Published in EdibleAspen magazine and an award from a fellow blogger!

EdibleAspen magazine approached me to work on some recipes for the Fall edition. I submitted my version of a 'turkey roulade' and also my Grandmother's 'eggnog custard tart' which I changed just a little.I had to put my own spin on it so I modified the ingredient list and the design of the tart. This Cape Malay tart is called a "melktert" and is normally made with milk. I, on the other hand, experimented with eggnog and all I can say is WOW! My Grandmother would have been proud . I hope everybody out there enjoys the magazine and my recipes because I could not be more proud of such a prestigious publication!............Nazarina A

n' lekker koppie rooibos tee!











Turkey Roulade.





Eggnog custard tart ( My version of the "melktert")





Click on the Edible Aspen magazine page for the recipe of the eggnog tart!






And..... still on the subject of beautiful gestures, this beautiful award was passed on to me by a fellow blogger, Reeni. Thank you so very much! She inspires me to create bigger and better things!



I would love to pass it along to the following bloggers . I am so glad I found you guys and thanks for all your kind words!

http://askamakeupguru.com/blog/

http://girljapan.wordpress.com/

http://foodhuntersguide.spot.com/blog

http://anjumsrasoi.blogspot.com/

http://havecakewilltravel.com/

http://spiceandcurry.blogspot.com/

http://tny-adores.blogspot.com/

http://sakura-lovebaking.blogspot.com/

http://sweetbites4u.blogspot.com/

http://www.saltnturmeric.com/

http://thursdaynightsmackdown.com/

http://howtogainweightonavegandiet.blogspot.com/

http://createeathappy.blogspot.com/

Please drop in on these beautiful and talented people!
Nazarina A

Joy from Fasting to feasting

Fasting is the third pillar of Islam and it means to abstain from food and drink from dawn until sunset. Above all, Fasting purifies the heart and increases awareness of Allah's Presence.

I love to prepare my family's favorite foods during the Fast and we love to share with everybody irrespective of religion! Everybody is welcome at our table! In fact my home is always full whether it is Ramadaan or not. It gives me a great sense of well being to be able to give to and feed others. My Niyat( Intention) is that I share these recipes with the belief that all of you are actually breaking Fast here in my home.
May your Eid Mubarak celebration be a joyous one and God bless everyone!

Nazarina A.

Click on the titles of these pictures for the recipes!


Falooda aka Bombay crush





Samoosas. Sometimes I make a chicken or prawn filling for these samoosas.






Click on this title for recipe!

Chocolate shortbread thumbprints with a cream cheese and chocolate mousse swirl





Kheer( Boeber)







Banana and pumpkin fritters






Lubna Karim of Kitchen flavours.blogspot.com is showcasing recipes that are prepared during the month of Ramadaan. These are only a few of many that I like to prepare and if you click on the names of the recipes above, it will take you to the links on how to prepare my family's favorites.

"In the land of goats milk and honey......."

"In the land of goats' milk and honey" there can only ' bee' an assortment of beautiful handmade soaps for me! Soaps that are made from goats milk, honey, olive oil, shea and cocoa butters and essential oils etc..... This is the second soap award that I am extending to a fellow blogger and welcoming commenter. In the short time that I have come to know her, she has expressed her feelings and feedback that has made me feel part of this vast blogosphere! Thank you Reeni!

I was setting out to my studio pondering on how to make a soap that would resemble a piece of honeycomb. The answer was staring right at me, when I looked up at the bees nest embedded in the roof of my studio. The honeycomb bar turned out to be a "killer" interpretation because it so happened that a killer bee gave me the inspiration that I needed ( okay, even I realize that this is wayyyy corny!) I molded the "comb" separately and embedded it into a 3D mold.

'The Lily of the valley' soap bar has the softest and most intoxicating aroma. It is a bit complicated to make, especially since you have to mold the lily first and then do a second pouring of the white goats milk soap base without making the colors "run."

The' corkscrew' smells just like the ocean and I literally had to 'paint' the pearl lustre to give it a luminous shell. It hangs from a string of 'pearls.' See also:

http://giddygastronome.blogspot.com/2008/03/sea-shell-soaps_6053.html

http://giddygastronome.blogspot.com/2008/03/goats-milk-and-honey-soap.html


Email: nazarina@karston.com

Did you know that the bee acts as a biological filter : they die if they come into contact with toxins and thus do not bring pollutants into the hive!
A thin coat of honey can be applied to the skin to disinfect and heal minor skin wounds and chapped lips. Honey can also help calm the mind and promote rejuvenating sleep...all according to "Nature's Remedies."

