When I was about 10, my parents bought me an yellow dress for my birthday. It was a knee length yellow and white striped thing, with puff sleeves, and, plain yellow bib like flap on top and skirting at the bottom. The bib and skirting were embroidered - "Sweety" and "But Naughty", in sprawling cursive letters. It was my favorite dress for many years; even when it faded and frayed, and, I outgrew it in height. I loved the color, such a happy tone but more than that, at that time still an introvert, I thought the writing was terribly clever.
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Blueberry Cardamom Compote
Even though the berry season is just past, they are perfect for this bridge season in the frozen form. Whether you freeze them yourself or buy them frozen from the market, frozen blueberries are perfect for making compotes as the freezing concentrates the sugars in the fruit, needing no more when making the sauce.
Read MoreIt was Summer....
It was here and its gone again... In honesty, I did not get to enjoy it too much this year what with various activities in and about..
But, I could not bid Summer in NY adieu and jump feet first into the cold chill of London without a proper send off. And, what better way than to post about the first cake I made for Summer this year.. yes, yes, eons ago.. But, can I make the case for treasuring and holding on until too late?
Be that as it may, I landed this morning in chilly London, my first stop in my 2 month discovery travel through Europe. For the rest of the month, I am being kindly put up by Sari and will be sharing with more foodie friends. Full house indeed. I am so looking forward to meeting everyone finally! And, trying to be of help, and so not in the way, while Sari and Beth are slogging away on the conference..
Ostensibly, I am here to attend the Food Blogger Connect. But, it's more than that. It's going to be a journey.. of what? I am leaving that open-ended and come to me as it wants to ;-)
And, while I am on the road, I am going to try and keep you posted on my adventures. Please bear with me for the mobile pictures may not do sufficient justice to the beauty I perceive or intend you to, but, I promise a proper, high def post once I am back home in November.
Today, I will leave you with no more rambling and a light Raspeberry Icebox Cake and cool Avocado popsicles.
Raspberry Icebox Cake
(makes a 5 inch square by 3.5 inch tall cake)
15-16 digestive biscuits
1/2 cup homemade raspberry jam
1 cup + 1 cup whipped cream, unsweetened with a touch of vanilla paste(the jam will add sufficient sweetness)
handful of raspberries for garnish
toasted pistachios for garnish (optional)
Line the cake pan with shrink wrap leaving enough overhang. Spread 1/4 cup of whipped cream at the base. Tightly pack biscuits and arrange in one layer. Spread a third of the jam over the cookies, followed by 1/4 cup of whipped cream. Repeat the biscuit, jam and cream arrangement couple of more times.
Leave the cake to rest in the fridge overnight or atleast 4 hours. Using the overhang shrink wrap, unmold the cake and invert onto a plate. Make a fresh cup (the 2nd cup) of whipped cream to frost the cake.
Top with fresh berries and sprinkle crumbled pistachio nuts.
But, I could not bid Summer in NY adieu and jump feet first into the cold chill of London without a proper send off. And, what better way than to post about the first cake I made for Summer this year.. yes, yes, eons ago.. But, can I make the case for treasuring and holding on until too late?
Be that as it may, I landed this morning in chilly London, my first stop in my 2 month discovery travel through Europe. For the rest of the month, I am being kindly put up by Sari and will be sharing with more foodie friends. Full house indeed. I am so looking forward to meeting everyone finally! And, trying to be of help, and so not in the way, while Sari and Beth are slogging away on the conference..
Ostensibly, I am here to attend the Food Blogger Connect. But, it's more than that. It's going to be a journey.. of what? I am leaving that open-ended and come to me as it wants to ;-)
And, while I am on the road, I am going to try and keep you posted on my adventures. Please bear with me for the mobile pictures may not do sufficient justice to the beauty I perceive or intend you to, but, I promise a proper, high def post once I am back home in November.
Today, I will leave you with no more rambling and a light Raspeberry Icebox Cake and cool Avocado popsicles.
