Lucious chocolate ice cream.

Here ith is! Smooth and unctuous ,don't think it will last very long. 

Have made a raspberry ice cream and some Apricot as well. 

As there is a meringue mix with the chocolate and cream, there is no need to beat it at all,and it freezes smoothly.      I have used the same mix to make both the raspberry and apricot ices too.

What to make with egg whites.

I had a couple of egg whites in the fridge from a sauce  that only used the yolks.

So I beat  them up ,intending to make some meringues. Unfortunately there must have been some egg yolk in there  ,as they simply refused to firm up, by which tine I had already added some caster sugar.

I am loath to throw anything away......so ,what to do with them? 

Added about 150 Grammes of dark chocolate which I had melted in the microwave,and then beat in just under half a pint of double cream. 

The result is velvety and not too strong. It shouldn't need further attention,except to eat it! 

When it has  firmed up I shall take a photo of it.

Just the right thing to eat when the rain is pouring down.

My delicious Smoothie.

Made with fresh ice cold water, some rather tired raspberries ,a banana,about half an unpeeled cucumber,and some Basil. Palest pink in colour,and tastes delicious!

Healthy lunch

Here we have roasted Mediterranean vegetables, plus some " big Couscous" . Not entirely sure about the couscous though,I really prefer ordinary couscous.

The vegetables are red onions,courgettes. Baby tomatoes ,aubergine, Fennel, red and yellow peppers,and goats cheese, plus basil, nigella seeds and some pomegranate seeds as well. Over the top I put a Harissa dressing, made with lemon juice, tomato paste, Olive oil and chilli flakes,certain ally perks it all up.

It tastes like   Summer on a plate!

Sunny Tuesday.

Wimbledon, the garden...I don't want to be cooking, so there's some melon that needs eating up,plus other vegetables in the fridge. I am mostly eating vegetarian at this time, it's too hot to bother with cooking.

I have done a melon, cucumber and tomato salad ,and dressed it with a difference . A Coriander , chilli pepper and the juice of a lime  and no oil  ,whereas I usually make a dressing of walnut oil and lemon juice. 

It definitely has a kick.  

Will put some chives to liven it up,and have a tomato and garlic salad to go with it .  Should be loosing weight ,as I have hardly eaten any meat in days

Also made a cake based on a recipe from Nigel Slater, using apricots in the mix, but have added  some chrystalised ginger ,and not used any ground almonds

3eggs, 4oz of butter and caster sugar, the zest and juice of a lemon,and 6 Oz of self raising flour.

Put the lot into the Magimix and pulsed it briefly  till amalgamated.

Oven @ 170o for 30-35 minutes. Dredged the top with Caster sugar,and poured over a mix of orange and lemon juice. Looks good!  I think Nigel calls it a " simple" cake.it is certainly easy to make.

Hereis the finished ( and ready) meal!

The salads ready for eating,  Peperonata, Caponata, tian of Aubergines,courgettes and tomatoes and a green Bean,Mangetout and courgettes ,the courgettes done in ribbons ,dressed with Olive oil and mint.

Mediterranean feast.

I haven't been in the kitchen to cook for ages it's been too hot, but today, as it's far cooler I have had a burst of energy,and made some Peperonata, some Caponata and a Provençal Tian of Aubergine, onions ,courgettes and tomatoes.

Now I am going to try and take a picture of the Tian( which I haven't made in years) before it goes in the oven.

I sautéed some red onions, a clove of garlic and the chopped aubergine in olive oil,till it was soft but still recognisable, then sliced tomatoes and Courgettes thinly to cover the top. It will go in the oven for the final cook,when the topping of vegetables should be soft. I have taken done of the peel from the Courgettes,it is not an easy thing to do onehanded,as the peeler kept on peeling my nails,and I don't want nail parings in the finished dish.

The Caponata is the usual Sicilian dish of Aubergine, celery ,tomatoes, capers, olives and pine nuts, stewed with a little oil,salt , and white wine vinegar,and a spoonful of sugar . Some flat leaf parsley will just go on the top for colour and flavour.

 Sicilians sometimes add a spoonful of sultanas as well, but I think that makes it too sweet .

Then the Peperonata is just tomatoes, red peppers or a mix of yellow and red , with chopped onion,a little garlic,and  gently cooked on the hob till the tomato juices have evaporated almost to nothing. 

Leave to get cold. Now I have three Mediterranean dishes , I shall have to ask somebody to come  and eat  it all.

The two pictures show first the caponata,without the capers or parsley as I have had to send a friend out to get me some capers ,just when I thought I had everything! 

 The second one is the Tian before it goes into the oven.