Afternoon Snacking with Leftovers

For those of you who haven't had a chance to stop by our Center, one thing that you could more often than not expect to see is food. This was certainly the case today, as new items and leftovers from other programs made their way into the refrigerator sitting in my office (it is otherwise known as the Resource Room, after all). With the afternoon lull creeping in, I decided to gather some of the items in this diverse pantry of ingredients and fix up a snack. Among the ingredients I had at my disposal--all which were very good on their own--were fresh strawberries, cookies (chocolate white chocolate chip, chocolate chip, and oatmeal raisin), whipped cream and my midnight mousse à la chocolat Chantilly. Okay, so it wasn't difficult to come up with something, but who said it would be? (Plus, I just really wanted to share the photos with you.)

There are a multitude of ways of combining ingredients--or even leftovers--and for various meals of the day. Blend foods to make an interesting soup, or bake them in the form of a casserole. When it comes to desserts, such as the one I made today, layered desserts are among the easiest to pull off. From the Napoleon to trifles, the delicate balance attained by height and contrasting textures should yield a final product that enhances the greatness of the individual components.

Sandwiched between two chocolate white chocolate chip cookies were alternating layers of thinly sliced fresh strawberries and yesterday's smooth chocolat Chantilly. Topped off with whipped cream and crumbled oatmeal cookie, the chocolate syrup ties the decadence and already chocolaty-rich dessert. It's so chocolaty that the sugar crash has the potential to happen instantaneously.

I don't know about you, but I thought the layered dessert was too pretty to eat. [Update: this was equally awesome the day after! The strawberries had broken down a bit creating somewhat of a concentrated syrup that paired well with the chocolate, the moisture of which soaked into the cookie below. It's a good thing the chocolate cookie had the white chocolate chips, otherwise I would've battled through a completely mushy course.]

An even simpler pairing is of course anything with the chocolate mousse and if you've taken inventory of the ingredients listed above, it was obvious what I had to do with the unused chocolate chip cookie. Ever heard of Dunk-a-roos? Again, no matter the restrictions or limitations, there's always something you can do for dessert, whether you're vegan or in search of something gluten-free (check this one out, too), in the mood for chocolate or something refreshing with fruit (ps/ I especially love the photography of this linked site), or need to make something quick for your next dinner party. Comment below on your favourite layered desserts (or just desserts in general) and click here to check out the other photos.