Category: Food

I love cheesecake but I don’t have it very often because its usually pretty rich.

When I lived in Seattle, I used to go to a place called Cash & Carry which was on Leary St NW in the Ballard neighborhood. They had wonderful boxed cheesecakes there and I would bring one home every now and again when I had company over.

Recently we went to the Olive Garden and were going to try their white chocolate raspberry cheesecake but decided it was too expensive. I told my son that I would make him one at home.

So — here’s my first homemade cheesecake.

Ingredients

(For the crust)

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, softened

1. In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, the sugar and the butter. Press this mixture onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan then set this aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. To this mixture, add the sour cream, flour and vanilla and beat this together.
3. Add the eggs then beat everything together on low speed just until combined.
4. Fold in the chips.
5. Pour this mixture over the crust.
6. In a microwave, melt the raspberry jam then stir it until its smooth. Drop the jam by teaspoonfuls over the filling batter and cut through the batter with a knife to give it a swirly look.
7. Place the springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square) then securely wrap the foil around the pan. Place this in a large baking pan. Add 1 inch of hot water to the larger pan.
8. Bake at 325° for 80-85 minutes or until the center of the filling is just set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan.

There are 12 servings in this cheesecake at 403 calories each. And it actually came out very good.

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(The original recipe can be found at http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/White-Chocolate-Raspberry-Cheesecake)

I did not take a lot of pictures of these cookies because I wasn’t sure how they would turn out. That was a big mistake.

The cookies came out chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside. Very very good. I only made half the recipe (cookies go quickly in our family and if I make a full batch we’ll eat a whole batch). The recipe below is for a full batch and makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup salted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, soda and the salt. Mix well with a wire whisk then set this aside.
3. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, blend the sugars at medium speed. Add the butter and mix to form a grainy paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
4. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract then mix at medium speed until its light and fluffy.
5. Add the flour mixture and the chocolate chips then blend at low speed until just mixed. (Don’t overmix.)
6. Drop by rounded tablespoons on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
7. Bake 22-24 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Transfer the cookies immediately to a cool surface with a spatula.

Yum! Yum! and Yum!

(This recipe is from the Mrs. Fields Cookie Book. There are a lot of good cookie recipes in this book. I’ll post more during the Christmas holidays.)

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I’ve had a cookbook in my pantry called Recipes from the Weimar Kitchen for quite awhile. Every now and then, I pull it out and try one of the recipes. All of the recipes are vegan. I’ve had meals I’ve made that have been vegan without my trying to make them vegan so it’s not something unique.

But next year, I’d like to try having more vegan meals. I’ve heard that dairy can upset the body with allergies. So — why not test the waters and see if removing the dairy can actually help?

The picture of the recipe I just tried doesn’t look so good but in actuality the meal was good. One could use a Ragu, Prego or homemade spaghetti sauce for the topping and it would still be vegan.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 3 cups cooked pinto beans with one cup juice
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 12 corn tortillas
• tomato sauce
• Cashew-Pimento “Cheese” Spread (see recipe below)

1. Combine the first 7 ingredients and mash.
2. Heat the mixture through.
3. Fill the tortillas with the bean filling.
4. Place seam side down in a 13 inch baking dish which has a thin layer of tomato sauce covering the bottom. (I used Ragu spaghetti sauce.)
5. Cover with tomato sauce (or spaghetti sauce)
6. Top with the Cashew-Pimento Cheese Spread.
7. Bake for 45 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit or until heated through.

Cashew Pimento “Cheese” Spread

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 ounce can of pimentos and juice
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• Pinch of thyme
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon

Directions

1. Blend the cashews with the water until smooth.
2. Salt it to your taste
3. Put this mixture in a pan and heat through stirring constantly until it gets thick.
4. Return mixture to the bender and add the rest of the ingredients.
5. Mix all together.

What I learned:

• Cashews are expensive so you can substitute with a spaghetti sauce
• The pimentos give it the “cheesy” look
• You can substitute the fresh beans for canned beans

This was a very filling dinner. I served it with corn.

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Hmmm … maybe I should get the newer version of this cookbook.

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This apple crisp is different than the apple cake recipe that I made recently which had granola as the topping. My husband prefers this apple recipe whereas I liked the one I made before. Both are good — it’s just a matter of how crunchy you like the top and how sweet. This one is much sweeter.

Ingredients

• 4 medium tart apples (I used honey crisp as that’s what I had available), peeled, cored and sliced
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup oats (quick cooking or regular)
• 1/3 cup butter softened
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Ice cream, optional

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I found this recipe online and thought I’d try it. I don’t have any pictures as I wasn’t sure if it would taste good or not. But, it’s a keeper!

Ingredients

• 4 skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 minced clove

This soup is delicious! I considered pureeing it but decided to try it as the original recipe indicated.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped tomato
• 2 celery ribs, chopped (original recipe called for 1)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dried red lentils
• 4 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (original recipe calls for chicken broth)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or 1 tablespoon dried

1. Heat oil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking.
2. Saute the onion, stirring until golden (about 5 minutes)
3. Add the garlic, carrots, tomato, celery, cumin and salt then saute, stirring about 2 minutes.
4. Add the lentils, water and broth and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes.
5. Stir in the parsley.
6. Season with the salt.

Serve with warm bread and slices of cheese.

I used Trader Joe’s Organic Vegetable Broth. At first I thought the soup would taste too “brothy” but it turned out fine when everything heated through together.

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