Raspberry Love Eton Mess .. Made by Moi

This would be perfect for Valentine's ! it's fast and yummy.
Eton mess is a traditional English dessert consisting of a mixture of strawberries, pieces of meringue and cream. I decided to make them using Raspberries instead, simply because I wanted to!  I made this for our Saturday gathering and it was a success.
It's so easy to make; if you follow the recipe well & it's also Delicious! I started out by making the meringues in advance, made the raspberry syrupy mixture, and then I went ahead with assembling the dessert. It's such a treat!

Happy Valentine's Day ... 

Ingredients for the Meringues: (forming 8 large Meringues or 12 small ones)
2 large egg whites only
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Ingredients for the Raspberry Syrupy Mixture:
4 small packages of raspberries
1&1/2 cups of sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp pineapple juice - I use KDD 

Ingredients for the Cream:
2&1/2 cups cold heavy cream - I use Almarai whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract



Method:
Start out with making the meringues. Preheat your oven at the lowest gas mark setting.
In a mixer, whip the egg whites and some of the sugar and continue whipping until it becomes bubbly.
Gradually add in the remaining sugar while whipping the egg whites until it forms a stiff peak.
To test the stiffness of the cream , hold the bowl upside down, the mixture should remain intact.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and spoon the meringue mixture on it leaving an inch apart between the meringues.(they don't have to be perfect, we will break & crumble them)
Place the baking tray in the center of the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes of baking turn the oven off but keep the meringues in for another hour.
Remove the meringues from the oven and leave them to cool completely while you finish up the rest of the dessert.
Once the meringues are cooled, break & crumble them into large pieces.

Now for the Raspberry Syrupy Mixture. In a saucepan pour the 2 packages of raspberries, the sugar, & lemon juice.
Crush the berries lightly with a spoon & bring the mixture to a full boil, once boiled, lower the heat and let it simmer for around 10 minutes, while stirring occasionally so it does not stick.

Once the  hot mixture is syrupy fold in the remaining 2 packages of raspberries and pineapple juice. (But keep a few fresh ones for decorating). refrigerate until it is very cold.

Finely, the making of the cream. In an electric mixture, beat the cream, sugar, and vanilla together until it's firm. Set aside & start assembling.

In glasses of your choice, layer a spoonful of the whipped cream, then top it with the raspberry mixture, and then a few crumbles of the meringues. Repeat this process twice or three times until the glasses are full, then finish it with a dollop of cream and a fresh raspberry on top.


Can be chilled for 1 hour or served immediately.

Enjoy...

Beetroot Cake with Lemon Icing..

Beetroot.. this magical vegetable.. contains high sources of vitamin C, A, & Beta carotene. It's high in minerals such as, calcium, magnesium, potassium and Amino Acids. 
This Antioxidant does wonders for your cholesterol and the health of your skin.. 
So.. enough said.. it's time for our healthy yummy dessert recipe...


Cake Ingredients:
225g Self-raising flour
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
180ml Vegetable oil
225g Brown sugar
3 Eggs, separated - Yolks separated from the whites
1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
150g Raw beetroot, grated
1/2 lemon, juiced
75g Sultanas - Raisins 
75g Hazelnuts, Chopped



Icing Ingredients:
10 tbsp Icing sugar, sifted
1-2 tbsp Boiling water
a few drops of lemon juice
some lemon rind


Method:
- Set the oven on 180c.
- Greece the loaf tin with butter and then cover it lightly with flour to avoid the cake from sticking or line the loaf tin with baking paper.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, & cinnamon.
- In a mixer, beat the oil & sugar together then add the egg yolks one by one while mixing well between each addition ans add the vanilla extract.
- Fold the beetroot into the mixture and add the lemon juice, raisins, and hazelnuts. 
- Fold the dry ingredients into the mixture and mix them well.
- In the mixture, place the egg whites and beat until almost stiff then fold hem into the previous mixture using a metal spoon - do not use a wooden spoon because it won't allow the air to go through.
- Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 50 minutes at least - it could need more than 50 minutes depending on the oven used.
- Half way through cooking the cake, place a foil on top it prevent it from browning too much while the inside is not fully cooked.
- While the cake is in the oven, prepare the icing by mixing the sifted icing sugar, the lemon juice & rind and using enough boiling water to create a sticky shiny icing to smooth it on top of the cake.


Yum!
Enjoy...

Homemade Pita Chips.. Twice the fun!

Those are easy chips to make at home for any dip..
It goes great with my Homemade Guacamole Dip or my Homemade Beetroot Dip.




Chips #1: you will need:


2-3 Thin Pita Breads cut into small triangles.
Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil
Dried Oregano


- Place the triangles of pita bread on a baking tray & drizzle them with a a little bit of olive oil.
- Sprinkle the pita bread with the parmesan cheese & oregano.
- Bake them in a preheated oven for around 10 to 15 minutes or until they are crispy.

Chips #1

Chips #2: you will need:


2-3 Pita Breads cut into small triangles 
A Griddle Sandwich Maker

Chips #2

- Place the triangles on the griddle sandwich maker and close it on them to create the grill marks effect.

