EAT DRINK LIVE

REFLECTIONS OF....

We've gone straight back to the land of cream and sugar with our Daring Bakers' challenge this month, but that's to be expected when our sugar loving Peabody is at the helm. She chose this elegant and luscious Strawberry Mirror Cake because it just said "Summer" in rather loud and bossy tones. If you're going to make a cake that calls for several pounds of strawberries then this is the time to do it. The layers of sponge soaked in Kirsch-laced syrup (mine were getting in shape for bikini season and are on the skinny side) are surrounded by a strawberry bavarian cream and topped by a strawberry jelly "mirror". A pretty-in-pink dessert for a summers day.

I have a post-birthday party little one suffering the aftermath of a sugar overdose sitting beside me, so you'll have to forgive a brief post and a rapid dissection of the cake. I didn't have any major problems this time round, making it in one day and my fingers emerged unscathed with not a burn in sight. The sponge is a foam-based one which needs much beating of eggs to get that whoosh of volume needed for a fluffy cake. My baking tray was smaller than that called for in the recipe so I was a little too cautious with the quantity of batter I poured into it, hence the slimline cakes, though thankfully the texture was still light and airy. The sponges are brushed with a sugar syrup to add flavour and Kirsch was the tipple of choice as it matches well with the strawberries.

I didn't get off scot-free though as the custard base of my bavarian cream curdled the first time round. Bavarian cream is egg-custard based, set with gelatine (or agar-agar), enriched with cream and, in this case, flavoured with a large quantity of gorily, pulverized strawberries (my little one worryingly got great pleasure out of this stage). When set it becomes mousse-like in texture. I was faithfully stirring away waiting for the custard to thicken when I caught the unmistakable smell of scrambled eggs. Some choice phrases later, followed by "Mummy are you grumpy?", followed by me starting all over again resulted in an, eventually, smooth pink-hued cream. This needs to be poured over the sponge layers immediately, before it begins to set. Put the first sponge layer in a spring-form about an inch wider than it and pour over half the cream, centre the other layer on top and pour over the rest. This method gives the cake the lovely effect of cake layers suspended in strawberry mousse. Take a break now as a two hour stopover in the fridge is necessary at this point.

The mirror was my favourite part, as the only jelly I had ever met was the packet type that needed to be dissolved in water and re-set. Unimpressed with this as a kid, I got a real kick out of making my own from scratch. Once you have extracted every drop of juice from yet more strawberries and added your setting agent (throw in some more Kirsch for good measure) you cool it until it becomes syrupy and pour it over the the top of the strawberry cream. Make sure you let the mirror cool enough so that all your hard work doesn't dissolve into a pink puddle before your eyes. Leave the whole ensemble to set overnight, just to be on the safe side.

I couldn't bring myself to decorate the cake, I claim elegant minimalism you may say lazy, but this is really about the strawberries so why mess around. In fact the hardest part of this challenge was trying to get a decent picture. I don't know why exactly but the mirror refused to come out red and decided to go with an orange look for it's internet debut. I tried several slices at so many different angles but to no avail, leaving me with a number of slices to dipose of (all of which tasted red), please leave your sympathies in the comments below.

To browse through all the efforts of the other Daring Bakers, take a look at our fancy schmancy new blogroll site put together by the industrious Lisa and Ivonne. The link is over there on the right.

Below is the recipe as swiped from Peabody, anyone needing conversions to weight measurements just let me know. I can't resist a quick picture of the birthday girl (forgive the presence of the inevitable fizzy drink bottle) She has begun to emerge from her sugar-coma and is becoming very vocal in her protests at the length of time I've spent in front of the computer. Perhaps a medicinal slice of cake is necessary.... for both of us.

Strawberry Mirror Cake

3 eggs
3 egg yolks
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
2 TBSP sugar
2/3 cup sifted cake flour
½ cup water
1/3 cups sugar
2 TBSP kirsch or strawberry liqueur

Strawberry Bavarian Cream
2 ½ TBSP unflavored gelatin
1 ½ cups strained strawberry puree(1 ½ baskets)
5 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1 ½ cups milk
1 TBSP lemon juice
several drops of red food coloring
1 ¾ cups whipping cream

Strawberry Mirror
1 tsp lemon juice
1 TBSP kirsch
1 TBSP water
1 TBSP unflavored gelatin
Few drops of red food coloring

Strawberry Juice
1 ½ pints of strawberries(18 oz)
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup water