Honey has helped me desensitize my allergies!

Nazarina A.

My little escape!

I needed a little "girlie hangout", a place that I could call my domain, so my sweetie built this studio from the ground up and built the long soap table from reclaimed wood. This man is so amazing and talented and suprises me everyday!

This studio is my spiritual refuge, where I make my soaps and other crafts and also turn the music up 10,000 decibels! I do make lots of natural soaps for just about any occasion and in order to push out the big orders, "trance, techno and rock" inspires me to do so!
My latest loves: "Why work when you can play" by Jonas Steur, "fame, Strawberry Fields" by Estiva, "Redemption" by Sophie Sugar etc.....This type of music really does move me.

Do you guys see the hot air balloon? It just missssssed my studio! ha! ha!

I loved going to college and working in the Finance cut throat world for a while, until I just got so nauseated with peoples' greed and then traded it all for this absolute sanctity! Was I sabbatically correct? I think so!

Nazarina A.

An award that is the epitome of a warm bowl of soup on a snowy day!

Thank you Reeni for this award!

The feeling is mutual and therefore I shall pay the love forward to the following fantastic bloggers! I love visiting Reeni's and all of your blogs especially when I am starving!


http://mormonfoodie.blogspot.com/
http://rosas-yummy-yums.blogspot.com/
http://vanillakitchen.blogspot.com/
http://sakura-lovebaking.blogspot.com/
http://aapplemint.blogspot.com/
http://foodhuntersguide.blogspot.com/
http://lifelightlysalted.blogspot.com/
http://agreatpleasure.blogspot.com/
http://tallmisto1.blogspot.com/
http://teresagskitchen.blogspot.com/
http://feedingmaybelle.blogspot.com/
http://www.applesandbutter.com/
http://aprovechar.danandsally.com/
http://girljapan.wordpress.com/
http://www.tasteslikehome.org/

You guys rockkkkk!!! Please visit all these sites if you have a spare moment, each and everyone has a different and unique calling!!!!

Nazarina A

Another award hoorah!!!

I am so pleased to have won yet another award for my Strawberry extravaganza cake and this time it was for entering a berry competition for Key Ingredient. My prize was this cute apron!!!

http://giddygastronome.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-am-winner-of-martha-stewart-living.html

I shall treasure this apron and always think of the Keyingredient when I am in the kitchen conjuring up my culinary magic! Thank you Sophie and the Keyingredient!


Nazarina A

Livin La Vita Coca: "Can I lure you to the dark side?"

I was not going to post this because while piping the tiramisu and the chocolate mousse rosettes, it started to melt dangerously! To crown it all, when I removed the baked tart shell from the pan, it snapped in half ha! ha! My guests were already arriving and I had no time to do my magic patching, but I did indeed "glue it together" with the melted chocolate. Has this ever happened to you just before your guests arrived? Oh well I cannot always be perfect , so please just envision that the tart is to your satisfaction. My guests on the other hand polished off the tart in no time, while I took almost all morning making it! One of our guests, who is your regular comedian said that he felt extremely musical after eating this tart and he did however burst into song!

I consider myself an accomplished home cook who pretty much understand the essential chocolate tenet and that is to keep it as unadulterated as possible, but I always succumb to aberration because guess what I am not a purist! To me the world is my oyster but the sky not necessarily the limit. I have joined dark chocolate mousse and tiramisu together in holy matrimony and boy! oh boy! are they making sweet music together. If nothing else will, this dessert will lure you to the dark side, 70% dark that is!

The tart shell:

• 1 c MacArthur's all purpose flour
• pinch kosher salt
• 1/3 c Dutch unsweetened cocoa
• 1 stick unsalted European butter
• 1/4 c organic sugar crystals
• 1( Egg lands Best) egg
• 2 t vanilla ( I love the one from Santo Domingo)
• 3 T organic heavy cream
  

Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again. This mixture should be a pale yellow color and sugar should be dissolved( 10 mins). Sift the dry ingredients and alternate by adding this and the cream to the egg mixture. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll out between 2 pieces of parchment and line a 13x31/2 inch tart pan with removable bottom. Prick the tart all over with fork so that the pastry does not bubble up. Bake in a preheated oven 350 degrees for twenty minutes.

