easy desserts & recipes: tiramisu entremet

Entremets is an Old French word that means “between servings”. In modern French cuisine, entremet is a dish served in between courses to cleanse the palate for the next dish or it can simply be a dessert. This was common among the nobility and upper middle class in Western Europe, in the later part of the Middle Ages and the early modern period. An entremets’ main function was to herald the end of a course, be a conversational piece (hence, its elaborateness) and to prepare the diner for the next dish. Nowadays, entremet’s are usually chilled desserts that are made with layers of mousse and cake. It can even include pastry creams that help it set better. One of my favorite entremet’s is the Matcha Entremet (green tea). Matcha is increasingly becoming popular, not just because of its health benefits and effectiveness to help you detoxify after a rich food... Read the Rest →

 

stew & soup recipes: cold tomato bisque recipe by jacques pepin

As the temperatures climbed into the 90’s today it was clear what would be on the table for dinner; some form of cold soup. Cold soups are so very easy and extremely fresh and healthy. It is a simple thing to take a walk through your local farmers market and find the produce that will yield a of a wide variety of cold soups. Tomatoes are plentiful this time of year and throughout the summer. Tomatoes are a fruit that is rich in lycopene. Solanum lycopersicum is a member of the nightshade family and originated in South America, most likely Peru. This versatile fruit was hailed as an aphrodisiac by the natives of South America. When the fruit was brought back to Europe the French seemed to feel the same way as the peoples of South America and they named this new fruit “pomme d’amore”, love apple. There is some... Read the Rest →

 

reading & recipes: reading lolita in tehran & coffee ice cream recipe

I recently read a book called Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi. This book is Nafisi’s memoir about life in Tehran during Iran’s revolution and their eight year war with Iraq. Nafisi was raised in Iran, but as a college student she studied literature in America. She returned to Iran after her studies in America and discovered that her beloved homeland was not the same as the one in which she was raised. Nafisi arrived when Iran was in the beginning stages of the revolution. She lived in Tehran for 18 years (1979-1980) before finally leaving the oppression of the Islamic Republic. It occurred to me, while reading the novel that the terrifying Islamic Regime that gain control of Iran was essentially bullying in its most pure form. Nafisi’s husband, points out: “They have the power to kill us or flog us, but all of this only reminds them... Read the Rest →

 

home remedies & recipes: coconut lemon macaroon & how to clean your wooden cutting board

Home remedies are sometimes the most efficient and the cheaper. We all know the amazing powers of the lemon. Try using a little lemon juice to combat bacteria hiding in your wood cutting board. Simply rub the lemon juice into the board, let it sit overnight or for 8 hours and then rinse. The acidic lemon juice will kill off unwanted bacteria. News We were nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you for nominating us Kitchen Memories! Lemon Coconut Macaroons Adapted from Paula Deen on the Food Network Ingredients 1 large egg white 1/8 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 (14-ounce) bag shredded sweetened coconut, finely chopped Note: (we added an egg yolk and 1/4th cup of Almond Flour) Directions Preheat the oven to 300 degree F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In... Read the Rest →

 

home remedies & recipes: the beauty in a strawberry & strawberry custard tartlettes

The beauty industry makes millions of dollars on our obsession for youthful skin. Before the beauty industry women turned to mother nature for their “lotions”. Do you want the curative powers of alpha-hydroxy? Strawberries have the alpha-hydroxy that we desire. Cut a strawberry in half and rub on your skin. It may feel a little sticky, but when you rinse the strawberry juice off your skin will feel wonderful. Make this a habit and watch your skin take on its youthful natural glow once again. Pastry Cream Recipe by CHRISTINIBEANIE at all recipes.com Ingredients 2 cups milk 1/4 cup white sugar 2 egg yolks 1 egg 1/4 cup cornstarch 1/3 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Directions In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks... Read the Rest →

 

savory dishes: summertime & nelly’s bbq spare ribs

It’s funny how the seasons tend to remind us of the things we used to do while growing up. Each season rekindles a particular memory that we like to keep in the cobwebs of our mind. These memories are what we hold dear and will treasure when our bodies can no longer keep up with the follies of our younger years. Who wouldn’t love spring and summer? I would always be nudged from slumber by the animated chirping of birds outside my window. From the moment I opened my eyes I would already anticipate and look forward to what awaited for the rest of the day. I didn’t even mind the gentle buzz of the neighbor’s lawnmower. Nothing compares to the smell of freshly mowed grass in the morning. I was in charge of checking the PH balance of the water in our pool, cleaning the filter, and adding a... Read the Rest →

 

easy desserts & recipes: chocolate chocolate ice cream recipe by alton brown & bon appetite