1.Preheat oven to 450F. Butter and flour the sides of an 11-by-17 inch jelly roll pan(rimmed baking sheet). Line bottom of pan with a sheet of parchment paper cut to fit bottom pan exactly.
2.Beat eggs, egg yolks and ¾ cup sugar together in a medium bowl until thick and light. Beat in the vanilla.
3.In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy, ad cream of tartar and beat until whites begin to form peaks. Add the 2 TBSP sugar and beat until the whites hold stiff, glossy peaks(do not over beat).
4.Sift flour over the egg yolk mixture and fold in . Stir in one fourth of the whites. Then carefully fold in the remaining whites.
5.Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake until light brown and springy to touch(7 to 10 minutes). Cool in pan 5 minutes. Run a knife along edge to loosen. Invert cake tin to cut out 8 ¼ inch circles of cake. Wrap the cake layers, separated with waxed paper, and set aside. Cake may be frozen at this point.
6.To make soaking syrup: Combine water and the 1/3 cup sugar in saucepan; bring to a boil to dissolve sugar. Cool to room temperature; flavor with liqueur. Set aside or refrigerate in glass jar until ready to use.
7.To assemble cake: Brush sides of 10-inch springform pan lightly with flavorless salad oil or almond oil. Cut out a cardboard circle that is exactly the same size as the bottom inside of the pan; cover cardboard with aluminum foil and fit into bottom of pan. Center one layer of the cake bottom of pan. Brush the cake with some of the soaking syrup to just moisten(not drench) the cake; set aside.
8.Prepare Strawberry Bavarian Cream. Immediately pour about half of the Bavarian Cream over the first layer of cake in the pan. Set the next layer of cake on top of the cream. Pour remaining Bavarian Cream over cake and smooth top of the cream with spatula. Refrigerate until the cream sets(1 to 2 hours).
9.Prepare the Strawberry Mirror.
10.To serve: Wrap a hot towel around the outside of springform pan for a few minutes. Run a small sharp knife tip around the edge of the Strawberry Mirror to separate it form the sides of pan. Mirror will tear when sides are unlatched if it is stuck at ANY point. Slowly unlatch the pan and slide it off the cake. Slice cake in wedges and serve in upright slices.
Prep Work

Strawberry Bavarian Cream
1.Sprinkle the gelatin over the strawberry puree in a small bowl and set aside until spongy.
2.Combine egg yolks and sugar in a bowl’ beat until light. Bring milk to a boil in sauce pan. Pour hot milk into yolk mixture ans stir with a wooden spoon(it doesn’t say so but I would temper the egg mixture first to be safe). Return this mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until your finger leaves a clear trail in sauce when drawn across the back of the spoon.(Do not boil or mixture will curdle.) Immediately remove from heat and stir in softened gelatin mixture. Pour into a stainless steel bowl places over a bowl of ice water. Stir in lemon juice and a few drops of red food coloring. Cool over ice water, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens to the consistency of softly whipped cream.
3.While gelatin mixture is cooling, whip the whipping cream until it holds soft peaks. When the gelatin mixture resembles softly whipped cream, fold the whipped cream into the gelatin mixture.

Strawberry Mirror
1.Prepare strawberry juice.
2.Place lemon juice, kirsch, and water in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over this mixture; set aside until spongy and soft.
3.Measure 1 ½ cups Strawberry juice into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer; pour over gelatin mixture and stir to dissolve gelatin. Tint to desired color with red food coloring. Place bowl over bowl of ice water and stir occasionally until the mixture is syrupy and just beings to thicken(do not let jell); remove from ice water.
4.When mixture is syrupy, pour a 1/16-inch layer over the top of cake. Refrigerate until set.

Strawberry Juice

Wash and hull strawberries; coarsely chop. Place strawberries in saucepan; crush to start juices flowing. Place over low heat; add sugar and water; simmer slowly 10 minutes. Pour juice and pulp through damp jelly bag or cheesecloth-lined colander and drain into a bowl for 15 minutes(Do not press down on fruit).
Adapted from Cakes and Pastries At The Academy by the California Culinary Academy 1993

MUCH ADO ABOUT MUFFINS VIII: LASHINGS AND LASHINGS OF GINGER BEER.

Okay, so it's more like lashings and lashings of rain, but despite my genetically entitled right as an Irish-woman to complain about the weather, I refuse to do so. Muffins are agile travellers and therefore perfect for picnics and I'm going on one today even if I spend it in the car with the windows fogged up for all the wrong reasons.

