Halva

Arabian recipe number two - one after the other, because I am on a kick and made them both on the same day (with a nice curry that Avanator will probably get around to before me!)

Halva is a kind of simple cake that goes well with tea and coffee and has a unique flaky texture you won't find anywhere else. There are many, many ways to make it - some households add nuts, beans and yams, others use tahini or special flour, others use honey. But just to start, if you never made it before, you'll need a simple recipe for your base. I'll leave the rest up to you from there!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup rosewater
3-4 threads of saffron (or about 1/2 teaspoon of the ground up variety)
340 grams of tahini (pre-beaten)

Directions:

1) Boil sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat.
2) Once sugar is dissolved, add saffron and rosewater. Remove from heat.
3) Add tahini and whisk carefully to fully integrate.
4) Next, spread it evenly on a platter. Add any decorations you would like on top at this time.
5) Cover and stick it in the fridge until it cools.
6) Serve by cutting it into wedges like fudge.

Tips:

* You can use a fork to make patterns in the top of the Halva for decorations before it cools, and they'll stay. You can also add decorative nuts and raisins on the top to your liking. Do all this after you pour the mixture into the platter and before you put it in the fridge.
* Rosewater can be bought at most specialty shops, but in case you can't find it, you can make it yourself. Just take a cup of fresh, clean rose petals (you can buy them from a flower shop if you need to),  pour two cups of boiling water on top, cover and steep until the water cools. Then use a strainer to remove the rose petals and squeeze them out, and voila, you have rose water left over.
* Remember that Lavender cheesecake I made for you guys last week? You can also easily use lavender in this recipe. But beware - lavender is like perfume. Don't add too much - a little goes a long way.

Basic Ice Cream

I love the Japanese word "kufu." It means to "alter" or to "improvise." The best examples of this come from the kitchen - you might have a recipe that calls for apples, but you only have cherries, so you make the same recipe using cherries instead!

One super-easy recipe that calls for this creativity is ice cream. What? You've never made ice cream before? Why - because you don't have an ice-cream maker? Well, neither do I, and neither did the rest of the kitchens of the world until about 30 years ago - and they still had ice cream.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
2 cups cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2-3 tablespoons of whatever you want to add to the ice cream

Suggestions:
* coffee (instant)
* vanilla (only need a teaspoon of this)
* lavender extract (remember how I told you how to make this?) or fresh lavender flowers
* chamomile or rose petals (fresh only!)
* instant cocoa
* cherries, strawberries, blueberries
* Mint
* Chocolate chips or M&Ms
* cinnamon (this too, only needs a teaspoon or so)

Directions:

1) Place a stainless steel bowl into the freezer. Make sure it is level.
2) Heat up the milk until scalding.
3) Add the cream and sugar.
4) Stir in whatever you want to add to the ice cream.
5) Carefully pour the mixture into the (now cool) steel bowl in the freezer. Close the freezer.
6) Leave for about 40 minutes, then go back to the freezer and whisk the mixture.
7) Whisk the mixture every 30-40 minutes until it is completely frozen. (Takes about 3-4 hours.)

And that's it! There are ice-creams that call for eggs, but this one is just a simple summer ice-cream, nothing fancy, and the easiest sweet in the world to "kufu."

Lavender Cheese Cake

I'm going to post two recipes in coming weeks that use flowers for flavor. Have you ever had lavender cheesecake? How about roses? There are many flowers you can use in desserts - there's a pretty good list of them here. This recipe (a no-bake cheesecake called "Rare Cheesecake" in Japan) calls for an infusion of lavender, but if you feel like substituting the lavender with rose, chamomile, or even jasmine or hibiscus, go ahead and try! Just be sure that the flowers are grown without chemicals and are food-ready.

Ingredients:

2 cups shortbread cookie crumbs
5 tbsp butter
3 tbsp lavender (dried or fresh)
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup cream cheese (softened at about room temperature)
1 1/4 cups whipping cream

Directions:


1) Melt the butter, mix it with the cookie crumbs, and push into a cheesecake pan to form the crust. Make it as firm as possible, but not too thin (a half-centimeter should be enough).
2) Refrigerate for about 20-30 minutes. You can do this while making the filling.
3) Seep the lavender in about 3 tablespoons of boiling water. If you are using fresh lavender, you may seep for 15 minutes, but if you are using dried lavender, do not seep for more than 5 minutes. Strain and set aside.
4) Whisk together the honey and cream cheese.
5) Add the lavender.
6) Beat the whipping cream until it thickens and add it to the mixture.
7) Fold the two mixtures gently together, and pour it into the now hardened crust.
8) Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Tips:

* Do not seep the lavender too long, or else it will turn grey.
* You may leave small lavender beads in the cream cheese for decoration.
* Like I mentioned above, try using rose or chamomile for other flavors, too! Just be sure you're using edible flowers.