Tag: berries

Cranberry Cheesecake

From the moment I took my first ever bite of a cheesecake, I was hooked for life. For the longest time, though, I always bought it, never made it from scratch here at home. It took a friend coming over and making one right in my kitchen before I realized how easy it is. Back then I didn’t even have a KitchenAid Mixer . It was all made with elbow grease. (The trick is to make sure the cream cheese is completely soft.)

Now that my dear husband bought me one, it’s even easier. Faster. Well, at least the prep is. So tempt your family with this cheesecake recipe if you want them to get you a KitchenAid Mixer for Christmas. It will be worth it, I promise.

Cranberry Cheesecake

Ingredients for Cheesecake:
(Get certified organic ingredients when possible.)
15 graham crackers, ground
3 tablespoons butter, melted
4 packages cream cheese (8 oz each)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup almond milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Grease a 9 inch springform pan. Thrifty Tip: I save the wax paper from sticks of butter in the freezer. I use it to grease any and all baking pans.

In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and press onto the bottom of the springform pan.

In the KitchenAid Mixer bowl (or a large bowl), mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Add almond milk, eggs one at a time, sour cream, vanilla, and flour. Mix until smooth. Pour this cream cheese mix into springform pan, on top of the graham cracker crust.

Bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees Fahrenheit for the next 30 minutes, then to 250 for another 30 minutes. Turn the oven off but let the cheesecake stand in the oven. Do not take the cheesecake out. Keep the oven door closed while it cools, approximately 5 hours. Once the oven and the cheesecake is cooled completely, take the cheesecake out of the oven and chill in the refrigerator.

For cranberry topping, use my Maple Cranberry Sauce recipe.

Cheers to you on this holiday season!

December 7, 2017
Coconut Quinoa Cereal

You might be surprised by how delicious and filling this Coconut Quinoa Cereal is, while being quite possibly the healthiest breakfast on the planet. Let’s look at the ingredients.

Quinoa is a versatile whole grain that can be made into a salad, a lunch casserole, or a dinner side.

Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein, and one of the few plant foods that contain all nine essential amino acids. It is also high in fiber, magnesium, B-vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and various beneficial antioxidants.

– 11 Proven Health Benefits of Quinoa
Authority Nutrition

Coconut milk is no slouch either. Coconut milk improves heart health, builds muscle, helps lose fat, prevents fatigue, stimulates digestion, relieves constipation, manages blood sugar, and prevents anemia, joint inflammation, and ulcers. (Source: Dr. Axe)

Don’t you feel healthier already? Now go and make this cereal.

Coconut Quinoa Cereal

Ingredients:
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup quinoa
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Maple syrup or raw honey to taste
More coconut milk to taste

Heat the coconut milk until boiling. Add quinoa and cover. Lower heat to simmer until the coconut milk is absorbed but still slightly wet. Mix the shredded coconut in. Serve warm with maple syrup or raw honey and more coconut milk to taste. Makes 2 servings.

Experiment with some of your favorite toppings. Sliced apples with cinnamon, berries, bananas, nuts. Have a happy healthy start to your day!

December 22, 2016
Berry Yogurt

It’s springtime and berries are back in season. Sure, you can find berries in the grocery store almost any time of the year, but more often than not, they look a little sad and travel-worn.

I’m talking about berries you can find at your local farmers market, the kind more than likely grown just within a few miles from where you live. Yes, the kind that is bursting with nutritious ripeness because they were harvested the morning you bought it. (See Superfoods: 11 Berries to Improve Your Health.)

Now I could probably eat a whole pint of any of these berries in one sitting, just popping each one in my mouth like popcorn. But for a heavier breakfast or dessert, I like to put it on top of a bowl of raw organic yogurt.

Raw organic yogurt is dairy that is fermented with beneficial bacteria, for a healthy digestive system. (See 10 Proven Probiotic Yogurt Benefits & Nutrition Facts.) My local health food store stocks them from a local organic dairy farm. They come in flavors such as maple, vanilla and blueberry, but I’m a stickler for keeping it simple. I get plain for its versatility.