When I saw these old-fashioned bottles of Fentimann's Ginger Beer it sent me rushing back to reading (and endlessly re-reading) the Famous Five books. They may be thoroughly old-fashioned now (this does not stop millions of them still selling every year) and in these politically correct days Anne may be mocked for enjoying her housewifely role among the intrepid adventurers, rather than moulding herself into a career-woman of the future. Now, in the 21st century she would get to enjoy both roles... at the same time. Lucky girl.

Despite the over €2 price tag for one 275ml bottle, I couldn't resist and knew that it would somehow morph into muffin form. I replaced some of the milk in this pear and ginger muffin recipe with the ginger beer, the bubbles lending an airiness and tenderness to make a lovely, fluffy muffin. Extracts of juniper, speedwell and yarrow in the beer can only add to the mildly spiced flavour and the pears are sweet and juicy. A change of texture, with a bit of crunchy walnut crumble on top and it can be counted a successful adaptation. All I need now are the potted shrimp and pork pies.

Hang on, the sun is breaking through the clouds, I'm off before it realises it took a wrong turn at Turkey and disappears again.

Have a great weekend and tune in on Monday for the next instalment of the Daring Bakers saga.

Adapted from Muffins Fast and Fantastic by Susan Reimar.

PEAR & GINGER-BEER MUFFINS

• 280g plain flour
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger (1 1/2 tsp if not using ginger beer)
• 120g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 100ml ginger beer
• 80ml milk
• 170g pear, well-chopped (either tinned or fresh)
• 3 tbls honey
• 90ml vegetable oil or 85g butter, melted

For walnut crumble topping:

• 60g flour
• 90g brown sugar
• 40g walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 30g butter, melted

1. Line the muffin tins with paper cases or squares of greasproof paper. Preheat the oven to 200 C.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarb of soda, salt, ginger and sugar. In a seperate bowl or large jug, beat the egg with a fork. Add ginger beer, milk, chopped pear, honey and oil/melted butter. Stir well.
3. Pour liquid ingredients into dry and stir until just combined, batter should be lumpy but with no dry pockets of flour.
4. Fill muffin cases with batter. Mix crumble flour, sugar and nuts together and add enough melted butter to make a damp, but not wet, crumble. Sprinkle this over the top of the muffin batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and springy when pressed lightly on top.

Makes 12 standard muffins.

BLONDE BOMBSHELL

I'm going to have to be swift with my posts for the next while, I've taken a few days off and my little one will not accept any time being spent in front of the computer, but I wanted to get this recipe up because it's Browniebabe time again, and I've been saving these for this very moment.

This is my third Browniebabe entry and I'm still not a babelicious enough. So, as I've tried two  brunettes already, I think it's time to go blond. Peroxide, straight-from-the-bottle blond. Adapted from a recipe in How to be a Domestic Goddess I replaced macadamia nuts with, would you believe it, pistachio's and added some orange zest and ground cardamom seeds to make a sweet and delicately fragranced blondie. They turn a beautiful shade of gold in the oven, remaining fudgy and studded with slivers of jade nuts. The combination of orange and cardamom is one that has proven intoxicating for centuries and if you have orange flower-water use it, it will give an extra measure of potency that will have you (and anyone else you allow within devouring distance of these) coming back for more.

Bronzed, bejewelled and perfumed, they sound like the perfect blond to me.

ORANGE, CARDAMOM & PISTACHIO BLONDIES

• 125g unsalted butter
• 250g white chocolate
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 350g caster sugar
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 level tsp cardamom seeds ground (you may need 2-3 tsp cardamom pods to get this amount of seeds)
• few drops of orange flower water (optional)
• 300g plain flour
• 200g pistachio nuts

1. Preheat the oven to 170 C and butter a 25 x 20 x 5cm tin. Melt the butter and chocolate either in a microwave or a double boiler, and set aside to cool slightly. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the salt until light and beginning to increase in volume, then add the sugar, orange zest, orange flower-water (if using) and ground cardamom, and continue beating until really thick and creamy.
2. Beat in the the slightly cooled chocolate mixture with a large spatula and thn add the flour and nuts, folding in gently. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes or until golden and set on top but with a wobble in the centre. Let cool completely in the tin and then cut to whatever size you see fit, though be warned they are sweet, even for me!

Makes up to 16 blondies.

AND THE WINNER IS....

It couldn't have been much closer but the winner of HHDD#13 is the very deserving Lynn @ Cafe Lynnylu with her jewel bright Blackberry-Lemon Verbena Sorbet. Lynn should be receiving a perfect scoop of David Lebovitz in the not too distant future and will be hosting the next round of Hay Hay Donna Day, it's up to 14 now, so keep an eye on her blog for her choice of theme. I will be waiting with breath that is bated.

