Easy Berry Mousse

1 ½ cups fresh or frozen berries

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. If you use fresh berries, add a couple tablespoons of water to a small saucepan and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the berries are softened. Frozen berries will already have enough water to aid in cooking. 

2. Cool for about ½ hour and pour cooked berries into a blender and puree for a minute or so. Set these aside.

3. Whip the heavy cream with a mixer or hand blender and add the sugar and vanilla when the cream has thickened. 

4. Pour the berry mixture into the whipped cream and fold gently. The berries do not have to be mixed uniformly with the whipped cream. The mousse is a little prettier if it is slightly variegated. Pour into custard cups and garnish with a piece of dark chocolate or a whole berry.

5. Refrigerate for a few hours. If you need to refrigerate overnight, cover the containers with plastic wrap.

6. Serve as a light dessert or afternoon snack.

The longer the shelf life of what you are eating, the shorter yours will be. Alejandro Junger

Goat Cheese Crepes

Crepes are mostly eggs with a small amount of milk and flour. In this particular recipe, I used almond milk and coconut flour to accommodate people with dairy and wheat sensitivities. But other types of milk and flour could be used as well. Even if you think you do not care for goat cheese, you will be surprised at what a delicious mixture it makes combined with the apple butter. There is a sweet and tangy flavor that is just a little lighter and fresher than crepes made with ricotta or cream cheese.

4 eggs

1 cup milk

2/3 cup flour

Salt and vanilla

Mix 6 ounces of goat cheese with 6 ounces of spiced apple butter. This will be a little easier if the goat cheese sits at room temperature for an hour or so prior to stirring.

Make the crepes in a large skillet with a small amount of oil on the bottom. Spray coconut oil works well and adds flavor as well. Fry these on low and stack with paper towels between them. This recipe should make about six crepes.

When the crepes are all ready, put a couple ounces of the goat cheese mixture on each crepe and wrap. You can plate these seam side down and garnish with sour cream and/or apple butter.  You can also place the crepes in a casserole dish with a tiny amount of butter or oil on the bottom and cover with aluminum foil if you are making these ahead. When you are ready to serve them, put the casserole in a 325 degree oven for about 20 – 25 minutes.

You can also let diners select their own garnishes at the table.  Sour cream, apple butter, syrup, fruit, honey and whipped cream are all great options.

Empathy is the soul of democracy.                           Jeremy Rifkin

Focaccia and Bread Sticks

This homemade bread does not take very long and is a nice addition to a home cooked meal or could add some panache to a take-out dinner.

Ingredients:

3 oz grated Toscana or Parmesan cheese (divide into two equal parts)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 beaten egg

1 cup garbanzo bean flour*

1 cup wheat flour

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 teaspoons rosemary leaves

1 Tablespoon yeast plus 1 tablespoon sugar plus 1/3 cup water

1 cup water 

*You can also use amaranth, spelt, brown rice, coconut or other non-wheat flour.  The addition of one of these gives the bread a slightly chewier texture because these flours do not rise as easily as the wheat flour; hence a less fluffy bread.

1. Heat the 1/3 cup water and the tablespoon sugar to a comfortably warm temperature and add the yeast. Set this in a warm place to work for a few minutes – 10 or so.

2. Put 1 ½ oz of the cheese, the salt, egg, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 cup water into a bowl. Add the yeast mixture when it is ready.

3. Add the wheat and bean flour. Mix thoroughly.

4. Put the dough on a pastry cloth or counter with a sprinkling of flour and knead for a few minutes.

5. Make the dough into a ball, coat with a little oil; cover with a light cloth and put in a warm place to rise for about 45 minutes or until double the original size. It might take more or less time depending on conditions.

6. Knead the dough again, and divide it into 2 equal parts.

7. Flatten one-half of the dough into a greased skillet, covering the entire bottom of the skillet.

8. Divide the remaining dough into 6 roughly equal pieces. Roll them into cylinder shapes about 8 inches in length and ½ to ¾ inches in diameter. Lay these on a nonstick baking sheet or stone.

9. Cover bread sticks and focaccia with a light cloth and let these rise for about 30 minutes. They should be almost double in volume. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

10. Before baking, poke the top of the focaccia with your finger in about 10 places to make wells for the olive oil. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes; then remove and brush sticks and focaccia with olive oil and sprinkle with remaining 1 ½ oz of cheese, Italian seasoning and rosemary.

11. Bake for another 10 – 12 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Serve with pasta. The leftover focaccia can be sliced horizontally to make a delicious sandwich bread.

All the elements for your happiness are already here.
Thich Nhat Hanh

Carrot Cake

I got this recipe many years ago from a very wonderful lady named Lisa Steinhoff. Like most of the wonderful ladies in my life, she was the parent of one of my students.

