Category: Icecream

White Lady

 I was inspired to make a White Lady by two things. In Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie, Bridget recalls a poem by Frances Darwin Cornford called To a Lady Seen From a Train which mentions a white woman. Simultaneously, I found a recipe for a dessert called a White Lady inthe March 2003 edition of Delicious Magazine.  This makes this post not only a Dining with The Dame adjacent post but also a Twenty Years Ago Today adjacent post. I do so love it when things come together!

White Lady 3

 

Part of the poem recalled by Bridget runs as follows:

O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?
O fat white woman whom nobody loves,
Why do you walk through the fields in gloves

White Lady 1

Now, as you can tell from the fragment above, this is not a great poem.  But something about it roused the ire of other poets of the time.  And in what, I imagine to be some sort of precursor to a modern-day rap battle, the poet A.E Housman parodied To A Lady Seen From a Train as follows:

O why do you walk through the fields in boots,
     Missing so much and so much?
O fat white woman whom nobody shoots,
Why do you walk through the fields in boots,

And that was not the last word on the subject either.  Another poet, G.K Chesterton wrote his own poem called The Fat White Woman Speaks in response to Cornford

Why do you rush through the field in trains,
Guessing so much and so much.
Why do you flash through the flowery meads,
Fat-head poet that nobody reads 

Move over Ice Cube, your beef with N.W.A has nothing on Chesterton!  Also, this is not about to become a poetry blog, even though I seem to be talking about it a bit recently

White Lady 2

I mean really!  Little did that poor woman taking a shortcut through a local field realise that she was going to be weight shamed, accused of being utterly unloveable and have it lamented that she is not the target of a sniper!

In contrast, we are celebrating her with a White Lady or Dame Blanche which is a Belgian ice cream sundae.

White Lady  – The Recipe

White Lady 4
The White Lady was delicious!  But also serves as a warning. Ladies, if you are walking through fields, maybe take your gloves off so you don’t incur the wrath of battling poets!
 

Have a great week!

Millionaire’s Ice Cream

Hello, people of the internet, welcome and hear me out.  Because today I am making a bold statement.  If you ever have to make the choice of cooking just one recipe from this blog, then, this Millionaire’s Ice Cream is the one!  It’s seriously THAT good!!!!  And so easy to make as well!

Millionaire's Ice Cream

I first tasted Millionaire’s Ice Cream in Cornwall on holiday last year.  At the time, I commented on Instagram that I had just eaten the best ice cream I had ever tasted.  Of course, the setting helped.  It was the gorgeous coastal town of Port Isaac.

Port Isaac

If you are a fan of British TV shows about irascible doctors, Port Isaac may look familiar to you.  The TV series Doc Martin is filmed here.  The town is renamed Port Wenn in the series.

Port Isaac 2

I have circled the  Doc’s house in the above photo. And right down the road from the Doc’s house is Mrs Titchell’s pharmacy, which, in real life is the local sweet shop, Harbor Treats. I first tasted the delight that is Millionaire’s Ice Cream At Harbor Treats.  Right away, I knew I wanted to make my own version of Millionaire’s ice cream when I got home!  And here’s the thing, for something that tastes so luscious and decadent, Millonaire’s Ice Cream is one of the easiest things you can ever make.

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That’s Bert Large, one of the locals of Port Wenn.  But, back to the ice cream.  Sure, you can make it more difficult by making all the components from scratch and I have added in links to each component to allow you to do just that if you so desire.  The only thing I made from scratch was the chocolate ganache.  And, to my mind,  mine was as delicious as the one from Port Isaac.

So let’s get started.

Start with a layer of crumbled shortbread biscuits.  Keep these a little bit chunky, you don’t want them to be as fine as if you were making a crumb crust.

Then a layer of vanilla ice cream.

Millionaire's Ice Cream 3

Then a layer of salted caramel sauce.  I used Bonne Maman but you can find a recipe here. Just splodge it on, it does not have to be perfect.