I've had a great time hosting this round and again thanks to everyone who contributed, I've found a host of new blogs to become addicted to!   

WARM AND FUZZY

Can I tempt you to try something a little fruity this weekend? These softly blushing beauties, above, are my latest crush and as apricots are smack bang in season I've been gorging myself until I'm fit to burst (there is now a constant supply of compote in my fridge). A good thing then, that they, themselves are bursting with vitamin A, vitamin C and fibre ( just to ensure that I don't, actually, explode). I was a novice until last week, having only tasted the tinned variety. When I saw them cropping up in the shops I took home a big basket along with a couple of my favourite food magazines. All these magazines lean towards seasonal cooking and usually focus on a few different fruits and vegetables each month, giving tips on how to choose good quality, ripe examples. Gregg Wallace, of Masterchef fame, writes for Good Food Magazine and covers stone fruits in the August issue. His advice on apricots - "Don't buy an apricot that's not soft. Make sure it's got full colour, definitely don't buy anything pale, and don't go near anything that's got a trace of green on it." Now he tells me.

My first adventure in apricots being brought to a crashing halt by hard, unripe fruit that shows no sign of ever softening, the next time I chose there was much sniffing and poking and peering at the lurkers in the bottom of the basket to make sure there were no little green-eyed monsters. Unfortunately, without actually biting into them there is no way of guaranteeing juicy fruits over cotton-wool balls. French varieties available in July seem to be the most reliable for both flavour and juiciness, their cheeks naturally pink, rather than genetically rouged. Apricots have a tartness that is well tempered by a spell in the oven soaked in hot sugar. This, then, was the only recipe I could choose.

The cake is still warm from the oven, and still warm in my belly. Caramel and I have an on-again, off-again relationship, wavering between golden runniness and blackened pans and scorched fingers. Somehow, I can never approach it with the confidence needed to stop it getting the better of me. I'm counting this one as a success, the caramel didn't dribble out as I expected it to, it seemed to soak into the cake instead. So, no reason for complaining that I can see (or taste). The cake batter itself is a simple one, tinted palest jade green and fragranced with saffron, producing a moist, dense cake. I replaced ground almonds in the recipe with pistachios, but if you were to use the almonds the cake would take on the saffron's sunny yellowness. Don't worry if the mixture curdles halfway through, it will all come together again with the addition of the flours and ground nuts.

The recipe suggested leaving this to cool (not a chance) and serving with a dollop of creme fraiche (absolutely).

This recipe is adapted from Good Food Magazine.

STICKY APRICOT & PISTACHIO UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

• 85g caster sugar
• about 6 apricots, halved

For the cake batter:

• 200g butter, softened
• 175g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 75ml full-fat milk
• pinch of saffron strands, soaked in a little warm water (optional)
• a few drops of almond extra
• pinch of salt
• 140g plain flour
• 140g self-raising flour
• 100g pistachio nuts, ground (original recipe called for ground almonds so use these if you prefer)

1. Tip the sugar into a deep, oven-proof frying pan (mine was 8 inches across and I had some apricots and batter left over, so I'd say a 9 inch pan would be perfect). Place the pan over a high heat until caramelised, remove from the heat, then lay the apricots, cut side down in the caramel, quartering some of the apricots to fit in the gaps. Set aside. Heat oven to 180 C.
2. To make the cake batter, beat the butter and sugar together, with an electric mixer, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the milk, almond extract and saffron, if using. Fold in the flours,salt and ground pistachios, then beat until just combined.
3. Spoon dollops of the batter over the apricots and smooth over with the back of the spoon. Bake for 40 minutes or until puffed up and golden and a skewer inserted into the cake layer comes out clean.
4. Remove from the oven and leave to sit for about 10 minutes. Loosen the edges slightly with a spatula or a knife and invert onto a serving plate and leave to cool (ha!) Cut into wedges and serve with creme fraiche or ice-cream.

Serves 8 (double ha!)

HERE WE GO GATHERING NUTS IN.... JULY?

I know it doesn't have quite the same ring to it but when life hands you a 1kg bag of pistachio nuts it's a chance to do some serious baking, something I've been slacking off at recently, shame on my baking soul. I'm sure I'll find a way of squeezing them into as many recipes as possible and I'll just keep going until I go nuts, or run out of nuts, whichever comes first. If you have any ideas on how I can spend my pistachio bounty please let me know.