Raw organic yogurt is not the same as the mass-produced yogurt you can buy in the grocery stores, which is over-processed through pasteurization, killing all the beneficial bacteria naturally occurring in raw milk. Then they add back a starter culture of live bacteria, thickeners, preservatives, and artificial sweeteners. It is nowhere near the creamy goodness I get in a mason jar from my local organic dairy farm. Believe me, it’s really worth it to find a local source for raw organic yogurt, and when you do…

Scoop out some of that raw organic yogurt into a bowl, drizzle maple syrup to taste, and sprinkle your favorite berries on top. You’re welcome.

Raw #yogurt with #berries and maple syrup. #organic #raspberries #blueberries #blackberries

A photo posted by Modern Wife (@modernwife) on May 2, 2015 at 12:01pm PDT

May 3, 2015
Cranberry Mini Tarts

After many years of cooking a whole Thanksgiving dinner and getting my pace and timing down just right, I am taking a break. Tonight will be the first Thanksgiving dinner I will not be cooking. We are going to spend Thanksgiving with my husband’s side of the family, and Aunt Faye will be making us a fantastic old-fashioned Thanksgiving meal.

Of course, I’m not coming empty-handed. I made these Cranberry Tarts at my daughter’s birthday party recently and they were a hit with everyone. The recipe is gluten-free and nut-free, very important since we have people with gluten and nut sensitivities in the family. I use Namaste Foods Gluten Free Flour Blend.

My daughter helped me make these, and it was all we could do to keep ourselves from eating them all up before it’s time to go to Thanksgiving dinner.

Before beginning, make sure you have the following kitchen tools:
2 mixing bowls, small or medium
measuring cups and measuring spoons
whisk
wooden spoon
mini muffin pan
colander
oven

Here we go…

Cranberry Mini Tarts

Ingredients for Crust:
1 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Flour Blend
3/4 cups organic butter
6 oz. organic cream cheese

Ingredients for Filling:
1/2 cup organic sugar
1 organic egg
1/4 cup organic butter
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
8 oz. fresh cranberries

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the mini muffin pan with butter wrapper.

Beat together gluten-free flour, butter and cream cheese until it forms a ball of dough. I don’t have an electric mixer, so I just use a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients, then knead it by hand until it’s a nice smooth consistency.

Pinch small portions, roll them up in balls, flatten and press evenly into the bottom and sides of mini muffin cups.

Now we’re ready for the filling. Whisk together sugar, egg, butter and vanilla.

Wash the fresh cranberries in a colander. Put about 5 cranberries in each mini muffin cup crust. This was like playing mancala.

Pour a small spoonful of filling over the cranberries in each mini muffin cup crust.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tarts are golden. Let it cool completely then remove from pan.

Share these treats with your family and friends!

November 28, 2013
Cauli Cauli Broccoli

What do cauliflower and broccoli have in common? They are both cruciferous vegetables, super-nutritious and best eaten raw.

R.A.W. I love raw food. It feels so alive, all crunchy and juicy and electric.

Other cruciferous vegetables are radish, land cress, watercress, garden cress, mustard, kale, collard greens, cabbage, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, bok choy, komatsuna, turnips, rutabaga, canola, arugula, daikon, wasabi.

All are best eaten raw to preserve myrosinase, an enzyme known to activate sulforaphane, which removes carcinogens from the body and inhibits tumor growth. (Read more about Anti-Cancer Foods and Broccoli Power.)

So what’s in my lunch salad? Lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, sweet pepper and topped with maple cranberry sauce. Superpowers on a plate.

January 15, 2013
Cranberry Apple Crisp

It’s Christmas Eve, the wee one is asleep and we’re finishing up the last of the presents. Time for a little midnight snack. This Cranberry Apple Crisp makes kissing by the Christmas tree taste so good!

Ingredients:
3 organic granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1/2 inch strips
6 oz fresh cranberries
1/4 cup organic sugar
3/4 cups organic brown sugar
1/2 cup organic all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup organic butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rub a pie pan with butter wax paper covers (I save them in the freezer for greasing baking sheets and pie pans and such). Add apples and cranberries to the pie pan. Sprinkle with sugar and toss until coated.

Combine brown sugar, flour, rolled oats, nutmeg, cinnamon and butter in a medium bowl until well incorporated. Sprinkle on top of the fruit.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

You can serve it hot with ice cream. I like it warm by itself on a cold winter night.

