I love seafoam candy. When we take a trip to the beach, I always have to stop at The Chocolate Frog to get some. It’s a real treat! But who knew it was so easy to make!

What is Seafoam Candy?

Seafoam candy is like a toffee. White and brown sugar is boiled until bubbles form, then spread out to cool. There are bubbles in the candy that gives it the name, seafoam. Topping it with chocolate just makes it even better!

Making the Candy

In a heavy saucepan, melt the sugars with the corn syrup.

Using a candy thermometer, bring the temperature up to 285 degrees.

When it reaches temperature, remove from the heat and gently stir in sifted baking soda. It’s important to sift it first to remove all the lumps and bumps. Don’t stir too hard, you’ll pop the bubbles. You want it to bubble up!

Pour it into a lightly oil pan and let it cool until it’s hard to the touch.

Using a glass dish, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave on high,

taking it out every 30 seconds to stir with a rubber spatula. Be careful not to get any moisture in it. If any moisture at all gets in, the chocolate will seize and not spread smoothly.

Once it’s melted, spread it out on top and down the sides of the cooled toffee.

Allow it all to cool completely.

Once it’s all solidified, break it into pieces and store in an airtight container in a dry place.

I’m not sure how long it will last – we ate it all within a couple weeks.

© Copyright 2024 The Lazy Gastronome

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Tomorrow is National Peach Melba day – a great way to use any fresh or frozen peaches you have and it’s delicious!!

What is Peach Melba?

Peach Melba is a delicious dessert of vanilla ice cream topped with poached peaches and a flavorful raspberry sauce.

This dessert was created in the 1890s at the Savoy Hotel in London. Chef Auguste Escoffier created this dish in honor of an Australian opera singer, Nellie Melba. Originally called “Pecheau Cygne” (French for peach swan), it was served in an ice bowl shaped like a swan and topped with beautiful spun sugar lace. This wonderful sundae is new celebrated all over the world.

Sounds pretty good, huh? Bet you’re thinking it’s really going to be difficult to make. Surprise!! It is probably the simplest “fancy” dessert you’ll ever make!

This dish requires 7 ingredients and vanilla ice cream to put it all over. Peaches, sugar, vanilla bean and water for the poached peaches. Fresh raspberries, powdered sugar and some lemon juice make the sauce.

You can make the two components in advance and put them together at serving. And to make it beautiful at serving, a bright herb like mint or basil garnishes it.

Ready to get started?

Poaching the Peaches

Place the sugar, vanilla bean and water into a medium saucepan. Boil the mixture for about 5 minutes to start creating a syrup.

Reduce the heat to low. Carefully place the peaches into the water and poach for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

 NOTE: Some recipes call for peach halves, some for slices. I used eighths here.

Also, fresh peaches are the best, but this time of year, frozen are more likely sweeter. I used peaches I froze this summer. DO NOT use canned peaches. They will turn to mush. 

Making the sauce

Fresh raspberries are really important. The freshness really comes through.

Place the berries, powdered sugar and lemon juice in a food processor and puree the mixture.

Make it as liquid as possible. Strain it to remove the seeds. A food sieve will work faster. I used a mesh basket and it took a very, very long time!! And I had to scrape the bottom to get all the fruit puree into the sauce.

Place the liquid in a jar or glass bowl and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Putting the Peach Melba together

This is the easy part.

Put a large scoop of ice cream into a bowl. An ice swan would be nice.

Lay some poached peaches around the ice cream and top with a generous portion of raspberry sauce.

Garnish with torn up mint or basil and a couple fresh berries.

Serve immediately. And it’s amazing!

© Copyright 2024 The Lazy Gastronome

• This post was shared at these parties – check them out!
• Fiesta Friday ^[6]
• Full Plate Thursday ^[7]
• Sunday’s on Silverado  ^[8]
• Inspire me Monday ^[9]
• Funtastic Friday ^[10]
• Dare to Share ^[11]
• Homestead Blog Hop ^[12]
• Creative Muster ^[13]
• Senior Pitstop ^[14]

Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Cookies, cookies, cookies!!

It’s National Cookie Day!

AND it’s a cookie exchange!
Here is the place to find some recipes for cookies and to share your own amazing ideas –  Cookies aren’t just for Christmas you know –

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Cookies have been around for centuries. The soft, chewy ones are cookies, but the crisp cookies are referred to as biscuits in many places.  And every year at Christmas, people go cookie crazy!

