June 08, 2011

3 am Mascarpone

Sometimes I take forever to get to making food, yesterday
was not that kind of day ;)
3 am, when normal people are fast asleep, I decided I need to make some
mascarpone, so I did ;)
Good thing I always have cream in my fridge:) Instead of dragging my sleepy
self to bed as I should,I went to the fridge.
It takes very little time to make, cooling is what slows it down, I am impatient :)
Watched an episode of 'I love Lucy', laughed and went to bed bed dreaming of my breakfast ;)


Mascarpone easy as 1-2-3



1 cup (250ml carton) of whole cream
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

most recipes say 'use double boiler', but who needs that mess ;)
heat the cream in the pan on medium heat til it reaches bubbling stage (90c) watch it not to run over--it gets real fluffy and has a big desire to escape the pan ;)

turn the heat down a bit, add lemon juice or vinegar
stir gently

it will thicken up pretty quick, once it starts sticking to your spoon turn the heat off and let it stand for 20 minutes till it cools off.

to strain the whey out, line strainer with cheese cloth, if you don't have any , wide gauze will do ;)
put it in the fridge overnight covered with plastic wrap

Enjoy first thing in the morning:)

p.s you can season it with your fav herbs and garlic and spread it on bread--yumm!!! :)

June 01, 2011

Summer In The City!!!

Right off the bat my summer is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!

First thing in the morning I got a phone call from my bestest friend! with some fabulous news! Then I went out to pick some fresh wild strawberries and cherries conveniently growing in my back yard! :)
A nasty little tick came as an added 'bonus' with the berries. Lucky me it was slow,  unlucky the tick-had to fly back into the grass hungry. I am paranoid enough to check myself the second I get out of the grass.

Eeeeeek! you should've heard me scream! My neighbors got a bit of a show with me ripping articles of clothing off in panic :D (it's a good day for everyone I guess;)

Apart from creepy crawlers that come with summer time, I love everything about it: the unexpected rain showers, the thunder and the scorching heat and sunkissed skin ! L-O-V-E it! 

I feel it's only right to celebrate the first day of summer with some yummies! Nothing better than a popsicle to cool you off on a sunny day. I made some 'über' healthy ones and some slightly decadent ones ;)
Eather way they are refreshing and yummy! 


Peaches 'n' Cream Popsicles:

2cups of frozen peaches
1/2 cup cream
sugar/agave/stevia to your desire  (I used none, peaches were really sweet)

blend all ingredients together 
pour into popsicle molds
wait for them to freeze [very impatiently!] :)


Lemon and Wild Strawberry Popsicles: 

1/2 c lemon juice
1c water 
sugar to your preference
fresh wild strawberries ( if you use larger ones,like strawberries or cherries,cut them in quarters)
mix ingredients, make sure sugar is dissolved
freeze 


Pomegranate Tea Popsicles:

brew tea (3-4 packets) to a cup
add sugar or any other sweetener you use
cool and freeze 

Have a YUMMY summer everyone! 

xoxoxo 

Julija