
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 small eggs
1/2 vanilla bean scraped
1 scant cup flour
1/2 cup almond meal
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
4 large ripe plums, halved and pitted
Whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or dark chocolate sauce if desired
Method:
Preheat oven to 180C.
Grease 8 3″ dessert rings or 12 2″ ramekins with melted butter {I used clarified butter} and place on a foiled lined rimmed baking sheet.
Sift the flour, almond meal and baking soda. Reserve in a bowl.
Combine raw sugar and 2 tbsp of brown sugar in a bowl with butter. Cream for 2-3 minutes on medium high speed.
Add the eggs, vanilla bean and cream on high for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the flour mix and beat in on low speed until just combined, followed with the buttermilk. Mix in on low speed until uniformly mixed, 30 seconds.
Divide batter equally between prepared rings / ramekins, sprinkle over the remaining brown sugar and bake in oven to 15 minutes. Once the top is somewhat set, quickly place half a plum, cut side up into each cup. Continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes until light golden brown and done {toothpick inserted into middle should come out clean.}
Cool the tray on the rack for at least 15-20 minutes, then gently ease out using a blunt bitter knife. Serve warm or at room temperature as is, or with low fat unsweetened cream or vanilla ice cream.
“What is more mortifying than to feel that you have missed the plum for want of courage to shake the tree?”
Logan Pearsall Smith
Some days are good while others not so. Generally days which begin with successfullyseeing the kids off to school in the morning are good ones {meaning no nonsensical arguments at the crack of dawn, uniforms located in time, and the bus boarded on the stop and not being chased by a car of ‘see we missed the bus again’ teens}! On one such good day I made it this Plum Tart with Walnut Frangipane!Fruit in season must be the biggest thrill of my life. I am a locavore to the core. Fresh produce makes my heart sing. This has been a good summer, a season flooded with stone fruit. {Did I tell you that I’ve switched over to raw sugar in my baking? If you live in India, do see if you can get bhura or khand at your local grocer.}I love baking with plums because they turn into a beautiful deep red once baked. One thing I HAD to do this season was to bake with plums.I’ve done loads of cherries and peaches this year, but no stand alone plum bake! I still have a few recipes bookmarked yet something different played in my mind when I entered the kitchen that day…
…the result was this tart! I love substituting plain flour with a little bit of something more healthy, maybe a nut meal or cornmeal, maybe buckwheat flour … then wait with fingers crossed hoping that it doesn’t fall to bits! Whichever way it goes, I know that the family will sit and enjoy the bits even if it fails, scooping the crumbs up etc! That alone keeps me ticking!Somethings happened to my time management. There’s never enough in a day so the tart happened over two days. Baked the shell and made the frangipane on day one’ Happily enough, the next morning was a breeze. Dropped the kids off to the bus, raced back home and within 20 minutes I had a tart baking in the oven! I love baking with frangipane. Do you?
Frangipane, sometimes spelled frangipani, is similar to a pastry cream, and some may refer to it as specifically an almond pastry cream. Actually, frangipane can be any cream or custard-like substance with nuts. What makes it different from the average pastry cream is that it is often used as a filling in pies and is baked. This results in a very different crusty exterior to pies or tarts, and is a quite rich and delicious alternative to standard fruit pies.
Have baked loads with it, both free form and in a tart tin – pears, figs, fig and buckwheat,strawberries, plum, even a plum frangipane clafoutis, but the frangipane has always been an almond based one. This time around I went the walnut way just because I had a stash of walnuts from my last trip to Old Delhi. I added some walnuts to the base too, hence the dark colour.The shell wasn’t a very ‘crisp to bite’ one and thankfully it wasn’t very crumbly which was my biggest concern. It’s a rich shortcrust like base, and compliments the frangipane well. The plums were tart as Indian plums usually are so the extra sugar on top. Use firm ripe plums so that they hold shape. Paint them with slightly warm honey or apricot jam and they glisten.Don’t be tempted to cut the tart while very warm as it might crumble. Give it some time to firm up, an hour maybe if the weather is warm. We like our pies and tarts cold in summer, so ours was popped into the fridge for a couple of hours. Best enjoyed with a drizzle of unsweetened low fat cream IMHO, though great without too as the teens declared {both quite diet conscious now}.
