“Cause and effect, ying and yang, butterfly
wings and ripples in the pond, no matter how you phrase it, everything we do
has a result, what you do now matters, what you don’t do know matters.”
I feel a change in the air this season.
Well why not?
In a year that has been
filled with strange changes; good
and bad, sad and happy. Relationships have come and gone , countries leaders
have come and gone, disasters and their after effects have come and stayed with
those involved.
What a year, and this is only June ….Half
way!!!!!
In the Middle East summer is baring down upon us fast. Some are
already contemplating their departures for cooler shores from now till Ramadan
and even beyond. For those
uncertain and not from our shores, summer here is very, very hot.
And so we enter summer.
What to call it?
I mean it has to have a name these days.
Starting earlier in the year, around Valentines day everything became labeled
for us. What began in late 2010 as the Autumn of Uprisings, soon became
the Winter of Discontent which
lead to the Spring of Rage, which then lead to the Summer of ?
Well lets hope anyway it is the Summer of
Peace and Contentment and nothing more. Life is tough enough without the added
stresses placed upon us all this year.
And so I come back to the changes that are
in the air.
A friend from Abu Dhabi asked me to come up
with some HALWA flavored desserts and cakes. Halwa is not something I have had
a lot of time for. Its not my kind of dessert. Well there you go, I was wrong
again !!
Just looking at the stuff in its plastic
containers and poking it, does not actually account for having tried it.
I have seen it made at where we work. It
always mystified me. Few ingredients, strange colors and a finished product
which , well, did not inspire me in the slightest.
And then I was given a challenge. Create
from it. And so I did. And I have to say, it’s a pretty good source of
inspiration once you get your head around what it actually is. To the
un-initiated let me say HALWA is pretty close to Turkish Delight, less perfumed
without rose water and less gelatinous, and considering it is heavily peppered
with nuts, it is a very texturous product. Adding great substance to several of
the desserts I made from it.
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| The Gateau Voyage Version with Halwa Centre |
It makes a sensational mousse, if you
follow a few tricks of the trade, and does not require gelatine to set. A plus
for this region. Halwa is perfect by itself and suits fresh fruits due to its
sweetness. (the tartness of berries and fresh peaches perfect for accompanying
it) and truly comes into it's own when baked into a subtle moist coconut cake.
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| A sweet coconut cake hiding a sweet sticky surprise in its centre!!! |
Take a look at some of the things created
with this tasty, delicacy of the Moen Orient.
Sometimes its great to be thrown a challenge.
To create with an ingredient you could
never have imagined working with and successfully creating something which
inspires you.
Some days we seem to be nothing more than guinea pigs on a treadmill going no-where, other days, well they are filled with HALWA, and this guinea pig is thankful for that.
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| Sensational Red Halwa Cakes |
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| Ispahan Halwa Vert with Mahalabiyeh |
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| Ispahan Red halwa with fresh peaches |
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| Halwa Mousse Cake with Creme Brulee Centre |
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Red Halwa Mousse Cake, Inside
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