These little cakes are so unapologetically dainty that I feel I owe you a profound apology. Just a bare mouthful each, the moulds I baked them in leave a little hollow in the top just perfect for a little pool of honey. Described as friands in the magazine I found the recipe in, but I'm not sure they really qualify. As I understand it friands are not just an oval muffin, but traditionally made with ground almonds, icing sugar and egg whites. Now of course pistachios would make an excellent substitute for the almonds (and I intend to try) but this recipe uses whole eggs, yoghurt and caster sugar. I've decided to dub them baby-cakes.

The honey I used was an almost crystal clear acacia honey that came with it's own little honey dipper. I think a stronger honey would almost work better, as the flavour was so subtle it nearly disappeared (all the more reason to keep drizzling it on top) but, both cakes and honey were such a hit with my little one I'll keep going until the jar is empty. Which shouldn't take too long as every time I turned around that little face got stickier and the pile of baby-cakes ever smaller. 

I also made some mommy sized cakes as the, I must confess a complete pain to fill, mini-moulds only held a a couple of tablespoons of batter. Don't expect the baby cakes to take on as much colour as the mommy cake, they scarcely spend a few deep breaths in the oven, both of them however taste just right.

HONEY, PISTACHIO AND YOGHURT CAKES

• 115g butter
• 130g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 250g vanilla yoghurt
• 2 tbls runny honey (choose your own favourite)
• 60g pistachio nuts, ground
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 280g self-raising flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• grated zest of half an orange (optional)
• few drops of almond extract
• Icing sugar and extra pistachio nuts to finish

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Combine the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, yoghurt, honey, ground pistachio's, orange zest and vanilla extract. Continue beating. Add the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Beat until well combined.
4. Grease the moulds (muffin or friand) if using silicone there is no need to grease. Spoon the batter into each hole. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
5. Serve with ice-cream, or as an indulgent breakfast as I did with vanilla yoghurt and an apricot compote the recipe for which you can find here.

Makes 24 depending on size of your moulds. 

HAY HAY IT'S DONNA'S SUMMER ROUND-UP!

Just over a month ago I asked you to send me sorbets and in return I offered you David Lebovitz, not the man himself (unfortunately) but his highly desirable book The Perfect Scoop. I had a feeling that some of you may have already succumbed to his charms and judging by the amount of entries that originated from the book I was right! Entries have come from the US, UK, Canada, Singapore, Estonia, Philippines, Sweden, Turkey, Switzerland, New Zealand and Australia, and so many fruits, alcohol and chocolate have been put to inspiring use. So, let's see if we can do this thing before I catch cold.

                                                          

First one out of the gate was Brooke at Bear Necessities with her beautiful Milk & honey lavender sorbet she even threw in Lavender and Almond biscotti to tempt us even further.

                                                          

Edward over at Wino-Sapien takes that relaxing glass of wine in the garden to a whole other level with his sophisticated White wine sorbet.

                                                          

Arfi @ Homemades is heading for winter at home in New Zealand but she still came up with this tropical Pineapple Sorbet that just oozes summer.

                                                          

Sabrina @ Yumsugar stopped drooling over David long enough to make us a Strawberry Sorbet, it's up to us if we want to add the basil!

                                                          

Ulrike @Kuchenlatein is used the event as an excuse to buy an ice-cream machine but we'll take the blame this once as she sent us this beautiful Lime-Mint Sorbet complete with ice-bowl.

                                                          

Founder of this whole event Barbara @ Winos & Foodies remains on top HHDD form and graces us with her elegant Persimmon Sorbet

                                                         

Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy enters this Watermelon Sorbetto from David Lebovitz's Perfect Scoop. It's perfect for this event, but as she already has David in her kitchen I guess she will be looking for a baking book!

                                                       

Monica the Pastry Princess made a Vanilla Yogurt Sorbet with a gorgeous Peach & Blueberry crumble to (ahem) accompany it.

Sandi @ Whistlestopcooking didn't let the lack of an ice-cream machine stop her from answering the call and her Raspberry Sorbet is certainly up for the challenge.

Jenny @ All Things Edible wasn't entirely happy with her Dorie Chocolate Sorbet (though her children devoured it!) but as it's going to inspire her to experiment some more I don't think we should be too worried. I know I want to dive in.

                                                       

Anita @ Dessert First just about managed to get her beautiful creation of a Nectarine Sherbet into these cones to take this beautiful picture for us. She was tempted to just eat it straight out of the ice-cream machine!