[print_this]Recipe: Plum Tart with Walnut Frangipane
Summary: A delicious summer tart with plums and walnuts. Walnuts add colour to the base and frangipane too. It’s a make ahead one, and you can even make the shell and frangipane a day ahead!
Prep Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes plus cooling time Ingredients:
Walnut Tart Shell
150g plain flour
40g cornmeal {makki ka aata}
50g walnuts
15g raw sugar
100g unsalted butter, cubed, chilled
1 egg yolk
1-2 tbsp chilled water {if required}
Walnut Frangipane
100g walnuts
50g raw sugar or brown sugar
70g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
15g flour
Topping
500g plums {about 10-12} pitted, quartered
2tbsp Turbinado or raw sugar for sprinkling on top
2-3tbsp honey for glaze, melted
Method:
Tart shell {can be baked a day before}
Place the plain flour, walnuts, cornmeal and sugar in bowl of processor and grind in short pulses to fine meal.
Add chilled butter anf process briefly until a breadcrumb like micture is achieved. Add the egg yolk and process until it just starts clumping together. When pinched with the finger tips, it must hold together. If it doesn’t, then ad 1/2 tbsp of water at a time.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, and pat together firmly into a dough ball. Do not knead or over handle else the pastry will become hard.
Roll out on lightly floured surface or parchment paper to line tart tin. Gently lift on rolling pin and place in tin. Don’t worry if it breaks slightly. Just patch it up, push into place and chill while you preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 190C
Bake the tart shell in the middle shelf for 15-20 minutes until lightly coloured. Check towards the end so it doesn’t get too brown as it will bake again with the filling. {I didn’t bake blind as I didn’t have the time, but it worked out fine}
Remove to cooling rack, leave in tin.
Walnut Frangipane {can be made a day ahead, or while the oven is preheating}
Place walnuts, sugar, flour and vanilla bean in bowl of processor and pulse until you get a fine meal.
Add the butter and egg and blend together until smooth. Reserve in a bowl. {Refrigerate if making ahead}
Assemble
Preheat the oven to 180C
Spread the frangipane uniformly over the cooled base.
Place plum quarters covering the frangipane, pressing down gently in place.
Sprinkle over the raw sugar {or Turbinado}, and a few slivers of pistachio if you like.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until the frangipane is puffed, golden brown, and firm to the touch. Immediately paint over the fruit with the warm honey, and sprinkle more pistachio slivers if you like.
Cool the tart on a wire rack for at least 30-45 minutes {firm to touch} before slicing.
“Anything is good if it’s made of chocolate.”
Jo Brand
My love for individual desserts in glasses knows no end, and I loved these glasses from Urban Dazzle the minute I saw them. Stunning and a million ways to use them, my first thought was dessert, maybe chocolate. Soon I proudly strutted Dark Chocolate Mousse with Balsamic Cherry Sauce in these beauties! They complimented each other beautifully … I think it was meant to be!Nice wine glasses said Mr PAB! Do you remember the Urban Dazzle goodies I received a while ago? I was lucky enough to get another lot of glassware to get creative with. This gorgeous set of glasses, goblet like, was something I’d never seen before, yet something I would instantly pick – pretty, versatile, stand out design, good quality glass, fabulous ridge and ever so attractive!I have a ‘thing’ for stem glass. I am also very skewed towards traditional glasses, crockery, cutlery etc. Modern design doesn’t normally catch my eye but these Alternato A.P tumblers were different. Functional and neat, appealing too, these are easily my favourite already. Despite being wine glasses, so much versatility!Thoughts flew through my head when I unpacked them {received them via courier, well packed indeed}. Tiger Shrimp Gamba like from the Leonardo day out at Olive recently! Ooh they would look great! Or a gazpacho … stunning red shining through?
