Ennui, Torpor, Listlessness and Smoked Trout Mousse

It's back! Heat and humidity!! When I stepped out to harvest some herbs, my hair "sprung" into wild waves of--well, wild waves. I learned the art of languid living from our days in Charleston, S.C.. A glass of sweet iced tea, a good book and a Pawley's Island hammock strung between two live oaks. Alas, there are no live oaks in the upper midwest. There is no place in our small, hidden garden for the hammock. There was the lure of the front porch until I remembered that our usually quiet street was filled with bumper-to-bumper Fair traffic. Ennui, torpor, listlessness--I'm not sure what best describes my state of being today.

I was, however, committed to taking an appetizer to a late afternoon gathering. I had no desire to get into a hot car. I had no desire to find my way to the grocery store. I had no desire to have anyone stare at my wildly "sprung" hair. I did have a husband who had to make a trip to the hardware store close by the grocery store. I prevailed upon him to pick me up some heavy cream.

Now, before you balk at the two cups of heavy cream in this recipe, remember that you are (well, I was) in a group of ladies who are constantly dieting and none of you will take more than two tablespoons of this delicious treat (at least not while others are watching). Or, you might heed the words of Ina Garten: "How bad can that be?" Whatever you do can be your little secret. This is a simple and quite delicious offering.

SMOKED TROUT MOUSSE

1 pound smoked rainbow trout

1 tbsp chopped scallions

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp chopped fresh dill

1 tbsp unflavored gelatin

2 cups heavy cream

Remove the skin from the rainbow trout (if you can't find rainbow trout, any smoked trout will do) and puree it in a food processor along with the scallions and the seasonings.

Dissolve the gelatin in the cream and heat to just warm to ensure that the gelatin is dissolved and not grainy. Add the gelatin/cream mixture to the trout mixture and process for 5 to 6 seconds. Pour into a serving bowl and chill for at least 5 hours before serving.

Serve with sliced and toasted French bread or crackers.

Enjoy and keep cool!