A little tart

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I am feeling the urge for something with a citrus kick to it today.


So when I saw this tasty looking Lime Tart at YumSugar it seemed to fit perfectly!

Easter Lime Tart
Modified from Food Network

For the crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
Drop of green food colouring
1 pound cream cheese, room temperature
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Grated zest of 1 lime
1 cup crema or crème fraiche
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 lime, thinly sliced, for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. For the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl. Press into a 9-inch pie pan, making sure the sides and the bottom are an even thickness. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
3. For the filling: In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the lime juice, green food colouring, cream cheese and condensed milk.
4. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the work bowl often. Add the lime zest and process to mix thoroughly.
5. Pour into the pie shell and place in the refrigerator.
6. In a bowl, using a whisk, beat the crema and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, spread the mixture over the top of the pie, creating peaks evenly over the surface.
7. Garnish with the lime slices. Cover and chill for 4 to 6 hours or overnight before serving.

Smooth and soft

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I went for a wax earlier today, they were having a special deal - I can rarely resist a special deal, now I have somewhere new smooth, soft and completely hairless for the first time. My fingers keep returning to my skin there, stroking myself, feeling the strangeness of that place for the first time without a single follicle. Meeting friends for drinks this evening, I wonder how many drinks it will take before it seems like a good idea to ask others to stroke me there.

For old times sake

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Here are a couple of my favourite chocolate recipes, enjoy.

Chocolate soufflè

Ingredients
3 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 ounces good quality unsweetened baking chocolate (or use four ounces semi-sweet, but you must therefore reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup)
5 eggs, separated

Directions

You will need a soufflè dish for this, so that the soufflè can bake and rise correctly. If your dish is too small to accommodate high-rising batter, you can add a foil collar (folded over aluminum foil, folded the long way, and paper-clipped at the ends as it fits around the top edge of the dish, to make an "extension" of your dish's height.)
You will also need a second bowl to whip the egg whites in.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Butter and then sugar-dust the inside of the soufflè dish and also the optional foil collar (best to this before you attach it to the rim). This helps the soufflè climb, and it also adds a bit of flavor to the "edges" of the soufflè.

Over medium or medium-low heat, melt butter and flour together in a saucepan, stirring to make a roux, it should smell nice, and be thickened a bit.
Now, add the milk, and stir well to make it smooth and keep it from clumping, and add the vanilla.
Stirring, add the chocolate, and keep stirring until it is melted and smooth.
Cool the chocolate mixture a bit, because you will be adding the egg yolks at this point (save some calories and use just four egg yolks, not five... it will also be lighter in weight, rising a little higher). If the mixture is too hot, the egg yolks might clump up before you have a chance to finish stirring them in.
Stir the egg yolks in, mixing until smooth. Set this aside for a moment.
Using clean egg beaters and a clean bowl, whip the 5 egg whites until firm but not stiff.
Scrape the chocolate mixture into a large bowl. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in about three additions, folding but not collapsing the soufflè.
Pour into the prepared soufflè dish.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes (do not check until the 20 minutes has passed. The top should be floating a bit, and look neither soggy nor over-done).
Serve immediately...with whipped cream, cold, heavy cream, or on its own!

Serves 6 to 8 adoring fans

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Mint Chocolate Pudding Cake

6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons peppermint extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter six 3/4-cup (6 ounce) ramekins. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

2 Using electric mixer, beat eggs, egg yolks, and 1/3 cup sugar until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add all purpose flour and beat until blended. Add chocolate mixture, peppermint extract, and salt; beat just until incorporated. Divide chocolate mixture among prepared ramekins. Place ramekins on baking sheet.

3 Bake cakes until edges are set but centers look shiny and still move slightly when ramekins are gently shaken, 10-11 minutes. (Start checking at 9 minutes.) Remove cakes from oven; let cool for 5-10 minutes.

4 Either serve as is, in the ramekins, or run a knife around the edges of the cakes and invert on to individual dessert plates.

Serve with raspberries, mint leaves, vanilla or mint ice cream, or whipped cream.

Serves 6.

A bit of M*A*S*H

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Sitting at my desk and a workman is hanging from a rope just outside my window, I try to ignore him but he is whistling the theme tune to M*A*S*H - for the past 10 minutes - again and again and again. It's most disconcerting. So now I have the tune stuck firmly in my head I thought I'd share the lyrics with you.

"Suicide is Painless" by Johnny Mandel

Song: M*A*S*H Lyrics

Through early morning fog I see
visions of the things to be
the pains that are withheld for me
I realize and I can see...

[chorus]:

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please.

I try to find a way to make
all our little joys relate
without that ever-present hate
but now I know that it's too late, and...

[Chorus]

The game of life is hard to play
I'm gonna lose it anyway
The losing card I'll someday lay
so this is all I have to say.

[Chorus]

The only way to win is cheat
And lay it down before I'm beat
and to another give my seat
for that's the only painless feat.

[Chorus]

MASH
The sword of time will pierce our skins
It doesn't hurt when it begins
But as it works its way on in
The pain grows stronger...watch it grin, but...

[Chorus]

A brave man once requested me
to answer questions that are key
'is it to be or not to be'
and I replied 'oh why ask me?'

'Cause suicide is painless
it brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please.
...and you can do the same thing if you choose.

Lather

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I lay back as he turned the spray on my hair, he checked it wasn't too hot for me as he carefully covered my long locks with water. As I closed my eyes I could feel the weight of my hair growing. He turned off the water and took the shampoo and began to lather, his fingers entwined with my hair, with great care and attention he made sure that every inch was attended to.
When I was good and soapy his hands plunged back into my roots, his strong fingers began to massage my scalp, my temples, behind my ears, my neck, my whole body relaxed under his touch, which went on and on and on.
Finally he began to rinse off the bubbles, his fingers carefully lifting my hair so that the spray reached everywhere. Then he did it all over again with the conditioner. My head was cradled in his hands as the tension and stress was released, washed away with the lather.



Only the scent of the products left behind.

Who is that?

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Yesterday I used a new shampoo, it left my hair feeling lovely and soft, but it had quite a strong scent. It was a very pleasant scent, just not one that I've ever worn before.
For the whole day when ever I turned my head or lay back against the chair I'd catch the fragrance, I kept turning around to see who was nearby, it was most disconcerting.

Today I didn't notice it so much.

Wobbly Head

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I've just had a divine massage. It wasn't a 'happy ending' massage or even a sensual seductive massage from a lover (my favourite kind) , it was however one of the best massages I've ever had.

My neck and shoulders are so relaxed I could hardly hold my head up walking home.

Rain

Waking to the sound of rain, it drums against a nearby metal roof.
I curl up under my duvet, wrapping my arms around the warm pillow.

Its perfect weather to stay in bed.


The day is cold outside, I find warmth on skin.

Scent

My sense of smell isn't constant, yet at the moment it is quite acute.

Walking through an organic food store this afternoon I was so very aware of the smell of apples - not being a huge fan of apples nor do I dislike them I was lured over and ended up buying a couple of succulent juicy organic apples - and they tasted just as delicious as their scent promised.

Whilst I sit here and type this fresh from the shower I can smell the lovely fresh scent of my clean hair and the gentle soft scent of my shower wash. I smell absolutely delicious.

Tonight when I pull back the duvet to slide under I will have the scent of jasmine floating across my pillow from the sprinkling of dusting powder that I left there.