Ella Does Squamish

2 vanilla beans, split in half lengthwise

2 fresh rosemary sprigs

4 cups cream

1/2 cup fine sugar

12 egg yolks

6 Tbsp. Demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 325 F.  Mix yolks to pale shade of yellow.  Bring to a boil rosemary, vanilla beans, and cream.  Remove vanilla beans, leaving in rosemary.  In stages, mix cream into yolks, then add sugar.  Stir.  Leave in rosemary and cover with plastic wrap.  Place in fridge overnight.

Strain out rosemary sprigs.  Fill 6 ramekins or suitable bowls.  Fill roasting pan 2/3 full with water.  Set filled ramekins in pan and transfer to oven.  Cook in water bath until set, approximately 40 mins.  Cool, then chill.

Finish by sprinkling with Demerara sugar - roughly 1 Tbsp. per ramekin - and then caramelize with a cook’s blowtourch or by placing under your oven’s broiler until the surface is golden brown.  Serves 6.

Cranberry filling

3 cups dried cranberries

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped

1/2 cup natural honey

1 cup pomegranate juice

Base and topping

2 cups spelt or whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

3/4 cup coconut butter

1/4 cup brown rice syrup

To prepare filling, combine dried fruit, honey, and pomegranate juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Stir until mixture thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes.

To prepare base and topping, preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease a 9 by 13 in. baking pan.  Mix together all base ingredients in a large bowl, blending in coconut butter with fingertips until mixture looks like moist crumbs.  Set aside 1 1/2 cups of mixture for topping, and press remaining crubms firmly into bottom of pan.  Bake 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and spread cranberry filling.  Sprinkle remaining crumbs on top and bake another 30 minutes.  Allow to cool before serving.  Makes 12 bars.

1 cup pomegranate juice

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup blueberry juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 cups water

4 cups natural ginger ales

Ice Cubes

Fresh mint sprigs to garnish.

Chill all ingredients.  Combine juices and water.  Add ginger ale, ice cubes, mint, and serve.  Serves 8.

2 cups cucumbers, chopped

1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

2 cloves fresh garlic

1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

1 tsp. fresh green chili, minced

5 or 6 tbsp. lime juice (about 1 lime)

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1 cup coconut, grated

2 cups plain yogurt

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped (for garnish)

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (for garnish)

In a bowl, combine the cucumbers, salt, gralic, ginger, mint, cilantro, chilies, lime juice, and cumin and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate for three to four hours.  Once chilled, in a food processor or a blender, puree mixture and grated coconut.  Pour mixture into a serving dish, and stir in yogurt until smooth.  If soup is too thick, add 1/4 cup of water.  Garnish with fresh cilantro, and sprinkle with cayenne pepper and serve.  Serves 4.

From the book The Modern Ayurvedic Cookbook:  Healthful, Healing Recipes for Life by Amrita Sondhi.