This is my last post as Defunkt Gourmet.  This is the end of the road.

I’ve decided to jump ship and move elsewhere.

My new home is @ChineseBaba.

In terms of words, DG is more of my funky personality.   Chinese Baba reflects the true nature of my cooking “style” which is geared towards comfort cooking.

I hope this is ok and that we’re still friends.

ex’s and oh’s.

Jenn.

Also, I’m sad that they’re not coming to Winnipeg on their tour this year.  *heart broken.*

What to make?  What to make that’ll be quick and ready to go by the time I get back?  Out of our small group of awesome, foxy ladies, one has food allergies.  And the two things that she could not have were: citrus and nuts.  CRAP!  So, I’m online looking for “great!” “summer!” “desserts!”.  And what comes up?  Citrus something-or-other.  Lemony thing-she-can’t-eat.  Nuts’n-butts disaster.  I was totally boned.  Why did everything that was sounding SO amazing were the things I couldn’t make?  So, I emailed Ms. T and asked her specifically which citrus and which nuts (because it can be specific).  Turns out ALL citrus :(.  But, she was ok with peanuts.  Translation: peanut butter is an option.  HALLELUJAH!
I came across Kraft Canada’s Chocolate-Peanut Butter pie and thought: THIS IS IT.  Here is a dessert that’s quick to make and will get the job done while I’m out and about.

The Instant Trinity

I should admit:  though I was really happy I had found a dessert that was quick to make, I felt bad for copping out.  Why?  Well, for me, if I’m making a dessert, I’m Making a dessert.  If I’m making a pie, for instance, I would have made that shell from scratch.  I would have made the filling and anything else required.  But this dessert had three things I hadn’t used in AGES:

• Oreo Baking Crumbs *what?*
• Instant pudding powder *SAY WHAT?*
• bloody COOL WHIP whipped topping?!??!? *Clutches heart, GASP!*

Do you see the struggle?  If I can make croissants from scratch, why am I making…. THIS?  Ok, being a tad melodramatic… Also, I seriously haven’t had Cool Whip since I was in the age group of single digits.  Why have something that probably won’t even biodegrade in a nuclear bomb when I can have real whipped cream?

Kraft Canada’s Chocolate-Peanut butter Pie
(*changes I made)

• 1-1/4 cups Oreo Baking Crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1/4 cup extra/creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup cold milk
• 1 pkg (4-serving size) Jell-O chocolate fudge* instant pudding
• 1 L container, thawed of Cool Whip whipped topping*

Combine the crumbs and the butter and press into a 9 x 9 square dish.

In a large bowl, mix the peanut butter while slowly adding the milk with a wire whisk.  Add the dry pudding mix and combine until well-blended.  Add 1 cup of the Cool Whip to the mixture and then pour onto the crust.  The recipe says to top with one cup of the Cool Whip but it didn’t seem like enough so I practically put the remainder of the container on top.

Put in the fridge for at least 3 hours and then I topped it with chocolate sprinkles before I serving, because I didn’t have any fudge topping.  I also don’t have any pictures of the final product.  Sorry!  I think in a way, it was nicer to use just regular Cool Whip than the chocolate variety because you get nice looking layers between the crust, the pudding, and then the topping.  Can you picture the instant trinity dessert?

Verdict: DELICIOUS – from what I was told, tee hee.  I didn’t have any and let the girls bring it home to their families.  Amidst the Just Dance, black jack, and talking, we actually forgot dessert!  Rave reviews from everyone who tried it and they couldn’t believe that it was made with: Oreo crumbs, instant pudding, and Cool Whip.

Other pictures of the day….

Bob's crepe: The Cowboy

Left to Right - Strawberry and Guava bubble teas.

A counter full of Portuguese, yummy goodness. This picture does not do it justice.

Oh, and why aren’t there any pictures of lucious, sunkissed strawberries that would have stained my piano hands red?  Before we headed off to pick up Mum, I asked Bob if we should call Boonstra’s to see if they were open.  Bob: Nah, they should be open, it’s gorgeous outside.  So we drove all the way to Stonewall only to discover that they were indeed Not open for business.  So fellow Manitobans, please call the farms you’re going to pick from lest you find out otherwise after your long-ish drive.

Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice cream
from David Lebovitz’s “Perfect Scoop”

• 7 ounces milk chocolate finely chopped
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 cup heavy cream, divided
• 3/4 cup Guinness Stout
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Once you’ve finished chopping your chocolate, put it in a large bowl with a mesh strainer over top.

Next, in a medium sauce pan on low-medium heat, combine the milk, sugar, and 1/2 cup of the cream.  Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar has dissolved and wait for the mixture to heat up.

In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks with the remaining cream.  Check on your milk/cream/sugar mixture.  I test it by poking my finger and  if it’s hot I know it’s ready.  (What professional advice, eh?  I know I should use a thermometer, but I’m so used to doing it this way and it’s worked – no sense in fixing something that ain’t broke…)  Slowly pour about 3/4 of the warmed mixture into the egg yolks/cream, whisking constantly.  [If you get "scrambled eggs", you've poured your mixture too quickly and the only remedy is to start again :( ].

