Coconut Almond Pannacotta, a photo by Ayala Moriel on Flickr.

here is the promised recipe for the coconut and almond lovers among you (and the vegans who want to try a simple, elegant dessert):

2 Cups Coconut Milk (or cream, if you can find it!)
2 Cups Almond Milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split (or 1 Tbs vanilla paste)
1 Cup evaporated cane sugar
1Tbs agar agar powder
1/4 cup cold water

- Dissolve agar agar with cold water until for about 10 minutes.

- Meanwhile, cook the coconut and almond milk, sugar and vanilla bean until they reach boiling.

- Strain the milk and reserve or discard the vanilla bean (you can use it for infusing sugar!)

- Pour some of the hot milk into the cup with the agar agar

- Pour back into the pot

- Grease 7 ramekins with a little bit of bland vegetable oil (I use almond oil or grapeseed oil). Best way to do this is with a paper towel or a pastry brush.

- Pour the hot milk mixture into a saucer or a spouted dish. Divide evenly among all the containers. I like to place them all on one big tray, pan or tupperware - so nothing spills, and also for easy transportation in and out of the fridge!

- Let them cool, uncovered, in the fridge. Once they stop steaming, you may cover them with a plastic wrap or a close with the tupperware lid.

- Serve after at least 4hrs of refrigeration. This pannacotta is a little more on the jelly-side, as there is not a lot of fat content. It's very delicious, light and refreshing - great to serve on warm spring days, and even on hot summer days.

- Best served with an accompanying compote of your choice, i.e.: Rhubarb Flower Compote.

Fresh Rhubarb, a photo by Ayala Moriel on Flickr.

This rhubarb compote brings the freshness of both the Canadian and Mediterranean spring, combining the rhubarb tartness with cheerful orange blossom aroma.

1kg fresh rhubarb
1/2 cup evaporated cane sugar
2 Tbs orange flower water *

Rinse rhubarb and discard any green parts (they are poisoneous). Cut into thick slices.
Place in a sauce pan. Sprinkle sugar over top. Cook covered on a medium heat until the rhubarb is soft, about 5 minutes (check on it often to stir and to make sure it does not get scorched, stuck to the bottom, etc.). Add the orange flower water at the end of the cooking, to maximize its flavour.

Bring down to room temperature and pour into an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator up to one week (you can also eat it warm, but it won't taste as "fresh").

Serve with vanilla ice cream, frozen yoghurt, fresh yoghurt or unsweetened whipped cream with a hint of vanilla.

* Orange flower water is the distillation water from making neroli essential oil. It is a very popular ingredient in Middle Easter, Persian and East Indian cuisine - where it is used in countless desserts such as ice creams, confections and pastries.

Spring Forest Risotto, a photo by Ayala Moriel on Flickr.

Yesterday's foraging expedition got me in love with the rainforest all over again. And so I've decided to cook a special risotto for dinner tonight, that uses fresh seasonal vegetables and also makes use of unusual ingredients that spark my imagination.

I got a bunch of fresh, crisp organic asparagus at the farmer's market, and I've been thinking long and hard about what stock would work for an asparagus risotto?

A little voice in my head kept whispering something about green tea. But I couldn't pick the right one (and using the finest green tea I've got in a risotto seemed like a sacrilege...). But I knew that there was something better out there on my tea shelf... And finally it came to me: Hall's Fir Tip Tea!

I set to action, using young organic leeks instead of onions of shallots, sauteeing them in ghee (it's better than butter for cooking, in my opinion, as it doesn't scorch so easily). Then came the carnaroli rice, and quickly I realized that I was out of white wine... And that the white wine would have probably killed the "tea" flavour anyway with it's cheesy, yeasty afternotes. So of course, I used the last few drops of Hendricks' gin I had on hand instead, to much delight, and than proceeded with pouring the infused fir tip tea, a little bit at a time until it absorbs completely into the rice.

To make the fresh, delicate tastes really shine I've added no spices at all except for Maldon sea salt flakes. And the asparagus was steamed on the side and then incorporated into the risotto just before serving, and than topped with parmesan cheese.

The result is a very light, refreshing risotto, full of flavour of the forest and great contrast of textures: crunchy tender asparagus vs the creamy, starchy rice. The forest notes are not overpowering but are definitely there in the best way.

This risotto would go well with a white sparkling wine, the infused elderflowers with San Pellegrino - or, as we had it: with the remaining pot of fir tip tea sipped happily until the very last grain of rice was gone...

Ingredients:

2 tea bags of Juniper Ridge's Douglas Fir Tip Tea

1 L Boiling water

1.5 cups Carnaroli rice, washed well and drained

2 young leeks (or 1 large), greens included

2 Tbs butter or ghee (if you're vegan, you may use a light vegetable oil as well, such as grapeseed oil)

2 Tbs gin

Small bunch of asparagus (about 6 stalks), steamed and cut into large chunks

Parmesan cheese

- Steep the tea bags in boiling water

- Cut the leek (greens and all!) into thin slices

- Steam the asparagus until it snaps easily (do not overcook!). Cut into short pieces.

- Sutee in ghee until tender and transparent. Add a pinch of salt.

- Add the washed and drained rice and stir well for about 1 minute

- Add the gin and cook until the alcohol evaporated completely. Add a pinch of salt.

- Begin adding the tea, only a little bit at a time - just enough to cover the rice. Cook till it absorbs, and only then add more of the tea. Add a pinch of salt between each addition of

- Once all the liquids absorbed into the rice, and the rice is tender (not mushy - it should have a consistency similar to an "al dente" pasta), it's ready. Remove from heat.

- Adjust seasoning (salt only if required). You may want to ad a tiny bit of shaved juniper berries as well. Pepper is not appropriate for this dish as it's aroma will overpower the tea infusion.

- To serve - mix the rice with the asparagus pieces, and with Parmesan cheese to taste. Add a few larger pieces on the top for garnish. Add more shaved Parmesan cheese on the top.

- This recipe will go great with wild asparagus as well, of course. You may also use fiddleheads while they'r in season in place of the asparagus.