Leche Merengada

Helado de Leche Merengada

Serves 4 to 6

1 quart whole milk

3/4 C sugar

pinch of salt

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 vanilla bean or 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

zest of 2 lemons

4 egg whites @ room temperature

2 T sugar

Combine the milk, 3/4 cup of sugar, salt, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean portion and lemon zest into a saucepan. Bring the mixture just to a boil, stirring to blend the ingredients. Lower heat and simmer for three minutes. Remove from heat, discard the cinnamon stick and cool. Pour the mixture into a shallow container with a cover and chill overnight.

A couple of hours before you plan to serve the dessert, remove the vanilla bean and place the container in the freezer. When it has just begin to set up, take it out and stir it with a fork to smooth it out. Return it to the freezer for another half hour or so. When it looks like it’s become slightly firm but still mushy, whip the egg whites on medium speed until they are opaque. Slowly add 2 tablespoon of sugar and whip until the meringue holds shiny firm peaks.

Remove the milk from the freezer and stir it again with a fork to break it up and smooth it out. Gently fold in the meringue and put it back in the freezer for another half hour or so until it firms up a bit.

Serve with a dash of cinnamon.

Lovely recipe courtesy of Pastry Studio

Paloodeh

Here's one of my favourite refreshing summer drinks!

Recently I discovered it's called Paloodeh in Persian.

Whenever I make this drink it brings back fond childhood memories of the first time I had it in Kurdistan.

Thursday night was always a time to kick back and enjoy the weekend (Friday was the holiday!) We almost always had an engagement on Thursday evening either an invitation to someone's home or hosting guests in our home.

One of my father's distant relatives used to invite us frequently to their home, his wifes' a very sweet lady and she absolutely adored us children, we knew the couple before they were married because I remember my parents offering to host their wedding in our house because as university professions they were living out of the tiny dorm quarters at the time.
Their wedding, which is a whole other story was quite a festive, exciting and memorable event for us girls! It was probably the first Kurdish wedding I experienced.

When they moved to their own home they were extremely generous inviting us over all the time, I loved to explore their garden which had pomegranate trees growing in the front yard and many varieties of vegetables around the side of the house. Aunty used to let us tour the garden every time we visited and showed us the progress and changes she'd made.

On one memorable visit she presented us with these tall glasses filled with an orangy frangrant drink. As little kids my mother suggested I share the glass with my sister because it was simply too much to drink but Aunty was super nice and insisted that we can drink up and if we couldn't finish the rest then it was ok. Once I began sipping I was hooked!! This sweet perfumey drink was phenomenal!!!

My mother asked what it was and aunty told us they were melons crushed up with a lot of ice, no wonder because at that point we all had brain freeze but it was so worth it!

Ever since she discovered we loved it so much she made sure to make some for us whenever we were over <3


Now for the recipe:

Melons on their own are such a wonderful flavourful fruit that they make an elegant and easy drink that whips up in minutes. There is no milk or yogurt in this drink, it is extremely refreshing and simple!

All you need is a blender, some chopped (cored/peeled) cantaloupe, simple syrup and lots of ice. Blend until smooth and enjoy!

If you want a variation dress it up with some mint, maybe an infused simple syrup (saffron, ginger.. )

Give it a try, it's sure to impress! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Red Clover Lemonade

A trip to the farmer's market this week had me discovering a new interesting ingredient - red clover! This little basket of buds came with a recipe so I decided to give it a try today.

The night before I squeezed the lemons and boiled up the buds as instructed on the little recipe note. It was extremely easy to put together and the only tip I can add is to strain the clover tea using a paper towel (scotties sponge pockets are great as they don't break down easily - line a sheet inside a strainer)

This is going to help remove any tiny bugs, and there was quite a variety in these blossoms, and they went right through the sieve the first time around.

The taste is very good, and you can read up on all the health benefits of red clover and maybe give it a try :)

Disclaimer: Clover like many herbs is not safe in all situations, please read up on it first and from what I read already if you're pregnant do not use it.