No bake chocolate cake with walnuts and green figs

My Mom has a birthday today. Yesterday I decided to surprise her preparing a little birthday cake. And as you probably know, I am an obsessive chocolate eater. I always have a bar of chocolate in my office. And in my purse. And I also have a whole drawer full of different kinds of chocolate at home. My Mom is not such an addicted chocoholic, but she is definitely a passionate chocolate lover. So, my wondering what to prepare for my Mom's birthday lasted no more than five minutes. Something with lots of chocolate, with chocolate as the only ingredient if possible, but I highly doubt that there is such recipe. So the closest to this idea was something with only two ingredients - chocolate and heavy cream. No bake chocolate cake recipe I saw here made me want to try it immediately. After thinking five more minutes, I decided to add something from me - a nut layer, prepared from freshly roasted walnuts or almonds, mixed with sweet green figs. No sooner said than done. I took some walnuts, roasted and chopped them and mixed them with some preserved figs, also chopped. I lined a pan with this sticky mixture, pressed it good with my fingers and poured the chocolate-cream mixture over it. One night in the fridge and today-taraam! - here is your cake, Mom! Happy birthday! I love you so much!

P.S. We tasted the cake already. Mom says this is the best sweet thing she has ever tried. Melting chocolate pleasure accompanied by a crunchy nutty taste. 
I totally agree - this is a must-try recipe.

Grilled asparagus

We are orthodox Christians in our family and we do not have the tradition to celebrate Saint Valentine's day. But I think, some romance is good for every couple and this is a good opportunity to celebrate love. So I wanted to serve for dinner something light and easy to prepare, but it was supposed to bring festive touches to the table. 

Asparagus. Simply grilled. With a smoky flavour and crispy texture. Just with a soft boiled egg and some Parma ham for everybody. Really good idea. Well, outside is - 20° Celsius, so it had to be indoor grilling. My grill pan is good enough to give the foods grillmarks we love, so in less than 10 minutes I was ready. 
We wanted to enhance the joy and used our fingers instead of silverware. 
A good beginning of a long night. 

Quince Jelly

The morning of three queens
I like quinces. Their dignified appearance make them the queens of the world of fruits.  You can't eat a quince from the tree - it is too hard and too tart to be consumed raw. So if you want to taste them you have to make an effort to prepare them with the respect they require. 

I like the shape of quinces - every one is so different. They seem to be created for the table of a painter or a photographer; it will be such a waste of beauty if you don't capture the moments of their glory. Their delicious smell fills the house with autumn scent. And their transformation into a jelly is so tasty - it goes great with cold meats or as a spread onto a toast with a piece of feta cheese.  

Broccoli cream soup with blue cheese

This soup is nutritious, rich in fiber and easy to prepare. But before putting the broccoli heads in the pot, I decided to give them a five minutes of glory. Aren't they beautiful?