Bathroom Blues

I'm sitting on my bathroom floor, enjoying the Sunday morning sun and my freshly-painted walls. The end of the story is a happy one - I really like the wall color, but when I first started, I was very worried. After the first few strokes of the brush, I thought, "Oh, I've made a big mistake!" Fortunately, the paint is very different when it is dried. And I am amazed at how much my experience of it changed when the blue painter's tape was taken down. A completely different and much softer experience. I was looking for a little color in my house (we have ubiquitous ivory walls). With a big sigh of relief, I love the color - Benjamin Moore Waterfall. By the way, I highly recommend the Benjamin Moore Aura paints. They are water-based and very low VOC levels. A little pricey, but for me, very worth it. I get really bad headaches from regular paint fumes.

Onto other domestic topics today. The DH and I shared dinner here last evening with a new pair of friends. We enjoyed the garden and had New Mexican enchiladas. For dessert, I made a recipe from the current edition of Tea Time magazine. I don't have photos of that, but here are the strawberries (from my garden) that I used.

I did a trial run of the recipe earlier in the week, and wasn't pleased with it. The custard sauce was too clumpy thick and I didn't have any Marsala (and didn't want to buy some just for this), so below is the recipe with my alterations noted.

Zabaglione with Raspberries and Pound Cake

1 prepared (10.75 oz) butter pound cake

2 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (I used blueberries and strawberries)

2 tablespoons sugar (I didn't use this)

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (I didn't use this)

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest (I didn't use this)

3 egg yolks

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons Marsala (I replaced this with 1 tsp Vanilla and the rest in water)

2 tablespoons milk (the recipe didn't call for this, but my trial run showed it was needed)

Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

Makes 4 - 6 servings

1. Thaw cake, according to directions.

2. Cut the cake into uniform slices. Place into serving dishes.

3. In a small bowl, toss the raspberries with sugar, lemon juice and zest to coat evenly; set aside. (I skipped this step and just used fresh berries. I don't think they need the extra sugar.)

4. In the top half of a double boiler, combine the egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala. Whisk together until mixture has doubled in volume and is thick and shiny. Spoon the warm custard over the cake and top with the prepared berries. Garnish with mint and serve immediately.

My note: Cook over medium-low heat. If the heat is too high, the custard sets up too quickly and gets clumpy.