Pink Medicine for the Blues

Zuppa Inglese di Prugne Verde, Ricotta, Jogurt e Ribes

Reine Claude, Black Currant and Cheese Curd Trifle

Felling a little down in the dumps? Feeling fine? Feeling really wonderful? Well- let me tell you that this colorful and delicious little treat will be guaranteed to make whatever mood you are in immediately better! And when you realize that it was made using the left-over ingredients of yesterdays dessert- well that just has to put a smile on your face now, doesn't it?

My favorite thing about making this was that it gave me a chance to show again that you can eat the same things over and over... without them having to be the same thing. Food is only boring if YOU are boring- that's the bottom line! Have some imagination, have FUN- and have something new every night even if common sense and economics tells you that you should indeed use up that stuff you have left over in the fridge. It does not have to be a bad thing!

Basically, I just wanted to make use of the black-currants whilst they were fresh and I decided to flavor my yogurt with them. So in they went. Plop, plop, squish! The minute I crushed the first berry, I was just blown away by the beautiful color of the juice! And so I crushed another... and another- and it just got better and better! And I also began thinking I could have a little more fun than just having a little old yogurt! So I added a teaspoon of Stevia and a little vanilla essence to the yogurt and whisked it together until it was nicely blended and maybe a little richer than I would normally have wanted it... but this was going to turn into a full-blown, delicious dessert, rather than just a healthy breakfast snack. But at the same time, I was determined to keep it healthy!

The idea of layering ingredients ad flavors, as one would in an English trifle, was already formed by now. So I started off with the first layer- which I made from slices of Reine Claude plums and fresh chopped mint. Mmmm! On top of that came a layer of cheese curd, which I also sweetened with Stevia but added the juice of half a lime to- yowzer! Sweet and tart as a key-lime pie but with next to no fat and no sugar!

The only sin came in the form of the next layer, which I made out of crumbled shortbread cookies, It only took 2- so there you go! That's not going to do anyone any damage! Next came the yogurt and finally, by way of decoration, a last blog of cheese curd, a couple of slices of plum and to finish it all off a fresh mint leaf as a garnish. I hope you all approve!

The combination of tastes and textures is just so much fun! I hope you have some fun trying it out and I hope you enjoy it!