Islands in the sky, food & travel

I don't think we had enough Thanksgiving desserts, what say you? Not funny. After all the marathon baking last week, I decided to whip up a quick no-bake and gluten-free dessert.  The pineapple mousse is also very easy to make and quite versatile.  I may try to layer it next time to make parfaits for Christmas... we'll see.  The mocha buttercream with no added sugar is also a keeper, so delicious, we were licking it off the spatula. But I digress, here's the recipe. Praline layer 150 g praline chocolate (or half semi-sweet half white chocolate) 2 teaspoons of milk or whipping cream 10 gavottes (5 packets of 2), (or 1/2 cup of gluten-free cornflakes) 2 teaspoons praline (caramelized nuts) Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Melt the 2 chocolates with milk.  Once completely melted and creamy, fold in crushed gavottes or cornflakes. Add praline.  Add this first layer by crying Pineapple mousse:  3 sheets gelatin, softened in cold water 5-6 rings of pine...

Still reporting here on Thanksgiving desserts, folks. This is typical, though, it's often a baking marathon for this feast, every year!  But who doesn't love the fragrance from a baker's kitchen? Here's the pumpkin carrot cake recipe, it's a take on my Easy Carrot Cake recipe with a half cup of pureed pumpkin added just for Thanksgiving, and um, calories. Baking cake loaves is great.  You can make muffins out of the batter too. You can adjust the fruits according to the season and have the flavors you're craving and get inspiration from fruits or vegetables from the market.  Is pumpkin a vegetable then?  It's a fruit !  The things you learn. Same family as zucchini, butternut, etc, googled it. Ingredients : 3-4 grated carrots 1/2 cup pumpkin or butternut puree Half a pineapple or 1 small can of pineapple, mashed with a fork 100 g raisins (1/2 cup) 100 g butter, creamed (half a stick) 2 eggs 150 g sugar (1 cup) 1 heaping tablespoon sour cream 250 g flour (2-1...

Hi everyone ! Hope you are surviving the holidays and staying safe. With all the Thanksgiving desserts this year, I decided to bake two with gluten-free dough.  Here is the recipe for a nice shortbread-like, crumbly dough for baking a fruit tart or pecan pie :  Shortbread dough : 2 - 2-1/2 cups rice flour (or gluten-free rice flour blend) 1/2 cup almond flour 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (or ground flaxseed in 1 tsp water) 1/4 cup sugar 80 g butter 1 egg 1 tablespoon sour cream 1 teaspoon salt 2 sliced fruits of choice (apples, pears, peaches, apricots, berries...) Pre-heat oven to 175° C (350° F). Line pie pan with wax paper. Soften butter, add sugar, sour cream, egg, then add all other ingredients one at a time, mixing in well as you go. Knead about 3 minutes.  Add more flour or butter to get a nice consistency that doesn't adhere to the touch.  Set aside in refrigerator about 1 hour.  Roll out on floured surface to a 1/4 inch thickness and place in pan, allowi...

Hi everyone! With holidays around the corner, I’m baking a couple of desserts ahead of time and storing them before Thanksgiving. Hopefully I won't have too many family members nibbling before The Day, which often happens. Or cakes disappearing, that also happens.  (I'm more often than not secretly pleased when that happens.)  Here’s the thing, since we don’t live in the states, cooking this feast in France isn’t as easy as you may think. You usually cannot get a turkey in November. Usually I have to pre-order one so I can get one on time. You usually cannot get fresh cranberries. Pecans are hella expensive. And the list goes on. Also with lockdown, one of my children can’t come home, we can’t invite friends or family over, so there will only be the three of us this year. So I’m not going to go overboard with a feast... except for preparing our favorite things. Back to this dessert, now that I’ve « mastered », that’s exaggerating, more like, « can whip up a dacquoise without a...

I saw a picture of this dish on an Instagram post of a woman who I’ve befriended and had to try it. She guided me along the way. So amazing to have contact from all around the world this way. It’s really the next best thing to traveling, learning, sharing. When you can’t travel, it’s the flavors from faraway places that give you a taste of the different countries. This is her Nigerian dish. When I saw the plantains I had to try to make it, I especially love fried plantains.  They are of course high in potassium, vitamin C, iron, resistant starch, fiber... but also calories.  So 1000 steps or run around the block after every mouthful! Let's get started, this is what I used from ingredients I have :  Ingredients : Red pepper curry 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 medium onion, chopped 1 chili pepper or jalapeno, finely chopped 3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 1 red bell pepper, cored and finely chopped 1 can (400 ml) diced peeled tomatoes 2 peeled and sliced carrots (optiona...