Modern Christmas cookies can trace their roots all the way back medieval times! The use of such spices as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg has been around for a very long time. Queen Elizabeth I requested gingerbread cookies be cut in people shapes to honor visiting dignitaries. hence, gingerbread men! Cookies were originally made to test oven temperatures (when stoves were fueled with wood or coal).

During the great depression, parents had children leave cookies for Santa to help them learn the value of sharing. As a result, Santa now eats over Three Hundred MILLION cookies each year! That’s a lot of cookies so you better get cooking!

Browse the links below and share your own!  Remember, only sweet treats allowed! Bake some and share some – and have some fun!

The party lasts until the end of this month.

The rules are easy –

Share only cookies and bars – those goodies you share at the holidays!

Visit 2 or 3 of the other cookies – and leave them a comment!

That’s it – So on to this year’s Cookie Exchange Party!

Share your recipes here!

Happy Baking!

Click here ^[20] to see the cookie round up from past years.

 

Leave me a comment – I love to hear your thoughts.

 

Today is National Mousse day! This fluffy treat can be served up sweet or savory. The word mousse is from the French word for foam and is typically made with egg whites or cream. It can be thick like pudding or fluffy like whipped cream. This lovely lime mousse is made with tofu and is just as light and fluffy as the original!

What is Mousse?

Mousse is a delicious dish that tastes and feels decadent. It can be savory, like a salmon mousse – or sweet, like a chocolate mousse. Serve it on it’s own or inside something else, like a pastry or on toast.

This mousse is sweet and perfect all by itself – or even on a graham cracker!! It’s sweet and delicious and totally vegan!

How to Make a Vegan Key Lime Mousse – 

Start with the tofu base. Mix it with the lime juice, zest and honey in a food processor and process until it’s smooth and well blended.

Next dissolve the agar agar in the oat milk and simmer it on low for 2 to 3 minutes.

It’s important to make sure the agar powder is heated to at least 115 degrees. Made from red seaweed, as it cools it becomes a stronger binder than gelatin and gives this mousse the fluffiness.

Once the milk is brought to temperature, add it to the tofu mixture and process for a minute or two. If you like your key lime ^[24] desserts to be green, you can add some green food color, but natural lime has no pigment.

Last, pour the mousse into a bowl and

top with graham cracker crumbs. Cover and refrigerate for 4 or 5 hours, or until the mousse is semi-firm.

Serve it alone or with fresh fruit on the top.

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

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Yesterday was National Cranberry day. We love cranberries at our house. My siblings and I have gone to the bogs together for the last two years. This year the harvest was longer than normal and we got cranberries that were harvested in the last week.

Fresh cranberries – apples on sale – and behold – A beautiful (and easy to make) Cranberry Apple Galette!

A little bit about cranberries –

Cranberries are one of only a few fruits that are native to North America. They are grown primarily in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington. We go to the Washington coast to get ours.

Only about 5% are sold as fresh or frozen. The remainder goes into juice, sauce and other processed foods.

Cranberries ^[29] do not grow in water. They are a red vine that grows like any other vine. To dry harvest, the vine and fruit must be completely dry, then the berries are picked. It’s these berries that are sold as fresh.

After the dry harvest, the bog is flooded and the vines are gently beaten. The cranberries come off and float. They are then skimmed off the top and harvested.

And cranberries are full of health benefits. They are full of antioxidants and are known to support both cardiovascular and urinary tract health.

What is a galette?

Galettes are basically a free formed pie – the crust is filled, either sweet or savory, then folded around the sides to create a rustic pastry. There is no crimping, no top, no stress. They are so easy to make and imperfection is what makes them unique.

Making the galette –

This recipe does not use a homemade crust. A sheet of puff pastry makes it so easy to make. Start by cooking the filling. The puff pastry cooks quickly, so the filling gets precooked.

Place the apples, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and spices into a sauce pan with about 1/4 cup water. Bring the water to a boil and gently simmer until the apples are starting to soften.

Add the cranberries and simmer about five minutes longer.

Remove from the heat and stir in the spices, butter, maple syrup and walnuts.

Lay one sheet of puff pastry out on a cook sheet or large dish.

Sprinkle the remaining sugar in the bottom and then full the center with the apple and cranberry mixture.

Pull the sides up around it and pinch the edges together to form sort of a “bowl”. Sprinkle with a little more sugar.

Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust edges become golden brown. Allow it to cool before cutting.

Serve it cold or hot – with or without ice cream.

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts!