el tercer ojo

Gingering sparkle Up

Over on her blog, Life in Motion, the lovely sparkle tells very little about her recent adventures with ginger.  (Seriously sparkle, is "fucking hurts" really enough detail?

She went on to mention in her comments that there was a whole half a root left in the 'fridge making mean faces at her (or something like that).  I suggested she get rid of it by making some cookies... after all, her beloved likes cookies, that much I do know.

To that end, and at her request, I offer this recipe.

Spicy Ginger Cookies

You'll need

3/4 c. butter

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 c. molasses

2 1/4 c. flour

2 tsps. ground ginger (make sure it's not too old, taste)

2 tsps. baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tbsps finely minced fresh ginger root

1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. 

Beat in the egg and molasses. 

In another bowl, sift together, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt.

Stir dry mix into the molasses mixture until combined. Then gently add in the fresh and crystallized gingers. 

Refrigerate dough in covered bowl or ziplock for at least 2 hours -- overnight is best.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Shape dough into walnut sized balls, dip in white sugar and place about 2 inches apart onto ungreased parchment covered cookie sheet. 

Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Turn sheet as needed. Cool on wire racks.

Pavlova Dreams

So this past week my beloved turned 39.  Yeah, he's a younger man. 

Anyway, one of the great things about him is that his favorite dessert is one that I had to learn how to make.  It's called a Pavlova after the ballarina.  This dessert, invented by either Australia or New Zealand (it's so good they both claim it) is a basic meringue topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. 

Because I taught myself how to make it via recipe without pictures, I made an improvement to it.  Traditionally there's just a layer of cream and then one of fruit.  Mine has cream, fruit, more cream, more fruit and so on.  I thought this was the way they were supposed to be made and by the time I worked it out, well, this seemed both more attractive and tastier.  Because who doesn't like extra cream?

Because of Paul's fruit loves, the Pavlovas I make tend to be raspberry (his favorite) and strawberry (because who can afford more than a pint of raspberries in February?).    This is a lot more fun to make in the summer because the berries are much easier to come by -- getting the strawberries and raspberries for this Pavlova took trips to two different supermarkets and the Santa Monica Saturday farmer's market.  This meant that it was served Sunday rather than on Friday (his actual birthday) but hey, ya do what ya can.

Everyone is supposed to have a signature dish.  I suspect the Pavlova has becomes mine.   This isn't my best effort ever, but the first time I've gotten a picture to put up before the thing has been devoured.  So here it is.  :)

Happy Birthday Paul!  (And before you ask, no he didn't get spanked.  Why?  Because it was his birthday and he didn't want to be.)