Thursday, January 11, 2007

First Post of the Year + A “Flousse” Recipe + News!

Wow, it is my first post this year and it is already January 11th… oh My!
I am sorry I haven’t posted in this much time, because I really do miss sharing my recipes and reading your comments here.
I have certainly not stopped cooking, we actually went out to eat this year just once, and no, we don’t do take out at our home. So yes, I have been cooking! The thing is that I haven’t made many new recipes and most of the time I have been whipping up our meals very creatively based on what’s in the fridge and pantry, so no actual recipes but some tasty stuff for sure!
Then comes the news: we are going to Brazil! Yay, my son is more than happy and ultra excited to go! My husband decided he reeeeeally wanted to go last week, bought tickets and we are going next week. Can you believe it? Well, I still cannot, it was everything decided at the very last moment, and although I am definitely happy to go I am not really sure about the sudden aspect of deciding thing. I am a person who likes to plan things, which obviously my dear hubby is not. But then again, we are happy to be visiting the family!
So, besides school starting back, taking care of life, and figuring out what to take on our trip, I have also been dealing with a leak problem in our fridge. Oh boy, it seems things like to happen all at once, doesn't it?!
My house is a bit messy right now, but It seems things are getting under control, I believe the fridge problem has been resolved, so now we just have to keep an eye on it to make sure everything is really fine. I was glad we found out this problem while we were still here and now hope everything will get fixed before we leave!
After the introduction about what is going on around here, I present you the first recipe I am posting this year, which was actually made in 2006, but are the intentions that count, right?!!

So, you read the title and now might be asking: “Flousse?”
Oh yes, you didn’t read it wrong, after all a combination of "flan" with "mousse" could only end up in a "Flousse”, right?
This one was a basic culinary creation of a “blog-friend”, Dadivosa! She posted a couple of flousse recipes already and this was the first one we tried (other ones are on the endless “to-try list”). And, I must mention here that it was deeply approved at our home!!
Both my husband and my son had seconds on dessert this weekend, plus the husband really commented on the flavors of this one, something he doesn't usually does, unless it is one of his favorite desserts (usually sweet condensed milk pudding or a very sweet dessert, he likes his sweets!).
The making of this flousse is super simple, easy to the core, and the flavors you get are huge. Really, the blackberry flavors come through in a way that it fills your mouth with the creaminess of the yogurt and a deep berry flavor from the fruit, very yummy!
I used a mix of blueberries and blackberries for the sauce I made on top, which was simply frozen fruit cooked with a bit of water and some sugar. I cooked it for just a few minutes, until the fruit became soft and the sauce thickened a bit. Pour over the flousse and enjoy!
Dadivosa, thanks for this light and flavorful dessert! Did I mention it is light?? Oh yeah, extra points for the flousse! This would be a perfect dessert for the summer months, but we enjoyed it even though it is a bit cold outside. Well, who can resist a flousse?
Ana

Recipe by Dadivosa. You can see the original recipe, which was posted in Portuguese, here.

Blackberry Flousse

1 package blackberry jell-o
250 grams (1/2 pound) frozen blackberries
12 grams unflavored gelatin
5 tablespoons water
2 cups plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons Splenda sweetener, or sugar to taste.

Put the frozen blackberries and the 1 1/2 cups water in a small pan and heat over medium heat just until the fruit becomes soft.
Hydrate the unflavored gelatin in the 5 tablespoons of water in a small pan, let stand 5 minutes. Put pan over low heat and warm it up just until the gelatin is completely dissolved, but don't let it boil. (You can also put the gelatin and water into a glass bowl and warm it up in the microwave).
In the blender add the warm fruit with the water, the dissolved unflavored gelatin, the blackberry jell-o
(The powder), and the sweetener of choice. Whiz the mixture until well mixed and there is almost no noise coming from the seeds. Add the yogurt and blend a little more to incorporate. Taste and adjust the sugar if necessary. Pour mixture into a gelatin mold, or into individual cups and put in the fridge to cool and set up. Note: you can pass the mixture through a sieve when pouring it on the molds. But just like my friend Dadivosa, I too enjoy to have the little seeds throughout my flousse; it adds a very interesting and pleasant (in my opinion) contrast to the creaminess of the dessert. And no one else seemed to be bothered by them here at my home.

Serve with sauce of choice, or even a chocolate ganache I only though about this when I was eating my piece... it should be good to pair the flousse with chocolate, right? What do you think?

11 comments:

Fer Guimaraes Rosa said...

Ana, boa viagem! :-) Decidindo assim em cima da hora tem a vantagem de ninguem ficar naquela expectativa de meses. Eh vapt-vupt!

Adorei essa receita tambem, e vou fazer qualquer dia. No verao vai ser um must, com certeza.

beijao!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Ana, how nice to hear from you again!

It's so nice to know you're coming to Brazil, I wish we could meet!

Anonymous said...

Ana, quanta honra! Sua flousse ficou maravilinda e você é um amor.
Tenha uma excelente viagem e aproveite cada segundo de sua estada por essas terras.
Beijos

Akemi said...

Ana, linda sobremesa! A fonte não poderia ser mais inspiradora!
Espero que aproveitem bastante a estada no Brasil e, quem sabe, conhecer algumas amigas blogueiras!
Boa viagem, amiga!

Karen said...

Boa viagem! Quem sabe a gente se vê?

Unknown said...

Ana, this is so pretty...the mention of frozen blackberries makes me want a smoothie! I'm sure chocolate would be great, but I'm not the biggest fan of it, so I would leave it off.

As to the cheesecake, I think pudding might be too heavy. The jello doesn't really congeal so you don't get the feeling of eating jello AT ALL. In fact, this dessert looks a little more "jello-like" than the cheesecake. The jello basically gives a little substance to a very airy dessert. I'm afraid pudding might weigh down the evaporated milk. However, it never hurts to experiment!!! Let me know if you try it (with jello OR pudding!).

Cris said...

Boa viagem e boas férias! Aguardamos por novas receitas! Bjs!

brisa said...

Ana querida, have a nice trip!!:)) Que gostoso ir passear..

Amiga, qdo voce voltar, pode me passar a receitas das esfihinhas que citou la no Cyber?? Eh uma das coisas que ainda nao acertei fazer..

Beijos e divirta-se:))

Bri

Anonymous said...

oi ana!
vou deixar aki ja boa viagem pra vcs pq imagino q vcs estao ocupados ai arrumando malas e eu to fazendo prova aki nem sempre da tempo neh?
abracos a tds ai e nos vemos qd vcs chegarem!

Valentina said...

Ana, delicious dessert. A must for the summer months. and have a great time in Brazil.Matheus is a qualified swimmer now,isn't he?!? Have loads of fun.

Valentina said...

Ana, delicious dessert. A must for the summer months. and have a great time in Brazil.Matheus is a qualified swimmer now,isn't he?!? Have loads of fun.