December 25, 2012
Strawberry Tart

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
1/2 cup finely ground almonds
1/3 cup organic sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) organic butter, cut into pieces
1 egg, free-range and organic
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup seedless strawberry jam
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 pints organic strawberries, hulled and sliced

Stir together flour, almonds, sugar, lemon rind and salt in a medium bowl. Cut butter into flour until mixture is the consistency of course crumbs. Whisk together egg and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture to form a dough. Shape into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rub wax paper butter covers on baking sheet to grease. Place dough on baking sheet and pat into a 10-inch circle with an elevated edge. Pierce bottom of dough all over with a fork. Bake about 25 minutes until slightly browned. Cool completely.

Melt jam with lemon juice in a small saucepan over low heat. Spread 1/2 cup of jam mixture over the bottom of the tart shell. Arrange berries on top, cut sides down. Brush with remaining jam mixture.

September 3, 2012
Strawberry Ice Cream Premium Recipe

I recently tried this premium recipe for Strawberry Ice Cream from The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto: Bold, Fresh Flavors to Make at Home. It’s a lot more complicated than the simple Strawberry Ice Cream recipe I previously posted but it’s so much richer and yields a lot more. Here is my version of the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 cups raw organic whole milk
1 cup raw organic heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup organic sugar, separated
1 quart strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
juice of 1 lemon

Combine milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally so a skin doesn’t form until tiny bubbles form around the edge and the mixture reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the meantime, whisk egg yolks until smooth. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup sugar until well incorporated into a thick pale yellow paste. Slowly pour in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously. This is important: The milk should not be poured into the egg mixture quickly or you will get scrambled eggs.

Return the egg and milk custard to the saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Temperature of the custard should reach 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not allow the custard to boil.

Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Stir the custard every five minutes until cooled completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

While the custard is cooling, prepare the strawberries: hull and slice thinly. Combine strawberry slices, lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in a medium saucepan. Toss until sugar dissolves and strawberries are well coated. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

Cook the strawberry mixture over medium low heat until strawberries are soft and syrup thickens, about 10 minutes. Transfer the strawberry mixture into a clean bowl and let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Blend 3/4 of the strawberry mixture with half of the custard. Pour back and whisk into the remainder of the custard.

Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Churn until thickened into a soft serve consistency. Add the remaining strawberry mixture just before churning ends. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm.

Enjoy this luxurious treat!

August 6, 2012
Blackberry Sorbet

We just got several pints of sweet juicy blackberries. We ate the first pint the day the berries were picked. The rest of them went into Blackberry Sorbet that will last us for as long as it’s in the freezer. We love it so much; I doubt it will be in there too long. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup organic sugar
2 pints blackberries
juice of half a lemon

Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking regularly to dissolve sugar into water. Do not bring to a boil. Remove from heat once sugar is completely dissolved in water. Set aside and allow to cool.

While the sugar syrup is cooling, mash blackberries. Add lemon juice and puree in blender. Pour through a sieve into a bowl, whisking to help the blackberry puree come through the sieve more efficiently. Throw away seeds filtered by the sieve.

Pour cooled sugar syrup into blackberry puree and refrigerate at least an hour.

Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Churn at least 30 minutes or until thickened into a soft serve consistency. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze overnight to ripen into a firm sorbet.

This deep purple Blackberry Sorbet is a decadent after dinner dessert while looking at the summer sunset.

July 16, 2012
Strawberry Sorbet

I love strawberries! This year we live close to strawberry farm gardens and we’re able to buy several quarts of sweet strawberries harvested on the same day. In my house, that means ice cream and sorbet! I’ve posted my recipe for Strawberry Ice Cream before. Today I’m posting my recipe for Strawberry Sorbet. Sweet!

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 quart fresh strawberries
Juice of 1 lemon

Bring sugar and water to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer without stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

Remove stems from strawberries and cut into quarters. Add the juice of 1 lemon to strawberries. You could use a food processor to puree the strawberries. I don’t have a food processor, so I used a potato masher then a blender to make the puree. Some people like to put the puree through a cheesecloth or sieve to take the strawberry seeds out, but I prefer to leave it in for a little crunch.

Whisk the sugar syrup, strawberry puree and maple syrup together until smoothly combined. Chill for at least an hour.

Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Churn the mixture in ice cream maker for 30 minutes or until thickened into a soft-serve consistency. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours to overnight to ripen into a firm sorbet.

June 13, 2012