overnight oats with raspberries

OK, I'm back.

I have a cool breakfast for you on this hot and hazy summer's day.

And by cool, I do mean cold. Which is nice when you wake up and the house is already too hot to do anything but walk around very slowly as you wake up and consider whether you actually want that hot cup of tea.

And by cool, I mean: the work is already done. You can make it up the night before and pop it in the fridge. Total prep time is a cool five minutes.

How did I come across this cool recipe, you ask?

Well, I was doing a breakfast survey of what y'all eat for breakfast and my friend Chira suggested this. I was intrigued. She shared the recipe. The rest is history, and overnight oats are now a firm favourite at the breakfast table chez Mitchell Campbell.

It's a very forgiving recipe. Scale it up or down as you please. I'm giving you enough to feed two people for three days. Or three people for two days. And so on. Do feel free to use other frozen or fresh fruit, too. Of course, you can also use flavoured yogurt and remove the honey and vanilla. See what I mean about it being a forgiving recipe?

one year ago: scotland
two years ago: eating out from amsterdam to vienna
three years ago: chicken coconut curry soup

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overnight oats with raspberries
feeds 6 

2 c. quick oats*
1 c. milk
1 c. plain yogurt
1 — 2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 — 3 tbsp. honey
few grinds of salt
2 c. frozen raspberries

The night before breakfast, stir everything together but the raspberries. Taste and see if you'd like more honey or salt. Stir in the frozen raspberries. Cover and store in the fridge. Eat.


*Make sure those oats are certified gluten-free if you're feeding a Celiac.

silken chocolate mousse

Years ago, I discovered the chocolate mousse with raspberries at the Ogden Point Café in Victoria.

It was served in a tall parfait glass with a thick layer of raspberries in the middle and a few more on top for good measure. With a cup of hot tea, it was just the thing after a bracing walk along the breakwater at Ogden Point.

For such a rich and creamy dessert, it always sat surprising well in my tummy.

Years later, I heard that the mousse was actually made with silken tofu. Mystery solved, I thought, and filed it away. Why I didn't act on that information immediately vexes me now that I have made this mousse myself.

Fast-forward to this June.

Sheri and her family were coming from New Zealand to stay with us for a couple of days. Sheri and I met in university and got to know each other over many cups of tea and chocolate-y cookies and treats.

Even though we haven't lived in the same city for 13 years, we've always shared recipes over the miles and treats when we meet up. But now Sheri can't eat gluten, dairy or eggs.

Given our history of sharing treats, I was determined to serve dessert – and not just fruit salad. (Scott and I have heated debates about whether fruit salad is a valid dessert and I maintain it is not.)

I thought and thought and eventually pulled the Ogden Point chocolate mousse out of the recesses of my brain. Aha! A quick search turned up the ever-reliable Michael Smith with a recipe. With three ingredients. I was sold.

Michael Smith calls this the "world's fastest chocolate mousse" and I have to say I agree. It's all done (and chilling in the fridge) in under ten minutes – although I will not discount the dish washing, which includes a pot with melted chocolate. So let's say 20 minutes from start to mousse chilling to clean kitchen.

If you have some doubts about including tofu in your mousse, try to let them go. As long as you get silken tofu, it really does whip up to be smooth and creamy. The mousse doesn't taste even remotely like tofu because tofu is just the carrier: it absorbs the chocolate and vanilla flavours and gives them body.

You may also choose to do what I did for other dessert guests. I didn't mention it had tofu until they were licking their lips and asking me for the recipe.

related: caramel chocolate mousse 
one year ago: salmon with warm tomato basil oil and balancing tofino and the plane
two years ago: kristina's nuss kuchen and german zucchini tomato soup
three years ago: loganberry jelly

silken chocolate mousse
from Michael Smith
serves 6

227 g. (8 oz.) dark chocolate, chopped roughly
227 g. (8 oz.) silken tofu
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
250 g. (1 c.) rasperries

Put the chocolate in the top of a double boiler, or a metal bowl suspended over simmering water. Melt the chocolate and remove from the heat. Set aside.

