Floating Island

Sometimes Writers' Group is not just about writing... sometimes it's about film and literature and the desserts therein.

In Desk Set, Katharine Hepburn's Bunny serves Spencer Tracy's Richard a delicate little dessert called  Floating Island.They eat it in their bathrobes and wonder a lot about a strange smell coming from the kitchen.  "You need a new ventilator," says Richard, "but this dessert is terrif!"

I was certain that Marmee's four daughters made Floating Island, but it looks like Jo's disastrous dessert was berries and cream (and salt!) and Blanc Mange for poor Beth.  

And I was equally certain and equally wrong, that Anne and Diana ate Floating Island dessert.  

So now I'm left wondering where else I read it... maybe Rose served her Uncle and rowdy cousins plates of custard and meringue?  Or was it sisters Katy and clever Clover?  

Can anyone remember? 

All literary references aside, Beth made Floating Island following Ina Garten's recipe, for Writers' Group today... 

Amazing!  Give it a go!  

Heads-up vegans!  There's a good (=tasty) sub for eggs... bean juice (aka aquafaba). So yes, you can make vegan islands for your floating dessert and "what about the custard?" you ask. "Try this custard recipe," I say.  

And there's always the tried and true... chia custard! which can be as fabulous as this and this or as simple as this.

Happy May Day!

It's the first of May, the sun is shining, the birds are... well, singing. And the farmshare starts up next week. 

To get warmed up, I tried that Egg & Avocado thing that's been floating around the internet for months.

Ingredients

2 Eggs  (medium or small) 
1 Avocado
Chives
Sweet Potato
Sour Cream
Spinach 
Field Roast (your favorite)
Lime
Salt 
Pepper
Thyme

Instructions for Egg-thing

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Make some sort of support to keep your egg-filled avocado level. I used some crinkled-up tin foil.  On the internet, the cooking gurus have avocado-shaped ramekins. Whatever. 

Halve the avocado, remove seed.  You may need to take a scoop or two out to make room for the egg. Just eyeball it, it'll be fine.

Set the avocado halves on a cookie sheet, with their supports.  Crack the eggs, put one each in the center of the avocado.  Season with salt, pepper, and thyme to taste. Squeeze a bit of lime juice on top.

Pop in the oven for about 20 minutes.  Maybe longer. It'll depend entirely on how you like your eggs. I put the field roast in the same pan and cooked 'em alongside each other.

Instructions for Sweet Potato Garnish

I used half a leftover sweet potato.  I think it was roughly a cup.  Drop in a tablespoon of sour cream (yogurt might work too) and mix well. 

Serve with whatever garnish you like, we had some spinach left over, so I scattered that on the plate.  Picked some chives from the pot on the front porch (that purple flower). Nasturtiums or violets would be pretty... or glacier lily, if you have any.

Then a dollop of that mashed sweet potato, with a slice of lime. 

Super yummy!

Oh, and I figured out calories, if you're into that. 

Without field roast - 375 calories

With field roast - looks like most single sausages are in the 250 calorie range, so just add in whatever you had.