Sweet bowl of cherries...

...& Cherries atop a Chocolate-Cinnamon Mousse. Can it get any better?

Coincidentally, my dessert's set out in Red, White & Blue!! Have a great 4th of July to all of you in the U.S.!!

Luscious, sublime, decadent, luxurious, silken...

...a Gastronomical Treat!

Another one for Ruth @ Ruth's Kitchen Experiments for her Bookmarked event.

Quick Chocolate-Cinnamon Mousse with Cherries
Adapted from Dave Lieberman’s recipe from the June 2007 issue of Bon Appetit.

Cherries:
Fresh cherries - 350 gms, pitted
1/3 cup - Black cherry conserves ( or other cherry preserves)
1/3 cup - cherry juice (or ruby Port ) ... I used a squeeze of lime as I had neither
Almond Essence - 1 tsp ( I added this coz I think it enhances the flavour of cherries)
Mousse:
Chilled heavy whipping cream - 2 cups / divided
Ground cinnamon - 2 tsp (generous)
Dark chocolate - 200gms / choppedFor cherries:

• Combine cherries, cherry preserves, and juice in heavy small saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat.
• Reduce heat to medium and boil until juices thicken to syrup consistency, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Transfer to small bowl and chill until cold, about 3 hours. ( Can be made 1 day ahead.) Cover and keep chilled.

For mousse:

• Combine 1/2 cup cream and cinnamon in small saucepan; bring to boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.
• Transfer chocolate mixture to large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat remaining cup cream in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Fold 1/2 of whipped cream into lukewarm chocolate mixture. Fold remaining whipped cream into chocolate mixture in 3 additions just until incorporated.
• Divide mousse among 8 glasses or bowls. Chill until set, about 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead.)
• Cover; keep chilled.
• Spoon cherries with syrup atop mousse and serve. Garnish with chocolate flakes & a sprig of mint. I also added a couple of cherries dipped in melted chocolate on top (which I set earlier on baking parchment).

C'est Magnifique !!

Was busy browsing & found a 'berry' event... Waiter, There's Something in My... the popular monthly foodie event hosted in rotation by Johanna, Andrew and Jeanne. Jeanne @ Cook Sister is hosting it this month's & her theme is 'Berried Treasure' - "absolutely any recipe in which berries take centre stage". Off to Jeanne this 'berried treasure' goes!!

Comfortably sharing space with grapes from my father's vine at home...yummy APRICOTS!!

Crisp & airy.....Meringues

Meringue is a type of dessert made from whipped egg whites and caster sugar. Some meringue recipes call for adding a binding agent such as cream of tartar or the cornstarch found in confectioner's sugar. Meringues are often flavoured with vanilla and a small amount of almond or coconut extract. They are very light and airy and extremely sweet. The notion that meringue was invented in the Swiss town of Meiringen by an Italian chef named Gasparini is contended. Typically, two whipped egg whites and 113g (4oz) of caster sugar are what compose a single batch cooked meringue.

I've dreamt long of making this meringue nest, neatly piped edges, with silken Chantilly cream piped inside & pretty fruit topping it. A drizzle of chocolate, a dusting of sugar...a dream! My first attempt didn't exactly roll out as perfectly as my dream because the monsoons hit us 2 weeks before time (first time in 108 years; is there a deeper meaning to all this?). After getting all ingredients to room temperature etc, I read that meringues are best made in dry weather, never humid! At 80% humidity, I threw caution to wind & marched ahead. Obviously didn't manage the dreamy nests, but got yummy crunchy meringues, crisp like no ones business; they even peeled off the foil! What fun...& a huge relief!

The precious fruit behaved perfectly like the book said it would...blanched & plunged, peeled & pitted, sliced & chilled...a breeze.

Recipe time now... First the French Meringue
Ingredients:
Egg whites -4 (at room temperature)
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Almond essence - 1 tsp
Yellow sugar for sprinkling...
Method:

• Beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. (Make sure the whites are at room temperature, show no traces of yolk, the beater & bowl is clean of any fat etc....squeaky clean).
• Beat in half the sugar & almond essence.
• By hand, beat in the rest of the sugar till well incorporated & stiff. (Here's where I went wrong in my exuberance. I beat in the other half too; maybe that's why I lost out on a firm meringue mix).
• Pipe out 3" circles on a foil lined baking sheet, leaving room around each for a little spreading. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 100 degrees C for 1 hour. Then switch off the oven & leave them sitting in there for another hour until completely cool & dry.
• Peel off the foil very carefully. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Onto the Apricots then...
Ingredients:
Ripe Apricots - 250gms (reserve one for garnishing)
Sugar - 1/2 cup (I used vanilla sugar, which I made thanks to Rachel @ Tangerines Kitchen who was very nice to mail me some vanilla beans)
Mint leaves - a generous handful
Pits of apricots, peaches...(these give a nice bitter-sweet edge to the apricots)
Whipped Cream, 1 apricot & mint leaves for serving

Method:

• Bring a pan of water to boil. Keep a bowl of chilled water ready. Drop the apricots into boiling water for 10 seconds only, & them immediately plunge into a bowl of chilled water.
• Peel, pit & slice the fruit. Reserve the pits.
• Boil about 1 cup of water + 1/2 cup sugar with the pits & mint leaves. Simmer for 15 minutes, & then cool completely. Remove the pits, pour the syrup over the fruit & chill for at least 4-5 hours. (I did this the previous day & left the fruit to chill overnight with the mint leaves left in. The flavours matured very well. )
• Drain the slices in a sieve, pick out & throw the mint & reserve the syrup.
• Boil the syrup down to a third to get a nice thickish sauce. It will thicken like honey as it cools...& tastes finger-licking good. The son begged me for more...no, I didnt relent!!
  To assemble...
• Lay a meringue on a platter. Put a dollop of cream on it. Top it with apricot slices. Drizzle the sauce, add a sprig of mint & serve.

