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Mel and Joy cook

Monthly Archives: February 2013

Beat that cold!

20 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by melandjoycook in Remedies

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Tags

antibacterial, antiviral, clove, cold, concoction, cough, flu, garlic, get well, ginger, honey, ill, immune-boosting, infusion, lemon, onion, properties, remedy, sick, sore throat, violet

A concoction for colds

A concoction for colds

Are you suffering from a terrible cold?! If so I have the perfect concoction that I make when I’m bunged up and feeling ill. Bear with me, I know it sounds a little unusual BUT I promise it actually tastes ok.

What you will need:
Half an onion or 1 small onion chopped in quarters
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
Half a lemon and it’s juice
3 to 4 cloves
About a thumb’s worth of chopped ginger
1-2 tbsp honey
2 mugs of water

Beat the cold

Beat the cold

In a pan add all the ingredients except the honey and bring to a boil. Drain the water into a mug and add the honey. Drink and hopefully you’ll feel better!

Get well!

Get well!

The benefits of the ingredients:
Onions
have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties
Garlic has antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties
Cloves have many properties some of them being antioxidant, antiseptic, local anaesthetic and anti-inflammatory (great for those sore throats).
Ginger is an antioxidant and has direct anti-inflammatory effects
Lemon has many properties, some of which are antibacterial, antiviral, and immune-boosting
Honey
antioxidant, soothes and makes the whole drink taste that much better 😉

Violet infusion
If you have a bad cough or cold an infusion of dried violets can also help as they have antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic properties.

Get well!
Mel

Smoked salmon mousse stuffed in cherry tomatoes

15 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by melandjoycook in Appetizers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

appetizer, bubbly, champagne, lemon, mousse, philadelphia, piping bag, smoked salmon, soft cheese

Smoked salmon mousse stuffed in cherry tomatoes

Smoked salmon mousse stuffed in cherry tomatoes

This is the easiest appetizer to make and really has the wow factor. It’s great alongside a glass of bubbly.

What you will need:
15 cherry tomatoes (mixed colours are always pretty)
100g smoked salmon
2 tbsp philadelphia/ soft cheese
Half a lemon’s juice
Salt and pepper
Piping bag

In a blender add the salmon, soft cheese, lemon juice and once all ingredients are blended into a smooth mousse add salt and pepper to taste and blend quickly.

Smoked salmon mousse

Smoked salmon mousse

Cut off the top of the tomatoes and remove the seeds so they become like an empty shell. Put the mouse in your piping bag (you can just use a spoon if you don’t have one) and pipe the mousse into each tomato. I add a little bit of the mousse under the tomato before placing them on the serving dish so that they don’t roll around.

You can also add a tiny slither of lemon on top or some parsely.

And voila! Super simple, impressive and yummy!

Enjoy!
Melanie

Chocolate Eclair Pots

10 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by melandjoycook in Desserts, Valentine's

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Tags

chocolate, cracker, cream, dessert, eclair, valentine, vanilla

Chocolate eclair pots
This is a dessert that my mom used to make that would be perfect for a Valentines’ Day treat.

I made the whip cream and chocolate ganache to step it up a notch.
This was a BIG hit with friends at the dinner we hosted last night.

What you will need:
1 box Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
1.5  Cups of Whipping Cream
8oz Chocolate Bar
8 Graham Crackers
1/2 Cup of Scalded Heavy Cream

I made 6 pots out of this so change accordingly if you want to make more or less.

First make the instant pudding which just requires milk. SUPER EASY. It sits for 10 minutes in the fridge.

Whipped cream

Whipped cream

Then whip 1.5 cups of whipping cream.

Fold the instant pudding into the whipped cream. Put it back in the fridge to sit while you make the chocolate ganache.

Fold cream

Fold cream

First chop your chocolate into bits. Then pour the cream in a double boiler over medium heat. As soon as it starts to bubble, add your chocolate and stir until chocolate has melted.

Melt chocolate

Melt chocolate

Let the ganache sit off the heat for a few minutes to help it thicken.

You can either layer this with graham crackers in a small casserole dish or in individual pots.

The pots are cleaner and have a better presentation but either one works.

Lay crackers

Lay crackers

You just layer graham crackers and the spread the vanilla cream over it. Put the vanilla cream mixture in a baggie and piped it out for better control but you can just spoon it.

Pipe cream

Pipe cream

You should be able to do this about three or four times before topping it off with chocolate ganache.

Continue layering

Continue layering

Let it sit in your fridge for at least an hour before serving.

This is a quick and easy dessert that looks and tastes like you slaved over it!

Enjoy!
Joy

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