Millionaire's Ice Cream 4

Then, repeat each of these layers.  At any time during this process, if the icecream starts getting too runny, you can pop it into the freezer for about 10 minutes to allow it to firm up.

Finally, a layer of chocolate ganache over the top.  This is the ganache recipe I followed. Then back into the freezer to allow everything to set.  A little smattering of sea salt flakes over that ganache will not go astray either!

Millionaire's Ice Cream 6

Get ready for YUM!!!!

Millionaire's Ice Cream 5

This ice cream will make you feel like a million dollars!

And don’t worry, in case you get too excited by the ice cream, the good Doc is on hand to keep things in check

Have a great week!

 

 

Use By: Apricot, Lemon and Basil Sorbet

There were so many things I could have named this post.  But hey, I made an Apricot, Lemon and Basil Sorbet. So when I couldn’t decide between witty or explanatory  I decided to go with plain old pragmatism. Who knew ice cream was so complicated?

Apricot, Lemon, Basil Sorbet

BEING MORE FRENCH

Towards the end of last year, one of my work buddies and I were talking about New Year’s Resolutions. He said he never made the traditional resos of saving money, losing weight or getting fit.  Instead, he chooses something that explores a different way of being / thinking / creating.  So, it could be a  year of reading the financial papers or a year of being vegetarian or a year of being celibate or totally slutty or otherwise exploring a part of your personality that you feel needs expressing or you just want to have fun with.

“You know, like a year of being more French”

My reaction?

 

BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

This is the beauty of something like this – it can mean whatever you want it to be.  For me…in no particular order:

Dress More French

  • Such as totally indulging my love of a striped t shirt.

 

Eat / Drink more French food (and wine)

Fromage anyone?

Fig, Fennel and Pistachio Roulade10

Watch More French movies / French tv shows

Including one of my favourite films ever The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

And just to balance out all that sweeetness, some gritty French police drama.

Be more Cultured

Self Care

French women take fabulous care of their skin and have amazing beauty regimes.

I plan on getting me a piece of that. My first foray into this realm was to buy some French eye drops that were RAVED about in a beauty blog.  They have made absolutely no discernible difference so that was money down le toilet but  I will try a new product each month.

 Read More French

I haven’t quite decided where this bit lands

  • Dip my toe in – Read more books set in France…eg Cara Black’s Murder In….Series
  • Float along – Read more books by French authors…I have some Proust and some Zola and some Binet in my TBR.
  • Dive in deep – Read French in French – I also have Flowers of Evil by Baudelaire and, weirdly a French translation of a James Patterson novel.

Maybe a bit of each…

Other ideas not fully thought out yet

  • Have an attitude
  • Start a revolution
  • Sexy Frugality

Mais, bien sûr

Cook More French

Which brings us back to doh oh oh oh.

The topic for our latest Tasty Reads Book Club was a “non book” book.  So you could cook recipes off the interwebs or the tv or, in my case a food magazine.  I bought this mag when I was on holiday last year and had not cooked anything from it.  

So, when some friends gave me a big bag of apricots of varying degrees of ripeness,  I decided to

  1. Be more French,  and
  2. To use this produce before it went bad (Year of Less Waste)

By cooking the Apricot, Lemon and Basil Sorbet from the mag.

Here’s the recipe.

In English.

Print

Apricot, Lemon and Basil Sorbet

A delightfully refreshing fruity sorbet

Ingredients

Scale
  • 500g apricots
  • 12 basil leaves
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 eggs
  • 200ml of cream
  • 150g sugar
  • 1 tbsp honey

Instructions

  1. Infuse 6 basil leaves in cream for at least 2 hours.
  2. Then put the apricots, the rest of the basil, lemon juice and a little water into a pot and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
  3. Taste and add the honey (a little more or less may be required depending on the sweetness of the apricots.
  4. Cook for another five minutes.
  5. Let cool.
  6. Separate the eggs.
  7. In a large bowl, beat the yolks and the sugar until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture turns pale. Then stir in the apricot mixture.
  8. In a separate bowl, beat the whites to soft peaks.
  9. In a third bowl, beat the cream to soft peaks.
  10. Add the cream to the apricot mix and blend through.
  11. Gently fold in the egg whites.
  12. Pour into a container. Freeze for 24 hours

Au revoir mes amis and have a lovely weekend!

