A punnet of gooseberries from our local community food market, carefully stewed in a little water and a tablespoon or two of sugar; strained well, because you do not want all the cooking liquour, then sieved or blended in a machine if you like, or if you are making a large quantity.
Beat two cold egg whites very thoroughly, folding in a little caster sugar by hand when well beaten, then gently mix in your gooseberry puree, followed by a small amount of double cream - I used Sainsbury's British extra thick double fresh cream, and two more dessertspoons of sugar - my gooseberries were extremely tart.
Pile mixture into small bowls and decorate with sprigs of lemon balm from the garden, which grows so well and very easily. Take a cutting from a friends garden and plant it quickly and next summer you will have a healthy and vigorous plant of your own - Melissa officinallis - its official name. The plant is of the mint family Lamiaceae and a hardy perennial, which dies back with the beginning of winter, to emerge fresh and green next spring. A tea of lemon balm is both refreshing and enjoyable, with a little sugar or honey; or use the leaves to flavour a sponge cake by placing them in your lined cake tins before you pour in your cake mixture, or use for decoration or garnish to puddings and summer drinks.
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| Eton Mess in my lovely glass bowl |
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| an individual serving with Sainsbury's lemon shortbread biscuits |
I went searching for biscuits made without any nut ingredient or warnings about being cooked in a nut-based environment, and these were the only ones I could find. The naming details may be wrong and I'll check this out when I'm next in store.
Daisy
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