No bake Cheesecake with Strawberry Coulis

Since we're on the topic of Strawberries, I thought this would be perfect to talk about my cheesecake ... or well rather, it turned out to be more of a cheesecake bar... with strawberry coulis! Now, I say that it turned out to be a cheesecake bar because I ended up using a larger pan than I was supposed to, so please do not make the same mistake I did... unless you do want to make a cheesecake bar! Don't be to worried by the no bake, the cheesecake will still taste quite rich :) Alternatively, the coulis can be made using a variety of berries... just use whatever you have on hand! It does take a day in advance, so prepare ahead of time!

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Filling
1 packet of unflavoured gelatin
1.5 cups of cream cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup sugar

Crust
1 3/4 cup Graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted

For the crust, add the melted butter to the crumbs and mix till a crumble is formed. Chose the right pan, and press onto bottom. Place in oven at about 300 degrees for approximately 10 minutes. Let stand.

Follow the instructions on the gelatin packet, and set aside after dissolved.

Blend cream cheese, cream, sugar until smooth. Alternatively, you can also whip the whipping cream separately, and fold it into the cream cheese mixture. Add the gelatin until well mixed. Pour filling onto crust, and cover with Saran wrap. Place in fridge for about a day.

Coulis
5 cups of strawberries, sliced (or any other berries on hand)
3/4 cups of sugar (I lessened it.. against Tristan's wishes)
1/4 cup of water
About a tablespoon of corn starch

Place strawberries and sugar (to taste.. better to put less and add more if necessary) in pot and let stand for half hour. Add water and heat. In a separate bowl, dissolve the corn starch with a bit of water and add. Stir until thickened. Place in blender and puree and strain. Note: if there is extra, you can freeze this and make a sorbet! Top the cheesecake, and voila.






Here's my cheesecake with blueberry coulis!

Strawberry dumplings

What comes to mind when you think of the word summer? From a culinary perspective, fresh fruit is definitely one of the bigger attractions. Last weekend, the family picked up a batch of strawberries and tasked me with figuring out what to do with them. The possibilities with strawberries are endless; pie, strudel, cake, muffins... even in cookies as jam filling. However, I had something more... unique in mind.

I don't know why, but I really wanted to make a dumpling with a strawberry in it; is that too much to ask? Apparently, because almost all the recipes I found had american dumplings (which are just a ball of dough) in a strawberry sauce. When I finally did find dumplings FILLED with strawberries, the dough was made with cheese/curd - which I neither had nor found appetizing.

So, after a bit of digging and some modification, I present to you Strawberry-filled dumplings! They tend to come out a little lumpy around the edges (I'm going to try to improve on this) but they taste so good - and that's what matters, right?

INGREDIENTS

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2 cups flour, sifted

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, separated

2 tablespoons butter, melted

pinch of salt

Strawberries

Icing sugar, sifted

1. Combine the melted butter with the milk and egg yolk (for best results, ensure that the milk and egg are at room temperature)

2. Whisk the egg white until it begins to turn frothy and white, and add this to the wet ingredients (this aids in producing a lighter dough). Add the salt.

3. In another bowl, create a well in the middle of the flour. Add the wet ingredients and knead until a dough forms. Add flour if too wet or milk if too dry - however, be sure to work the dough for a good 15 minutes before adjusting.

4. Wash and hull the strawberries. Take dough and form a layer around each strawberry, making sure that you seal the seam well.

5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; put in the dumplings and boil for around 4 - 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

(The dog wanted some so badly - strawberries are quite alluring)

6. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate to cool. Sprinkle liberally with sifted icing sugar (how much you want depends on how sweet you want it to be - remember, strawberries will be slightly tart/sour!)

Enjoy!

ALTERATIONS:

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These turned out nice, but I feel like they could be better! One thing I was considering was adding sugar to the dough - I put in a little under 1/4 cup of sugar, but this did not add to the sweetness at all. I am going to try either a cup of sugar in the dough, or I will create a mix of sugar and vanilla that I will add to the strawberry filling.

Orange chicken & Endive Salad

I made this today!

Orange Chicken

Chicken breasts
A large bunch of broccoli, cut into florets
Enoki mushrooms (optional)
1 cup Toasted cashews
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
The juice of 2 oranges
Chili flakes
Vegetable & sesame oils
a couple cloves of garlic, minced
Soy sauce
1 tbsp Cornstarch


Start by cutting the chicken breasts into strips. To a wok, add a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil, and a tablespoon of sesame oil. Add the garlic to sweat, and add a couple tablespoons of chili flakes (to your own taste) and cook the chicken. Add the broccoli, and enoki mushrooms. Add the orange juice and a couple tablespoons of soy sauce. In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch with a bit of water until dissolved. Add to the mixture, and stir until cooked. Finish off with sesame seeds and toasted cashews. Serve on rice or pasta.


Apple-Endive Salad with spiced Pecans

1 Apple sliced
3 heads of Endive chopped
Cup of pecans
Tablespoon of paprika
Honey
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
Olive oil
Pepper


To the pecans, add the paprika and drizzle in honey. Mix and place on baking sheet and bake for about 10 minute at 375 F, or until the pecans have candied. Mix the apple and endive in a bowl, and add cooled pecans. Add the lemon juice, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and pepper. The endives may be bitter, so you can also add honey to it.

60 Calorie Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sorry for the lack of updates... been busy with finals!
You think 60-calorie cookies are impossible? Well, this recipe will amaze you!

What you need:
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar (now I lessened the amount of sugar, but for people like Tristan, keep it this way)
1/4 cup margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg white
1 cup of flour (I used a combination of whole wheat & all purpose)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (again, I lessened it... it was a lot...)


Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugars, margarine, vanilla, and egg white in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet and flatten. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

Note: I made the mistake of not flattening the first time... Hahah

Blackberry Tart

So, my sister and I decided to make this blackberry tart, but of course, you can use any berry on hand that you have. Here is how we made it.

For the pie crust:
1.5 cups of flour (you can mix/match with whole flour/white flour depending on if you want to be healthy or not :P)
1/2 cup of butter or margarine
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup of water, or just until dough comes together.

First, use a whisk to break up the butter in the flour/salt, until a crumble is formed. Next add the water until the dough comes together. Chill for a couple hours before rolling it out. Roll it out to desired thickness (~1/8 to 1/4 inch) and place in a pie dish. Poke holes with a fork on the bottom and place in oven with a pie weight and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 F, or until golden brown. Cool in refrigerator.

For the custard:
3 egg yolks
3 cups of milk
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla

Whisk the yolks and gradually add milk while whisking. In a saucepan, add the cornstarch, sugar, and salt. On medium-low heat, gradually add the yolk mixture whisking to make sure no lumps are formed. Continue to stir, making sure eggs do not curdle until it begins to thicken. Once thickened, immediately remove from heat and place in an ice bath and stir to cool down. Add the vanilla and stir. Once cooled, transfer to a bowl, and place saran wrap on surface of custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate.

Place the custard in the shell, and place the blackberries (or other berries) on top. Alternatively, you can layer the custard and the berries if you have a lot. Also, if you want to make mini tarts, use a cupcake tin to make the tarts. It might be better, because the custard may not be firm enough to cut as a pie :P You may also wish to dust with icing sugar or top with whipped cream!

And voila! Blackberry tart :)

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