 

 

Treasure Island Sundae / The Sunday Girl

Who would have thunk that so soon after the lack of crushed pineapple in London in August for Pieathalon that,  I would again have it on my shopping list?  Luckily for me, now I am back home and pineapple of all varieties  is once again,  freely available!

Treasure Island Sundae1

The recipe for the Treasure Island Sundae comes from The Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book, which was a birthday present from my gorgeous friend Ali, a few years ago.  I’ve been meaning to make something from it for ever so long because, quite frankly, this book is BONKERS.  With a subtitle of “Every day meals with a Tropic Holiday Flavour” you just know that this is going to be full of recipes containing pineapple crammed into places pineapple has no business to be.

Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book

And speaking of Pieathalon, someone out there should be thanking their lucky stars that I didn’t inflict this on them!

Pineapple Shepherd's Pie

Or what about turning that Tropic Holiday vibe Italian with some Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Tropical?

Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book2

There are also some recipes where the pineapple seems perfectly normal compared to another totally random ingredient.  Let’s take a look at a Hungry Man Salad.

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So like me, you’re probably wondering what the slices between the pineapple slices are?  My guess was crusty bread. Because maybe hungry men need more carbs than all that white rice. Or maybe crumbed pineapple rings? Weird I know but so far what’s been normal?  I was wrong. On both counts.   Quick, before reading any further, drop down to the comments and tell me what you think they are….

Okay…so the reveal?

A Hungry Man Salad “combines Golden Circle Sliced Pineapple and Beetroot with cooked rice, red and green capsicum, celery, eschalots, gherkin, tomato lettuce and….. a sliced meatloaf.

WTF?  Who does that?

Although I suppose it’s no worse than pineapple, oops, I mean Tropic Holiday Flavour in your spag bol.

I’ll definitely share more from this book in the not too distant! But for today, it’s the Treasure Island Sundae. And thankfully the treasure in that Sundae is not a sliced meat loaf!

The reason we are making the Treasure Island Sundae is because whilst on holiday I read a book called Sunday Girl by Pip Drysdale.  I actually read it in its entirety on the plane to the UK because it’s one of those books that once you start, you can’t put down!

(Also I couldnt’ resist the idea of writing about a sundae and a book called the Sunday Girl while listening to the Blondie song Sunday Girl on a Sunday.  No nasty riverside for me today.  I’m safely ensconced with the four ant-free, bird free and bird poo free walls of my own home…and it’s bliss!).

But back to the book.  How’s this for a premise?

Some love affairs change you forever. Someone comes into your orbit and swivels you on your axis, like the wind working on a rooftop weather vane. And when they leave, as the wind always does, you are different; you have a new direction. And it’s not always north.’

Any woman who’s ever been involved with a bad, bad man and been dumped will understand what it feels like to be broken, broken-hearted and bent on revenge….

So Taylor consults The Art of War and makes a plan. Then she takes the next irrevocable step – one that will change her life forever.

Ah, revenge…a dish best served cold right?  Just like a tropical ice cream sundae!

Treasure Island Sundae2

Here’s the original recipe.  Look at the super gorgeous pineapple page numbers!  😍😍😍

Treasure Island Sundae4

I made a few changes to the recipe as given above.  My supply of maraschino cherries has vanished!  Lord only knows what has happened to them so my fruit component was a strawberry and some blueberries.  Instead of a jelly cross, I used popping candy!  X may not have marked the spot but it was a lot more fun!  And finally, the real treasure for those of you, who like me are counting their calories?  Instead of strawberry ice cream, I used Halo Top Birthday Cake – at 280 calories per TUB you could eat these sundaes all the live long day and not increase your waist size!

