Elegant Survival

One half-cup of water, one fourth-cup of lemon juice, one jalapeño pepper (roasted, pickled or fresh), two stalks of celery, one-half of a cucumber, one tablespoon of thick yoghurt, and one tablespoon of parsley, all whirled in a blender till smooth. Add water if necessary for processing.

Copyright M-J de Mesterton 2009

M-J’s Chocolate Truffle Tarte

One cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

One tablespoon of butter

One can of evaporated milk

Four tablespoons of cocoa powder

One tablespoon of vanilla

One cup of powdered sugar

1 and a half tablespoons of cornstarch

One half-cup of heavy whipping cream

One egg

Crumb-crust as described below

In a stainless steel pot, heat the chocolate chips, butter and cocoa powder, stirring with a wooden spoon until they are mixed together. Add one can of evaporated milk gradually, incorporating it into the chocolate mass with the help of a wire whisk. Dump the cup of powdered sugar into this, again using the wire whisk to mix it into the other ingredients. In a large measuring cup or small mixing bowl, mix the cornstarch with a little of the cream, then add all cream to the mixture, together with one raw egg, and beat all of this together before adding it to the pot. Once you have poured this mixture into the pot of now-lukewarm milk and chocolate, whisk continuously and cook for twenty minutes over low heat until thick. Cool this pudding slightly and pour it into a 9-inch spring-form or cake pan that has been prepared with a cookie-or-graham cracker crust. Refrigerate for about two hours.

Crumb-Crust

One and a half cups of ground cookies or graham cracker crumbs, which can be made in a food-processor or blender. The cookies should not contain chocolate pieces, though almonds and other nuts are good additives. The flavour of your tarte's crust will depend upon that of your crumbs.

One third-cup of cream

Three tablespoons of butter

One half-teaspoon of baking powder

One tablespoon of flour

Mix these ingredients together in a bowl until they form a dough-like ball. Coat the entire  inside of a spring-form or cake pan with this dough, using your hands and some waxed paper for pressing it in evenly. Bake the crust for twenty minutes at 350* Fahrenheit.

 Below: M-J's Crumb-Crust, Baked and Ready for Filling

Top this chocolate truffle tarte with whipped cream when serving it. Alternatively, cover it with meringue and bake in a hot oven for a few minutes until the meringue peaks are light brown.

Pictured below is my finished product. I used my own almond cookies ground up for the crumb-crust. A couple of hours after filling and cooling it, I inverted my baked   and cooled tarte onto a piece of waxed paper, and then inverted it again onto a platter. A spring-form pan, which I didn't use, will allow you to make M-J's Chocolate Truffle Tarte without those steps, and it will look much more attractive. This recipe was created and developed on Thanksgiving Day 2009; copyright M-J de Mesterton

Recipe and Photos Copyright M-J de Mesterton 2009

Huevos Rancheros--fried eggs and grated cheese on tortillas with red or green chile gravy on top--are a health-promoting breakfast or brunch dish for winter and fall. Placing refritos, or refried beans, under the eggs is optional. Use either flour or corn tortillas, with Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese. I like to sauté the tortillas in butter, grate cheese onto them, then fry the eggs, assemble the lot and pour on the chile gravy, finishing the top with more grated cheese.

Swedish Flax/Rye Bread

This is my own recipe. You won’t find this bread outside of Sweden, unless you are on an SAS flight.

Four cups of hot water, to which a half-cup of buttermilk has been added

Two tablespoons of yeast

One third-cup of molasses (substitute: dark corn syrup)

Two tablespoons of salt

Two cups of rye flour

Half cup of ground flaxseed

White flour–amounts vary, but it will be about  six cups (the amount of flour needed depends upon the climate, the altitude, and the phase of the moon)

Dissolve the yeast in warm water/buttermilk mixture. Add the molasses and some of the two flours–enough to make a sponge. After it has bubbled up, add salt and the rest of the flour except for one cup. Let the dough rest forfifteen minutes. Keep adding more white flour as needed until the dough no longer sticks to the surface. Knead dough for eight minutes. Form into a ball, set into a buttered bowl, cover lightly with waxed paper or a tea-towel, and let rise until it is double the size. Punch down the bulk, kneading it again for a minute or two.  Shape dough into loaves, dust pans with cornmeal or flaxseed, let rise until nearly double in size, then bake for one hour at 350* (moderately hot oven). Optional: brush the loaves with beaten egg-white for a shiny, crispy crust. This recipe will yield two slicing loaves and two baguettes.  — Copyright M-J de Mesterton, 25th August 2007