Weekend Scramble: You'd think the pirate doormat out front would have been enough of a hint.
Why do I insist on watching tv while type up an entry? This is why I'm never gonna make it to the big leagues in the world of blogging.
Anywhoo, my weekend has been pretty quiet, save for this one dude who tried to sell me on carpet cleaning services on Saturday. I had made the dumb mistake of opening my front door to him, even after he used that tell-tale knock (Shave & a Haircut) that I think all solicitors use. The Hubs is adept at cutting solicitors off mid-spiel and sending them on their merry way but he wasn't there at the time and I ended up having to engage with this guy for more than five minutes before telling him that I wasn't interested in having my carpet cleaned. Unfortunately, the apartment complex we live in isn't gated so just about anyone can show up on anyone's doorstep and solicit. Since shacking up with The Hubs years ago, I've learned to ignore the 'knock' and just not answer the door, but once in a blue moon I do slip up because I'm a boob.
Today I tried out an easy-peasy dessert recipe that is straight out of the book Lunch In Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard. It's called a Student Charlotte, cuz' an actual Charlotte is sorta on another level, preparation wise. All you need is Greek yogurt (the thicker, the better. I used a sweetened yogurt too.) canned fruit in heavy syrup (I used pears), and ladyfingers.
You're going to need a mold to shape your dessert. I used the pot from my electric rice cooker, and lined it with cling wrap.
Line the sides of the mold with ladyfingers. If you need to, use yogurt to paste the ladyfingers in place. Layer the bottom of the mold with more cookies. Keep in mind later on that when the 'cake' is set, you're going to turn it upside down, so you can make the bottom layer pretty if you want.
Drizzle some of the heavy syrup from your canned fruit on top of your ladyfinger layer, then spoon a layer of Greek yogurt over the cookies. Then over that layer place some fruit. Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers, fruit syrup, and then yogurt.
I finished off with a final layer of ladyfingers, then wrapped the whole thing all nice with cling wrap. The recipe calls to chill the Student Charlotte for 12 hours. I assumed 'chill' meant 'freeze', so I chucked the thing into the freeze and called it good.
It's now 5 minutes to 9pm, and I've just polished off two small slices of my creation. Putting it in the freezer made it solidify faster, though I'm not a fan of how frozen it was in places, but the ladyfingers soaked up the syrup nicely. It's now in the fridge; hopefully tomorrow it will be all sweet and spongy and maybe a bit soggy. But it's gonna be sa-weeeeeeet!!!
Anywhoo, my weekend has been pretty quiet, save for this one dude who tried to sell me on carpet cleaning services on Saturday. I had made the dumb mistake of opening my front door to him, even after he used that tell-tale knock (Shave & a Haircut) that I think all solicitors use. The Hubs is adept at cutting solicitors off mid-spiel and sending them on their merry way but he wasn't there at the time and I ended up having to engage with this guy for more than five minutes before telling him that I wasn't interested in having my carpet cleaned. Unfortunately, the apartment complex we live in isn't gated so just about anyone can show up on anyone's doorstep and solicit. Since shacking up with The Hubs years ago, I've learned to ignore the 'knock' and just not answer the door, but once in a blue moon I do slip up because I'm a boob.
Today I tried out an easy-peasy dessert recipe that is straight out of the book Lunch In Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard. It's called a Student Charlotte, cuz' an actual Charlotte is sorta on another level, preparation wise. All you need is Greek yogurt (the thicker, the better. I used a sweetened yogurt too.) canned fruit in heavy syrup (I used pears), and ladyfingers.
You're going to need a mold to shape your dessert. I used the pot from my electric rice cooker, and lined it with cling wrap.
Line the sides of the mold with ladyfingers. If you need to, use yogurt to paste the ladyfingers in place. Layer the bottom of the mold with more cookies. Keep in mind later on that when the 'cake' is set, you're going to turn it upside down, so you can make the bottom layer pretty if you want.
Drizzle some of the heavy syrup from your canned fruit on top of your ladyfinger layer, then spoon a layer of Greek yogurt over the cookies. Then over that layer place some fruit. Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers, fruit syrup, and then yogurt.
I finished off with a final layer of ladyfingers, then wrapped the whole thing all nice with cling wrap. The recipe calls to chill the Student Charlotte for 12 hours. I assumed 'chill' meant 'freeze', so I chucked the thing into the freeze and called it good.
It's now 5 minutes to 9pm, and I've just polished off two small slices of my creation. Putting it in the freezer made it solidify faster, though I'm not a fan of how frozen it was in places, but the ladyfingers soaked up the syrup nicely. It's now in the fridge; hopefully tomorrow it will be all sweet and spongy and maybe a bit soggy. But it's gonna be sa-weeeeeeet!!!