                                                       

Chef Kevin Weeks loves this Buttermilk Sherbet so much that he dug it out of his archives to share with us. While the recipe was originally posted last year, he makes it on a regular basis and felt it would get us drooling for HHDD.

                                                       

Pam @ Backyard Pizzeria actually went to the same school as my (perhaps unlikely) hero Nick Cave. Already keeping me happy with some insight as to what he was like as a rebellious school-kid she keeps all of us grown-ups happy with her incredibly refreshing Gin & Tonic Sorbet.

                                                       

Deborah @ Taste and Tell is now an even bigger fan of David after making his Chocolate-Coconut Sorbet. I'm not sure I could really blame her, I myself have been known to enjoy chocolate occasionally.

                                                       

Brilynn @ Jumbo Empanadas sacrified her precious ripe fruit, all in an attempt to get a hold of Mr. Lebovitz with her Strawberry-Mango-Ginger Sorbet.

Cenk of Cafe Fernando is based in Istanbul and along with his other delectable experiments he gives us this vibrant  Campari & Orange Sorbet to keep us cool on hot summer nights (should we be lucky enough to have one!)

                                                       

Anita @ Married with Dinner is getting very busy with her Perfect Scoop making not one but two recipes from it... in one post! The one especially for our pleasure is this Peach Sorbet a variation on an apricot sorbet.

                                                       

Melody @ Fruit Tart is going for a layered look with her Mango Nutmeg Strawberry Key Lime Sorbet. Phew, served on a pineapple slice that's three of our five-a-day!

                                                         

Former HHDD queen and purveyor of all things sweet Helene @ Tartlette couldn't decide which of her three sorbets to choose so she picked all of them and smushed them all together in her Lemon Apricot Raspberry Sorbet! 

                                                         

Lynne @ Cafe Lynnlu has me pining for the blackberries on my blackberry bush. They're not ripe yet but as soon as they are this is one of the first things I'll be making - Blackberry Lemon-Verbena Sorbet

                                                         

Jef @ My Food Geek may not know who Donna Hay is but that doesn't stop him getting into the swing of things with his Pineapple Sorbet made a little more grown-up by a good dash of rum.

                                                         

Pille on her appropriately titled blog Nami-Nami continues her experiments in hibiscus and, taking part in her first ever HHDD, brings us her glorious red  Hibiscus Strawberry Sorbet.

                                                         

I don't know if Myriam @ Once Upon a Tart has had better luck with the weather in Switzerland than we've had in Ireland but her entry of two sorbets - this delicious Strawberry Rhubarb Sorbet and a mascarpone sorbet - make the rain that little bit easier to bear.

Kelly @ Sass & Veracity is another girl who doesn't like to choose, and why should she when she can send us this beautiful Trio of Tropical Sorbets. And yes you are seeing stars!

                                                       

Kristen @ Dine and Dish gives us five reasons why she felt the need to make this Pear & Apple Sorbet, she had me at "who needs an excuse?"

                                                       

Decision time again but this time Eunice @ Lemon Almond cheekily left it up to me to choose between her inspiring Mangosteen Sorbet and refreshing Malibu Orange Sorbet. As she had gotten her homework in on time all the way from Singapore I'll give you the photo of one and you can peruse them both at your leisure.

Alison from Melbourne Food Tales is on her second HHDD and urges us to lick the bowl when trying her Banana Brown sugar and Sour-Cream Ice. No problem there. Not quite a sorbet, not quite an ice-cream, it's a good compromise when some twit in the northern hemisphere demands frozen desserts in the middle of your winter.

Canadian blogger Dayna @ Vegan Visitor on the other hand has the perfect weather for sorbet and was more than happy to send us this so pretty Ginger-Rose Sorbet.

                                                       

Inne @ Vanille & Chocolat spotted Donna Hays sorbet and ice-cream recipes in this months Living Etc.. I was thrilled when I got my own copy as it was as if the inpiration for this event was taking part. Inne was inspired by the article to create her beautifully presented  Passionfruit Slush.

                                                       

Preferring her indulgence witha side of decadence KJ @ A Cracking Good Egg was converted to sorbets when she discovered a recipe for this vibrant  Raspberry & Banana Sorbet.

Smita @ Smitaservesyouright  put herself in the hands of her fridge, fortunately for us she was inspired to create this picture perfect Pineapple Chardonnay Sorbet.

                                                       

Nigel Slater has Devra @ Puucooks heart (as well as my own) and he just got a stronger hold on it with this recipe for Orange Yogurt Ice,  making Devra's enviable summer Sunday taste  that little bit sweeter.

