26 Wednesday Mar 2014
Posted in Cooking, Food Photography & Styling, Humor
I woke up this morning and said to myself,
“Kebabs!”
So I replied, “Are you nuts? The deck is covered in snow! I’m not going out there!”
To which I answered,
“Suit yourself, I’m firing up the grill whether you’re coming with me or not.”
What? Why are you all looking at me like that? You never have conversations with you, like I have with me? Oh? Okay, then, let’s get right to the kebabs.
28 Tuesday Jan 2014
Tags
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (my kitchen), there lived a hungry girl (me) who yearned for a platter of saffron rice on which a stewed lamb shank was perched in its juicy drippiness. Like the one she once devoured in the outdoor kitchen of her grandmamma’s, where just right outside palm tress swayed gently in the breeze and the sound of a phoenix singing could be heard from a distance. (Actually it was a Persian restaurant in Washington DC, my grandmother was vegan and would have never cooked lamb, and phoenixes are not even real, let alone sing.)
In this state of yearning, the girl wandered aimlessly so and was soon transported into a magical place, where anything and everything you could ever want, you can have with just a snap of your fingers (in real life, this place is called the internet, and you click your mouse to command things to come forward.)
She came across a tavern, where outside there was an enticing display of le plat du jour, featuring lamb shank curry, the very thing she was yearning for. Alas, the tavern was abandoned, and there was not a single soul around to help her procure the curry. (I follow Lucy on her blog, Feast Without Regret, where I found her excellent lamb shank curry recipe. Unfortunately, it seems she’s no longer active on that blog. She does, however, have another blog.)
This is Lucy’s curry
It soon dawned on the girl that the idea of a magical land seemed to be but a big, cruel joke. (No matter how hard I clicked my mouse, I could not command that curry to come forward. This internet thing is the biggest tease there is.)
So the girl swore right there and then, a la Scarlett O’Hara,”As God is my witness, they’re not going to beat me. I’m going to live through this and when it’s all over, I’ll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk, if I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again, for lamb shank curry!”
21 Thursday Nov 2013
Tags
cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake, dessert, food, food styling, Greek yogurt, low-calorie, low-fat, recipes
“A fly on my cheesecake”
BY THE DAUGHTER aka THE GIRL
Is that a fly on my cheesecake?
As happy as can be
Taking its fill with irritating glee
A scarf of disappointment, that fly did knit
A beautiful cake, now made unfit
Somber eyes looking at it
‘Tis too much to take
This gloomy mood that permeates
Oh, for goodness’ sake
My own cake I’ll bake
After dinner and a movie, we came home with a store bought cheesecake, so we could relax and enjoy dessert at home. I had it sitting on the countertop while making coffee. Just when I was about to serve it, I saw the fly, digging in on the cheesecake.
My daughter saw it, too. We let out a collective gasp, a disgusted and disappointed gasp. It must have been walking all over the cake, eating as much as it could take. It wasn’t even moving when I picked it up with a napkin. Maybe it was actually already dead? Hitchhiking all the way from the store? I don’t want to know.
Who would want to eat the cake? The kids had both retreated to the den and started playing video games, no longer interested in dessert. The husband said he would eat it if I would nuke the germs in the microwave first. What? Microwave a cheesecake? That’s crazy! Nope, the cake belonged to one place and one place only, the trash can. Good bye!
Now, we were cheesecake-less. We each had a chocolate biscotti (biscotto?) instead. And I looked at those biscotti and I still wanted cheesecake. So the very next day, I made these. I’m a pretty stubborn woman. I’m not going to let a fly spoil my plan to have a cheesecake!
Low-fat Yogurt Cheesecake
There’s nothing wrong with full-fat ingredients. I routinely cook with them. But this is an experiment to see how far I can make my recipe as low-fat and healthy as possible without sacrificing taste. I consider it a success, judging from the non-existence of complaint coming from the husband, who loves cheesecakes. However, for those of you who prefer the “real deal” (not that the low-fat version is not real), I have my full-fat recipe, following this one.
1/2 cup biscotti crumbs (or chocolate wafers or graham crackers)
2 tsp. coconut oil (or butter), melted
1 pkg. (8 oz.) low-fat cream cheese
1 single serving (5.3 oz.) Greek-style yogurt
2 tbsp. agave nectar (or honey or sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. light cream or half & half
1 egg
1. Preheat oven to 325° F.
2. Mix biscotti crumbs with coconut oil. Press onto bottom and up to 1/2 inch of the sides of a greased springform pan. Don’t worry about making the crust lined up evenly on the sides of the pan. I actually like the unevenness of it. Looks more artistic. Chill crust in the fridge while making the filling.
