Bodycare, Mindfulness, Recipes
Feed me… body, mind & soul
Sep
I love to cook and I especially love seeing the expressions when my friends and family bite into something I’ve made. There’s a lot of love that goes into each creation. A little bit of my heart and soul into every morsel.
Many years back I was part of a cooking class at Casa Luna in Ubud, Bali and the owner, Janet De Neefe, commented on how the same recipe can have a different taste based on the person who’s made it. There were two beautiful Balinese ladies chopping, preparing and cooking that day, and Janet said,
‘When Wayan makes sambal it’s fiery like a storm brewing and when Made makes it, it has a gentle warmth that builds progressively. Their personality and energy is one with the food they prepare.’
We tried the two sambals and they were definitely different. Same ingredients, made on the same day, but made by different people. I loved both because even though one was smack bang powerful and the other one kind of snuck up on you, they were both made with love and passion.
This made me realise it’s important to be working from heart space when creating something that’s shared, because it comes through in the end product. Interestingly, when I dine out I can tell the difference between when the dish has been made with love and when there’s a disconnect. With this new awareness about how our energy affects the food we prepare, I was even more focused on imbuing what I made with love.
Because life is about sweetness… or should I say I like a little bit of sweetness in my life, I recently made one of my favourite desserts to share. Over the years I’ve modified the recipe to suit my needs and philosophy about healthy life choices so unfortunately I don’t have the original reference any longer, but I do thank the original creators for this inspiration and the feedback from many a very contended consumer of all things delicious.
When I posted a photo on my Facebook and Instagram accounts, I received lots of PMs & DMs requesting the recipe. So here it is.
All you have to do is make it with love, because the recipe itself is really simple.
Have fun making and eating it… and let me know how you went by dropping me a line in the comments below.
Love Vesna
APRICOT GALETTE
Frangipane cream
25 grams rapadura sugar
42 grams organic unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large organic egg
1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
42 grams almond meal (I make mine up fresh)
12 grams organic spelt flour
FILLING
8-10 organic apricots (halved)
2 tablespoons organic honey
1 organic lime (zest & juice)
16 grams organic pistachios
CRUST
2 sheets butter puff pastry, defrosted
Temperature: 200°C
Cook time: 20-25 minutes on the middle wire rack
Use a 20cm x 30cm tray
Serves: 4-6 or 1 hungry hippo 🙂
Preheat the oven to 200°C and grease baking tray with butter.
DIRECTIONS
Frangipane: Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
I usually make my own almond meal by whizzing it in the food processor until I have a lovely fine consistency, but the store bought one works just as well.
Add the almond meal and flour, and beat until it forms a smooth paste. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate while you prepare the rest.
Line the greased baking tin with the puff pastry, folding the edges over to make a slightly thicker and decorative crust. Gently prick the bottom with a fork.
Add the frangipane cream and spread evenly, making sure you get right into the corners. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the fruit.
Filling: Halve (or quarter) the apricots and place into a large mixing bowl. Add the finely grated lime zest and juice. Drizzle the honey over the apricots and with clean hands, gently mix all the ingredients.
Place the fruit on the frangipane cream – don’t worry about covering every bit of cream because you want it to rise up in between the fruit. I usually place the halves in a up and down pattern so I can drizzle the remaining honey and lime juice over the fruit. Finally, roughly chop the nuts and sprinkle over the whole dish.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the fruit is slightly browned/roasted and the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
Serve as is, with ice cream, cream or dusted with a little bit of icing sugar. It’s delicious served warm!
Options: Use apples, peaches, berries, or a mix of fruits. It’s all very yummy.
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