Treasure Island Sundae3

The Treasure Island Sundae is a great little dessert.  There’s lots of different flavours and textures and so it is super fun to eat.  The blend of pineapple, lime jelly and the ice cream reminded me of one of my favourite icy – poles the Pine-Lime Splice!

I can see myself making a heap of these as the weather warm up!

And that’s me done!  Have a great week!

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REPOST – The Dishiest Dish – Rhubarb, Rose and Passionfruit Sorbet

We are having a lovely spurt of late summer…OMG, it’s autumn now….warm weather, just perfect for enjoying this delicious rhubarb, rose and passionfruit sorbet.

Rhubarb, Rose and Passionfruit SorbetLet’s talk about it shall we?

  • It’s fruity, tangy and not too sweet so incredibly refreshing on a hot day.
  • It is the most glorious shade of pink.
  • The passionfruit and rose water make it smell like a summer garden.
  • It has a  Rhubarb Almond Shard
  • And is sprinkled with Rhubarb Crumble Dust
  • And for the cherry on the top, it’s got…well…a cherry on the top.

I based this recipe on the Rhubarb and Rose Sorbet in Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage, Light and Easy which was my selection when we did a stint on Celebrity Chefs for Tasty Reads. I usually find Hugh very engaging, hence choosing the book, however I admit I have struggled with it a bit.  I’m all for dairy and wheat free however it just seemed like a bit of a chore, not to mention expense to have to buy new ingredients for just about every dish – this one has buckwheat flour, that one had chestnut flour, the other had chickpea flour.  Never even mind the expense.  Who has the space?

But I pretty much had everything for the sorbet, except the rhubarb already.  I also had a little passionfruit left over from the Valentine’s Day Soufflé so I popped that in as well.

Rhubarb, Rose and Passionfruit Sorbet26 Week Challenges

These have been a bit of a disaster.  I downloaded an update to my phone weekend before last. And it killed it.  #epicfailnexus5  The phone would no longer read the sim card.  So after spending the weekend trying every fix available on Google on Monday I got a new sim card, even though I kind of already knew it wasn’t the sim card.  On Tuesday the phone went in for a service.  Then there was a WEEK of daily calls of “Is it fixed?  “Is it fixed? Is it fixed?”  Then after seven days they said “Oh, we now know it’s not hardware, it’s software” and they got a “I KNOW IT’S NOT HARDWARE I TOLD YOU IT WASN’T HARDWARE ONE WEEK AGO.  YOU HAVE SPENT A WEEK WASTING MY TIME AND YOUR TIME. JUST PUT IT BACK TO WHAT IT WAS BEFORE THE UPDATE” And an hour later it was fixed.  Seriously I hate being such a bitch to service people.  But really.  A week.

A week where, I was without my meditation app and my flexibility app.  So they fell by the wayside.  I downloaded some mediation podcasts to my ipod.  Which promptly broke.

Oh and my car wouldn’t start this morning.

Technology hates me.

On the more positive side, my March resolution of 6 weeks without Candy Crush is going amazingly well!

Silver linings!

I’m starting a new challenge today:

The Persiana Project

As of now, I have 32 dishes left to cook from the very many I marked as “Want To Cook” in Persiana.  Sabrina Ghayour’s new book comes out in 50 days.  Technically, I can cook them all between now and then.  Realistically, it is unlikely however, to raise the stakes, I have made a deal with myself not to by Sirocco until I have cooked the 32.  And I REALLY want that new book.

We’re going to be eating a LOT of Middle Eastern Food over the next few weeks.   I can’t wait!

