Blueberry Yogurt

We've been trying to eat healthier, so I've started serving blueberry yogurt to Lulu as a late night snack instead of one of my decadent desserts. Blueberries are delicious and packed with antioxidants. Many studies have concluded that a diet high in antioxidant foods prevents heart disease, cancer and reduces blood pressure. I typically serve the yogurt with unsweetened green tea (another antioxidant) mixed with vanilla soy milk.

Sweet Mascarpone and Berries with Lemon Ganache

If you're looking for a fast and easy yet elegant dessert recipe, this one is for you. I usually make this dessert to please my little 9-year-old sister-in-law who is allergic to eggs.

The rich cinnamon-flavored mascarpone mixture with the refreshing combination of blackberries and blueberries makes a very festive sweet treat for little kids and big kids as well.

To give more body to the dessert, I sprinkle a layer of coarsely-crumbled Italian puff pastry and top with a layer of lemon ganache. The result is to die for!

Crostata with Pecan and Blueberry Pie Filling

* The memory card of my camera just crashed and that's the only picture I could recover of the crostata right before getting in the oven.

A crostata is a dessert that is filled with jams or fruits and its sweet crust is folded inward at each edge. It gives the tart a more artisanal, which means rustic in French, and free-form look than other regular pies.

I made the dough with polenta to give it a more crumbly texture and flavored it with star anise. I used fresh ginger and Meyer lemon for the filling in addition to the blueberries.