Rosewater Meringues

This recipe has a few firsts for me—meringues, cooking with rosewater, and my first step into a Marie Claire cookbook. I have a lovely new friend, Desney, to thank for loaning me her copy of Michele Cranston’s Real + Simple. (For those of you who are lucky enough to already own a copy—yes, that’s the Desney in the acknowledgements!) Actually, Desney’s lent me a few cookbooks and I have been devouring them faster than I devoured this dessert! So stay tuned for some great new cooking ideas.

Now, this lovely little concoction is just heavenly. Meringues with cream and fruit are bliss on their own, and the addition of the rosewater is what makes this dessert stand out above the rest. You may have noticed by now that I’m a bit picky when it comes to the sweet stuff—it has to really, really be worth my time, both in the kitchen and out. The good news is that these rosewater meringues totally stack up!

Don’t be intimidated by the apparent fanciness of meringues; they’re actually quite simple to make. And the rosewater? Suffice it to say I’ve fallen in love with this unique little ingredient, and now that I have a whole bottle of it to use, you’ll be sure to see it cropping up again and again. Enjoy!

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Edited: April 13th, 2011

Simple Crepes

Crêpes! Whether wrapped with peaches and yoghurt for breakfast, baked with bacon and spinach and feta for lunch, stacked with roasted vegetables and cheese for dinner, smothered with raspberries and chocolate for dessert, or doused with cheddar and ham for an amazing post-bar snack, crepes are, in a word, amazing. How can you not love a food that’s so versatile and simple to make?

As you can tell, I’ve been getting “into” crepes recently. I’m sure I’m making them all wrong in comparison to what they would do in France—or heck, even at the beloved Cafe Crêpe in Vancouver—it looks like there’s a whole science behind making the perfect crepe. But they’re quick, simple, even classy, and I love that they fit into the dinner genre of “I have nothing good in my fridge except for some veggies and eggs,” previously populated only by omelettes and frittatas. I like omelettes and frittatas, but they don’t keep well the next day if there’s leftovers, and they can get a bit repetitive. Anyway, for your peace of mind, my fiancé and roommate, who have travelled France, find nothing wrong with my crêpes. So rest assured I’m not leading you terribly astray from the real thing.

Coming soon is a great recipe for a roasted vegetable crêpe cake! Which is So. Darn. Good. Maybe it’s all the cheese…

Also, sorry for the infrequent posts this last month. Our recent move has left us without internet. Hopefully this is getting fixed tomorrow and hopefully I’ll be able to keep updating regularly from now on. I have a few great recipes stored up, but have also been enjoying not compulsively taking photos of every bite that goes into my mouth too.

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Edited: March 24th, 2011

Sneak peek! Homemade Eggnog

You lucky readers you! This is one of the new recipes in the Three Cheeses Christmas Cooking eBook, which you can download for free by signing up to our mailing list. It has great recipes for the holidays (if I do say so myself), as well as an article by yours truly on cooking a holiday feast, and a guest article by designer Kelli Stride on decorating your table to dazzle. Go here to find out more, or get it right now by signing up to the mailing list on your left!

Eggnog has yet to become a staple in Christmas traditions in Australia. It’s not hard to find in the grocery store, but a quick poll of my Aussie friends told me that none of them knew / cared what it was. Well, it was time to change that! I guess most people would just buy a liter of the stuff, add some rum and have fun. Not me! I had to take a stab at making it at home, and the result was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

This eggnog doesn’t really taste like the store-bought stuff. I think it tastes better though, since it’s not made in vast quantities and all the ingredients are fresh and not processed. You can actually taste the egginess of it, and the fresh nutmeg is definitely worth the splurge, since it adds a spiciness and depth of flavour that just doesn’t exist with pre-ground nutmeg. I was surprised to discover that. In the ebook I call this “Not your grandma’s eggnog,” which I suppose is a bit dependent on how cool your grandma is. Or maybe she gave herself the toddy of rum and just gave you the normal eggnog? At any rate, this is one eggnog worth its calories!

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Edited: December 21st, 2010

Shakshuka (Egg in Tomato Sauce)

Something with that much cheese and olives on it has to be delicious, right? Right. I’d never heard of this dish until I saw it in this post on Smitten Kitchen. I wasn’t doubtful per se of the recipe, it just seemed a bit unusual—but the recipe stuck in my head for months. There’s just something about the idea of a delicious tomato sauce with an oozing egg yolk paired with fresh feta (or ricotta) and olives… how could I not give it a try? The results: a delicious and simple weeknight meal for two. It felt more like comfort food than a healthy dinner, but shouldn’t most worthwhile recipes?

Shakshuka (or shakshouka) is a Middle Eastern dish, now primarily recognized for its prominence in Israel. Apparently it also resembles the Latin American dish huevos rancheros, which is more often a larger breakfast meal. Though, in its simplicity, I can imagine it would match a few other dishes too!

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Edited: July 8th, 2010