Chestnuts Whipping Cream

Chestnuts Whipping Cream is a very rich cream and can be used for any light cake.
       You need:
= 1 and 1/3 Cup of Roasted Chestnuts
= 500ml 35% Organic Whipping Cream
= Raw Agave syrup to your taste
= Blender.

    == To grind Chestnuts
~ Place roasted Chestnuts into the  Blender and grind them to a fine particles.

 ~ Replace to an empty bowl

 == To make the Whipping Cream
~ Pour 35%  Organic Whipping cream into the Blender

  ~ Add Agave Syrup to your taste

 ~ Blend it to make the whipping cream.

 ** Do not over blend it. The cream will separate and turn to butter.
~ Replace the Whipping Cream into a bowl

 == Combine ground Chestnuts with the Whipping Cream

 ~ Combine them nicely, not vigorously, like you folding Chestnuts into the Whipping Cream
It is done:)
I like this Cream for Yule Log.

      Picture of the day. Enjoy and Be Healthy:)

Preparing Chestnuts.

The edible Chestnuts are sweet and starchy but with a very hard shells can be prepared in 2 methods.
        = To Roast
~ Preheat oven to 400F (200C)
~ Wash chestnuts.
~ Make one short cut in the middle of the flat surface of a chestnut. I found that is not necessary to make a cross cut on chestnuts, as they will open anyway while roasting.

 ~ Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. They are done, when the shells of chestnuts split open.

 ~ Important => Peel chestnuts when they are hot but manageable. If chestnuts cool it is difficult to peel them and you have to reheat them again.
 ~ With roasting, the chestnut is partly cooked but dry.

        == To Boil.
~ Place chestnuts in a cooking pot and cover with cool water. Bring water with chestnuts to boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
~ Important => Drain chestnuts few at a time to peel, do not let them cool completely, as it is difficult to peel and you have to boil them again.
Chestnuts are a great accompaniment for meat and poultry, soups and for cakes.
Enjoy and be Healthy;)

Almond Milk - Lactose free

Almond Milk is a wonderful alternative for people with lactose intolerance. It is a very refreshing drink, source of Potassium and Manganese, Calcium and Magnesium.

 It is the wholesome drink if you prepare it by yourself. Unfortunately, commercial varieties of "Almond Milk" have additional ingredients inside of the product to extend the shelf life.

 Nevertheless, it is very simple and much healthier to make the Almond Milk.
==All you need is Almonds, Water (Room Temperature) and Blender. The proportion is 1:3. It means, 1 part of Almond, and 3 Parts of Water.
= 1. Soaking Almonds. Take 1/3 Cup of Almonds and add Water (Room temperature).
 Leave them Overnight. The soaking is literally brings Almonds alive: carbohydrates are broken down to simple sugars, proteins -> into free amino acids, fats-> into free fatty acids. On the top of that all enzyme inhibitors, phytates, oxalates are literally washed away and deactivated. This process calls predigestion and helps much easily to assimilate nuts for us. Almonds actually taste much better, than just dry. ("Almond milk" from grocery does not have this predigestion process)

 = 2. Next day, drain off Water and rinse Almonds.

 = 3. Add Water. I usually use the same cup for measurement, that I measured Almonds. I place soaked Almonds into the cup and add water 3 times more than Almonds. Just align your eyes with the water level. You do not have to be precise to take a measurements.

 = 4. Transfer water with almonds to the Blender.

 = 5. Blend till the mixture becomes homogenous.

 = 6. Take a bowl and a cheesecloth.

= 7. Strain the milk into a bowl through a piece of cheesecloth.

= 8. Squeeze the cheesecloth tightly to extract as much liquid as possible from the Almonds.

 = 9. Almond Milk with a creamy consistency and a touch of Amaretto like taste is done.

= 10. Almond Milk can be used for sauces, creams, stews or ice creams. It can be added to a cup of coffee or tea.
Enjoy and Be Healthy:)

P.S. Snowing

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Sauce linked with Thanksgiving and Christmas is a wonderful addition to any poultry and desserts, like Chestnut Cake or Bread & Apple Pudding. It can be used as a spread for breakfast and enjoyed the goodness of Cranberries all year long.   

               You need:
                       = 3 cups fresh or frozen Cranberries
                       = 1 cup of water
                       = 1/3 cup of Raw Agave syrup

         ~ Wash Cranberries
         ~ In a saucepan mix Cranberries with water and raw Agave syrup

                  ~ Bring to boil

 ~ Boil (about 7 minutes) gently until the skin of Cranberries pop up on all berries.

 If the sauce is done, but some of the berries are still soft but whole, use a Potato Musher to mix and mush all the berries at the same time. You can do it right inside of the saucepan you cook.

 ~ At the end I added Orange zest of 1/2 Orange.

~ Mix, 30 seconds more to simmer. It is Done:)

         ** You can play with the Cranberry sauce to suit you taste.
>> For a more tart sauce, decrease any sugar you use by at least 1/3
>> For a thicker sauce, decrease Water at the minimum by 1/3
>> Spices works very well with the sauce as well, especially if you serve this sauce with Chestnut  cake or Bread pudding. --> Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves.
If you serve the Cranberry sauce with  poultry, as duck, goose, turkey, you can add Horseradish to make a strong but lovely zesty taste.
I usually add spices at the Middle of cooking, but Horseradish at the Beginning of cooking sauce.
>> Also, you can substitute water with fresh squeezed Orange juice and decrease the amount of sugar, as Orange juice gives additional sweetness.
>> You can add Orange or Lemon peels, Raisins or Apples before cooking and cook them together. It gives additional flavor and texture.
                                      Enjoy and Be Healthy:)

Looks Yammy...

Frosting Fruits

One of the beautiful desserts decorations is Frosted Fruits (covered in sugar).

 Fresh currants, grapes, strawberries, cape gooseberries are appealing when covered in sugar and always catch the attention.
         You need:
= 1 egg white. If you have a lot of fruits to cover, take 2 egg whites
= About 2 Table spoons of Demerara sugar. The amount of sugar depends on the amount of fruits.
= Fruits, you want to cover.
=== I used Red currants and Black Grapes. Divide fruits into a small bunches.
=== Rinse the fruits and dry them with a paper towels.

 === Whisk lightly 1 egg white.

 === Dip each fruit bunch into the egg white. Then lift it to let the excess of egg white to run out.

 === Dip fruit into the sugar and turn around to cover the whole fruit.

  === Put the fruit covered in sugar on a wire rack.

 === Leave all covered in sugar fruits for 1-2 hours at room temperature to harden.

 ** This method works well not just for the listed above fruits but also for Edible flowers, Rose petals, Mint leaves and look fantastic. You can prepare Frosted fruits, flowers, leaves in advance and refrigerate them in an airtight container up to 3 days.
 








       Happy Decoration:)