This. 
All posts by Tracey Vibert
Meringues and mixed berry curd
Oh my…
Heading out later today in a snow burst ( March in Ottawa!) to hang with the crafty ladies and I felt inspired!
So I am having fun making curd – there’s lots of types of curd- have fun googling your own recipes too!)
I have a bad of “imperfect” mixed berries in the freezer and a load of eggs so I figured I could make a textured fruit curd with some meringues …
Just the facts:
Mixed Berries Curd:
- 2 cups frozen berries
- 4 egg yolks
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- ¼ cup butter
Heat the berries in a medium saucepan until they are bubbling and melty.
In a heat proof bowl, mix the egg yolks, sugar, constarch until smooth.
Pour some of the berries into the egg mixture, stirring constantly and mixing well, then dump it all back into the larger saucepan, stirring to mix all and ad the butter.
Mix until it all melts and then cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes – you can check with a thermometer to ensure that it reaches 160 degrees so that the eggs are fully morphed into safe food.
Pour into a mason jar or a bowl – you can use wax paper on the surface to keep that dark film from forming, or just go with it.
Meringues
- 4 egg whites
- ½ cup icing sugar
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- ½ tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 275 < the recipe I used said 300, but that felt too hot>. Line a cookie sheet or two with parchment paper.
Place the egg whites in a super clean bowl.
Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, using a hand mixer or plan to get a workout if whisking by hand.
Add the sugar gradually, a spoonful at a time, whipping the entire time until all of the sugar is in. Add the cream of tartar and vanilla, still whipping those egg whites.
Pipe or dollop out the meringues onto the parchment paper in the sizes you want.
Bake for about 30 minutes if bite-size, 45 minutes to an hour for larger ones.
Turn off the oven after that time, and let cool in the oven for 1-2 hours to help dry them out.
ENJOY!
21 years and still kicking!
Just some shots of a great day with my hubby!
Lunch out – likely won’t do that buffet again, but always good to try new places!
Then a visit with the butterflies and the slow moving creatures at the Museum of Nature!
and another gallery visit together to the OAG…
then we took some time to do our own thing including a walk with the house sloth…
until we met up again at the Koven for our 1st anniversary there …
and then dessert at home with a night cap in our new fancy drinking cups!
Today – we are both a bit heavier but still happy – more walking and enjoying the sunshine today!
Protected: Half a century…wait…what?
Doing this thing – Care – Walk in her shoes…
In 2019. in less than a week. I will have completed 50 circles around the sun.
I’ve noticed folks starting to use their birthday celebrations as opportunities to share their good fortune with those in need.
And to ask that others join in, instead of birthday gifts, donate to the causes chosen by either the birthday person, or choose their own.
So I invite my friends, family and total strangers who happen across this, to donate to a good cause, and leave a comment as to where you are making a difference, outside of the every day gift of your presence in the lives of others.
I’ve signed up to the Care Walk 10 000 steps fundraiser – you can donate on my page by clicking here:
I also hope that folks will find some other great causes to support – and I may add more over the next few days.
Another Great cause we love to support is our little #herorat, Magawa:
Rough baking!
It’s been a busy week (yay) and the hubby is having a few friends he worked with this summer over tonight. And one of the lads has recently had/is about to have a birthday. Let’s call him X.
So I decided I would use a couple of mixes I had on hand, and make up a two layer cake: 1 chocolate, 1 confetti. ( cupcakes are bring saved for a future adventure, frozen, not iced)
We then got an update regarding no dairy and found out the confetti mix had dairy in it.
So the plan of icing both cakes with whipped cream became a fast change up to two cakes-
1 Creamy Confetti Delight
and
1 Chocolate Coconut Xtravaganza!
In 2019, I’m going to get some proper piping bags do I can make things look less rough and more refined!
Rememberance Day 2018
Today the sun shone and the air was crisp as many people waited up at Parliament Hill and the Cenetaph in Ottawa for the ceremony.
It was the first time in years that I have attended without my husband, and it was a bit too cold for my phone to catch all of the speeches but it caught a few pics and some video of the event.
Halloween 2018
Happy Halloween/ Samhain/ New year!
The end of a cycle…
Quietly awaiting any potential shoppers during my home studio open house, I decided to read the book from a “new to me” tarot card set I received from a friend < thanks Lori!> a few months ago.
Trusting my instincts, I felt like grabbing it and settling in with it between folks coming to clear out dance costume items and other stuff that is passing through me on its way to new homes< thus the open house>.
I always like to read the book first, getting a feel for the nature of the deck. Every deck has a distinct story and this one has a similar foundation to a standard tarot, according to the descriptions, with some additional cards added for specific reasons… Click here for some info: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/shapeshifter/
And as I am likely to do, I had Sprocket < perhaps my familiar, perhaps just my crazy companion animal, perhaps a psychic on her own trapped in that furry body…> guide me as to what card I needed to really see today.
Slowly flipping the pages, making eye contact with her, I stopped when she looked away.
This is the card/page that came up:
End of a cycle.
So many meanings, but that part of it absolutely rings true today.
Having ended my own direct involvement with teaching classes and performing regularly, it is the end of a cycle. And that’s ok.
Having had a fairly quiet day today, when I once could boast hosting a Dancers’ Bazaar that brought out 400 patrons, it is the end of a cycle for me. And that is ok.
Knowing that by ending one cycle, new adventures will come my way, as I free up time and energy to give to possibilities, that is ok.
But Dance Friends – rest assured – I’ll still be stalking you online and coming out to see you perform! And I’ll be happy to make you costumes when you need them!!
And I have cookies…
Bonsai at the Embassy of Japan
It is an annual event put on by the Ottawa Bonsai Society, and it is lovely.
The trees are amazing, the folks knowledgeable and the demo was super informative!
It may not be in my immediate future to sign up for the courses they offer, but it certainly inspired me to go get my new little bummer plant:
#notabonsai #lithops