Banana Cream Pie

I have been making this pie for a while now.  I wish I had the picture my Dad took at my first attempt to make it - when I somehow got whipped cream all over the kitchen.  Alas, I have become good at this pie and have no more disastrous anecdotes to share.

Too pretty to eat

But the first bite is sublime

Never leftovers

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups graham-cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup + 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter + 1 Tbsp non-melted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 medium bananas
• 1 lemon
• apple jelly

1. Preheat oven to 375degF.  In a medium bowl, mix cracker crumbs (to make: blend in a blender or place in a strong bag and rolled fine with a rolling pin), 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter.  With back of spoon, press into bottom and side of pie dish, making a small rim.
2. Bake 8 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.
   
3. In 2-quart saucepan with spoon, mix 1/2 cup sugar, flour, and salt.  Stir in milk until smooth.  Over medium heat, cook mixture, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and begins to boil (about 10 minutes).  Boil 1 minute.  Remove immediately from heat and set aside.  ***
4. In cup with wire whisk, beat egg yolks with small amount of hot milk mixture.  Slowly pour egg mixture into saucepan, stirring rapidly to prevent lumping.  Over low heat, cook, stirring constantly until very thick (do not boil) and mixture mounds when dropped from spoon.
5. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla.  Pour into bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until cool, about 2 hours.
6. Peel and slice 3 bananas over bottom of piecrust.  Top with filling.  Chill until set, about 2 hours.
7. Whip the heavy cream and spread evenly on top of pie.
8. To garnish, grate peel of lemon; sprinkle around top edge of pie.  Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice into bowl.  Into juice, peel and slice 1 banana; toss to coat; drain on paper towels.
9. Arrange banana slices in center of top of pie.  
10. In 1-quart saucepan over low heat, heat 1/3 cup apple jelly **** until just melted; brush over banana slices.  Chill.

***   If using Gluten-free all-purpose flour such as Bob's Red Mill brand, add 1 Tbsp psyllium husk powder at this point in the recipe.

****  Apricot jelly is lovely in place of apple jelly.  And microwaving is fine instead of heating over the stovetop.

This recipe is adapted from the 1989 Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook.  My first grown-up cookbook.  Previously, I used one illustrated with Disney characters.

Emergency Dessert

Coconut Flakes, toasted in the broiler.  Sprinkled on top of....
One scoop of vanilla ice cream...
Drizzled with honey.

My favorite ice cream is Coconut Bliss Vanilla Bean.  FYI.

Strawberry Shortcake with Biscuits

Strawberry shortcake and champagne is my favorite celebratory meal.  I'm not sure that it can really be called a meal though given its low nutritional content - but nonetheless - here it is:

Strawberry shortcake

One time an eighties cartoon

Always a dessert

Ingredients:

• Strawberries frozen or fresh, 1 tsp sugar
• Powdered sugar
• Whipping cream
• Vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp powdered psyllium husk
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice, plus some extra

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, psyllium, sugar, salt, and baking soda in large bowl until combined.  Add butter to flour mixture, breaking up chunks with fingertips until only small, pea-size pieces remain.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, egg, oil, and lemon juice until combined.  Using rubber spatula, stir yogurt mixture into flour mixture until thoroughly combined and no flour pockets remain, about 1 minute.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Defrost the frozen strawberries or slice the fresh strawberries.  Set aside.  

1. 

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.  Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and place inside of second baking sheet.  Using greased 1/3-cup dry measure, scoop heaping amount of batter and drop onto prepared sheet.  Repeat with remaining batter, spacing biscuits about 1/2 inch apart in center of prepared sheet.
2. Bake until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.  Transfer sheet to wire rack and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
3. Put half of the sliced strawberries in an oven-safe dish, sprinkle with 1 tsp of sugar, and put in the oven while the biscuits cool to bring out the juices and slightly soften (approx 15 minutes). Toss the remaining strawberries with the remaining lemon juice.
4. Whip the cream with vanilla to taste.
5. Mix the sweetened baked strawberries and the citrusy fresh strawberries together, including the juice.
6. Serve each plate with one biscuit, surrounded by strawberries, topped with vanilla-whipped-cream and dusted with powdered sugar.

