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Entries in Dessert (10)

Wednesday
09Sep2009

Homemade Ice Cream Recipe

DateWednesday, September 9, 2009 at 2:38PM

A healthy recipe that can be made without an ice cream maker, by Trevy Thomas.

Bananas. Photo: ChamanitThe next time a bunch of bananas is about to turn brown, turn them into ice cream.  This is so easy a husband could do it.  The last couple of weeks, I have been on a raw food detox that was inspired by a recent book review.  That means no meat, dairy, sugar, flour, alcohol or caffeine.  Mostly fruits and veggies.  Yes, I’m crazy.  But it’s only for a month, and I’m promised a much healthier body with boosted immunity (good for flu season), fabulous hair and skin and a thinner self.  So the first thing I did was look through the book for treats and found banana ice cream.  The instructions were minimal, and I learned the hard way not to freeze the bananas with the skins still on.  Duh…very hard to peel a frozen banana.  Anyway, you could try this with plenty of other fruits, but bananas lend themselves to creaminess.  Best of all, no ice cream maker is necessary.  

Banana Ice Cream Recipe
Serves 1

2 bananas

(is that the world’s shortest ingredient list or what?)

  1. Peel the bananas, break them into pieces, and put them in a plastic bag.  Freeze overnight or about six hours until they’re firm.
  2. When frozen, put the bananas in a  food processor or blender, and puree until creamy and ice cream like.

 

Banana Ice Cream on Foodista  

AuthorTrevy Thomas | Comment6 Comments | Print ArticlePrint Article
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Wednesday
22Jul2009

Peach Tart

DateWednesday, July 22, 2009 at 4:12AM

Peaches from the Orchard


A pretty, fresh peach tart by Heather Forsyth.Fresh Peach and Chevre Tart by Heather


I'm lucky enough to live less than an hour away from one of the country's best peach orchards, and visited it last weekend during the Porter Peach Festival.  Home with an entire bushel of fresh peaches, a peach extravaganza began!  This recipe is a variation of the little strawberry tarts I made earlier this season, but is a bit more carefully constructed.  It's not a spur-of-the-moment creation, and I'm not sure it really falls into the “lazy cook” category, but just a little extra effort gives you a pretty glamorous dessert.  You don't have to roll out the crust, it can just be pressed into the pie pan. The hazelnut flour in the crust can be pricey, but worth it here.  Be sure to keep any leftover nut flours in the freezer.  If you just can't bear the work, you can always buy a plain, premade pie-crust, but it won't be as good!


Peach Tart


Ingredients for the Tart Shell:



  • 1/2 c. (generous) unbleached white flour
  • 1/2 c. hazelnut flour
  • 2 T. cornstarch
  • 1/4 c. (scant) sugar
  • 1 stick of butter, cut into 8 pieces
  • pinch of salt


Ingredients for the Filling:



  • 1/2 c. soft, fresh chevre (goat cheese)
  • 4 oz. plain low-fat yogurt
  • 2 T. sugar
  • 4-5 medium peaches
  • 1/4 c. honey
  • 1 t. lemon juice


Directions:



  1. Put the ingredients for the tart shell into the bowl of a food processor and process, in pulses, until dough comes together and forms a ball around the blade.  Remove, wrap in plastic or wax paper and put in the fridge for an hour.
  2. Meanwhile, blend together until light and smooth the chevre, yogurt and sugar.  I used an electric mixer, but you could do it by hand if you have a strong arm.
  3. Peel the peaches, slice in half and remove the pit.  Thinly slice each peach half.
  4. Remove the tart shell dough from the fridge.  (If you leave it in there too long it will become too hard to work with, so you'll need to leave it out at room temp until pliable again.)
  5. Preheat oven to 450.
  6. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and partway up the sides of your pie plate, making it extra thick around the edges. I usually start by rolling or pressing the dough into a large disk on the counter, then transfer the dough into the pie pan to complete the job.
  7. Prick the shell all over with a fork, put it in the oven, and bake for about 10 minutes.  Watch it carefully as it may try to puff up with steam (despite your fork holes).  If that happens, just press it gently with the back of a wooden spoon until it behaves properly.
  8. Reduce heat to 350 and bake about 15 minutes more.
  9. Cool on rack to room temperature.
  10. Spoon cheese and yogurt filling evenly over pie shell.
  11. Top with sliced peaches, overlapping the slices, and making as pretty a arrangement as you can.
  12. Warm the honey and lemon juice together and brush the peaches generously with this mixture.


You can serve this at once, but it's really best if you can chill it for an hour or two before serving.

Peach Tarts on Foodista
AuthorTrevy Thomas | CommentPost a Comment | Print ArticlePrint Article
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Monday
11May2009

Strawberry, Chevre and Honey Tarts

DateMonday, May 11, 2009 at 9:03PM

Tarts 012 A pretty, simple dessert for strawberry season from Heather Forsyth.


