Good Friday & Earth Day

Today is Good Friday, the day Jesus got crucified and died on the cross. It's also Earth Day, the day that's "intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment" (definition courtesy of Wikipedia).

To honor both days, I wanted to plant a grape vine in our backyard...except it turns out there are already three kinds of grapes (one Concord, two unidentified) growing there. So I'm just gonna tend to them once the weather warms up.

After my family went to the Good Friday worship, we had a "healthy" dessert...

I think I'll call this one the "Five Black Mousse". I made it using the Taiwan Sugar Corporation's five black paste cereal mix. This mix contains black sesame, black rice, black soybean, black fungi, and black jujube--rich in calcium and fiber. My sister gave some to us when we went to visit her; she got them from her mother-in-law, who thought that these will help with lactation and nutrition while breastfeeding. It's mixed with hot water to make a thick drink. It was pretty tasty as is, but I wanted to try something different with it. There was a carton of organic whipping cream sitting in the fridge, so I decided to use that to make mousse. The recipe is based on a Bavarian cream recipe, but the consistency/texture turned out mousse-like. Mom actually liked it that way, and she thought it was very good.

Five Black Mousse (makes about 6 servings)

1 packet (7 g, or 0.25 oz) gelatin
2 egg yolks
1.5 oz sugar
1 cup milk
1 packet (30 g, or 1 oz) Mixed Cereal with Five black paste
1 cup whipping cream

-Add half of the sugar to the whipping cream. Whip to soft peaks. Set aside in fridge.

-Bloom gelatin in 1 oz. water. Pour milk in saucepot. Bring to boil.

-While heating milk, whisk remaining sugar with the yolks til pale. Whisk in the cereal mix, and the bloomed gelatin into the yolk mixture. There will (likely) be gelatin chunks in the mixture.

-Once the milk boils, slooooooowly add it to the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepot, and heat over medium-low heat to completely dissolve the chunks of gelatin. DO NOT LET THIS THING BOIL. Once the gelatin dissolves, remove from heat and cool over ice bath (to cool it quickly). Stir until thickened to a sauce-like consistency. At this point, the mixture will still be warm.

-Whisk a third of the whipped cream into the mixture just until smooth. Fold in the remaining cream, being careful not to overmix. Divide into 6 custard cups, or in a fancy-schmancy glassware. Refrigerate til set, at least 3 hours.

I served it with anko and orange sauce. I was expecting it to be firmer, more like Bavarian Cream, but it turned out into a perfect mousse--soft and airy, with a good nutty flavor from the five black paste. The anko added a more profound sweetness and textural contrast to the mousse, while the tang from the orange sauce balanced out the sweetness. Maybe I'll serve with some cake or a cookie next time...