LiveSTRONG With A Taste of Yellow 2010 - Heart Series - Custard Cream Hearts

LiveSTRONG Day 2010 is Saturday, 2 October 2010. This day coincides with the anniversary of the cyclist Lance Armstrong's cancer diagnosis, and is a day for raising awareness of and funds for the fight against cancer.

Barbara of Winos and Foodies, a cancer survivor herself, hosts LiveSTRONG With A Taste of Yellow each year to coincide with LiveSTRONG Day to raise awareness of the fight against cancer in the foodie community. This year, for LiveSTRONG With a Taste of Yellow, Barbara has asked us to take a photograph featuring yellow food, together with a heart.

I have participated in this event before, but this year, for the first time, it's personal. My wonderful, strong, determined mother, who had once seemed immortal to me, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in April. In some respects, she was lucky, because they found it early as a consequence of routine tests that she was undergoing due to an unrelated health scare about 3 years ago. They operated to remove her tumour, and her surgeon is confident that it has all been removed. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy, which is understandably hard on her, but she is bearing up well. I am very, very proud of her.

When I heard Mum's diagnosis, my mind was paralysed. I was unable to make meaningful decisions for a number of weeks, which was complicated by the fact that I was in the process of altering my working and living arrangements. I am lucky in that I have some very supportive friends who were able to get me through that time. However, I have stopped taking my mother for granted. Sure, we still have our "moments", but I realise that our time together is precious, whether it be 1 year or 50 years, and that I should make the most of it.

Our "puppy" was also diagnosed with cancer in July. He had an aggressive mast cell tumour that is common in dogs of a certain age. Despite criticism from some of her co-workers for "wasting" money on a dog, Mum was determined that he be operated on, and since his tumour was removed, he has gone from strength to strength. He's a gorgeous fellow, full of personality:




Neither of them are out of the woods - once that cold hand has touched your life, you can never be sure that it has gone forever. However, I choose to think positively, and I am delighted with their progress so far.

For Barbara's event, I made Nigella Lawson's Custard Cream Hearts from Feast, pictured at the top of this post. I have wanted to make them forever, but never quite got around to it. However, these biscuits are tailor-made for LiveSTRONG With a Taste of Yellow - Heart series, in that they and their filling are yellow, and they are heart-shaped. If you don't have access to Feast, the recipe is also available here. I substituted the shortening for more butter, but otherwise followed the recipe. The finished biscuits are delicious, but I am not sure that I like them more than store-bought custard creams - each has their own virtues.

My custard cream hearts are dedicated to my mother and Fred the foxie, who are very dear to my heart.

Thanks to Barbara for once again hosting this event, which is so important for raising awareness of the fight against cancer. Barbara will be posting the roundup from LiveSTRONG With a Taste of Yellow - Heart series over the next week or so - be sure to check her blog for the roundup.

Tangy Lemon Squares for LiveSTRONG with a Taste of Yellow

Barbara of Winos and Foodies is once again hosting LiveSTRONG with a Taste of Yellow, in support of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which raises awareness of cancer issues.

For my LiveSTRONG entry, I have made Tangy Lemon Squares from p356 of The Australian Womens Weekly's Bake. These squares are just like lemon curd on a soft biscuit base. They are easy to make and delicious.

To make them, you will need:

125g butter
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 1/4 cups plain flour
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a 23cm square cake tin.

Cream the butter and the sugar with a stand mixer, then using a wooden spoon, stir in 1 cup of the flour. Press the dough into the base of the prepared cake tin, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, whisk the eggs, sugar, 1/4 cup flour, zest and juice in a bowl. Remove the cooked base from the oven and pour the egg mixture over the top of the hot base, then return the tin to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes until the filling is firm and set.

Allow the squares to cool in the tin, then cut into ~25 squares. (I only got 16.)

Please visit Barbara's site on 2 October, being LiveSTRONG Day, for the roundup of LiveSTRONG with a Taste of Yellow recipes. If you would like to show your support for LiveSTRONG with a Taste of Yellow, simply make a yellow dish and post about it by 13 September, and notify Barbara.

LiveSTRONG With a Taste of Yellow 2008 - Stracciatella

Barbara from Winos and Foodies is once again hosting LiveSTRONG Day - A Taste of Yellow. This event is to support cancer sufferers, to remember those who were claimed by cancer, and to celebrate those who have won the fight. To participate, all you need to do is to make a dish with a yellow element and post about it by 19 April 2008. (There is also a photo competition, details of which are contained at the link above.)

While I have not yet been personally affected by cancer, I have plenty of friends and acquaintances who have, and their stories are often both heartbreaking and uplifting. Accordingly, I want to support this cause by participating in Barbara's event.

For my A Taste of Yellow entry, I have chosen to make stracciatella, a yellow Italian soup, with parmesan toasts. Soup always reminds me of care and healing, so I thought that it would be perfect for this event. The recipe that I followed is from page 82 of the April 2007 edition of Australian Gourmet Traveller.

To make this dish, which serves 4, you need:

2 eggs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
1 litre chicken stock
1 teaspoon saffron threads soaked in 1/2 cup warm water

4 slices baguette/ciabatta or similar bread
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

For the soup, whisk the eggs, parsley and cheese together in a bowl. Bring the stock to the boil over the stovetop, and add the saffron mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the stock in a slow, constant stream, while stirring the stock constantly, then decrease the heat and simmer the soup for 2 minutes. Finally, add salt and pepper to taste.

To make the toasts, drizzle the oil over the bread, sprinkle with parmesan and pepper to taste, then toast in a 200 degree Celsius oven until the cheese has melted and the bread has turned a golden colour.

Serve each bowl of hot soup with a slice of warm parmesan toast.

To be honest, I didn't like this soup. However, I am still posting about it because: (a) firstly and most importantly, the fact that I didn't like my choice of dish does not detract from my support for LiveSTRONG Day; (b) someone else might make stracciatella and love it; and (c) it would be totally unbelievable if I told you that I liked everything that I made.

Thanks and best wishes to Barbara in respect of her organisation and hosting of A Taste of Yellow, and please check Barbara's site for the amazing roundup (180 entries!!!) here and here. And congratulations to Helene of Tartlette on wininng the photo competition - a very worthy winner.