This desert is the only one I prepared this last week, and I polished off the last piece Sunday night after our hike, so sadly, none to share here except a photo of that last piece! This mouth-watering dessert has big-time flavor, but at a cost - tons of calories. I used reduced-fat creme cheese mixed with a cup of powdered sugar for the first layer of filling, then added a can of lemon pie filling for the second layer. I beat a little vanilla and sugar into real whipping cream for the topping, and added a sprinkling of crushed pecan cookies just to make it look pretty. The crust is flour, butter, and crushed pecans. It is an easy dessert to prepare, just takes about 15 minutes, and you let it set for an hour before serving - that never happens in my house, of course. We managed a brisk hike in the Banner Forest Heritage Park on the weekend. The sunlight was a delight, so beautiful streaming through the trees.
(George looks a bit menacing here!)The trail was fantastic, irregular, up and down, meandering. At one point I began to sprint along, as it was downhill, and we managed to jog the majority of the hike. However, it was only after we got safely back to the car afterwards that he told me a serious bear attack occurred in this forest last fall! Anthony Blasioli was alerted by his dogs as he rounded a bend on the trail. He was riding his bike, so got off the trail, and was then suddenly attacked. Blasioli said,"He was too close and too quick. I had no chance to decide what to do. It's surreal. You don't understand this is happening. At one point I thought, 'This is it, I'm going to die.'" I'm sure glad George decided to tell me that after our hike was over! We had left-overs when we returned from our hike - I did a lot of cooking on Friday so I would be free on the weekend.
I served this watercress salad with stuffed peppers. George got the watercress - I've had it only a few times in my life (the first time when I was in England). I sliced a little leek, some dried apricots, threw in some currents, and drizzled a little Briannas Home Style Dijon Honey Mustard Dressing over the cress. I crushed some of my home-made crackers over the top.
Stuffed Peppers seem to be on our weekly menu of late - it is a good way to dispose of left-overs, especially rice. I just barely cook these peppers through. Garbanzos work well with the rice to provide amino acids that help make for a complete protein.
I make pizza on Friday nights, using a Bobboli crust. This particular pizza had ground buffalo, assorted (slightly stir-fry veggies, to soften them), ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. I add fresh Picco de Gallo and parsley on top, and I add another cup or two of Mezzetta 'Napa Valley Bistro sauce to the meat and vegetables. This sauce has porcini and portabella mushrooms added, as well as a touch of Merlot. It makes an incredibly fragrant pizza, light, not greasy.
Earlier in the week I experimented with lasagna, trying for something not too sweet, or too tomatoey, as I'd be serving it in the evening. George doesn't require heavy food then, and I was trying to cut the sugar content often found in tomato sauces. This lasagna turned out great, for my first experiment. I'll end this post with our cat Mordred waking up to early morning. It was gently unfolding, with the most exquisite colors, from deep blue to lemon, and then to shafts of sunlight.
However, the sky eventually clouded up and rain began to fall. I went for my walk/run on the hills at Old Town, and when the postman saw me jogging in the rain he said, "This is no time to be out in the rain!" I laughed and said, "Sure beats snow!"
