| Explore the infinite possibilities of creating wonderful meals for all occasions with minimum effort and maximum fun. |
|
A smell of oranges and the crunch of fresh linen as light slips through the window. It happens seldom only on special Sundays. Time for brunch. A luscious, languid meal with friends. A time for gathering, for celebrating, for indulgence, brunch is communal, relaxed, inventive sheer bliss
|
|
KUDZU PASTILLES
What You Need 1 cup kudzu crystals Here's How Dissolve kudzu in a little of the cool juice in a cup. Pour the rest of the juice into a pan and heat to simmering. Add the kudzu mixture from the cup and sweetening to taste. Cook gently, stirring constantly for a couple of minutes until the mixture loses its milky look and becomes clear. Remove from heat and pour out onto a flat dish or pan. Let cool for a few minutes until it goes solid. Cut with a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter into whatever shapes you like. Store and serve as a sweet. These little pastilles are not only beautiful, they are good for you. |
|
Kudzu is one of my favorite foods. It is sacred to the Japanese. They use it in everything from delicious not-too-sugary sweets to remedies for colds. It comes from the root of a plant that weighs more than 25 pounds. The root is harvested, then processed entirely through natural means in a way that can take as long as five years in preparation. The result are gorgeous snow white crystals that crumble in your hand and when cooked melt in your mouth. Kudzu which mixes beautifully with honey and fruit even soothes a troubled stomach into the bargain. I use kudzu for dozens of purposes from a custard sweet made by heating it with soya milk and honey or as a thickener for clear soup to making colorful and delicious little not-too-sweet pastilles which I serve with coffee or herb tea at brunch. These are made from fruit juices orange, raspberry, gooseberry, lime, passion fruit, mango which I strain and then gently boil down to make them highly concentrated. I then add honey or golden granulated sugar to taste and cut them with a biscuit cutter into whatever shapes I fancy. You can even make them from frozen concentrated fruit juices to which a little water has been added or from packaged fruit juices that you boil down. You will need equal parts fruit juice concentrate and kudzu. |
|
Wonderful life-giving foods, and information about what some of them can do to help prevent premature aging, protect you from degenerative conditions such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease, enhance your mood, intensify your delight in love-making, even encourage sleep inspired me to write Cook Energy, for help for all of these things is to be found in delicious foods. Recipe This Week Archives |