I did a set of coolers as well, inspired too by theLuigi Bormioli Michelangelo Masterpiece Jug that was part of the parcel. Made a refreshing, full of flavour Peach Lime Cooler adapted from What Megan’s Making. I love the spout and the curves of the pitcher! The crystal clear glass shows off vibrant colours beautifully!Very artistic! It would look great on a picnic table with a vibrant punch, ice tea, cooler, or sangria. A true masterpiece of Italian make, this belly pitcher from Luigi Bormiolo is a chic addition to any serving set or barware. I also did a Wild Indian Java Plum Juice with all its purple goodness, and Raw Mango Panna too. The latter neither beautiful nor vibrant to look at, packs a punch in summer! I have begun using natural raw sugar {khand / bura in India}, palm sugar {gur} or honey for my coolers.I went on to make a Stone Fruit Summer Salad which was as refreshing as can be. The dieting diva immediately declared that I must make some everyday … I could see myself peeling peaches, plums and mangoes till kingdom came!!The salad – peeled and cut peaches, plums and mangoes tossed in a sugar lime syrup {about 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 5-6 limes} and left to mature for half an hour …nice!The cherry on the cake was this Dark Chocolate Mousse with a Balsamic Cherry Topping that got made by default thanks to the power grid failure. My frozen cherries needed to get out of the freezer and be made into something! This was it!I had a cherry sorbet, pink and vibrant in mind for these glasses. But fate had other plans, and nothing frozen was going to happen in a while. My next best bet was dark chocolate which really pairs well with cherries. I used a similar mousse recipe from the Dark Chocolate Cherry Mousse Cake I made in June.
So tell me dear readers, what would you use these glasses for, other than wine of course!
[print_this] Recipe: Dark Chocolate Chili Mousse
Summary: A smooth as silk dark chocolate mousse topped with a balsamic cherry sauce. Seductive make ahead dessert. {Serves 6}
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Ingredients:
Dark chocolate mousse
{adapted from the Thermomix cookbook}
4 eggs, separated
Pinch of cream of tartar
70gm powdered sugar, divided
1/2 vanilla bean scraped
1/2 t vanilla bean powder {or paste}
1 tsp chocolate chili powder {0r 1/2-1/2tsp chili powder} optional
50g unsalted butter
40g low fat cream, room temperature
170g dark chocolate, chopped
200ml low fat cream, chilled, beaten to medium peaks
5g {1t} gelatin powder dissolved in 1 1/2 tbsp of water
Balsamic Cherry Topping
500g cherries, stoned {net weight}
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3-4 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 vanilla bean shell from above
Method:
Recipe is for the Thermomix. I reckon it can be adapted with the same proportions for regular top of the stove cooking, like a creme patisserie.
Heat empty TM bowl for 2 minutes at 50C, speed 2.
Insert Butterfly. Place egg whites in TM bowl with cream of tartar and beat for 4 minutes on speed 4 with MC off.
Through hole in the lid, add half the sugar, 1 tsp at a time during the last minute. Set aside in a large bowl. remove butterfly.
Without cleaning, place yolks, remaining sugar, vanilla bean powder and scraped seeds, butter, 40g cream and chocolate into TM bowl. Cook for 4 minutes at 70C on speed 3.
Add a third of the beaten egg whites back into the bowl and stir for 10 seconds on reverse + speed 3. Add to the remaining whites.
Fold everything gently together, including gelatin. Divide between glasses and chill for about an hour until slightly set.
Balsamic Cherry Topping
Place all ingredients in a non reactive pan and simmer for 3-5 minutes until the cherries soften and give up their juice. Make sure you don’t overcook the cherries, else they wont hold shape.
Drain the cherries and reserve in a bowl. Return the syrup back to the pan and reduce until thick and syrupy. Pour back over the reserved cherries, cool and then chill. can be made a day or two ahead. It will thicken slightly in the fridge.