Homemade Guacamole Dip .. with a Tip!

Ingredients:


4 Ripe Avocados ( Reserve 1 avocado, chopped to add towards the end for chunkiness)
2 tbsp Sour Cream 
3 tbsp Lemon Juice + 1 tbsp Lime Juice (Optional)
Few drops of Tabasco Sauce (Optional)
2&1/2 Ripe Tomatoes, Seeded & Chopped (Reserve 1 tomato, chopped to add later for chunkiness)
Handful of Chopped Spring Onions
Handful of Finely Chopped Coriander
Sea Salt to taste
1 Fresh Red Chili (Mild), Seeded & Finely Chopped


Method:


- In a food processor, throw in 3 avocados, 1 tomato, and the red chili and pulse.
- Add the spring onions & coriander and pulse again.
- Add the sour cream and a good pinch of salt and taste. Pulse for the last time.
- Remove the mixture from the food processor and add the remaining chopped avocados & tomatoes for chunkiness.  
- Season with more sea salt and lemon & lime juice until you reach the desired taste.
- Add the Tabasco and mix well.
- Serve with Tortilla chips or homemade pita chips.


Tip 1: To keep the guacamole bright green and avoiding that bad browning from oxidizing, keep one of the avocado seeds in the dip and add enough lemon or lime juice.


Tip 2: To keep the guacamole in the fridge for a few days without it changing color and oxidizing, put it in a Tupperware and put a direct cling wrap (plastic wrap) on the guacamole dip and let it stick to it to block air and then close it with the lid.


Enjoy!

Homemade Beetroot Dip ..

This Bright Pink Dip has lovely flavor, easy to make and full of healthy goodness!

Ingredients:

2 Large Beetroot, peeled

1 clove of garlic, minced

1&1/2 Sour Cream container or Yogurt

1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

1 tbsp apple vinegar

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1&1/2 Lemon Juice - or more according to taste

Method:

Boil the beetroot until tender.

Wash under cold water.

Grate the beetroot into a sieve on a bowl to drain all the water. Leave it for 5 minutes to drain well.

In another bowl, combine the garlic, mint and beetroot.

Add the sour cream, olive oil, vinegar & lemon juice and taste until you reach the desired taste and flavor. (I like it sour)

Stir well and combine. could be refrigerated for a couple of days and the flavors intensifies because of the lemons.

Serve with triangles of oven baked pita bread ! Yum!

Nigella's Ritzy Chicken Strips.. An Easy Lunch or Dinner..

This practically took minutes to prepare and a few more minutes to cook. But needs a couple of days for it to be ready, so prepare them a day in advance. If you have kids, they will love this recipe and grownups do too! I tried this Nigella Lawson easy breezy recipe accompanied by homemade Honey Mustard Sauce.. tastes sooo good!

Ingredients:

2 Packets of boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup buttermilk (Leban) - I prefer KDD because it's think and creamy
20 pieces of Ritz cracker crushed to form bread crumbs


Method:


. Put the chicken breasts into a freezer bag flat.
. Bash them gently with a rolling pin until the chicken is quite thin.
. Once done, take them out of the bag and slice them.
. In a bowl, place the butter milk and chicken and leave then in the fridge to marinade for 24 hours atleast.
. When ready to cook, prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven.
. Take the bread crumbs and place them in a shallow dish to coat the chicken.
. Take the chicken out of the fridge, take each piece, shake off the excess buttermilk and dip them in the crumbs.
. Coat them well and lay them on the baking sheet, bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. and Voila !!!!

Dinner is served! ... or lunch ;)

Earthy .. Lovely .. Cream of Eggplant Soup.

Ingredients:


Couple of eggplants, grilled, peeled, & cut into cubes.
1 Onion roughly chopped
1 Potato roughly chopped - preferably small pieces so it cooks faster
1/2 cup KDD cream - or Creme Fraiche if available
1 tbsp Flour
a little bit of butter
Olive Oil
2 cups Chicken stock
Salt & Pepper
1 tsp Ground caraway
a little bit of Nutmeg
Finely chopped parsley for garnish


Method:


- In a medium size pot, start off with the olive oil and butter and let the butter melt.
- Add the chopped onions and the salt to help it sweat and soften.
- In goes the garlic and pepper and mix well.
- While stirring, add the flour and mix well so it doesn't burn at the bottom of the pot.
- Add the chopped potato and mix all together well, then add the caraway.
- Add the chopped eggplants to the mixture and stir for 3 minutes then add the chicken stock.
- Leave the mixture to simmer for 30 minutes and bring it to a boil.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender and ladle in half of the soup so it doesn't fill up the blender.
- Transfer the bended soup into a new pot and ladle the rest to blend.
- Add the other blended amount of mixture into the new pot and put it on the stove again.
- Add the cream and mix.
- Add the nutmeg and a little bit more caraway for taste.
- Finely pour into a soup dish and garnish with finely chopped parsley. 




P.S. Salt should be added in moderation because the chicken stalk is already salted.