Pistachio Meringue Stack with Rose Cream and Strawberries

   Pleasant Grove is celebrating Strawberry Days this week. Emily and I went and were planning to buy some strawberries so we could make this. Sadly there were no strawberries for sale there. Weird. Strawberry Days severely lacked strawberries. We had been looking at this recipe on Food52 for a couple of months so we decided to make it anyway, and I am glad we did. So so good!


Meringue
6 lg egg whites
pinch of salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar (superfine is better)
1 teas balsamic vinegar
1 cup pistachios, finely chopped

Berries
2 lbs strawberries
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs rose water*

Cream
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup mascarpone+
1 Tbs rose water*

Garnish
1 Tbs pistachios, chopped

   Preheat oven to 250 F. Lightly grease 3 baking sheets and line with parchment paper. Draw an 8 inch circle on each (you can use can use a cake pan to trace circles.)
   In a clean metal or glass bowl, whisk egg whites with salt until soft peaks form. Whisk in sugars, one tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vinegar and whisk until mixture is glossy and hold stiff peaks. Gently fold in the chopped nuts.
   Divide the meringue mixture equally between each of the baking sheets. Spread out mixture to the edge of the circle, smoothing the tops with the back of a round spoon. Bake until tops are crisp and dry, about an hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Turn off oven and leave pans in oven to cool for an hour with the door slightly ajar.
   While meringues cool, slice strawberries. Gently toss with sugar and rose water. Let stand for 1/2 an hour.
   Beat cream and mascapone with the rose water until mixture just holds stiff peaks.
   Invert thecooled meringue discs onto a plate and gently peal off parchment paper. Invert onto another plate so they are right side up. Spread a third of the cream over one of the discs, followed by a third of the strawberries. Repeat layering with remaining meringues. Garnish with the pistachios.

If you wanted to you could make the meringues and assemble it later. Just be sure you wrap them up and keep them in a dry place. They keep for about a week.

* I didn't think the rose water would really matter, but Emily already had a bottle so we used it. It was really good., though I think you could probably add a little vanilla or almond extract to the cream if you didn't want to buy it.
+ When we opened the container of mascapone we bought it was moldy. It was late so we decide to just skip it and used 2 cups of the cream with a little sugar added. I didn't even notice that something was missing when we ate it.

Barley and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients
6 c water
1 1/2 c uncooked pearl barley*
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
2 bell peppers, diced (any color)
1 avocado diced
4 c mixed greens
basil to taste
lemon or lime juice to taste

Bring water and barley to a boil on stove. Reduce heat and cook for 40 minutes. Add bell peppers and chickpeas and cook for 5 more minutes until softened and barley is completely cooked. Remove from heat. Combine the cooked mixture with the fresh basil, mixed greens and avocado. Add lemon or lime juice to taste.

* You could use any whole grain, but you would need to adjust the water accordingly.

Pear Quinoa Spinach Salad

 

1 cup dry quinoa 

2 cups water 

4 cups washed baby spinach leaves 

1 pomegranate, seeded

1 ripened avocado 

1 pear

Bring quinoa and water to a boil on the stove. Reduce heat, cover pan, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes until water is absorbed. (You can also cook the quinoa in a rice cooker. While quinoa is cooking, cut pear and avocado into bite sized pieces. In a large bowl toss warm quinoa and remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing if desired (recipe follows) 

Mustard vinaigrette dressing
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 TBS stone ground mustard (or whatever mustard you have)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

German Chocolate Cake

I made this cake when my last bishop was released a couple months ago. German Chocolate is his favorite and we threw a party for him. The recipe is from David Lebovitz's website. It's a lot of work, but its really good:)

 For the cake:
2 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 tbsp. water
4 large eggs, separated
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract


For the filling:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
6 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces
½ tsp.  salt
1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
1 1/3 cups unsweetened coconut, toasted*


For the icing:
8 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.  Butter and flour the sides of the pans; set aside.
Using a double boiler (or the microwave in short bursts), melt the bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate with the water, stirring until smooth.  Set aside until the mixture cools to room temperature.
In the clean, dry bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until they form soft droopy peaks.  Slowly add ¼ cup of the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.  Transfer the egg whites to a separate bowl and return the mixer bowl to the mixer base.
In the bowl the electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with 1¼ cups of the sugar.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Beat in the melted chocolate.  Mix in the egg yolks one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture on low speed just until incorporated.  Mix in the buttermilk and vanilla extract until combined.  Mix in the remaining dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Using a rubber spatula, gently fold about a third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it.  Then fold in the remaining egg whites just until incorporated.
Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the cake pans for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, combine the cream, sugar and egg yolks in a medium saucepan.  Put the butter, pecans and coconut in a mixing bowl; set aside.  Heat the cream mixture and cook, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon (170-175° F.)  Pour the hot custard immediately into the pecan coconut mixture and stir until the butter is melted.  Cool completely to room temperature.  The mixture will thicken as it cools.

To assemble the cake, cut the two cake layers in half horizontally to yield four layers.  Set the first layer on a cake circle, cut side up. Spread ¾ cup of the coconut filling over the cake layer, making sure to reach the edges.  Set another cake layer on top of the filling.  Repeat  spreading ¾ cup of the coconut filling over each layer, including the top.  Ice the sides of the cake with the chilled chocolate icing.  Pipe a decorative border around the top layer, encircling the coconut topping.

Chana Masala

I got the original recipe from the website kalewithlove.com, but I added and change things a fair amount because I didn't like the acidity level of it.  I think it turned out pretty good after that.

Ingredients   
2 cups chickpeas
1 tablespoon safflower oil or olive oil 
1 pound washed baby spinach 
1 cooked sweet potato, peeled and mashed 
2 washed tomatoes, crushed. 
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
2 teaspoon cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (I used chipotle chili powder, but you could use whatever) 
3 garlic cloves, diced.  
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes  
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 
Juice of 1 lemon.

Directions:
1. Place skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add small amount of the oil and the spinach. Cover and stir occasionally, for about 2-3 minutes, until leaves are just wilted. Remove cooked spinach to a plate and set aside for later.
2. In skillet, still over medium heat, add remaining oil plus the garlic and red pepper flakes. Allow to cook for 2 minutes until garlic starts to golden.
3. Add the mashed sweet potato, crushed tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, chickpeas, mushrooms, cinnamon and chili powder . Cook until the chickpeas are fully tender and the sauce is sizzling.
4. Mix in the sautéed spinach and lemon juice. Turn off heat and serve immediately. Serves 6