Reading

The Shut Eye – Belinda Bauer

Loved it – a great thriller about a missing child and a suspect psychic.

When We Were Invincible – Jonathan Harnisch

I feel really bad about saying that I am not enjoying this because it seems quite ungrateful seeing as I got it for free off Net Galley.  But I am half way through and I ‘m really struggling.  The plot…what there is of it….revolves around a teenager who suffers from Tourette’s and his life at an elite prep school.  I’m finding it all bit too stream of consciousness-y; with not nearly enough context for me to be able to enjoy the story.

Ummmm….let me think of some positives….

  • It’s very likely a very real description of being in the head of someone who is mentally ill.
  • It’s short.
  • I love the cover.

Watching

I watched the movie Compliance and it totally ooked me out.  Seriously, watching it made me feel dirty.  Several times I wanted to turn it off  because it was painful to watch. Having said that I would actually recommend it.  But be warned it is TOUGH going.  It will also make you question every person who ever calls you on the phone.  Not a bad thing really seeing as it is based on true.

Then I watched The Breakfast Club.  Damn, I love that movie!  And it made everything all right with the world again.   And I spent about three days walking around singing “Hey, hey, hey, hey….”

I’m still not trusting anyone who calls me who is not on my speed dial though.

Cooking

I haven’t been cooking much as I have been working all the hours!  I have been living on toast or things from the freezer.  Hopefully things will slow down soon because next week I have marked out to cook:

  • Margaret Fulton’s Quail in Vine Leaves with Muscat Grapes
  • Sabrina Ghayour’s Safavid style beef pastries
  • Laurie Colwin’s Broccoli Salad

Ok, here’s the recipe for the Sorbet:

Print

Rhubarb, Rose and Passionfruit Sorbet

A lovely light, refreshing sorbet, not too sweet with a glorious pink colour.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 750g rhubarb
  • 75ml orange juice
  • 75g passionfruit pulp
  • 100g caster sugar
  • up to 50g icing sugar
  • up to 2 tsp rose water
  • 100g passionfruit pulp

Rhubarb Crumble Dust & Almond Shard

  • 18 Rhubarb Crumble boiled lollies (or any fruit flavoured boiled lollies)
  • 100g flaked almonds
  • Oil

To Serve

  • Ice Cream Cones
  • Maraschino Cherries

Instructions

  1. Trim the rhubarb and cut into 3-4cm lengths. Place in a large saucepan with the caster sugar and the orange juice.
  2. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until the rhubarb is completely soft. Puree in the pan until smooth.
  3. When cool, stir in the passionfruit.
  4. Taste and add the icing sugar as required.
  5. Stir in the rosewater. Start at about 1/4 teaspoon and add it gradually until you get your desired level of rosiness.
  6. Chill until cold and churn in an ice cream maker until soft set, then transfer to a freezer container and freeze until cold. Alternatively, pour the mixture into a freezer container and freeze for an hour. Then remove from the freezer and break up the frozen sides, pushing them into the softer centre. Return to the freezer and repeat every hour until the mixture is soft-set.
  7. Then let it freeze solid.

Rhubarb Crumble Dust

  1. Place the boiled lollies in your blender and grind into a powder.
  2. Remove a third of the mixture to sprinkle over the top of your sorbet as your dust.

Almond Shard

  1. Heat your oven to 180C
  2. Line a baking tray with baking paper and lightly grease. I used coconut oil.
  3. Sprinkle the paper with the almonds, then with the remaining crushed lolly powder.
  4. Place in the oven until the lollies melt.
  5. Remove from the oven and all to cool.
  6. Break into shards

To Serve

  1. Place two scoops of sorbet into an ice cream cone.
  2. Sprinkle a teaspoon over the Rhubarb Crumble Dust over the icecream, stab with an Almond Shard and top with a cherry.
  3. Enjoy!

Have a great week!  And let me know what you’ve been cooking, reading, watching!

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