Biscuit recipe taken from America's Test Kitchen How can it be Gluten Free Cookbook.

Mostly Savory Chocolate Bark

This chocolate bark is unlike anything you're likely to encounter in the month of cookies and cakes.  That is why I like it!  I'm not one for pastries or sweets, but some good dark chocolate will certainly do it for me!  This one is full of flavors and just a bite is plenty!

Nutty chocolate bark

Now my new favorite breakfast

With a cup of tea

Ingredients

• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp dried mulberries
• 1/4 cup dried tart cherries
• 3/4 cup almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup pistachios, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 2 tsp coffee beans, coarsely chopped
• pinch of kosher salt

1. Grease a baking sheet, and line it with parchment paper.
2. Melt the chocolate in a large stainless steel bowl placed over simmering water in a pot.  Make sure the bowl is not touching the water to keep the chocolate from scorching.  
3. Add the cardamom, and stir to dissolve for a couple of minutes.  Turn off the heat, and stir in half of the mulberries, cherries, almonds and pistachios.
4. Remove the bowl from the heat, and dry the bottom with a towel.
5. Pour the chocolate onto the prepared baking sheet.  With an offset or rubber spatula, spread the chocolate in a wide rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.  Sprinkle with the remaining nuts, dried fruit, and the coffee beans, and press them gently into the chocolate.  Dust with the salt.
6. Cool in the refrigerator for about 2 hours, until hard.  When firm, slide chocolate onto a cutting board, and cut or break it into pieces.  Keep it refrigerated until just before serving.

Recipe taken from YogaJournal, December 2013.

Dark Mint Organic Chocolate - a Review

Okay.  Fanny May Mint Meltaways.  After Eights.  Frango Mints.  We're talking tastes of this caliber here.

I recently tried The Alter Eco Dark Mint Chocolate without much in terms of expectations - I think my local grocer was out of the quinoa bar I usually get (think Nestle crunch but better).  It was delicious.  It is a little pricey, but my local chocolate expert said it is worth it.  

And it gets better.....

What if eating this tasty tasty chocolate nourished more than just your little soul?  The company Alter Eco is doing their best to be environmentally sustainable (which is important if we want to keep eating chocolate).  Their chocolate is organic.  They're trying to offset their carbon footprint.  They compost and recycle.  They plant trees.

So, now you can do your part and eat some chocolate!

Nom nom nom.......

Almond Crescent Cookies

The holidays are upon us and festive food is just so much fun!  Though I don't have much of a sweet tooth, there is something so special about these cookies and I feel the need to indulge in them every year!

I tried this recipe with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free flour and it worked quite well! 

 What is not to love?

Holiday Crescent Cookies

Good for the Spirit.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1.  Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the extracts and mix.
2. Add the flour and almond flour.  Mix thoroughly.  Dough should be slightly crumbly, but I find it is helpful to add a couple of tablespoons of warm water at this point and continue mixing.
3. Take a generous tablespoon of the dough and roll it into a small ball.  From there, roll it between your hands and pinch the ends a bit to shape it into a crescent.  
4. Place onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until a lightly golden brown.
5. Pour the powdered sugar into a bowl and carefully, after cooling them briefly, one at a time place the cookies in the sugar bowl and cover with sugar.

This recipe makes about 24 cookies.

Caramelized Bananas

I can't believe I haven't blogged this before as it is the recipe that is most asked for by my friends and theirs.   I make it all the time (though bananas are healthier in their natural state) and think it is probably the tastiest dessert I've had in ages (up there with lavender creme brulee and sweet dessert guacamole).

 

Decadent and sweet

Caramelized bananas

Not TOO bad for you!

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 bananas
• 2 tsp sugar
• half a fresh lime (lime juice in a bottle is not a good substitute)
• one fresh orange
• coconut ice cream (optional)
• butter cookies (optional)

1. Heat a sauteing pan over medium heat and add the butter.  Let rest 30 seconds and swirl around to coat the pan.  
2. Slice the bananas in half and then lengthwise to make four pieces.  Lay all eight pieces in the butter and let them sizzle for 3 minutes.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp of sugar and turn over, adding more butter if necessary.
3. Sprinkle the other side with sugar and the juice from half a lime.
4. Keep cooking and turning until both sides are slightly brown and crispy.  Remove bananas to bowls and turn off heat. 
5. Immediately squeeze the juice from one orange and use a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan with the orange juice.  To reduce the juice, heat slowly, or just pour over the bananas as it is.
6. Add a scoop of coconut ice cream and garnish with a butter finger (or mint, pictured here).

