Bakewell Tart/Pudding from England

The Olympic Rings
"The most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle..." reads part of the Olympic creed.
Its flag shows the colors of all the flags of all the countries that participated in the 1920 Olympics games. Each ring symbolizes a continent. Their colors are: blue, yellow, black, green, and red on a white background.


Bakewell and its Pudding
Jane Austen stayed in the Rutland Arms Hotel in the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire Dales in 1811, and modeled her fictitious Lambton from Pride and Prejudice after this town; she also fashioned Pemberley after Chatsworth, three miles from Bakewell. A couple of decades later, in 1837, a recipe for Bakewell Tart was written down, so we know that it existed at least since that date. Today this town has 4000 inhabitants and is the only one located in Peak District National Park. Many people visit it because it has 17th and 18th century houses. It is located relatively near Manchester, Sheffield, Derby, and Nottingham: http://www.countryshowguide.co.uk/bakewell-show-copy-i3997.html
The Bakewell show, an agricultural display, takes place on the first Wednesday and Thursday of August (this year it was August 1st and 2nd) and is known as one of the best shows in England.





Recipe from http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3943/bakewell-tart

After following the recipe indicated in the link above, instead of making a 9 inch tart, bake in 6 3-inch tart tins. Decorate the tops of five of them with different colored berries, lime/lemon zest, and/or jams to achieve the different olympic colors. If you want a white background, use whipping cream!


References
http://history1900s.about.com/od/greateventsofthecentury/a/olympicfacts.htm
http://www.localhistories.org/bakewell.html
http://www.derbyphotos.co.uk/areas_a_h/bakewell.htm
http://www.orchard-gate.com/lambton.htm

Creme Papaia from Brazil

Waiters swiftly swirled platters around my table, placing slices of different cuts of meat on my plate. Their visits were constant and seemingly endless, and even educational--I had not been introduced, I thought, to so many different types of meat--and certainly not in that fashion. At times, they brought large chunks of meat on a skewer, and then sliced off very thin pieces with large, sharp knives. When I was full, I turned over a card that said "No more, thanks".
I was in a Brazilian steakhouse (churrascaria, barbecue) in Costa Rica; at the time, there wasn't one where I lived. It was a meat lovers' paradise. My favorite part of the dinner, however, would be the creamy dessert topped by the fruity cassis liqueur--it was unforgettable. The foamy mixture of papaya and ice cream was decorated and slightly flattened by the stream of purple, berry-flavored liqueur that was poured in front of me.

June 12th is Valentine's Day in Brazil. They call it Dia de los Namorados, or Lovers' Day, as it is the eve of St. Anthony's Day, the patron saint of marriage.

Lorena de Garcia's Recipe

1 pint of vanilla ice cream

1 1/2 cups skim milk

 1 oz. creme de cassis (currant liqueur)

1 1/2 cups ripe papaya, peeled and diced

Place all ingredients except for the creme de cassis in your blender. Once they are mixed, pour them into 4 serving glasses or dishes and pour a little bit of creme de cassis on top, in the center. 

Some people use yogurt instead of ice cream. I have not tried this variation yet--when I do, I will post my results here.

References
http://www.cheflorenagarcia.com/page/crme-de-papaya-topped-with-liquor-de-cassis