Recipe: Peach Lime Cooler
Summary: A great way to use up the bounty of summer fruit. Refreshing and ‘peachy’, this is a great summer cooler. Adapted from What Megan’s Making. Serves 6-8
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Ingredients:
500g peaches, peeled and chopped
100g raw sugar {or honey; adjust according to sweetness of fruit}
1 cup fresh lime juice (about 12 limes)
5 cups water {or soda}
Method:
In a sauce pan bring to a boil the peaches, sugar and water. Reduce heat, and simmer until the sugar is fully dissolved, about 10 minutes.
Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender), puree the peach mixture until smooth. Pour through a strainer, and press through to get out all of the juice. Cool completely.
Once cool, in a pitcher combine the peach mixture with the lemon juice, stir until well combined. Serve chilled over ice.
“Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot; others transform a yellow spot into the sun.”
Pablo Picasso
It’s raining summer desserts at home. The mango crop has been fantastic {as has been the peach harvest}. How better to celebrate this luscious fruit than with David Lebovitz! The man is genius, and his Mango Sorbet an absolute winner! The Perfect Scoop is a favorite on my shelf; indispensable for ice cream lovers. Remember the Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream? Droolicious stuff!I’ve had this Mango Sorbet in my drafts for a bit. Then suddenly this week things took a turn for the worse … the power grid collapsed, not once but twice!12 hours without electricity, then back, then gone again for 4 hours! Just when we kind of resurrected, the second collapse came by, 14 hours this time! While newspapers and TV channels were crying themselves hoarse about the worlds biggest black out, 600 million folk without power, all I could think about was “my mango sorbet”!It was a good lesson in preparedness for the future that awaits the generations to come. As kids we’ve lived different times, a country traditionally having exposed its people to frequent power cuts, so it was no big deal as power would go off all the time. Add to it black outs during the Indo Pak war in 1971. Brown paper darkened the windows, jets flew low over the town, sirens echoed over the city, trenches were ready and waiting. No power and no back up … and it didn’t bother us!Cut to now! The power goes off and the inverter cuts in. Instant solution and the kids barely even notice. The grid failure was different however! They learnt a new lesson … when the national grip trips, NO ONE knows when the power will be back! And another yummy one … grid failure is time for smoothies, ice cream, loads of food cooked non stop by a mother who cannot see food wasted!Remember my frozen cherries I mentioned in the Fresh Cherry Quark Cheesecake Pie post?Ho hum… since they threatened not to be frozen for long, they were hurriedly cooked with balsamic vinegar and made to top a delicious dessert to fill these gorgeous Urban Dazzle glasses. Result – happy family who didn’t complain about power cuts! Recipe to be posted next …The mango sorbet is light, refreshing, delicious and screams summer! It’s also my tribute to a beautiful lady – Barbara of Winos & Foodie who was diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and sadly lost her battle recently. I was fortunate to meet her virtually on and off over her Yellow events; she was a fighter all the way!Monthly Mingle is the brainchild of the lovely Meeta @ Whats For Lunch Honey, and this month it celebrates Barbara’s spirit at the wonderful Jeanne @ Cook Sister. So positive, so full of energy, great sense of humour, always ready to share her experiences, Barbara held the food blogger world in awe, her love touching a lot of us. For years she successfully ran the Taste of yellow blog event. Of late, I had met her over Thermomix recipes after I bought one. RIP sweet Barbara … you were and are an inspiration to all of us!
{I am linking a few other yellow posts I did recently to this months Monthly Mingle}
Macaron à la Peaches et CrèmeRustic Peach ‘n Plum Summer GaletteFresh Peach Brown Streusel Coffee Cake
[print_this]Recipe: Mango Sorbet
Summary: The mango sorbet is light, refreshing, delicious and screams summer! Recipe adapted minimally from ‘The Perfect Scoop’, David Lebovitz.
