I have altered it slightly over time, to allow for ingredients that are always available.

Last weekend we were at a friends house in California, putting on a seminar for my husband.

I made a few dishes for the occasion, including this one.  I had so many people  ask me for this recipe,  I thought I might as well blog it.

Enjoy!

Summer Fruit Tiramisu

4 medium eggs, separated

200 grams (7oz) granulated sugar

400 grams (14oz) mixed summer berries (blue berries, raspberries, blackberries)

250 grams (8 ¾ oz) mascarpone cheese

1 packet Ladies fingers (for trifles)

¾ cup water

¼ cup Crème de Cassis   (http://www.bevmo.com/Shop/ProductDetail.aspx?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=froogle&ProductID=13199)

A large glass serving bowl

Method

1. Take a large sauce pan and add ¾ cup of water, plus a 100grams of sugar and boil into syrup. About 2 minutes.
2. Mix in the fresh summer berries and turn off heat, leave to cool.  (If using frozen fruit, add to the syrup and bring back to boil, then allow to cool)
3. Once cool add the ¼ cup of Crème de Cassis.
4. In a mixing bowl place the egg yolks, mascarpone and rest of sugar, mix together with a whisk.
5. In another bowl whisk up the egg whites until firm, then stir into the egg yolks and mascarpone gently.
6. Next strain the fruit and save the juice. Soak the ladies fingers as you need them in the juice and put one layer into the serving bowl, add some fruit and then some of the egg custard mixture.
7. Repeat the process twice more, using up all ingredients including the juice. Finish with the egg custard.
8. Sprinkle with toasted almonds to serve

But then I met Keith and everything changed. I realized that everything that I had thought I had wanted, really didn’t have any purpose if you couldn’t share it with someone.

I was a successful fashion designer, who was also interested in alternative medicine, so at weekends went to lots of seminars to learn all I could. One particular weekend I went to hear Charlotte Gerson talk, and one of the guest speakers was Hazel Courtney, the famous alternative health writer. She happened to mention Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby and how he was doing some amazing treatment for anti-aging. Next thing I know my girlfriend and I were booked in for some treatment with him.

Well that’s how it all got started. For 10 weeks I went for my Chelation treatments, and gradually got to know this great doctor. He was so interesting and intelligent and his world of medicine was miles away from life of Fashion. I was dreading the treatment to finish, as I thought I would never see him again. But thankfully he felt the same and we started dating, when I stopped being his patient.

That was six years ago. We got married and we have been on a constant honeymoon together ever since. We moved to America to start a new life, the land of opportunities, and we have had a lot of ups and downs since being here.

But I wouldn’t change any of it, because I have someone very special in my life. He’s kind, sensitive, intelligent, handsome and sexy and he makes me feel a million dollars.

Happy Anniversary my darling.

For more on Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby go to www.alternative-doctor.com or www.dietwisebook.com

But I always think of it as the big build up! American designers are never as adventurous as the European sector. Talented yes but no as innovative as the British or Italians. Marc Jacobs may be an exception, but he too spends a lot of his time these days in Europe.

Its not a criticism at all, Donna Karen and Vera Wang, consistently design beautiful clothes, which would make any women look good. I thought both of their runway shows were wonderful last week. Both used a color palette of warm earth tones and Vera Wang played heavily on crystalline necklines and necklaces.

Marc Jacobs stood out too, his silhouettes were perfect, but some of his miss mash of fabrics were a bit hard to digest, but there was lots of inspiration to keep the high street stores happy!

London comes next, always exciting and the unexpected. Looking forward to seeing what Christopher Kane, Luella, Emma Cook and Temperley, are going to come up with.

So how can this be, with the cost of living rising all the time, the dollar being weak against the rest of the world? Is the Apparel business making any profit?

Oh yes, believe me some of them are. I have worked as an apparel designer on both sides with retailers and with the manufactures. The retailers are still making their 200/300% mark up, its the manufacturers and the fabric mills that are taking the cut. Back in the 80’s when business was booming manufactures could make a decent mark up on their garments, which gave them a safety cushion in case any think went wrong. Now days they are lucky to cover their cost. So many garment manufactures in America and Europe who were known for quality and reliability have gone out of business. Why because they just can’t compete. More and more business is going to China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and so on.

Company’s such as Forever 21, Wal-Mart, H&M, Primark(UK), Top Shop(UK) to name but a few, are really destroying the industry. Yes their delivering cheap disposable fashion, but at what price? If the public were made aware of what really goes on wouldn’t you be prepared to pay a little bit more if you knew it would save thousands their jobs and preserve our own factories right here in our own country.

In England where I grew up, we had some of the best fabric mills in the world, our quality wools and cashmeres were considered among the best, but now only a few survive and only designers like Armani and Ralph Lauren can afford them.

No the rip off is for the manufacturers fighting to survive! Even the big factories in China are fighting, as the retailers put more and more pressure on. Canceling orders, if the style isn’t selling, demanding discounts if the delivery is late. Were will it all end?

So next time you buy a garment and it costs you $20, just give a little thought to all the people that made it possible for just a few cents.

I’ve been a clothes designer for 28 years. Fashion has been my life, from the age of eight I was sewing clothes for my Barbi doll and my friend’s Barbi’s. I started making my own clothes when I was ten and by the time I was twelve my Dad bought me my first sewing machine, which he said was the best investment he ever made.

I’ve spent most of my design career in London, I worked in the High End designer, showing in Paris and London catwalks, and I’ve designed and excelled in the fast high street fashion stores. I traveled the world with my work, from inspirational trips, trade shows and manufacturing. I breathed it and lived it all my life.

So what is Fashion? From the 20’s through to the 60’s its easy to account for. There were certain styles and looks which were definite statements, the flapper dress, Chanel’s trousers and suits, Dior’s New Look, and Mary Quant’s mini-skirt, then the hot pant and the maxi, to name but a few.

But Fashion has changed, the world has become much smaller, there are no surprises any more. No new looks, nothing big and revolutionary to change the way every body looks. The world is open for trade, we all use the same factories, fabric suppliers. High street fashion has access to top designer clothes as they come off the catwalk and can have a copy in the stores before the designers have a chance to sell the original.

So were does that leave fashion? Well it comes down to individual style and thats what makes fashion these days. In Italy its easy to see, they are natural at putting clothes together and accessories and looking fantastic, with little effort. They don’t have to be movie stars to do this. I could sit for hours in a coffee bar in Florence and watch a fashion parade in front of my eyes.

London also has its own hip fashion look. Kate Moss is a great example, she may be a top model, but she has her own style and Fashion look, most of it is not made up of expensive designer clothes. She is very individual and has a huge following, thats why Top Shop stores uses her name to promote a line designed by her and sell thousands of clothes.

So I guess all I want to say is that today when anything goes as far as fashion is concerned, its all down to the individual to make their own personal statement.