Raspberry Icebox Cake
(makes a 5 inch square by 3.5 inch tall cake)
15-16 digestive biscuits
1/2 cup homemade raspberry jam
1 cup + 1 cup whipped cream, unsweetened with a touch of vanilla paste(the jam will add sufficient sweetness)
handful of raspberries for garnish
toasted pistachios for garnish (optional)
Line the cake pan with shrink wrap leaving enough overhang. Spread 1/4 cup of whipped cream at the base. Tightly pack biscuits and arrange in one layer. Spread a third of the jam over the cookies, followed by 1/4 cup of whipped cream. Repeat the biscuit, jam and cream arrangement couple of more times.
Leave the cake to rest in the fridge overnight or atleast 4 hours. Using the overhang shrink wrap, unmold the cake and invert onto a plate. Make a fresh cup (the 2nd cup) of whipped cream to frost the cake.
Top with fresh berries and sprinkle crumbled pistachio nuts.
Berry Season...
Spent some time this weekend relishing fresh raspberries many ways and storing them for later enjoyment...I have also been making colder stuff.. but that's for another day! :)
I am bit delayed on the posts for this week, so I leave you with these photos and promise to be back ever so shortly! :)
Have a great week!
I am bit delayed on the posts for this week, so I leave you with these photos and promise to be back ever so shortly! :)
Have a great week!
Orange and Rosemary Scones with Blackberry and Rosé Quick Jam
Weekends are, for me, days to unwind, relax and think about what I want to eat. This weekend, I felt like scones. So I baked fresh scones for breakfast, well, actually it turned out to be brunch :D.
I love scones, as much as I love many other British things. But, I can honestly say that the ones from Starbucks are not it! For the real treat, you really have to get them homemade or well, perhaps from Britain would also work, I suppose..:)
I have yet to find a quaint, mostly British place that serves good scones around here. Well, Tea and Sympathy here in NYC was fine but it seemed a tad too adapted for the west-of-the-Atlantic tastes. Besides, I am yet to visit the United Kingdom. So, until then, I guess I'll just have to keep baking them myself! :)
Sometime back, Julia had run a series on adding savory touches to sweet dishes. One of her creations stayed in my mind, a rosemary kissed orange custard. So, when opportunity presented this time, I decided to test out the combination and make these Orange and Rosemary Scones.
I have to say that orange and rosemary make a fabulous combination! I used a ton of orange zest that kept the flavors of the scone fresh while rosemary nicely balanced it out with a grounded earthiness! As I soared on the citrus, the herb played the good gravity goddess :)
These scones go great with butter or clotted cream (of course!) and Blackberry and Rosé Quick Jam I had made before. The Rosé reduction adds a mellow note to the jam and acts as a natural preservative as well!
Orange and Rosemary Scones
(inspired by the recipe here)
{makes 8-ten 2.5 inch scones}
200 g flour
2 T sugar
1 tsp salt
1.5 tsp baking powder
zest of 1 orange
2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely minced
60 g cold butter, cubed
140 g buttermilk
1 yolk + 1 T cream for egg wash
Sift together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder together. Cut into the mixture the cold butter until they are no more than the size of peas. Stir in the zest and rosemary and mix well. Add the buttermilk and mix for form a dough.
On a floured surface knead just a bit to make into a non-sticky dough ball. Pat the dough out with your palms to 1/2 inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut out scones and place on a greased baking sheet. Brush egg wash over the scones.
Bake at 425F for 10-12 minutes until golden brown on top. Cool on rack. Serve warm with butter and jam.
Blackberry and Rosé Quick Jam
2 cups ripe blackberries
1/2 cup Rosé wine
2-3 T sugar
2 tsp pectin
Bring everything except the pectin to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. Mash the blackberries into the sauce and cook until it reduces to half its volume. Add the pectin and cook until the sauce thickens. Pour into a sealable glass jar and seal while still hot.