2 cups grated carrots

1 can crushed pineapple

1 ½ cups honey

1 ½ cups butter

4 beaten eggs

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon cinnamon

½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Mix all of the liquid ingredients; then add the flour and other dry ingredients. 

2. Mix thoroughly, but do not over beat.

3. Coat a 9x12 glass pan with oil and flour. Tap out any excess flour.

Bake at 350 for about 45 – 50 minutes or until set in the middle. Test by pressing gently to see if it springs back. 

There are two delicious frostings that work with this cake:
First and easiest is to stir together some softened cream cheese and honey. This is best if you're going to serve most of the cake right away, since it needs to be refrigerated.

Second is a frosting made of 1 cup powdered milk, 1/3 cup honey, 1/3 cup soft butter, a tablespoon of orange zest, and a teaspoon vanilla. Sprinkle with coconut if you are a coconut fan.

More options: If you want to make a smaller cake in an 8 x 8 pan, simply cut all of the ingredients in half. The whole recipe will make about 1 dozen muffins. For the small cake and the muffins, the baking time is closer to 30 - 35 minutes.

Muffin photo courtesy of Katie Reid:)

A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.                  John Keats

Mocha Rum Balls

¼ cup instant coffee

1/3 cup rum

¼ cup cocoa powder

2 cups crushed shortbread

1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1. Put the coffee and rum in a bowl and stir until coffee is dissolved.

2. Mix the cocoa powder with the powdered sugar and then add all of the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. It takes a few minutes for the crumbs to absorb the moisture.

3. If the mixture is a bit dry, add a tablespoon of water. You can test this by trying to form a small round cookie using about 1 rounded teaspoon of dough. Press the mixture together and then roll it between both hands to make it round. If it won’t stick together, add more water or honey.

4. After forming the mixture into balls. Roll them in a mixture of powdered sugar and cocoa powder. You could also experiment with other coatings, such as raw sugar, coconut flakes, or melted chocolate or leftover cookie crumbs.

5. These area traditional holiday treat, but there is no reason that the holiday can’t be Easter or Valentine’s Day or the Fourth of July. One of the best things about these cookies is that they can be frozen and saved for one of those occasions where you need to come up with a dessert, but have no time to make it. 

The recipe makes about 4 dozen small cookies. The ones you see below were rolled in eggy shapes, dipped in colored frosting and then rolled in chopped walnuts. (I did not put walnuts in the dough; instead I crushed a Heath bar and added it to the dough.)

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.

Anthony J. D’Angelo

Honey Yogurt Salad Dressing

We usually pour salad dressing from a bottle, but occasionally it's nice to put it in a bowl and show it off a littel.

¼ cup honey

¾ cup plain yogurt (coconut yogurt for dairy free salad dressing)

1/3 cup rice vinegar

¼ cup water

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh chopped flat leaf parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Dash of onion powder

Pinch of dried or fresh dill weed

Combine all of the ingredients and mix with a hand blender until the mixture is smooth creamy.

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
Confucious

Strawberry Mascarpone Trifle

A trifle is a layered dessert that can be made in an infinite variety of ways. You can follow these instructions precisely or make some substitutions and come up with your own signature dessert.
Trifles look beautiful in a deep, clear glass dish with relatively straight sides.  The same layered dessert can be made in individual parfait glasses.  The idea is to create a visual treat. The ingredients can be prepared ahead and layered an hour or so before serving.

Layers:
Sliced strawberries
Half of Mascarpone/Cream mixture
Chocolate
Fresh blueberries
Strawberries
Mascarpone/Cream mixture
Chocolate

Refrigerate after assembling, and serve using a large spoon so that you can reach all of the layers for each portion. If you assemble the dessert in individual glasses, serving is much simpler. If you don’t have parfait glasses, large wine glasses will work just as well to show off your creation.

Advance Preparation

2. Strawberries can be sliced and refrigerated one day ahead. About two and one-half cups of sliced strawberries are needed for this recipe.
3. A good quality dark chocolate bar can be broken into small bits and stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container. About 3 ounces of chocolate should be enough for this dessert.
4. Mix 8 ounces of softened mascarpone, 1 cup cream, 1/3 cup raw sugar or honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 tablespoon spiced rum with a mixer in a glass bowl. Whip at a medium speed until the mixture has at least doubled in volume. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate on one of the lower shelves.

Some Possible Substitutions or Additions

Vanilla wafers or other shortbread type cookies
White cake or sponge cake or chocolate cake pieces
Bananas, blackberries, raspberries or other fruits
Whipped cream or pudding in place of the mascarpone/cream mixture (You could use ice cream if you are going to eat the dessert immediately after assembling it.)
Drizzle caramel sauce instead of or in addition to chocolate.
Have some fun. There is virtually no way to mess these up!

A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.
Elbert Hubbard