                                                       

Another first-timer Anne @ Annes Food  squeezes in under the wire with an impossibly red Strawberry-Vanilla Sorbet with Lime, looking forward to her future entries.

                                                       

Virtual Frolic seems to have a bit of a strawberry fetish going on over on her blog, but we'll join in with her if she will just leave us a little taste of her Passionfruit Strawberry Sorbet.

                                                         

Joey @ 80 Breakfasts is determined to give us a deafening wake up call this morning with her stunning Donna Hay Espresso Granita.

Julie @ Persnickity Palate has been on a churning mission since the weather warmed up in her neck of the woods, her offerings for us include a deep magenta sour cherry sorbet and this Pina-Colada Sorbet which won her husband over to the joys of this tropical drink.

                                                         

And last, but she could never possibly be least Lisa @ La Mia Cucina rounds-up our round-up with her rose adorned Gingered Pear Sorbet. A classic marriage of flavours I'm sending her the bill for a replacement laptop, as mine didn't survive my Homeresque drooling!

                                                         

That's it, thank you to everyone who contributed, I was afraid I would be left crying into my sorbet all alone! If anyones links aren't working let me know and I'll fix it. Pick your favourite (rather you than me!) and send your votes to me at eatdrinklive[AT]gmail[DOT]com and I'll post the winner next Sunday July 22nd.

 

FIGURE EIGHT.

I've been tagged for the "8 random thoughts" meme that has been bouncing back and forth across blogsville recently and although this is not something I would normally be comfortable taking part in, the person who tagged me is Katie @ Other Peoples Food. As she had just sent me my beautifully wrapped HHDD#12 prize above, in the post, I felt it would be churlish to refuse. A lot of people have included their cars amongst their random thoughts, so I figure thats as good a place to start as any.

1. My first car was a red 1973 Volkswagen Beetle which I loved dearly until some twit in a VW Golf ran a red light and rear-ended me, shunting me into the VW Golf in front of me. The gardai found the bug sandwiched between two Golfs highly amusing. Me, not so much.

2. My second car was a petrol-blue 1966 Volkswagen Beetle, sometimes known as Uzi due to the random arrangement of registration letters rather than it's ability to discharge live ammunition at high speed (or drive at high speed for that matter). I also loved this car dearly despite it's engine going on fire in the depths of the Kerry Gaeltacht two weeks after I bought it. Both the car and I survived.

3. I'm a dog person, of the big shaggy variety but I've been won over by a terrier or two in my time.

4. I'm also a book person. I just finished Let Me Eat Cake by Paul Arnott , I'm in the middle of reading Julius Winsome by Gerard Donovan  as slowly as possible because it's 224 pages I never want to end, and I'm dipping in and out of The Spice Route by John Keay. As only two out of three of these books are food related you can see I am a well rounded person.

5. I've seen Nick Cave live about 14 times, the highlight being him playing beside a lake in the beautiful grounds of an old house in West Cork.

6. I would like to be more well travelled but whenever I have a few days off I somehow always end up sitting either in Dingle eating ice-cream, or in the Place des Vosges eating macarons.

7. I would also like to be more aware of whats happening in the world but I tend to rely on the Sunday Times and The Daily Show to educate me.

8. My favourite quote is by Groucho Marx "Outside of a dog a book is a mans best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read" That pretty much sums me up (see thoughts 3 and 4 above).

There you go, 8 random things you never knew you didn't want to know about me.

SMOOTH OPERATOR.

I don't know if anyone has noticed that I've been able to get much better close-up food shots recently (ahem) but if you have, it is nothing to do with my honing my photography skills, such as they are, and more to do with the fact that my brother has let me borrow his fancy schmancy digital SLR camera. It comes at the small price of having to come up with a few healthier recipes than I would normally post (I suppose there's something to be said for a balanced diet). My brother works for a organisation called Red Branch who are on a Jamie Oliver style mission to raise awareness of the importance of diet in childrens lives. Fortunately, they do this in a way that doesn't make a parent feel negligent by giving their child a cookie. Their aim is to educate rather than point a critical finger (though they pull no punches with the shocking stastistics that have taken on epidemic proportions in the last decade) and so, the deal is that I occasionally restrain my chocolate-coated urges and do some good wholesome cooking so that when they eventually get the recipe page of their site up and running they'll have some  photos to get them started. As speed is the first thing that parents ask for when it comes to a healthy snack, the first thing I decided to make was a smoothie.