 After.

Mango Lassi

This can scarcely be called a recipe, but I've been asked for the instructions and this recipe is according to my tastes.  Mangoes and cherries are probably my favorite fruits and so this time of year is especially great for me for desserts.  Have this as a dessert or as a complement to spicy foods.  Or - have it for breakfast!

A nice summer treat

You don't need grown-up taste buds

To love a lassi 

Ingredients:

• One large mango
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp agave nectar
• 2 dashes of cardamom

1. Mix all of the above ingredients in a blender and chill.  Add an ice cube and another dash of cardamom before serving.  Makes two beverages.

For an idea on how to use this in a meal check out this Indian Dinner menu.
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Lavender Creme Brulee

Oh boy. The next time you see me, I'm going to be fat. I don't know why I've never made creme brulee before!

I've never been a big fan of lavender - but I think that is because I had only been smelling it, not eating it. In this recipe - you get to eat it.

Eggs, sugar and cream

Infused with lavender buds

Makes quite a dessert!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 Tbsp fresh or dried lavender buds
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp turbinado sugar (or lavender sugar, optional)

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the cream to a boil, being careful that it doesn't boil over. Add the lavender, stir, and remove from heat, letting the lavender infuse the cream at room temperature for one hour.
2. Strain the mixture into a clean saucepan, bring the cream to a boil once more and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 275F.
4. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Very slowly mix a bit of the lavender cream into the egg mixture, being careful not to scramble the eggs by heating them too quickly. When the eggs and cream are roughly the same temperature, whisk the eggs into the cream mixture.
5. Pour the custard evenly into 4 4-oz ramekins and place the ramekins in a baking dish. Fill the dish with water so that the water comes up the sides of the ramekins to nearly the level of the custard inside.
6. Bake 25 to 45 minutes, checking on the custard frequently after 20 minutes. When fully baked, creme brulees will be firm and will wiggle slightly in the middle when shaken. When they are done, remove them from the oven, and chill them in the fridge for at least 2 hours (this can be done the night before, or in the morning).
7. Just before serving, remove the creme brulees from the refrigerator, place on an oven sheet, and sprinkle with the lavender sugar. Place on the rack just below the broiler and broil 1-3 minutes or until sugar is browned. Be careful not to burn them!
8. Serve immediately garnished with lavender flower.

* Be careful when opening the oven when cooking the custards - the water from the pan will fill the oven with steam.

* You may also use a cooking blow torch to caramelize the sugar, though it takes skill.

* A good accompaniment to the lavender creme brulee is a lavender gin and tonic. Infuse gin with lavender and freeze at least one day. Make the gin and tonic as you normally would, using the lavender gin. They have a slightly purple hue when poured!

Recipe adapted from Oprah.com.

For an idea on how to use this as part of a meal, see my Summer French Dinner menu. 
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Sweet Dessert Guacamole a la Mexique

I did it! And it is GOOD.

I happen to live in a neighborhood of chic and inventive restaurants. Lucky me! One of my favorites is Mexique, a wonderful little Mexican-French restaurant with a great staff and fun, original food (get the duck for dinner or the huaraches de camarones for brunch). I have finally cracked the code though, of their unique dessert guacamole. It is surprisingly simple and I thought it would take several tries. I have four avocados left. Come by, and I bet you can convince me to make another batch!

Surprise all your friends -
A guacamole dessert
Will leave them speechless!

Ingredients:

• 2 small avocados
• 3 - 4 Tbsp whipping cream
• 3 Tbsp powdered sugar
• Juice from 1/4 fresh lime
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• strawberries
• tortilla chips, bread, or any other vehicle to consume this deliciousness

1. Peel, pit, and slice avocado into bowl of food processor.
2. Add whipping cream, powdered sugar, lime and cinnamon and blend until a creamy consistency.
3. Serve with a side of strawberries and chips.

