It’s February and love is in the air…or is it the scent of strawberries, vanilla, and orange blossoms marrying together in a fragrant homey French dessert? If you’re looking for a way to treat someone special (or yourself) this Valentines Day we have just the thing: a drool-worthy, heartwarming recipe for Strawberry Clafoutis by The Tomato Tart. Her secret? It’s a double dose of vanilla with both Tahitian vanilla extract and vanilla bean.
Enjoy this with eco.love Riesling and many kisses. Use Valentines Day promo code: LOVEMORE2012 to get 30% off your order. xx
*Excludes sister sets and wine club, offer expires 2/14/12
Ingredients:
1 ¼ c milk
¾ c flour
3 eggs
2 tbsp corn starch
½ c granulated sugar
½ tbsp vanilla extract
½ large vanilla bean
1/8 tsp salt
2 tablespoons orange flower water (or more to taste)
1 ½ c fresh ripe strawberries
1 tbsp confectioner’s sugar
butter for greasing
Method:
Preheat oven to 350° Grease an oval 2-quart baking/gratin dish then dust with a bit of sugar Hull and halve your strawberries then toss in a bowl with corn starch and set them cut side down in the baking dish & set aside Scrape the vanilla bean, well to get all the yummy vanilla bits out* Crack your eggs then dump into your blender ** Now, dump all other ingredients EXCEPT confectioners sugar into your blender and give a few spins until neatly blended together. Pour the batter over the berries and pop into your preheated oven Bake for 40-50 minutes until a knife comes out clean Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and eat warm. It would be a really lovely touch to garnish this with real citrus blossoms, if you have some- and they’re perfectly edible too- just make sure they’re organic.”
*You can save the pod of your bean and set into a jar of sugar or sea salt to make vanilla sugar or vanilla salt!
** Crack eggs into a separate bowl just in case you get a little shell. That way it’s easy to do damage control- and did you know that the easiest way to get shell out is to use a piece of shell to fish it out?
Super Bowl XLVI is just around the corner and even if your favorite team didn’t make it (go 49ers!) you and your friends can still feel like winners when you eat this delicious savory goat cheese and prosciutto tart. The recipe crafted by our favorite chef The Tomato Tart comes together in about 20 minutes. Frozen puff pastry is the key to making this quickly with elegant results. This is a perfect crowd pleaser for your game day party and you’ll love this flaky golden-crusted delight even more with a glass of eco.love sauvignon blanc.
Wine Pairing: eco.love sauvignon blanc. Use code XLVI at checkout for 30% off.
*Excludes sister sets and wine club, offer expires 2/5/12
1 package all butter puff pastry
2 eggs
4 oz chevre
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground white pepper
4 slices prosciutto
2 leaves radicchio trevisso cut into bite sized pieces
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
Instructions:
Preheat oven to temperature indicated on puff pastry package instructions
Defrost puff pastry according to package instructions
Line baking sheet with parchment paper and lie puff pastry on baking sheet
Mix chevre, thyme, white pepper, and one egg in food processor until completely combined.
Beat one egg with one tablespoon of water. Brush entire sheet of puff pastry all the way to the edges.
Spoon chevre mixture onto the middle of the puff pastry- leaving about an inch and a half around the edges of the pastry.
Coat radicchio in olive oil
Bake for all but 2 minutes of the baking time indicated on the package. Remove the tart from the oven and lay out the prosciutto and radicchio in a pretty manner and return to oven for one to two minutes- watching through oven door so that radicchio does not burn.
Serve immediately with a glass of eco.love sauvignon blanc.
Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his vision. If you are in San Francisco stop by the Museum of the African Diaspora where there is free admission and a variety of activities to honor Dr. King. including the Double Victory Documentary and vision boarding.
Also eco.love Wines is offering 30% off. Click here and use code MLK2012 at checkout. Does not apply to sister sets or wine club, expires 1/17/12.
There are people who see past the veil and dedicate their presence on this earth to pursuing things greater than themselves. These people dare to shine brightly and their light continues to radiate long after they are physically gone. Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the glow of King’s legacy is bright and will continue to inspire always.
I am elated by the curiosity, vision, and courage of this man, his dedication and purpose have the power to melt the noise and chatter and distill things down to their true character.
Before his assassination King said he would like people to remember him at his funeral, not for his awards or where he went to school, but for his peaceful fight for justice:
“I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. And I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major. Say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
With “all of the other shallow things aside” what is your purpose? Who do you know that listens to a higher purpose or calling? Today we honor MLK and all those who are ignited with the passion to do something greater for humanity.
“All I’m saying is simply this, that all life is interrelated, that somehow we’re caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason, I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. You can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
We had the honor of being invited to speak in front of 1,000 people at the Black Enterprise/Pepsi Golf & Tennis Challenge small business panel. The panel took place at the Doral Hotel in Miami over Labor Day weekend. Robin and I were thrilled to speak alongside an impressive group of small business owners including the CEO of Carol’s Daughter, Lisa Price. It was inspirational to be among entrepreneurs who have grown their businesses through vision, passion, and hard work. To be recognized among them and able to share our story at such a young stage was a true honor.