Blend the tofu in a food processor until smooth and uniform. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and process until perfectly smooth. Scrape into individual dessert cups. Refrigerate until set (not long, perhaps one hour).

Serve with a generous amount of raspberries on top.

eton mess

On Friday night, I looked at the weather forecast for Saturday and was delighted by what I saw: rain.

My little kitchen faces west and has great big windows (painted shut), which let in lots of light – and heat. There is no playing around in the kitchen in July and August; it's more a matter of getting in and out before you get heat stroke.

So back to Saturday. Scott had to work and I didn't mind at all, because it meant I could play and create as many dishes as I wanted without him interrupting and asking why I always like to make so many dishes.

The day dawned cloudy and I felt luxurious. I knew I could make all kinds of things in my cool kitchen. I fished a piece of paper out of the recycling and wrote down my plan.

Here's what I made, in order: meringues for Eton mess, gluten-free pizza dough, coffee ice cream with cacao nibs, pesto, and, finally, whipped cream for Eton mess. Oh yes, and I tarted up some loganberries and raspberries with kirsch and sugar for the Eton mess.

I did three loads of dishes at my own pace and listened to a lot of good radio.

Then I looked out the window. It still wasn't raining. The clouds seemed to be parting and I caught a glimpse of – gasp! – sunshine.

I was not impressed.

However, as an eternal optimist, I knew this would at least be good light for photographing the Eton mess, so I got down to work.

 

My good friend Andrea introduced me to Eton mess a couple of years ago on a hot summer day when we visited them in Kelowna. It is one of those perfect summertime desserts – cool, creamy and mostly made ahead of time. Think layers of crispy meringue, whipped cream and berries.

You only have to turn your oven on to bake the meringues, but you could do that in the morning or the late evening when your kitchen couldn't already be mistaken for a sauna. Then the whipped cream and boozy berries are a snap. Also, it's pretty fun to break up the meringues and you'll kindly remember that "fun" is a prerequisite for recipes to appear on this site.

As you see above, assembling is fun, too, and if you have guests, they'd probably enjoy being involved at this point. Pop a few meringue pieces into the bowl, add a dollop of cream, pour on some boozy berries, repeat if desired. (That last bit sounds like a shampoo bottle. Do not panic. This does not taste like shampoo.)

And there you go. My Saturday morning in the kitchen: satisfying times baking and cooking, lots of dishes, and unfortunately good weather.

After photographing in our sunny back room, I left the fourth load of dishes for Scott to enjoy later and went for a swim.

Too hot to stay inside any longer.

P.S. Do you have ripe cherries in your neck of the woods? If you pit them and freeze a few cups now, I'll give you a recipe for cherry peach jam in August.


one year ago: German zucchini soup
two years ago: ministrone with summer herbs and chocolate raspberry horse turds

eton mess
serves about 4 adults with extra meringues to use as you please

meringue shells
from my mom
bakes 12

3 egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 – 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. almond extract or 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two pans with parchment paper.

Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form. Add the almond or vanilla extract.

Spoon the meringue into 12 nests on the prepared pans. Bake for about 2 hours, or until they are crisp but not too brown. (If you check a meringue and it sticks to the paper as you lift it up, it needs to keep baking.) Cool on a rack. Once they are cool, break into smaller pieces.


whipped cream

2 c. whipping cream
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat the whip cream until it starts to thicken. Add the sugar and continue to beat until it's whipped. Beat in the vanilla.


boozy berries
from The Essential New York Times Cookbook 

2 c. berries (raspberries, loganberries, blackberries or strawberries) fresh or defrosted
1/4 c. sugar
1 tbsp. kirsch or framboise liquer

Put the berries, sugar and kirsch together in a bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves.


assembling your eton mess

In little bowls or fancy parfait cups, make layers of meringue, whipped cream and berries. Repeat if desired. Eat!