Once in a while we just get in the mood for chocolate. As we’ve gotten older our tastes have changed. When we were younger we loved anything chocolatey, all the time. Now, we enjoy desserts with flavors that we would have spurned in our youth. But, there are those times when you crave a chocolate dessert. Over the past two days it has become hot…sauna hot. We went from sleeping with our windows open to buttoning up the hatches and cranking the air. When craving chocolate in this weather there is nothing left to do but make chocolate ice cream. Creamy, smooth, simply delicious chocolate ice cream will be the only thing to hit the spot. We find ourselves, again, using an Alton Brown ice cream recipe for a good basic chocolate ice cream. But, if you want to get sexy and take it to orgasmic levels then try the... Read the Rest →

 

easy desserts & recipes: lemon sorbet & italian lemon ice

I grew up in New Jersery, a mere 8 miles from my Nonna (grandmother), but as anyone from the metropolitan area understands, 8 miles is a world away. And, a summer evening spent at Nonna’s was indeed a different world. I lived in the suburbs. Nonna lived in a city, in a neighborhood that was primarily populated by Italian immigrants and their families. I loved the brownstone homes, some of them attached, some divided ever so slightly by a narrow alley, but all with their windows open, hoping the evening breeze would blow through the lace curtains. In the summer most of the Italian families in the neighborhood transformed their small postage stamp backyards into vegetable garden jungles. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, basil, parsley were planted and tended to with care. I can still recall the scent of the garden on a hot, humid evening, crickets chirping, lightening bugs glowing.... Read the Rest →

 

tastily touring: visiting burkina faso & a welsh cake recipe (banfora)

Burkina Faso is located in west Africa and might as well be a world away from our last stop on our Tastily Touring journey. Burkina Fasa, formerly the Republic of Upper Volta, is a landlocked country surrounded by Mali, Niger, Benin,Togo, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Usually we don’t mention the capitals of each country we visit, but the name of Burkina’s capital is Ouagadougou, which we love to try to spell without looking at the correct spelling. Burkina Faso is about 105,000 square miles, approximately the size of Colorado. This west African nation is tropical with warm, dry winters and hot, wet summers. Of the approximately 15,800, 000 people who reside in Burkina 40% are Mossi and the other 60% is a mix of Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande and Fulani. The official language is French, however over 90% of the population speaks a native Africa language belonging to the... Read the Rest →

 

life is delicious: raspberry tart recipe & her pet monkey rhubarb

Tart fruits can bite when you first eat them, but after eating the fruit for a bit the sweetness begins to come through. This can be said for our next Strawberry Shortcake character: Raspberry Tart and her pet monkey named Rhubarb. When Raspberry Tart was introduced as a new character she was a tad bit mean. But, eventually, her sweetness came through. Life is truly delicious this time of year as we enjoy the summer season, berry season. One of the things we love best about summer is all the fresh berries. We cannot eat enough of them. Initially we wanted to make this tart with the lovely black raspberries found at the local farmers market, but we were impatient, having eaten the black raspberries on the walk home. Unadorned, these raspberries were as nature intended…tart enough to make us wince a little and sweet enough to make us want... Read the Rest →

 

savory dishes: southern fried chicken & a beautiful ride

Have you ever gotten up and realized it was just too beautiful a day to waste doing your everyday routine? As a cool breeze gently made its way into my windows I woke up to song birds and the smell of magnolias. I thought I might still be dreaming, but I wasn’t. I heard my children get up for school, teenagers now, who don’t need my help. I lingered in bed, the sheets that perfect temperature, not too hot, not too cold. I’ve come to call that feeling PST (perfect sheet temperature). I did not want to leave my bed, but when opened my eyes I knew I had to get up and enjoy this wonderful June day. With my boys off to school and my husband and I off from work. (Truly, we did not call in “sick”!) it was meant to be that we did something special with... Read the Rest →

 

savory dishes: taking the bull by the horns & an open faced roast beef sandwich

Six weeks ago, Camille and I were both faced with a health scare, like two sisters, we are so connected that we are the epitome of two peas in a pod. After that scare I had with the tummy issue I have flashbacks in my head like a 60’s video reel playing memories of the worst kind: camera down my throat and the choking feeling when I would eat something because my esophagus was dealing with too much acid. I had a slight fever so I just didn’t know what caused that choking feeling every time I ate. Did I swallow something bad or was it the way I was eating? What is the bad bento that I had the day before, or was it that I was just eating way too fast. It seemed like a perfect epitome for psychedelic hallucinations. If only it were a hallucination. The problem... Read the Rest →

 

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