Low is the New Sugar High Friday #15

And I am a Miserable Failure (though it wasn't for lack of trying)


This greek yoghurt semi-freddo sweetened with a dash of the delicious Blis Maple Syrup I received from Aki and Alex, perched on a round of toasted almonds set with 85% bitter chocolate and Maldon Sea Salt (a combination inspired by Ideas in Food), didn't work at all. It looks pretty enough, but the yoghurt was too sour to do the sweet whisky-aroma maple justice, the chocolate was too bitter and I was obviously far too heavy handed with the salt.



Let me give you a little tip. Don't ever try to make a meringue sweetened with dried pear pieces instead of sugar.



Dried oranges make a better sweetener than the pears. They are more dry and crisp and can be ground to a sugar-like powder. I used this orange-powder to sweeten little souffles made with a roux of orange juice instead of milk. These actually tasted ok, but weren't of a high enough caliber to make a recipe I'd rush to share. On the side I poached some supremed slices of orange in their juice with a touch of the quite special Rare Hawaiian Organic White Honey with Organic Hawaiian ginger, a generous gift given to me by Alan from Ma'ona and his gorgeous wife who I met with for coffee in December. He even used the honey in his own SHF recipe, now what a coincidence?



Finally, I decided to give up on the no sugar restrictions and try a Weightwatcher recipe that had some sugar but was low in calories overall. The Caramel Pear Polenta Souffles were much like my own orange souffle invention. They tasted fine, and I am enjoying them cold for breakfast, but they weren't worth writing home about.



And what really disappointed me was that they looked nowhere near as pretty as the recipe book picture that attracted me in the first place. Pah!



But I am just hosting this party, and luckily for all of you, everyone else joining me for the feast is bringing a pot luck dessert, as well. From all the entries I have seen so far, there are some stunning ideas out there. It seems that most people have far greater skills at creating low sugar desserts than I do. Having said that, it was very interesting to experiment with some new ideas in the kitchen, it helped me understand how ingredients work and gave me a clue as to why we generally use white sugar in our baking. I am not sure how many entries I will end up receiving, but as soon as I have a roundup ready, you can be sure that I'll be sharing some far more delicious ideas for healthier desserts with you all. Thanks for joining in, everyone!



PS - On the day-job I am rushed with extra work right now, so please be patient as I visit each and every one of you. If you can't wait, you can catch up and look at all the tagged entries here. And to everyone who has emailed me on other subjects over the last few days - apologies for not getting back to you straight away, I have been a bit snowed under with things. I'll get to it as soon as I can.

PPS. 5 years ago - This Day in 2001 - the day I arrived to live in America!

Links, Resources and Further Reading

Bay Area Resources:
Almonds from | Alfieri Farms
Oranges from | Hamada farm
Dried oranges and pears from | Everything Under the Sun

Other Resources:
The Founder of Sugar High Fridays | Jennifer, Domestic Goddess
Total Greek Yoghurt | Fage
Sea Salt from | Maldon
Honey from | Volcanic Island Honey Company

Daily weight loss, weightwatchers and diet notes:
Weightwatchers | Entertains with Chefs from the Culinary Institute

Archive Alert! On this date in 2005: Incanto

SHF # 15 | Low Sugar | Weight Watchers | Diet