Eton Mess

Have you ever had Eton Mess?  It’s a delicious creamy dessert and this paleo version is guilt-free!

New Baby Website

How about Raj’s post today?  I was howling!  Brilliant, and exactly how I was feeling!  I even welled up a little at the end, a father’s love is so precious!  Okay, this new parent stuff is exhausting.  My friends and family are excited for me, but I may be overdoing it with the social media posts about the new baby, The Primal Desire.  Plus it takes quite a bit of time barraging people with Paleo propaganda.  But, it works: last I looked we had surpassed our Facebook “likes” goal for the day.

I also haven’t slept: up late, dreaming about our baby in the 4-6 hours I do shut my eyes, then up early to send emails, and fill our pages with content.  I also have this thing I have to do all day, I go to this place, and they pay me for it?  Heard of this? A job?  I manage a busy retail business and we are heading into our peak season.

I had a 15-second shower this morning, between birth announcements on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, while exchanging texts and e-mails with Raj, then rushed out the door.  I was already late for work.  Thank goodness I had Paleo Prosciutto Breakfast Bites made yesterday to eat on the go.  I worked a full day but was messaging Raj constantly to see how things were going.  I feel guilty I can’t help more, but I still need to go to work.  I’m confident he is making the best decisions for our darling website.

Computer Fail

Gotta make that $$ and buy a new computer.  Today, my Mac… it died.  It had lived a good life but had been sick for a while.  Today is the day it flashed its last pixel, sang its last startup song.  I was especially hard on it, carted it around with me everywhere.  In case you didn’t know, I’m a bit of a disaster.  I drop my computer, regularly, and because of that it was pretty beat up.

I had nearly exploded the lithium-ion battery (insert fiery explosion here).  The battery had been taken out for my safety, I used it plugged in a few hours at a time, until it got hot, for nearly a year after.  Although it was no surprise, to die on the day our new website was born, it is still kind of a jerk move.  Thanks a lot, computer.  As a result, I haven’t linked all the links I want to, but my iPad works for posts! (As long as the full-time parent, Raj saves the day and edits and uploads my pictures for me.  Thank you!)

This recipe suggestion, Raj found as  we were trying to figure out what to do with the pile of duck egg meringues, cooling on his table.   That’s right, our Eton Mess recipe is made with DUCK meringues.  So delicious they just melt in your mouth.  Although this looks decadent, it is 100% Paleo.

Eton Mess

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• Author: Holley - www.ThePrimalDesire.com

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Description

Paleo-ized traditional English dessert. Served at Eton College’s annual cricket game against Harrow School.  Known by this name since the 19th century.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 egg whites (we used duck eggs)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup (optional)
• 3 cups strawberries washed and sliced

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Instructions

Meringues

1. Preheat oven to 200F and place the rack in the center of the oven.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet.
3. Put egg whites into a pot on your stove, with your element on low.
4. Whisk with a hand mixer on high, 4-5 min or until stiff peaks form, add the maple syrup a little at a time while beating for another minute.
5. Put mixture into a piping bag, We used a med zip-lock bag, and just cut the corner off.
6. Swirl the meringue onto the covered baking sheet, swirls should be around 1 inch in diameter.
7. Put the meringues in the oven and bake for 2 hours, allow to completely cool.

Whipped Cream

1. Place the can of coconut milk upside down in fridge overnight, or at least a few hours.
2. Turn can over and scoop out the thick cream at the top (the rest can be used in curries or smoothies).
3. Slice open a vanilla bean and scrape out the inside (looks like coffee grounds).
4. Whip on high with a hand mixer adding maple syrup slowly until cream stiffens, you will see creases in the coconut milk as it thickens.

Strawberries

1. Place half the strawberries in a food processor and pulse until just pureed. You can crush strawberries with a fork or masher if a food processor is not available, set aside.

Eton Mess

1. Place 5 or 6 bite size meringues in a long-stemmed glass or dessert bowl (use more or less if you like).
2. Break up a few more meringues, again up to you (I used 4 or 5), fold them into the mashed strawberries and 1/2 the whipped coconut cream.
3. Spoon the mixture over the meringues in the bottom of the glass.
4. Add the remainder of the sliced strawberries over the puree.
5. Layer the remainder of the coconut cream over the sliced strawberries.
6. Top with one last meringue.
7. Serve immediately.

Notes

You do have to serve these delights as soon as you assemble them, once the meringes hit the strawberries they start to melt. Better if they melt in your mouth!

• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: British