As a parent staring down the barrel of the summer holidays I can sympathise with the desire to get something decent into your offspring with minimum effort and minimal whining. Producing something packed full of fruit that looks like a milkshake is a cunning way of achieving this. Frozen fruit is a suitable alternative to fresh, not only is it cheaper but it is not going to dissolve into a mouldy pulp if left unattended behind the bag of mixed salad leaves in the fridge. Usually I go for raspberry or blueberry made with defrosted frozen fruit and a banana thrown in for a little potassium. There are only two ways of getting me to eat a banana... in a banoffi pie and in smoothies. Okay, maybe a banana split with extra chocolate fudge sauce... Where was I? Oh yes, nourishing smoothies.

This recipe is one I spotted in the back of Oprah magazine of all things, while flicking through it in the shop. The ingredient list said melon, banana and vanilla yoghurt which I repeated like a mantra all the way home (my short-term memory is not what it used to be).  A whole honeydew melon to one puny banana may seem like a lot but the flavour of the melon is sweet, but easily overwhelmed so this ratio gives the melon a little breathing space. The vanilla speckled yogurt compliments the two fruits and as the Glenisk brand I used is both organic and low-fat I feel I'm earning my 8 million pixels.

I know you probably have a favourite smoothie recipe of your own but give this one a try this weekend... curly red straw is optional.

HONEYDEW MELON & BANANA SMOOTHIE

• 1 organic banana ( sliced and frozen for a thicker more milkshakey smoothie)
• 1 small honeydew or cantaloupe melon
• 360ml vanilla yogurt (or use plain yogurt and add a little extra vanilla extract)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Just blitz everything together in a blender and pour into tall glasses.

Makes 2 large or 4 medium smoothies.

WHAT WILL I DO NOW?

Sometimes you can find treasure in the most surprising of places. While in Lidl last week I spotted a tray of the most beautiful fresh beans in their red and cream patterned pods. With the vague title "red beans" on the label I had no idea what they were and even less of and idea what I was going to do with them when I got them home. Once there, however I did a little Google detective work and quickly discovered that they were borlotti beans and were a common ingredient in Italian cooking (I guess the "Product of Italy" on the label should have given that away), but notoriously difficult to find fresh over here. My treasure had just gotten a little more sparkly.

My little one commandeered a few beans and they are currently sitting on a sunny windowsill between the side of a jar and a dampened paper napkin (pink, naturally) being encouraged to sprout. I didn't want to squander the remaining contents of my pirates chest, so I had naive visions of a lightly dressed, burgundy-speckled bean salad, but of course after being immersed in boiling water for 30 minutes+, the beautiful colour had, sadly, been reduced to a muddy brown. So where else would I look for inspiration but in my Silver Spoon. Pulses can often be seen as a "filler" to add substance to soups, stews, salads etc, but even used like this you can see their versatility. Having gone to the trouble of stumbling across these, however, I didn't want them to take a backseat and was happy to discover that they were plump and full of flavour in their own right. A little bubbling in garlic and sage infused water gave depth to their earthy, almost meaty flavour and a quick light tomato sauce brought them back some crimson glory. I had 350g of beans (including pods) so I adjusted the recipe below accordingly and ate them simply piled on a doorstop of toasted white bread. I can see it on the chalkboard now:

" Hand-podded borlotti beans infused with garlic and sage, dressed in a tomato and basil reduction and served on toasted home-made sour dough bread."

" So that would be beans on toast then? "

" Um, yes madam it would."

FAGIOLI ALLA PIZZAIOLA

• 1 kg (weight in pods) fresh borlotti beans, shelled
• 2 celery stalks
• 3 fresh sage leaves
• 1 garlic clove
• 25g butter
• 4 tbls tomato passata
• 4 fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprig, chopped
• salt & pepper to taste
• Thick slices of your favourite crusty bread, toasted

1. Put the beans in a saucepan, pour in enough water to cover by at least 2 inches and add one of the celery stalks, the sage and the garlic. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for one hour or until tender. Start checking after 40 minutes, you don't want them to turn into mush. Drain, remove and discard the sage and garlic, place the beans in a serving dish and keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, thinly slice the remaining celery. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the passata, celery and basil and cook until slightly reduced, about 5-7 minutes. Pour the sauce over the beans, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Serves 4 as posh beans-on-toast.

P.S. Just after writing this I found a recipe for a borlotti bean soup from the archives of my fellow Daring Baker, the wonderfully talented Ilva @ Lucullian Delights.

Click here for some aliases and more accessible substitutes.