Desserts

Daring Cooks make Pierogi in August

Sometimes I’m stunned by his partial food memory. He could have a delicious meal today and not remember a single component the following week.  That’s my husband. Last year, he went to Krakow (Poland) and in true foodie style, I organised with staff at the hotel where he stayed to make sure he tried pierogi. On his return, I inquired ‘How was the pierogi’? hoping to hear some long description about the pastry and filling and all I got was, ‘Nice’.

Thankfully he brought back a Polish cookbook which I’ve opened up for this month’s Daring Cooks challenge  – to make our own pierogi from scratch.

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Bruléed French Toast, with ancho strawberry preserve

I wasn’t sitting under a tree when this idea came to me
No apple dropped on my head
Stunning me to discovery
But then I’m no Newton
It is my good friend, L I have to thank for this
Albeit it in a roundabout way
See, once upon a time three years ago
I needed flaked almonds and she offered to get me some
And she did – she got me a whole kilo
Because the store was out of the smaller packs
And thus began my almond experimenting
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—–♥♥♥——

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Cooking with Fruit: Loquats

Or Mispels according to the Dutch. Also known as Japanese medlar, not to be confused with that other sort of fruit, also called medlar, requiring rotting and bletting to reach edible status.

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It took me a year to find out what the English name for Mispels was. I first came across them in a market in the Hague and bought some. A few days later, stuck in my fridge, I couldn’t help but wonder how to eat them. When I opened them up, they reminded me of a Nigerian fruit Agbalumo, which we also call cherry. Also called Hog plum. Anyhow, I left a message on my market post asking for anyone who knew the name to let me know what it was. And someone did. In March this year. Someone called Brittan from The Suitcase Chef. Thank  you. You helped me fit that huge piece of a jigsaw, into a corner of my world – bringing stability, hope and joy.

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Chocolate and Orange Meringue Tarts

It could have worked out. For days before I made it, I dreamt and searched for recipes which used meringues instead of pastry pie shells. No dice.

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Still I went ahead, I could see it, smell it, taste it. The individual elements were great – meringues, orange curd and chocolate ganache. Read more…

How to make vanilla powder

Sometimes we go too far, then we slip over the edge, falling or flying: such are the adventures of the home cook. Daily and weekly, I am obsessed with how to make things at home, sometimes I succeed, and sometimes I fail and rather spectacularly too but I never let that stop me, guilty as I feel for my the waste bin which in some cases is my stomach! This occasion however is a tale of success, from start to finish (well, save for the disastrous accompanying meringue pies, which just didn’t work) for in the end, I made my own vanilla powder!

IMG_6498I skipped and hopped in excitement when I made this discovery and smiled with a deep, deep sense of satisfaction and achievement. If it were you, would you do differently when confronted with the pure, dark, aromatic bouquet of vanilla flavours? And all a complete chance happening.

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Blackberry Cheesecake & Jelly Verrines….

….with a crisp almond & brown sugar topping and lime

I sit down and write, a part of my journey, a place in my daily struggles to find who I am.

IMG_6761I want to know me, in my entirety and what I want. I want to walk this earth with gratitude but also fired up with great purpose. I want to lead, to share, to teach and to stand up convincingly for what I believe in. I find fulfillment in my parts – mum, sister, friend, colleague, neighbour, teacher, mentor, mentee, writer, photographer, person…I could go on and on. Read more…

Chocolate glut. Chocolate dessert

I have a chocolate glut. Oh yes. Chocolate. Glut.

IMG_3341 If you didn’t know, I’ll tell you now – I have a huge chocolate plant in my back garden, right next to the trampoline (my non-DIY husband sweated to put together) and my not-so-barren veggie patch, teeming with mint and lemon melisse.

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Matcharons and Midnight feasts

My most loved stories and books as a child were all written by Enid Blyton. My sisters could well say the same. We sought book after book after book from Famous Five to Secret Seven, culminating in the adventures at St Clare’s and Malory Towers. The one thing I loved the most and still remember with more than a twinge of nostalgia are the midnight feasts the girls had. Somewhere deep inside of me, I always felt a bit deprived because I couldn’t flatten myself and slip into the pages of the book, to partake of the glorious delights they indulged in.

IMG_5044Instead I held the pages and imagined…….and longed, never thinking I would someday forget they ever existed.

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Dutch Stroopwaffels, revisited

Its my nature. I can’t leave things be.


IMG_4707 I like it like that so bear with me.

Not satisfied with having witnessed stroopwaffels being made by experts, I decided that I would try it at home – without a proper stroopwaffel maker. And try I did. Verdict later! Read more…

Rhubarb Tian – in the shadows of the Daring Bakers….again

I will not be left out, it is rhubarb season after all and this time I am determined to cook it rosy pink.

IMG_4401Last year when I rustled up a compote of rhubarb and ginger, I was happy with the taste but secretly abhorred the brown, ugly compote. Thankfully, this year, none of that happened. The disaster forestalled by gently roasting the rhubarb till soft.

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