This is really too simple to be called a recipe, but it makes a tasty, beautiful dessert that's small enough to eat without too much guilt.  Plus, for me, it features almost all local ingredients, always a bonus!  I was lucky enough to get strawberries at the farmers market this weekend.  Weeks of rain have ruined most of the crop, so we pay dearly, but so worth it!  Also local -- the chevre (soft, fresh goat cheese), raw honey and fresh mint.  I did a rare cheat and bought premade tart shells, but you could certainly make your own (prebake before filling), or substitute a shortbread cookie for the tart shell.


Strawberry, Chevre and Honey Tarts


Ingredients:



  • Tart shells or shortbread cookies
  • Soft, fresh chevre, about 1 Tbsp. for each tart
  • Fresh ripe strawberries, one per tart
  • Honey, a scant teaspoon per tart
  • Fresh mint leaves, for garnish


Directions:



  1. Spread about 1 T. chevre on each tart shell or cookie base
  2. Remove stem from strawberry, and slice thinly, almost but not completely to the end
  3. Fan the strawberry and place on top of the chevre
  4. Glaze with a drizzle of raw honey
  5. Garnish with fresh mint leaf
  6. Get artsy with additional honey on the plate, if you'd like


Enjoy a mouthful of early summer!

AuthorHeather Forsyth | Comment2 Comments | Print ArticlePrint Article
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Saturday
14Feb2009

Valentine Cupcakes

DateSaturday, February 14, 2009 at 7:40AM

Valentine Cupcake 001
Decorated cupcakes, cheater's style.

My poor beloved is getting two fancy chocolate bars and a
Valentine's card today.  I did not make
heart-shaped pancakes or a chocolate torte, but I saw a great idea for all of
us last-minute cheaters.  Not that
kind.  The cooking kind.  If you're a real cheater, you're going to
need a lot more than cupcakes.  I have a
book by Dede Wilson
filled with Cupcake recipes that look delicious, but one of them could be faked
with store-bought ingredients.  Even
though it's cheating, you'll still feel like you made something yourself.  Instructions follow.  If you want to make the real kind, you'll
have to buy the book.  Happy Valentine's Day.

Valentine Cupcakes


  1. Buy chocolate
    cupcakes.  If you have time, you can make
    them from scratch.

  2. Buy heart-shaped
    cookies.

  3. Buy edible glitter
    in red, or mini icing in a tube that you can decorate with.

  4. Push one cookie on
    top of each cupcake.

  5. Use the red
    glitter or icing and draw X-rated stick figures on top of the cookie.  This can be just one naked stick figure, but
    if you're good with icing, you can make two of them doing something
    naughty.  Practice first.  Icing, I mean.

  6. Serve with wine.

AuthorTrevy Thomas | CommentPost a Comment | Print ArticlePrint Article
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Tuesday
10Feb2009

Best Fudgy Brownies

DateTuesday, February 10, 2009 at 8:31PM

DSCN0429 Recipe by guest author, Heather Forsyth.


I'm married to a serious chocaholic.  Die-hard.  Chocolate syrup, ice-cream, cake, cookies, candy and, most of all, seriously rich and chocolaty brownies.  I made a lot of brownies before he was satisfied.  Prior batches were rejected because they were too cake-like, not chocolate enough, not sweet enough, etc.  This batch was the winner.  I really wanted to give these a sexy name, like Bodacious Brownies or Badass Brownies, but I didn't think my editor would approve.  Whatever you call them, the chocolate lover in your life will be overjoyed.  Deliver these up on Valentine's Day, and I'm betting you'll get your just reward!


Brownies



  • 8 oz. (yes, that's two whole sticks) butter
  • 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
  • 4 eggs (bring to room temp by placing uncracked eggs in bowl of hot water for a few minutes)
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1 c. brown sugar
  • 2 t. vanilla
  • 1 c. flour


Preheat oven to 325.  Line 9x13 pan with foil, draping excess over the edges so you can use the foil later as handles to lift the brownies out of the pan before you cut them.  Place butter and chocolate in a bowl, butter first, and melt in the microwave, stirring every 15 seconds, until just melted.  In another bowl, combine eggs, salt, sugars and vanilla and beat until the mixture "ribbons," about 2 minutes with an electric mixer, more if by hand.  Fold butter and chocolate into the egg mixture, then fold in the flour.  Stir until combined, but do not beat or overmix.  Turn batter into pan and bake for about 30 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Cool for several minutes, then use foil to lift the brownies from the pan before cutting (but cut and remove from foil while still warm or it gets difficult).  Makes about 16 large brownies.  Not for the faint-hearted.

AuthorHeather Forsyth | Comment1 Comment | Print ArticlePrint Article
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