Herbed Courgette Soup - Published

http://www.mygourmetconnection.com/recipes/soups/summer-squash-soup-fresh-herbs.php

1-1/2 lbs unpeeled summer squash (yellow, zucchini, scallopini)
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup onion, chopped
4 to 5 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
1/4 cup flour
3-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup half-and-half, whole milk or light cream
1-1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1-1/2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (dill, basil, tarragon or parsley)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Note: Choose small to medium squash with tender skins and leave them unpeeled for both extra colour and nutritional value.

1. Cut the squash into small (1/2-inch) cubes and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1-1/2 minutes longer.
3. Add the flour, combine well and continue cooking, stirring often, until the flour is pale golden in colour, 3 to 4 minutes. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and well blended.
4. Add the squash and season with salt and pepper. Cover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
5. Remove the soup from the heat and, using a hand-held immersion blender (or conventional blender), purée until smooth. Return the pan to the stove, stir in the half-and-half and lemon juice and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes.
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning, add your choice of fresh herbs, ladle into serving bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream if desired.

Testing - Beet soup

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/beet_soup.php

I made this for a group of 12 young people (20-30 age group) and they loved it. I'll have to make it again for a, perhaps, more experienced and discerning group to get the feedback I need to develop a recipe. I used cumin, added a 1/2 cup of milk , and served it with a dollop of sour cream.
1 - Mixed reactions - E. felt it needed to be thicker; B. thought it was too 'earthy'. I thought is was just right, but wondered if I'd forgotten to add the cumin because I couldn't taste it. I did not add all the stock. The total liquid I added was 6 cups instead of the recommended 12. On second thought, I think there has been a typo in the original and it should be only 4 cups of one of 3 possible types of stock. I shall make a selection and change my version. So there!

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 onions chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 potato
4 cups (1lb?) chopped beets
4 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable stock
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons curry paste
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons cumin
Sour Cream

1. In saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, potato and cumin. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until onions are softened.
2. Add beets and stock; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Puree soup until smooth. If desired, thin with more water, stock or milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pear Cake - Published

We made pear juice to make cocktails with some really lovely whiskey. What was left in the juicer was this wonderful frothy slurry which I strained to get more juice out of, then saved the rest to try to make a cake with it! This highlights the pear slurry, which may not work. I may have to revisit the idea and make an applesauce cake instead. But if this doesn't work with the slurry, I'm hoping it'll work with crushed pears instead.
I Frankensteined my Tarte aux pommes de grand-mère recipe for this experiment.
Test 1 - It worked like a charm! The ring of pear slurry allows for the middle to just be cake, and acts as an anchor when cutting the cake and serving. And the flavour with the whiskey was ideal. Now to reproduce!

2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup grape seed oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
2 tsps. baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups crushed pears
3 Tbsps whiskey
Part 2: The Topping
3 oz of butter (about 1/3 cup)
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Lightly butter a spring form pan.
3. Thoroughly beat the egg separately, and add the milk, oil, vanilla and rum. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. 
5. NOTE: Work the batter as little as possible.
6. Create a well in the centre and add the beaten egg, milk, oil and vanilla, folding gently until the batter is uniform.
7. Mix together the whiskey and crushed pears.
8. Pour half of the batter into the pan. Pour the crushed pears as a ribbon in the middle, to make a ring. Pour the remains of the batter over this, and put in the oven for 15 minutes.
9. While this is baking melt the butter and whisk in the sugar, then set aside to allow it to cool.
10. Just before the timer rings, add the egg and whisk until it all uniform.
11. Pour the butter, sugar and egg mixture on top of the cake and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the top is uniformly golden (you may have to turn the dish after about 10-15 minutes for even browning).
12. Allow to cool and serve while still warm or at room temperature.

Test 1 - Albanian Lamb Stew

This is a recipe on my main blog that I posted before developing my 3-step proving method, and it's not quite right. I haven't moved it, so here's a link to it:

http://lamouffettegourmande.blogspot.ca/2010/09/albania-youre-worth-it.html

Testing - Baked Spiced Plums

We now have loads of plum trees - Myrobalan, Japanese, Italian, Damson, Victoria. Summers in the Gulf Islands of BC tend to be very dry, and this year we also had a drought and lots of heat. Last week, just as the plums were starting to ripen, it rain and rained and rained again. Which is really great. And it also means that, like tomatoes, plums, with their thin skins, will take up this sudden abundance of water and fill the fruit until the skin splits. So now I'm rushing trying to find ways of cooking with or preserving the delicious fruit.
Last week, we had dinner at Peter and Lisa's and they served us stewed plums. They were delicious. Therefore, I was inspired to develop a recipe of my own. These three in particular had bits I wanted to combine.

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/baked-spiced-red-wine-plums
http://eattherightstuff.squarespace.com/blog/2009/12/2/spiced-aromatic-plums.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/plums-in-red-wine-recipe.html

6 medium (about 18 oz) plums, halved and stoned
2 bay leaves
1 star anise
3 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
4 cardamom pods
1 cup red wine, with berry and chocolate notes, like a Shiraz or Garnacha
2 - 3 Tbsps (up to ½ cup?) of (honey or brown sugar?)
vanilla ice cream

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Halve the plums and remove the stones. Place in a single layer in a lidded ovenproof dish just large enough to hold them, cut sides down. Combine the wine, spices and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the plums.
3. Cover and bake. Depending on the the ripeness of the plums, this can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour - the softer the plum, the faster the cooking time. Test with a skewer for donness. Serve the plums warm, at room temperature or chilled with a little of the poaching liquid over vanilla ice-cream.