That is IT. It definitely serves more than one - but I will finish it - have no fear!
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Strawberry Mousse Parfait

Mmmmmmm. I think I have blogged about this before. Not here, and not including the recipe, so it is about time I shared it. I have been making this recipe for years. I cut it out of an issue of Gourmet magazine ages ago and find it so festive that I can't help myself sometimes and have been known to go to all the trouble (this was before I had an electric mixer and would whip the cream by hand) to make one serving of this just for me! Here though, is the recipe as I made it tonight to serve six. (To make one serving, cut all ingredients down to a quarter of what is required below and you'll have leftovers.)

Strawberries and Cream
A traditional delight
More complicated!

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of quartered strawberries
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 6 tablespoons water
• 1 1/3 cups well-chilled heavy cream
• 1 cup coarsely crushed butter cookies

1. Mash 4 cups of quartered strawberries with lemon juice and sugar in a bowl. Dice the remaining strawberries and set aside.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a small saucepan and let sit 1 minute to dissolve. Over low heat, stir the gelatin until completely dissolved. Stir gelatin and water into the mashed strawberries.
3. Place the bowl of mashed strawberries into a larger bowl filled with ice and water and let sit, stirring occasionally until gelatin mixture thickens and a spoonful holds its shape momentarily before returning to the rest of the bowl (about 10 minutes).
4. Whip the cream in another bowl until it just holds stiff peaks. Fold 2 cups of the whipped cream into the strawberry mixture. Fold in most of the remaining strawberries.
5. To build the parfait, in individual cups, or a bowl, as pictured here, layer mousse, cookie crumbs, mousse, cookie crumbs, mousse, remaining whipped cream, and garnish with strawberries.
6. Chill at least 30 minutes and serve!

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Holiday Chocolate Cake

Not a huge fan of chocolate cake myself, I thought - what a great way to cut back on calories this Christmas! Hah! Well, THAT plan didn't work! This cake was tasty enough to make me glad I had doubled the recipe and had leftovers!

Save room for dessert!
And save a slice for breakfast
Fruit makes it healthy. ;)

Ingredients

• 4 oz fine-quality unsweetened chocolate
• 3/4 stick (6 Tbsp) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup brewed strong black coffee
• 2 Tbsp Grand Marnier
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 300F.
2. Butter and flour a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan. *
3. Combine the chocolate, butter, and coffee in the top of a double boiler or in a very heavy pot, and stir constantly over low heat until melted.
4. Let the mixture cool for 15 minutes. Then add the Grand Marnier, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir well.
5. Stir the flour, baking soda, and salt together, and add this to the chocolate mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

* I used a cake pan in lieu of a loaf pan. It was just what I had on hand.

You should note, I made this recipe at an altitude of over 6,000 feet above sea level, so I altered the amounts of liquids, sugar, leavening and even then time and temperature cooked.

I garnished the cake with fresh raspberries and coconut ice cream.

Recipe from Ruth Reichl's book Garlic and Sapphires.

Pumpkin Muffins

For those of you that liked the smell of the pumpkin doggie biscuits. Here are some pumpkin treats for you.

Bite sized pumpkin pie
Perfect with tea for breakfast
Keep warm this winter!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp chopped orange zest
• 1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 cup mashed pumpkin
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly spray muffin cups with nonstick spray.
2. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, spices, granulated sugar, and orange zest in a medium-sized bowl. Crumble in the brown sugar and mix with a fork or your fingers until thoroughly blended.
3. Measure the pumpkin into a second medium-sized bowl. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat with a fork or a whisk until smooth.
4. Slowly pour this mixture, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients. Using a spoon or a rubber spatula, stir from the bottom of the bowl until the dry ingredients are all moistened. Don't overmix; a few lumps are okay.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffins cups. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned on to and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven, then remove the muffins from the pan and place them on a rack to cool. Wait at least 30 minutes before serving.

Recipe from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe.
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Carrot Currant Muffins

Aside from grating the carrots without a food processor, these muffins were easy to make and absolutely delicious. I'll try to save some to share!

Colorful and warm,
Healthier than carrot cake
These are great ALL day!

