Keeping things simple, over the summer, I put together this easy dessert, snack, sweet-tooth filler (whatever you want to call it) several times. Sweet, light and cool, it was the perfect food to eat during the heatwave weather we had (By the way, we’ve now entered the Fall/Autumn season and it’s still unseasonably warm).  This Strawberries and Lime dish was also perfect to make during the hot weather, since it didn’t require a lot of energy.

If strawberries are still available near you, try this recipe. The lime zest makes it taste extra special.

Paz

Strawberries with Lime
serves 4
Sweet Paul

One big bowl filled with strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar
finely grated zest from 2 limes

Mix all and serve room temperature.

Strawberries.  Cream.  Cake.  What more can one ask for?

Paz

Strawberry and Cream Cake
Lululu at Home

(makes a 6" cake)
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups double cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
1/4 cup icing sugar
few fresh strawberries for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat for another 3 mins. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Fold in flour mixture.

Pour mixture into a greased 6" springform cake pan lined with parchment paper. Bake 45 mins until top of cake bounces back when pressed. Cool cake in pan for 10 mins. Release cake ring, let cake cool completely before halving the cake in 2 layers.

To prepare filling, whip double cream with sugar until the mixture holds soft peaks. Place into the fridge to chill.

Line parchment paper along the inside of the cake ring. Place the bottom cake layer in. Scatter the strawberry pieces on, then top with cream mixture and smooth the top with a palette knife. Place the other cake on top. Dust heavily with icing sugar.

Carefully remove the cake ring. Peel off the parchment paper. Garnish with whole or halved strawberries.

the beginning:  first layer of cake before the cream is added.

the end:  dusted with confectioner’s sugar and decorated with strawberry.

I watched Tyler Florence on his Food 911 Show as he traveled to Miami, Florida to help a physical trainer learn to make a new and healthy dish. He came up with Swordfish Baked in Foil, Zucchini Carpeccio, and  Mango Strawberry Snow Cones recipes for her.   The menu was practically fat free and non-carb.

Hey, I wanna eat healthy, too! I decided to try the recipes. I’d never prepared or eaten swordfish before. Oh, this was going to be an adventure indeed.

Finding the ingredients for the Swordfish Baked in Foil went without an event – well, almost: The ingredients included baby artichokes (I went to two stores and I couldn’t find them and ended up buying large artichokes), tomatoes, lemon, black olives, fresh basil, fresh thyme, extra virgin olive oil, and of course, swordfish fillets. I also needed foil to make the pouch in which to bake the foil.

Making the fish was easy. I just needed to salt and pepper it. I put the artichokes, tomatoes and other ingredients together before adding to the fish in the foil pouch. The hardest work – not that it was really hard work – involved trimming the artichoke. That was another first for me and I wasn’t sure if I did it properly, but I did trim it in my own way.

Once everything was put together in the foil pouch, I put it in the oven according to the instructions for 20 to 25 minutes. Not long. I set the timer on the microwave to remind me when the time is up. Thank goodness for timers. I always loose track of time, especially when cooking.

At this point, one of my brothers came into the kitchen asking whether the food was ready. I pointed to the timer and told him to come back in 20 minutes. From the look on his face, I could tell that he wanted to complain that he was hungry but didn’t. Instead, he looked around the kitchen and then left. One of the dogs followed him out. She was also waiting for food.

Next, I started the Zucchini Carpaccio, a zucchini salad. It basically consists of zucchini, salt, pepper, extra virgin oil, lemon juice, leeks, Parmesan cheese and fresh mint leaves for garnish. That’s all!

Zucchini Carpaccio

Just when I was about to dish the food, my brother returned to the kitchen. “Relax,” I told him. “Go back and have a seat, the food’s ready.” He returned back into the living room, trying to be patient.

On to the Mango Strawberry Snow Cones! This involved of course, mangoes, strawberries and limejuice poured on top of crushed ice.

I pulled out the ice crusher but couldn’t figure out how to use it. We’d had it for quite some time but hadn’t used it in a few months. I called my sister to take a look at it, since she’d used it more often than I.

After playing with the parts for a while, she finally figured it out. She put some ice in the crusher and turned the machine one. It made a weak, tired sound. No ice came out, and after fiddling with it a bit longer, she gave up.

Reluctantly, I decided to use the blender to try to crush the ice. It didn’t crush it completely but the results were better than nothing – better than whole ice cubes.

I blended the fruits and poured them over the pathetic, semi crushed ice and garnished it with the lime wedges and mint. Not bad-looking. Now it was time to see if it would taste good. Yes, it did despite my little ice problem.

Dinner was served, to my brother’s relief. He bent his head down and shoveled the food into his mouth.

“So, how does it taste?” I asked.

After munching a few more seconds and swallowing, he barely lifted up his head to acknowledge me. “Very good.”

I had to agree; the swordfish tasted quite good. Delicious juices formed in the foil pouch from the combination of the fish, tomatoes and herbs.

The zucchini carpaccio had a nice bite to it.

We capped our dinner with the Mango Strawberry Snow Cones. I have a confession to make about them. In all the commotion, trying to crush ice unsuccessfully, I forgot to add one ingredient to the mango and strawberries – lime juice. I forgot the lime juice! But no worries – no one seemed to notice. The slice of lime that I used for garnish covered my mistake, I think.

Oh, well, I’ll do better next time. This is all part of the cooking adventure, isn’t it?

All in all, everything was, as my brother said, “Very good.”

Paz

Mango Strawberry Snowcone