Mini Cucumbers & Feta Salad

These seedless mini cucumbers that have been appearing recently in groceries and Costco are so cute and they're easier to eat because they are tiny. I got the recipe for the dressing from the back of its package. The vinegar in the recipe is balsamic but I used white vinegar because I prefer the clean green and white color of the salad. This very simple yet refreshing minty crunchy salad is perfect during these hot hot summer days.

Mini Cucumbers & Feta Salad
3 tiny cucumbers, well scrubbed and sliced
1 tablespoon white coconut vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
2 tablespoons very good extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons crispy fried or fresh shallots
1 tablespoon torn fresh mint leaves
crumbled feta cheese

• Combine cucumbers, vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Add shallots and mint leaves. Chill for 1 - 2 hours. Sprinkle feta cheese just before serving.

Tiramisu

I saw on the Food Network a chef, can't remember his name, making an unrecognizable tiramisu, this Italian dessert that has been around for over 20 years. Recently I sampled a similar awful tiramisu, they both had a very rich chocolate cake instead of lady fingers, chocolate ganache, and no mascarpone cheese. The one I tasted did not have a hint of coffee flavor.

Last Wednesday the Washington Post Food section had a 3 pages long but entertaining article about the dessert and the Italian man who claims he invented it. You can read the article and his recipe here. I have always made tiramisu with brandy and after reading the article I added marsala and I like it very much. I have loved this dessert, either store bought or homemade, both the rich and the lighter recipes.

The recipe below is a lighter version of TIRAMISU, adapted from my cookbook THE ESSENTIAL DESSERT COOKBOOOK

3 tablespoons custard powder
1 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons sugar
8 oz mascarpone cheese (or crème fraîche and mascarpone)
2 egg whites (powdered)
2 tablespoons sugar
1½ cups strong espresso coffee, chilled
4 tablespoons Marsala wine
ladyfinger cookies
1 tablespoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder

• Stir the custard powder in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of the skim milk until dissolved. Add the remaining milk with 2 tablespoons sugar and stir over medium heat until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap and cool at room temperature.
• Beat together the cooled custard and mascarpone for 2 minutes. Cover and cool in the refrigerator while preparing the egg whites. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, add 2 tablespoons sugar and beat for 1 minute. Fold egg whites into the custard. Set aside.
• Pour coffee into a dish, stir in the wine. Using half of the lady fingers, quickly dip each cookie in the coffee mixture and arrange in a single layer on a serving dish.
• Using half of the custard mixture, smooth it evenly over the cookies. Repeat layers of dipped ladyfingers and custard. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours to allow the flavors to develop.
• Lightly dust top of cake with cocoa powder before serving.

David Bowie - Life On Mars? video

Watch the one and only David Bowie just standing there by himself, singing one of his best songs, looking very very pretty. Only he can pull it off:

Apple Wine Jellies

I haven't been out of my house the last 6 days, it's too hot and I'm feeling lazy to drive anywhere, just walking from the car to the store makes me sweat. I prefer to stay cool inside the house where there's plenty of iced water and juice. But I didn't want to just sit and watch TV so I cleaned my pantry of unwanted food stuff, mainly ALL PRODUCTS FROM CHINA, yes, they're filled with poison!!!:D No, I'm not kidding, I don't trust those commies, specially if it's food stuff. And with increasing reports from all over the entire planet of people and pets dying or getting sick from tainted medicine, toothpaste, seafood, toys, etc. I am not taking any chances. My daughter thinks I'm paranoid and crazy. Well, yes I am!

Anyway, I discovered (again) that I have so much stuff. I know I need to stop going to the store until I put a dent in my food supply.

yummy gummy apple wine jelly

First project: these apple wine jellies I call candies for adults, made from a half bottle of leftover apple wine. The alcohol taste is faint after boiling and the candies are very good, gummy and chewy and not too sweet. The recipe for fruit jellies says to roll in sugar after cutting into shapes but the sugar just melted almost immediately, I do not recommend it. I used the non-melting powdered sugar which I bought from The Baker's Catalog. If I use a little bit more gelatin powder I could make them into gummy worms.

Fruit Jellies
8 tablespoons unflavored gelatin powder
8 tablespoons water or fruit juice
1 1/3 cups apple wine or fruit juice
12 tablespoons sugar
8 tablespoons light corn syrup

• Wet a metal 8 x 8 inch square pan with a little water, set aside.
• Sprinkle gelatin powder in the water or juice to soften, set aside.
• In a medium pan, apple wine, sugar, and corn syrup until sugar is melted, bring to a boil. Add the gelatin mixture and stir constantly with a wire whisk until gelatin has melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour into prepared pan and let set.
• Cut into shapes or squares and roll in non-melting powdered sugar, or serve plain. You can use other fruit juices like raspberry, strawberry or cranberry or any fruit flavored wine. Enjoy!