Ingredients:

• Nonstick spray (or paper muffin cups)
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar (or Xylosweet)
• 1 cup (packed) freshly grated carrot
• 1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup currants
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly spray muffin cups with nonstick spray.
2. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and spices in a medium-sized bowl. Crumble in the brown sugar, rubbing it in a bit with your fingers until the mixture is thoroughly blended. Stir in the granulated sugar if you like your muffins on the sweet side.
3. Place the grated carrot in a second bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and currants, and mix with a fork. Use the fork to beat in the milk, egg, and vanilla. Slowly pour this mixture, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients. Using a spoon or a rubber spatula, stir from the bottom of the bowl until the dry ingredients are all moistened. Don't overmix; a few lumps are okay.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
5. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven, then remove the muffins from the pan and place them on a rack to cool. Wait at least 30 minutes before serving.

Recipe from Sunlight Cafe, Mollie Katzen.

Slumming It with Cupcakes from a Box

As if making cupcakes from a box isn't unappetizing enough on its own, my sister and I had fun with some unique cupcake decorating for my birthday this year.

Cupcakes from a box - 

Not a bit of nutrition!

Good for the spirit.

Biting into a lemon cupcake that says "pink eye" without being grossed out reminds me a bit of the Stroop Task used by psychologists to test directed attention. As weird as it seemed, we had no problem enjoying them.

Thank you Pillsbury and Betty Crocker!

Polenta-Pine Nut Cookies

These delicious little cookies make a great energy-delivering snack and can be adjusted for the sweet tooth in you. They were very easy to make and introduced me to crystallized ginger, which I'm going to start using all over the place!

I'm still eating these
Pine nut cookies - who'd have thought?
Packed with energy

Ingredients:

• Nonstick Spray
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• 1 1/3 c unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 c polenta
• 3/4 c pine nuts
• 1 Tbsp chopped lemon zest
• 1/2 c minced crystallized ginger (optional)
• Sugar to sprinkle on top.

Preparation time is only 15 minutes, with 15 minutes for baking (more for the two batches that this yields).

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking tray with foil, and spray it generously with nonstick spray.
2. Break the eggs into a medium-sized bowl, and beat until smooth. Stir in the salt, maple syrup, oil, and optional vanilla.
3. Sprinkle in the flour, polenta, pine nuts, lemon zest, and optional ginger. Mix with a wooden spoon until completely blended.
4. Wet your hands, and pick up a small piece of dough, about 2 teaspoons' worth. Roll it into a ball about 1 inch in diameter, then flatten it into a small circle. Place on the prepared baking tray, patting it down to about 1/8 of an inch thick.
5. Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, or until the cookies turn golden brown around the edges and on the bottoms. If you like the cookies sweeter, sprinkle them with additional sugar as soon as they come out of the oven. It will melt into the tops of the cookies to form a sweet crust.
6. Cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes before eating. (I didn't. I ate one ONE minute after it came out!)

Recipe from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe.

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Sunlight Souffle

Happy New Year! It is a little dismal in Chicago and I miss the sunshine. Here is a recipe that I'll probably make again in February, when the greyness really gets me down:

Sunlight Souffle, Mmmmmm!!!!
Ate it all in one sitting.
I had help - Thanks Tim!

Ingredients:

2 cups ricotta
6 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
6 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
2 medium-sized ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Lightly spray a 1 1/2 quart souffle dish with non-stick spray.
2. Place the ricotta in a large bowl and add the egg yolks, extracts, flour, salt, sugar, and lemon zest. Whisk together until fluffy and smooth.
3. Beat the egg whites until they form peaks that don't fall over when the whisk or beaters are lifted and just a little liquid is left in the bottom of the bowl. Don't overbeat, which is easy to do when using an electric mixer. *
4. Fold the beaten whites into the cheese mixture until they are mostly incorporated. The mixture will not be uniform - there will be little puffs of "cloud" here and there - and that is fine. (It's best not to overfold, as this will deflate the egg whites.) Transfer the mixture to the prepared dish.
5. Toss together the peach slices and the lemon juice, then arrange the peaches in a design on top of the souffle.
6. Bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes, or until the souffle seems solid when you gently shake the dish. Serve immediately.

* Don't underbeat, which is easy to do when using a fork.

Recipe taken from Mollie Katzen's Book Sunlight Cafe, lent to me by Megan. Thanks!