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Fingers in the pud again?
Jun. 17th, 2009 01:59 pmI have just made and of course tasted the most luscious dessert ever. Lemon curd ice cream and blueberry compote. I even made the lemon curd myself. I won't be a pain and go on about how easy it was. I freely admit I use cookery as a displacement activity and there are many other things I should be doing. But, having invested in an ice-cream maker, it seems only right and good to use it. And this was, indeed, a wonderfully creamy and scrumptious concoction.
Part of my rationale for getting the ICM (sounds more like an online messaging service than a kitchen gadget) was that we have a garden full of fruit trees and bushes all producing large harvests right now. Strawberries and blackcurrants ripen daily and cherries and raspberries aren't far behind. I've been out for hours over the last few days picking, trimming and generally tidying up. Finally got our two rows of beetroot in, and some broccoli, on Sunday.
Anyway it's raining hard now so I'm making the most of having a day with very little in the way of diary commitments. It's been a very domestic few hours. I have worked my way through a pile of ironing and then made the ice cream. I bought the blueberries, since our bush doesn't supply them in sufficient quantities, and stewed them for a few minutes with sugar and the zest and juice of two limes. That's all there is to it. A Sophie Grigson recipe, and highly recommended.
I must be turning into an obsessive foodie because I spent an hour online yesterday tracking down a mysterious ingredient called verjuice, for no better reason than I'd seen it mentioned in a recipe and I like that kind of challenge. It's a kind of vinegar made from the juice of green, unripe grapes and was, apparently, all the rage in medieval times, before lemons were more widely available. Those in the know rave about its properties in salad dressings, but the nearest stockist I could fined was Dean and Delucca, and the nearest branch to here is in New York City. I could probably get them to ship it overseas but my partner hasn't recovered from the cost of the ICM yet so I dread his reaction should he discover I'd spent a fortune importing condiments from the USA. Especially as we might taste it once and hate it. But if I ever see it in Sainsburys I'll be picking up a bottle or two.
Part of my rationale for getting the ICM (sounds more like an online messaging service than a kitchen gadget) was that we have a garden full of fruit trees and bushes all producing large harvests right now. Strawberries and blackcurrants ripen daily and cherries and raspberries aren't far behind. I've been out for hours over the last few days picking, trimming and generally tidying up. Finally got our two rows of beetroot in, and some broccoli, on Sunday.
Anyway it's raining hard now so I'm making the most of having a day with very little in the way of diary commitments. It's been a very domestic few hours. I have worked my way through a pile of ironing and then made the ice cream. I bought the blueberries, since our bush doesn't supply them in sufficient quantities, and stewed them for a few minutes with sugar and the zest and juice of two limes. That's all there is to it. A Sophie Grigson recipe, and highly recommended.
I must be turning into an obsessive foodie because I spent an hour online yesterday tracking down a mysterious ingredient called verjuice, for no better reason than I'd seen it mentioned in a recipe and I like that kind of challenge. It's a kind of vinegar made from the juice of green, unripe grapes and was, apparently, all the rage in medieval times, before lemons were more widely available. Those in the know rave about its properties in salad dressings, but the nearest stockist I could fined was Dean and Delucca, and the nearest branch to here is in New York City. I could probably get them to ship it overseas but my partner hasn't recovered from the cost of the ICM yet so I dread his reaction should he discover I'd spent a fortune importing condiments from the USA. Especially as we might taste it once and hate it. But if I ever see it in Sainsburys I'll be picking up a bottle or two.
