Welcome to Recipe Saturday!

Thanks for sharing our two years of blogging here at International Christian Fiction Writers with us. I hope you've already downloaded our free gift to you, a collection of International Recipes by our contributing authors. If not, do it now!

Today we're celebrating a global community of authors and their recipes. These authors don't live in Canada, Australia, or Africa, but together they make up roughly one quarter of our collection. You'll find:

• Sopa de Mani (Peanut Soup) from Bolivia with Jeanette Windle
• Coxinhos (Chicken Croquettes), Potato Salad, and Pudim de Leite from Brazil with LeAnne Hardy
• East Tennessee Cornbread from the USA with Tessa Stockton
• Bludger's Roast, Pavlova, Lemon Curd, and Munchies from New Zealand with Grace Bridges
• Chicken Empanadas from Argentina with Tessa Stockton
• Fruit Scones from England with Donna Fletcher Crowe

What a great selection! It was hard to choose just one to feature this week, but here it is:

Pavlova

Ingredients

• 8 egg whites
• 2 cups castor sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornflour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• Optional: 2 tablespoons cocoa, chocolate chips to decorate
• Whipped cream and chopped fruit: kiwifruit/berries/peaches etc.

Instructions
Beat the egg whites thoroughly until very stiff. Add the sugar bit by bit, beating in between, and beat well afterwards. Blend in the remaining ingredients. Optional: Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa for a chocolate pavlova! Pile in a circular shape on a baking tray lined with paper or foil. Use a spatula or flat knife to sculpt the edges upwards and flatten the top, making it as high as possible up to about 4” (10cm).

Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) and bake for approx. 1-2 hours (depends on your oven), until the crust is firm to tap. Allow to cool completely and cut around the top edge to let the crust settle onto the marshmallow before covering the top with whipped cream, fruit, and/or chocolate sprinkles. The crust is very brittle!

This recipe is by Grace Bridges, but all the aforementioned recipes are also in International Recipes. Download and enjoy!

Valerie Comer's life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughter.

Her first work, a novella, can now be pre-ordered in the collection Rainbow's End from Barbour Books, releasing in May 2012. Visit her website and blog to glimpse inside her world.