Chocolate Mint Slices

Toddler and baby asleep. House reasonably tidy (just ignore the kitchen). Husband out. Several options lie before me. A glass of wine. Paperwork. TV. Sleep calls but it’s almost not worth it. I’ll be up again in a few hours. And there’s something I’ve been itching to do for a while now…

Hello world. Did you miss me?

Before I escape to slumber, let me share this quick and clever recipe with you. Next time you entertain – consider ending your meal with an elegant platter of dried fruits, nuts, and some home-made chocolate mint slices. Dark chocolate, cool, crisp mint, and a trace of salt. If you’re anything like me,  it is dangerous to have these lounging about your freezer. Best finish them while you still have company …

Chocolate Mint Slices

Base and Top (use half for each)

300 gr bittersweet chocolate, melted
1.5 tbs oil
pinch salt

Filling

300 fr powdered sugar
3/4 tsp mint essence
1 Tbs oil
2 Tbs milk or water (you might need a little more)

1. Line a pan with baking paper (9″ x 13″)
2. Mix the chocolate ingredients. Pour half into pan until surface is covered. Refrigerate until sold.
3. Mix filling. Press into flat layer to cover chocolate.
4. Put chocolate on top and refrigerate until solid. Cut into squares.

Store in freezer.

What would you do if you had time to think?

A recent ad campaign for an educational program at my work asked: “What would you do if you had time to think?”

I now find myself faced with that same question, as I enjoy some time off before starting a new job on  July 1st. Faced with the luxury of time, laid out before me in all its splendor, I do what any sane person would do, I write lists.

Back with a Squash

Welcome back to me after an eleven month  hiatus from these pages.  Hello Readers. Are you still out there? I’m back. I’m back but things have changed around here. I’ve changed. Last time I wrote I was absorbed in a muffin-making frenzy, preparing for an onslaught of extreme expected hunger. I’m now the proud mama of a ten-month old baby boy. Indeed, I baked all of those muffins, I ate all of those muffins, I eventually got rid of the excess weight caused by those muffins and I’m still here to tell the tale.

‘Operation Muffins’

People keep asking me: “What’s happened to your blog? Why have you stopped writing?”

I don’t really have a good answer, but I suspect that so much energy has gone into baking a certain little bun in the oven, I haven’t had much left over for kitchen experimentation. We relied on old favourites and comfort foods to get us through the winter and now it is summer, I’m reveling in salads, gazpacho and quiches, and a wonderful husband who has been doing ALL the washing up for the last three months, if not longer.

Vanilla Petits Pots de Crème

 

Just because I write a food blog, do not be fooled into thinking I actually know what I am doing in the kitchen. Oh, how I dream of being one of those elegant Bree Van de Kamp types, who effortlessly breezes through the kitchen, leaving behind her nothing but sparkling work surfaces and delicious simple French desserts. Alas, this is not what our creator had in store for me. I am one of those ‘bull in a china shop’ type of cooks (and people generally). It is rare that I make it through a recipe without breaking, spilling or burning something. As I crunch sugar across the kitchen floor, sweep up broken glass, or try to render a burned cake edible, I sometimes find it amusing that I write a food blog, and some people seem to think that I’m a whizz in the kitchen.

Devouring Cyberspace: Top 10 Jewish Food Blogs

As a member of the tribe, and one who particularly loves her food, I recently did a little research for Presentense Magazine  into some of the best kosher and Jewish cuisine-themed food blogs around. If you need help telling your challah from your hamantaschen, or are looking to expand your gourmet Asian repetoire (but keep things kosher) look no further to some of the best Jewish food blogs around (in my humble opinion)…

Enjoy and devour away!

Oatmeal, Apricot and Cranberry Cookies

 Ninja doesn’t believe in seasonal foods. He doesn’t really believe in seasonal anything. Sometimes I tell him that I can’t serve a particular dish or wear a particular colour because it is too wintry or too summery and he looks at me with a confused expression on his face. Perhaps it is a consequence of growing up in Israel where there are no clear seasons apart from hot, very hot, disgustingly boiling, and cold, with brief flirtations in between which one might call spring or autumn.

Oatmeal, however, is decidedly wintry. No one wakes up on a hot summer’s day and makes themselves a steaming bowl of oatmeal (or what we English call porridge), do they? So in my head, oatmeal cookies retain that same association and are very fitting for a blustery, stormy, or even a sunny winter’s day. Today the skies are depressingly, determinedly grey – quite unusual for Israel – and I have comforted myself by munching on oatmeal cookies and sipping mug after mug of fruit tea.

Poached Pears

‘Tis the season to be jolly….yes, even in Israel, wintry festiveness has settled upon us (in the form of Channukah, festival of lights) and we are indulging in donuts, latkes, and other seasonal delights. Personally, I find myself missing the mince pies…

Happily, these pears went some way towards fulfilling that craving. Warm, spicy, rich and comforting, a perfect dessert for a chilly winter’s evening. Suprisingly easy to prepare, the best thing about them is the steaming mulled wine left over once you have served the pears.

Kiss the Rain… More Autumn Shades

More colours of autumn..pitter pattering on my doorstep. I like the smell after the rain, I want to gulp it down.

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Autumn Shades of Time and Tandoori Chicken Kebabs

Time. Time is a mysterious and magical entity. It speeds up and slows down at whim, making minutes seem like hours and months seem like days. How is it that waking from a short nap can feel like emerging from underwater, yet a night’s sleep can leave you struggling to understand how it is already morning when you just lay your head down on the pillow.