I first tasted French Silk Pie at a Bob Evan's restaurant when I was a kid.  I can't quite remember if it was a picture of the pie on the menu or an actual pie in a case that I saw, but I knew I wanted to try it.  My sisters weren't interested, but as soon as it came, they wouldn't stop "tasting" it and my dad ended up ordering a second slice.  

Most chocolate pie I see is chocolate cream pie and has a sort of custardy/pudding filling, which is okay, but not for me.  French silk pie is filled with light, creamy, and, well, silky chocolate filling and one of the only pies I like. 

Recently I woke up with a craving for French silk pie, but no idea where to get a slice around here.  I decided to make one for myself.  After comparing several online recipes, I decided to go with Jean Webster's French Silk Pie from Martha Stewart's website.  Delicious!  Exactly what I was craving! 

I also learned a few things:

• You can buy pasteurized eggs or make them yourself if you are serving it to young, elderly, or pregnant folk, or if you are leary of raw egg in your food.  I used some store bought pasteurized eggs, and while the pie tasted fabulous, I think it may be the reason it wasn't as light and fluffy as it could have been.
  
• Sweetened whipped cream is called Chantilly Cream.

One question I have:  How do you make whipped cream (or Chantilly Cream) that lasts more than a few hours?  Unless you know the trick to this, or are eating the whole pie at once, I recommend serving the whipped cream separately and whipping up a separate batch when having leftovers.   I topped the pie last night and this morning my cream was starting to 'melt.' (Yes it was in the refrigerator!)

Today I used dough for the European Peasant Bread recipe in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and made small individual sized pitas (also in the book).  I used balls of dough a bit smaller than golf balls rolled out to 1/8 inch thick.  They were in the 500-degree oven on a cast iron pizza pan for 3-4 minutes and puffed up like crazy. 

It was 90-degrees here for two days this week and it wasn't even spring.  When I stopped at the store on my way home from work, the heat had me craving some ice cream.  I found some Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwiches on the bottom shelf of the freezer and decided to try them. 

The flavors sounded so intriguing, I couldn't decide and took home 3 sandwiches: 

• Lemon Cookie with Lavender Honey
• Dark Chocolate Cookie with Fresh Mint
• Cinnamon Chocolate Cookie with Espresso.

A few days later and we've finished them off.  The cookies are pretty big and I ended up cutting each one in half to share (although my boyfriend was not interested in the lemon one).

All three flavors were delicious.  The ice cream was super creamy and the flavor combinations just right. 

The Dark Chocolate Mint was pretty strong and reminded me of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies.  This one seemed to have a more crunchy cookie than the others and was my boyfriend's favorite.

Lemon Lavender had a softer cookie with a refreshing lemon flavor. The lavender and honey added a subtle something that I found irresistible.

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I usually like coffee flavored ice creams and the Cinnamon Chocolate Espresso sandwich was undeniably good. 

Combine the scrumptious tastes of these treats with the fact that they are handmade and the owner is committed to sustainability and you've got a winner.  I'll be buying these again.

Ceviche is a dish generally made with raw fish or shrimp that is marinated by the acid in lime or lemon juice. I don't eat fish, raw or otherwise.  This is a vegetarian version in which cauliflower substitutes for the fish.  But don't worry, the cauliflower is diced so small and absorbs so many other flavors, it is unrecognizable.  Trust me, I'm not a huge fan, and my carnivore boyfriend loves it.  The idea from this came from  a coworker who  brought in some leftover vegetarian ceviche made by his mother.  Needless to say it was outstanding.   I got impatient waiting for his mother's recipe, so I created my own from what I remember as the ingredients.   With all the fresh veggies, I imagine this would be crazy-good for you if it wasn't eaten with tortilla chips. Get your best chopping knife and get started!

Preparation takes a bit of time, but it's easily made ahead and kept in the fridge.

Makes about 3 cups.

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 3-4 limes depending on juicieness (Lemons work, too.  Or, try a combination.)
• 2 roma tomatoes
• 2-3 serrano chilies (or jalapenos)
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt to taste

Directions:

1.  Separate the cauliflower into florets.  Try to get them uniform in size.

2.  Use raw cauliflower and skip this step!  Or, blanch the cauliflower in boiling, salted water for about 3 minutes.  Immediately drain and place in an ice-water bath to stop cooking.

3.  Once cauliflower is cool, it's time to chop.  Dice fairly small, less then 1/4 inch is good.  Also try to keep as uniform as possible.   

4.  Place diced cauliflower in a non-reactive bowl (glass, ceramic, stainless).  Add enough lime juice to coat all the cauliflower and pool up in the bottom.  You want it very wet because you'll be adding more to the juice.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

5.  After about 1 1/2 hours, begin preparing the rest of the ingredients.  Collect all the chopped ingredients in a bowl to add at once to the cauliflower.  It's best to chop everything about the same size, with the chilies and garlic being smallest. Prepare yourself!   Don your so-stylish, eye-saving Onion Goggles.   Dice the onion very small (try for about 1/4 inch, or roughly the size of your cauliflower). 

6.  Quarter the tomatoes lengthwise and remove the seeds before dicing.

7.  The easiest way for me to mince chilies:  First cut off the stems.  Cut chili in half lengthwise.  Use a spoon to scrape out seeds and ribs.  Cut matchstick strips lengthwise, then perpendicular.  Wash your hands before touching eyes! 

9.  Chop the cilantro.  Add the onion, tomatoes, chilies, and cilantro to the cauliflower and stir.  Add the crushed garlic and 1/4 teaspoon cumin.  Start with 1 teaspoon salt then add more to your taste.

10.  Place back in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour for best flavor.   This is one of those dishes that is better the longer it sits.

Serve with chips.  Enjoy a healthy, flavorful dip!

Printable Vegetarian Ceviche Recipe (pdf) - NOTE - Skip the blanching to use raw cauliflower.