The ganache:

Steam 1 cup heavy cream and add 2 t instant coffee granules . Break up a dark Lindt( 3.5 oz) and 3 oz milk choc and add the hot cream. Let stand for about 4 mins and then whisk until smooth.Use this to pipe your rosettes. Tip: Lay tiramisu and this ganache side by side on some plastic wrap, fold the plastic ends over one another and place in the piping bag. This will keep the piping bag clean.

Tiramisu:

I had some tiramisu left from the recipe (link above), so I decided to put it into the chocolate shell. Tip: Brush the tart with melted chocolate first, this will prevent the tart from getting soft because of the moisture of the tiramisu. Also set the tart in the refrigerator again in order for the tiramisu to set up in the tart shell. Pipe your rosettes and decorate with the guitars and the other musical instruments.

Musical Instruments:

Here you are going to have to use the bain-marie method( water bath) again to melt the chocolate and some cocoa butter and just pour into the molds and cool overnight in refrigerator. I buy the cocoa butter in bulk( Edible kind) which I also use in my soap creations. Or just make your own chocolate decorations.

All that work and gone in sixty....

Nazarina A.

Thank you for visiting, comments welcome.

An Ethereal wonder : tiramisu

Raspberry & strawberry coolie on the bottom,
topped with layers of zabaglione and " flake"
chocolate in between layers!



The Martinelli's sparkling apple creates a foamy, light as air, zabaglione!!!

Strawberry tiramisu








This tiramisu ignites a feeling more fantastical than lust, every time I am about to devour this ethereal beauty. I know no peace until every last bite is gone! My friends and family wholeheartedly agree with everything I said here ! He! he!

I make mine without liquor! Martinelli's came to my rescue he! he!

Check out my other presentation as well, click on bottom link!
http://giddygastronome.blogspot.com/2008/03/tiramisu.html


Ingredients:
Please use organic ingredients when possible!

• 7 ( Egg lands Best) egg yolks
• 1/2 c organic sugar crystals ( less 2 T)
  
• 1/3 c Martinelli's sparkling apple cider. If you absolutely cannot find the Martinelli's then go on, use non-alcoholic sparkling white grape.
  
• 1 c organic heavy whipping cream
• 8 oz mascarpone at room temp.
• 1 & 1/2 c brewed espresso coffee
• 2 T Torani hazelnut syrup
• 1 T vanilla( I use the one from Santo Domingo)
• 2 bags ladyfingers ( You will not use all of it)
• 6 squares dark Lindt chocolate
• 2 flakes ( English chocolate), optional
  
• Dutch cocoa for garnishing
• strawberries for garnishing,
  

Set up a bain- marie ( water bath) on the stove and cream together the yolks and the sugar in this heat proof bowl over simmering water for about 10 mins. Pour in the Martinelli's and beat with electric beater until the volume is thick and doubled,( this will cook the egg yolks in a way). Remove the bain marie from the heat and gingerly fold in the mascarpone. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. This is my way of making a zabaglione. Whip the heavy whipping cream in a bowl, but set the bowl in some ice to keep the cream chilled. Fold this cream into your zabaglione and refrigerate again until set, (30 minutes).

Prep for the ladyfingers ( Vicenzi brand):

Combine the espresso, Torani, 6 squares chocolate, vanilla and heat gently stirring to dissolve the chocolate. Cool this mixture. Dip each lady finger very quickly, ( for a second on each side), in this mixture and arrange in a single layer in a pretty dish. Cover with a layer of zabaglione and sprinkle with the flake and arrange another layer of ladyfingers on top and continue until done. Garnish with the cocoa,( I grated some dark chocolate on the fine side of the grater and mixed with the dutch cocoa) & also strawberries, just to make the dessert look pretty.

To make the raspberry & strawberry coolie

Macerate about 4oz each of both berries with a little organic powdered sugar. Place in a blender with juice of an organic lemon & just taste to see whether it is sweet enough. Do not add the lemon juice all at once, otherwise it may be too sour! The layer of this coolie on the bottom is a refreshing twist & element of surprise to the taste buds and cuts through the rich foamy layers of zabaglione.
I bet you are going to savor this dessert as much I, my family, friends and clients, do!

A great tip!
Always make the tiramisu, the night before, so that all the flavors and layers can meld together!



Also for more great ways to enjoy icy cold Martinelli's, maybe with a spicy curry lattice pie

go here www.giddygastronome.com

& here Beta carotene taken to the extreme (I just have to add a splash of Martinelli's sparkling apple, it just gives it that va, va, va, voom!



Love,
Nazarina.