Afterwards, pour your warmed egg yolks back into the sauce pan and cook until it’s “thickened”.  This term is kind of deceiving because your custard won’t get thick like a normal custard; it’ll still be rather runny.  Your custard is deemed “thickened” when after coating the back of your wooden spoon, your run your finger down the centre and make a trail.  If that trail remains for several seconds, your mixture is done.  If the trail “closes up” right afterwards, you still have to cook your mixture a little while longer.  Since I’ve made more ice cream than I can shake a stick at, I find once you’ve returned the eggs back into the sauce pan, more often than not, your custard’s done.

At this point, you’ll pour the custard through the strainer on top of the chocolate pieces.  Stir the chocolate until melted.  Then add your vanilla and Guinness.  Cool in an ice bath and then chill thoroughly for about 4 hours or overnight; freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

My verdict is this:  David Lebovitz is a Genius.  Possibly one of the best ice creams I’ve made since my caramel macchiato.  When you first put a spoonful in your mouth, you get a lovely taste of milk chocolate.  And then it evolves into the heady, rich taste of the Guinness.  Guinness on its own doesn’t entice me.  But combined with the chocolate and in a frozen custard form, I can finally understand why people appreciate this stout.  While I won’t be able to enjoy a nice pint at the pub, I can enjoy it with crepes and a dollop of whipped cream.  Isn’t beer for breakfast lovely??  -  If you’re interested, check out this album of ice creams I’ve made this past month.

Deck update:

Bob working hard while I laze around and take pictures.

The hard work has paid off and now the deck is ready for use. (Special thanks to Brian who's helped us out so much with our yard and deck. Thanks dude!)

Happy (belated) Canada Day!  And of course, Happy 4th of July!  How are you celebrating this weekend?  Do you enjoy a nice pint of stout or are you more of a lager kind of person?

Sunny Sunday. Deck is built, sod is down. Finally, A YARD!

Hopefully this will be a sign of the summer that I know Winnipeg used to be known for:  dry and really hot.  Though for the past 5 years at least, the humidity seems to have increased quite a bit and the clouds seem to be greyer than my childhood.  Then again, maybe when I think of my youth I’ve got my rose-tinted glasses on.

What would be great to beat the summer heat?  [If it actually even reaches our little, prairie city..]

Well, you can never beat the deliciousness of homemade iced treats.  I finally picked up David Lebovitz’s Perfect Scoop.  And it is amazingness.  My Williams-Sonoma Frozen Desserts is a good platform, but Perfect Scoop takes it to an entirely different level.  ~  Friends of ours came to visit en route to a flight to Ottawa on Friday.  They have a son, Landon who has a ton of allergies of which lactose was the main one I remembered.  Now everyone loves a little dessert now and then, but what to do when allergies come into play?

I decided that I would make a raspberry sherbet but instead of using milk, I opted for almond milk.  And it was a great substitution.  So great that Bob had no idea that the sherbet was vegan!  HA! HA! HA!  In your face Bob.  (Sorry, just had to put that in there.)

This picture does not do the sherbet justice. It also reminds me of how crappy and limiting my camera is.

The colour of this sherbet is absolutely gorgeous and the taste is the best of lucious, summer raspberries in frozen form.  I will admit that I used frozen raspberries *GASP!*  because it’s what I had on hand.  Also, using frozen raspberries allowed the mixture to freeze much faster in the ice cream maker canister than usual.  So I would suggest if you have more berries than you can shake a stick at, freeze them and make sherbet at your leisure if that’s what you choose to do.

Raspberry Sherbet adapted from David Lebovitz

• 454 g fresh or frozen raspberries
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup sugar (I found 1 cup too much, I think you can probably get away with 2/3s of a cup)
• 1 1/2 tsps freshly squeezed lemon juice

With a blender or food processor, blitz the first three ingredients until smooth.  Strain out the seeds and then add in the lemon juice.  What’s great about this recipe is that you don’t have to wait several hours for the flavours to meld, you can just throw it into your ice cream maker right after you’ve added the lemon juice.

And if you don’t have an ice cream maker, pour mixture into a metal cake pan and freeze until almost solid; about 1.5 hours, then break up and puree in food processor.  Scrape into airtight container and freeze until firm about 4 hours.

And what kind of treat for cosmopolitan ladies?

Martinis!  I whipped these up for Teri and I for our steak dinner.  It’s not heavy on the booze but you can definitely up the ante if you want.

Lychee-Passionfruit Martinis (serves 2)

• 2 oz vodka (wish I had Grey Goose on hand…. :/)
• 2 oz lychee liqueur (we used Soho)
• 4 oz passionfruit juice
• Optional ~1.5 oz lychee syrup (from canned lychees) or lychee juice; it just adds more sweetness because I like my cocktails fruity and boozy.

Fill a cocktail shaker up with about 7-8 ice cubes.  Add in your liquids, shake and pour into martini glasses.  Garnish with lychee or passionfruit seeds if you have ‘em.

Summer colours for your belly.  Enjoy ;)  xoxo