"A-meringue-ing we will go
we'll catch a little fruit &
Make it look real cute
And never let it go!!"

Cosmos means an ordered, harmonious whole....words that suit the flower perfectly! COSMOS is flourishing in our garden these days. The colour of cosmos, the flower, YELLOW, shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness. Shades of golden yellow carry the promise of a positive future. Yellow will advance from surrounding colors and instill optimism and energy as well as spark creative thoughts.

All the very best to you Bri! (read more about Bri HERE)

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Colour my world...

So then, while looking for peachy pleasures, found this on one of my fave haunts, Food Network...Vanilla Poached Peaches with Whipped Minted Yogurt, a recipe adapted from Donna Hay, Flavours, Whitecap Ltd, 1999. I was sold on the idea the minute I read the recipe. A few changes had to come about since I don't have vanilla beans; poached the pears with whole spices (cinnamon & cloves). Just added a tinge of flavour, which was just right.

I made this peachy delight in wine glasses because I like the idea of individual servings that can be put together ahead of time...& also because I like dressing them up! A cinnamon scroll, a sprig of mint, a sprinkling of chopped pistachios...colours came together beautifully. DH is already asking me when I plan to make this again, & the son is on my case to make it for his friends on his birthday; "With the cream Mama", he adds! Hmmmmmmmmmmm....

Did you know that the peach is:

• low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium
• high in Vitamin C, Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Niacin and Potassium

The recipe as adapted from Food Network, as adapted from recipe adapted from Donna Hay, Flavours, Whitecap Ltd, 1999

Ingredients:
Poached Peaches:
Water - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Cinnamon stick - 1-2
Cloves - 8-10
Peaches - 10-12, split and seeds removed
Whipped Minted Yogurt:
Water - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Mint leaves - 1 cup loosely packed
Low fat Cream - 1 cup
Hung yogurt - 1 cup
Mint sprigs, for garnish
Pistachio nuts, for garnish (chopped roughly)

Method for the peaches:

• Place the water, sugar, and whole spices in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. I threw in some mint leaves too for good measure!
• Once the sugar has dissolved, add as many peaches to the pan as it will hold without piling or crowding, and poach over a low simmer for about 8 minutes or until the fruit is soft. Remove the peaches and finish poaching the remainder of the fruits.
• When done, place the peaches in a glass baking dish, cut side down. Pour the syrup over the peaches, and refrigerate until chilled, for up to 8 hours. (I left them overnight).

• Place the water and sugar in a small saucepan, stir and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Add the mint leaves and simmer for 2 minutes, remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Strain and chill the syrup. (It becomes nice & thick when chilled; tastes like mint candy too).
• In a bowl, whip the syrup and cream with a hand-held mixer until stiff. In another bowl, whip the yogurt until smooth and fold it into the cream mixture.

To serve the peaches: Place 3-4 peach halves in a wine glass, and dollop with some of the minted yogurt cream. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs, cinnamon scrolls and pistachio nuts. Serve chilled. (Can be put together in advance; I made it 4 hours in advance).

Everytime I see a peach, it reminds me of 'James & the Giant Peach', by Roald Dahl.

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Spicy Sweet Plum Sauce

Plums 'n' Cherries...the fruit of summer!

Plum, Cherry & Black-cherry Conserve Ice-cream

More than the sauce, which was finger-licking good, with an ever-so-slight salty after-taste, it's the colour that won me over! Rich & luscious. Kept looking at it for ages...amazing PLUM colour!

What I did...

I simmered the plums with sugar till they got nice & soft. Then mashed them in the pan with the back of the spoon & pushed everything through a strainer to get a nice thick sauce. Then back into the pan it went...a cinnamon stick, ginger powder, cinnamon powder, dash of rock salt, some more sugar...& it was ready to roll!

Made some 'Plum, Cherry & Black-cherry Conserve Ice-cream' with with the sauce...was yum though a tad sweet for me & DH. I had a jar of organic black-cherry conserve that I had to use somewhere. The kids just couldn't get enough of it. The ice-cream recipe is the same as my Mango ice-cream...skip the mangoes & pistachios, add some plum sauce & pitted black cherries; blend well. Then continue whipping ever hour, finally swirl some black cherry conserve through it & leave to set overnight. Next time will increase the cream by a cup.

Serve with fresh plums, cherries & a drizzle of sauce if you like!

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"Any food not fit to wear is not fit to eat."
Jim Rosenthal

'Better Cake than Cream Brownies'...Chocolate Overdose