Happy Holidays

Better late than never. It seems I have been neglecting my dear blog for a year, however I have not stopped cooking yummy delicacies and learning new things along the way. This holiday season I have been excited about making homemade gifts for family, here are some of my tried and tested ideas:

1. Candy Cane Marshmallows, 2. Hot Butter Rum, 3. Marinara Sauce and Pesto, 4. Rosemary Pear Preserve and Cranberry Jam, and 5. Chewy Molasses Cookie.

The Candy Cane Marshmallows were from Martha Stewart's recipe; easy, but suggest reading comments after recipe for helpful tips. Hot Butter Rum; no recipe, buy Hot Butter Rum Spices and add Rum with whipped cream (YUM). Marinara Sauce and Basil Pesto are homemade Christmas presents (shhhhhhhh......(;). Rosemary and Pear Preserve (cousin's secret recipe Sorry) and Cranberry Jam recipe, another surprise Christmas treat. And finally, Chewy Molasses Cookie, these are the best molasses cookies I have eaten ( I am not bias :)), really they are easy to make and can compete with another favorite Ginger Molasses Cookie at Paradise Bakery. Just a few ideas that I wanted to share. I hope everyone has a funtastic holiday season, enjoy each others company and savor every moment together ♥♥♥

Cherry Blossom Bliss

Spring is blooming in the desert and to celebrate the great weather I made some yummy easy to make Cherry Blossom pastry.

All you need is premade pie/pastry dough and canned cherry filling. Heat oven to 375℉. Cut dough into square pieces and add a tablespoon of cherry filling in the center.  Brush tops of pastries with an egg wash (egg yolk only, beaten). Cook for 15-20 minutes. Let cool then enjoy! Happy Spring everyone.

Macaroons!

I love macaroons. Recently, my husband found this wonderful pastery shop that makes them. The above macaroons are pumpkin, hazelnut, key lime, raspberry rosewater and espresso. And just by coincidence I had a sample of each flavor ;-)! They all tasted devine, but I would have to say the pumpkin one was a favorite. Check out the cafe site at http://www.essencemacaron.com/index.php

Ube Yogurt Treat

Ube, an Asian purplish yam.

This delicious recipe was a favorite of mine as a child. I tweaked it a little to make it lowfat, but the taste still remains the same. I love this recipe; very easy to make with few ingredients. 

 All you need is a can of Coconut Milk (13.5 oz), 1 cup of nonfat plain yogurt, 1 cup of sugar, and a pound of shredded Ube (which you can find at any Asian grocery store). Puree in blender and add to ice cream maker. Within a few minutes you will have yourself a delicious healthy dessert. Happy eating.      

Old-Fashioned Lavender Honey Ice Cream

I have an English lavender bush that is starting to bloom, the flowers were just right for making a new type of ice cream for the family.

The honey was just enough to bring out sweet flavor of lavender.

Here the lavender, honey and milk are all combining to make a delicious treat.

The incorporated ingredients, ready to serve.

A lovely light dessert or as my daughter would say "quite refreshing Mom".

Lavender Honey Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half-and-half

2/3 cup mild honey

2 tablespoons dried edible lavender flowers

2 large eggs

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Bring cream, half-and-half, honey, and lavender just to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, then remove pan from heat. Let steep, covered, 30 minutes.

Pour cream mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard lavender. Return mixture to cleaned saucepan and heat over moderate heat until hot.

Whisk together eggs and salt in a large bowl, then add 1 cup hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Pour into remaining hot cream mixture in saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 to 175 F on a candy thermometer, about 5 minutes (do not let boil).

Pour custard through sieve into cleaned bowl and cool completely, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours. Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden

Reds and Browns

Reds and browns remind me of the upcoming holiday, Valentine's Day and the chocolate treats that go along with it.

A simple dessert you might try making involves combining strawberries and chocolate together. Buy some juicy fat strawberries if they are available where you live and dip them in melted chocolate, refrigerate for a couple of hours, then take out and enjoy!