3. Mix softened cream cheese and yogurt. Add agave nectar/honey/sugar and beat until blended and smooth. Add egg, vanilla, and cream, and mix on low speed, just until well blended. Don’t overbeat. Pour over crust.
4. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. Cool completely before serving.
5. Makes 2 (4-inch) small cheesecakes, which are more than enough for 4 people.
The full-fat version
For every package (8 oz.) of cream cheese, use 1/4 cup sugar, 1 egg, and 1/3 cup of whipping cream. Follow the directions for the low-fat version.
To make the chocolate swirls
Melt 1 tbsp. of baking chocolate morsels, and mix with 2 tbsp. of cheesecake mixture. Drop small amounts of the chocolate mixture on top of cheesecake, and using a bamboo skewer, make swirl designs. Apparently, there’s such a thing as over-swirling, just like what I did on this one.
You get a big blob of chocolate-colored cheesecake instead of a pretty chocolate-swirl one. So, don’t do what I did. Don’t over-swirl.
If you do over-swirl, don’t worry. There’s nothing that whipped cream can’t hide. And then, you can decorate the top with chocolate flowers to make it even prettier. Follow the directions for making chocolate spider webs, to make these flowers. Just draw flowers instead of webs. Steady hands are helpful, and strangely, I find that going fast instead of slow, make it easier.
A few more tips
1. To avoid cracks or cheesecakes caving in, don’t overbeat. In fact, I like mixing my cheesecake batter by hand, with a fork, instead of electric mixer. It’s easy to do when making a small amount for a small cake, and when all the ingredients are brought to room temperature.
2. Do not insert a toothpick or a skewer to test the doneness of the cake. Lightly tap the side of the pan with a wooden spoon instead. It’s okay for the center of the cake to jiggle slightly. It will continue to set and firm up while it cools.
3. Baking the cake in a water bath does help considerably in preventing cracks. If springform pans are used, make sure to line the bottom of pans with a double layers of aluminum foil, to prevent water from seeping in.
That’s it! It’s really not that hard to make cheesecakes. Give it a try, low-fat or full-fat, the choice is yours. The pretty cakes, sans fly, one more time.
Linking to:
Clever Chicks Blog Hop #62
Sunday show Off Linky Party
09 Wednesday Oct 2013
Posted in Cooking, Daily Prompt, Gardening
Tags
fingerling potatoes, food, postaday, purple potatoes, recipes, roasted potatoes, roastes potatoes and turnips, turnips, vegan, vegetarian
That was the result of more scrounging around in the garden, which turned up these tubers
Purple Fingerling Potatoes
and these turnips.
Fall Turnips
The last time I found turnips in the garden, I paired them with taters and came away with an award-winning recipe. Well, that was an exaggeration, but what I got was an excellent meal. Why deviate from a proven formula? So, once again, I give you taters ‘n’ turnips, this time roasted.
Roasted taters ‘n’ turnips served with grilled fish
Can you say yumm ….? Unless you don’t like fish, which is something I’m still learning to enjoy. But, at least the taters should get you going. They’re absolutely addicting, in a good way, in the not-fried way. French fries are my #1 vice. I’m completely addicted to them, so it’s good that I find a healthy substitute.
Roasted Taters ‘n’ Turnips
2 lbs potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 lb turnips, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
4 tbs melted butter or olive oil
Salt & pepper
Fresh herbs (I used chives & parsley)
1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. In a bowl, toss potato and turnip slices with butter or olive oil, herbs, salt & pepper.
3. Spray your baking pan with non-stick cooking spray, and spread potato & turnip slices in it.
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until lightly browned and tender.
***
Speaking of addiction, I’ve been to pinterest day and night recently, spending way too much time on the computer looking at food pictures and wishing for them, instead of making the food. And I want to pin everything and anything, until pinterest stops me. Apparently, you can only pin a few photos in a day? Huh, don’t really see the point. Care to enlighten me?
I’m late in the game, I know, with this pinterest thing. But as they say, better late than never. Next up, facebook, for which I’m also late in the game for. Ay ay ay, so many things to learn, so little time. Oh, by the way, if you click on that green pinterest, it’ll bring you to my boards. And if you’re there, you might as well follow me, since currently I have zero follower. I’ll think of a giveaway for my very first follower, how ’bout that? I’ll make it worth your while
The Novice Gardener 