Soft peaks

J's art challenge for January was to create something relating to Burns Night. She knew very little about this, but after a bit of research with her (German) PA, she decided she would design a menu, and then ask her dad to cook it for us. The design part took some time, as J decided she would design her own tartan to use as a background. A design based entirely on straight lines is something she can make entirely independently, accessing digital art software with her switch scanning grid, which allows her to select colours and brushes and draw lines. She looked at lost of examples, then chose her (non-traditional) colours - pink, with blue and white - and made her background image.

The contents of the menu were more quickly decided, though Scottish readers will not consider them authentic: vegan haggis, roast potatoes (which we much prefer to mash), parsnips (as J does not like turnips or swedes), and other vegetables - kale from the garden, Brussels sprouts, because they are growing well and will go with it, roast carrots and gravy. There had to be dessert too of course, and J thought she and I could make Cranachan together. We had not tried it before, but there are lots of recipes online and it looked straightforward enough. 

I had forgotten, however, that the power lead of my hand mixer had been nibbled bare by mice during their last incursion into the cupboard under the sink. P had taken it to pieces to see if he could replace the lead, and condemned it. It was about forty years old, and came as a free gift, so I can't complain, but after an initial look at options online, none of which sounded entirely satisfactory, I had stalled on ordering a replacement. 

I knew whipping cream by hand would take longer, but I'm very fond of my balloon whisk. I bought it in Paris in 1983, in the now two hundred year old Dehillerin emporium, the palace of "batterie de cuisine", close to the former markets at Les Halles and recommended to me by my PhD supervisor (who was a keen cook - our Sabatier knives were a wedding present from him). The whisks were available in many sizes, and mine has enough weight to feel robust and sits well in my hand. I love using utensils which do their job well and have been part of my life for decades, and as I use them, I reminisce. In 1983 I was living in a tiny garret in the sixth arrondissement close to the Jardin du Luxembourg, a top floor "chambre de bonne" with no hot water or cooking facilities other than my very small single cylinder camping gaz. I wanted to invite a friend to eat, and realised that chocolate mousse only needed enough heat to melt chocolate, along with a good whisk and a bottle of brandy. It was soon my speciality dessert. 

The cranachan was delicious, and J loved it, though the photos were not very good. We used whipped cream and mascarpone, honey, raspberries and toasted oats; no whisky for J, though I'm sure it would have added something. We'll certainly make it again. P's vegan haggis was excellent too, the first time he has made one (though we used to buy the Macsween vegetarian ones), and I hope will also be repeated - so all in all, a very productive art challenge!