Gingersnap Pear Cheesecake!

I don't know why I've never really made cheesecake before. Although, I'm good at sitting down on Sunday and planning out my dinners for the week, I desserts are spur of the moment decisions, based on a craving. Cheesecakes never really made the cut since I have to delay gratification for a whole day while it sits and settles. But, I figured that eating the batter and leftover cookie crumbs would be enough to satiate me for the evening, and I set out on making this variation of cheesecake - with a gingersnap crust and pear bottom.

The full recipe is on RealSimple.com, but here is generally what you need to do!

For the crust...mix 1 1/2 cups of crushed gingernaps (I think I used more) and 6 tbsp of butter (melted) in a medium bowl. Use this mixure to line a springform pan for the crust. Bake for 20min at 350 degrees.

Peel, core and slice thinly 2 ripe pears and toss with 1/4 tsp of ground ginger - set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat 16 ounces (2 packages) of cream cheese on medium for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of sugar and beat for another 2 minutes. Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Stir in 2 tsp of vanilla.

Line the pears on the bottom of the cooled crust, then pour in the cream cheese mixture. Bake for about 50 minutes at 350 degrees. When finished, set on a wire rack, but leave the oven on.

For the 'icing' mix 1 cup of sour cream, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tsp of vanilla. Use a spatula to spread this over the cheesecake and bake for another 8 minutes.

Once it's done, let it come to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

One thing to note - the cream cheese, eggs, and sour cream should all be used at room temperature.

Enjoy!!

Pesto Quinoa

[Via Jessica, who is unable to post this due to a temporary restraining order filed against her by the Internet]

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I found this recipe on 101cookbooks.com. I didn't have half of the ingredients that it called for so I made some adjustments and it ended up tasting delicious! I think the key is that pesto is delicious and when you spread every protein packed grain(?) of quinoa with it, is it bound to be tasty. Feel free to add or subtract ingredients as you see fit. I have been eating it for lunch this week and it is fairly healthy, tasty, and filling. Also, I think the roasted tomatoes are key. I have recently discovered that tomatoes are not the yucky, weird vegetable I always thought. When roasted, they really spruce up any salad, pasta sauce, or grain dish.

Enjoy!

Quinoa (make about two cups cooked)
¼ onion
¼ cube tofu (chopped into small, half-inch cubes)
Three plum tomatoes (quartered)
Frozen peas (about half a bag)
A few big spoonfuls of pesto
Grated parmesan cheese
Brown sugar
Olive oil
Sea salt

Mix together a hearty splash of olive oil, one spoonful brown sugar, and a bit of salt. Coat tomatoes with mixture, and place in oven at 350 degree, skin side down. Roast until collapsed and juicy (about 40 minutes).

Heat olive oil in pan and toast tofu until golden brown. Set aside.

Sautee onion in olive oil. Add quinoa and peas. Cook until sizzling. Add tofu. Turn off heat and add pesto. Stir until quinoa is thoroughly coated. Add tomatoes and finish it off with lightly grated parmesan cheese!

Pancakes!! No Wheat!!

1 cup almond meal

1 cup sorghum flour (or corn flour, buckwheat flour, non-wheat flour of your choice)

1 egg

3-4 tablespoons butter or non-refined coconut oil (spectrum sells organic virgin coconut oil that is very good for this purpose)

1/2 to 1 cup milk (I use raw whole milk)

1/8 cup 4% milk fat greek style yogurt (or other plain high protein yogurt with some fat)

1/4 tspn salt

Added's (I use the first three together usually, the rest are as you like to taste)

Cinnamon

Vanilla

Ginger

Nuts

Fruit

Crack

Mix flours together with spices and salt. Fold in yogurt and egg until thoroughly mixed. Add 1/2 cup milk and mix until consistent. The batter should be the consistency of... pumpkin soup! Thick, but liquid, not watery. Depending on what flour you use you may need more or less milk. Put a tablespoon of butter on your pan, spread it around, use a quarter cup measure to pour batter on to heated pan into size of pancake desired. Re-oil pan between each batch, and expect first batch of pancakes to stick, always. If adding fruit, earlier for dried fruit, later (like onto the batter in the pan) for wet fruit like fresh blueberries. I don't know how to add crack, you're on your own with that.

Easy, delicious, beautiful, healthy 'chinese' cabbage salad

I've been thinking about the recent article in the nytimes that seems to be circulating around alot - The 11 foods you should be eating or something to that effect. Basically, ive been trying to incorporate them into my diet in fun & new ways as much as I can. I was somewhat inspired by the photo of red cabbage slaw/salad they featured, but thought I could do a little better. This salad, which can be a stand alone meal, is super yummy, colorful, cheap to make and very healthy. my boyfriend summed it up by saying, 'you feel like you're killing all the cancerous cells in your body when you eat this.' Let's hope so!

Here's what you need (adjust to how much you want to make)

Red cabbage - chopped
Carrots - julienned
Daikon (japanese radish) - julienned
Green onion - chopped finely
Ginger root - chopped finely
Pumpkin seeds
Almond slivers
1 package of instant ramen - crushed into bitesized pieces
Cooked chicken (optional)

Dressing:
Sesame seed oil/salad oil/olive oil
Fish sauce or soy sauce or both!
1/2 of the seasoning package from the instant ramen

Instructions:
Simply chop all of the vegetables and mix them in a big bowl. If you are in a hurry, you can just crush the ramen noodles and add straight to the salad. Another interesting twist is to fry them for a few minutes with some butter until they are golden brown. For the dressing, I felt that 100% sesame would be too strong, so I used about 80% salad oil and 20% sesame. Then add just a few drops of fish sauce if you have it and a few drops of soy sauce. If you dont have fish sauce, I would totally invest in it - it's great to add to curries, stir fries and salads like this. it has a much richer taste than soy and you don't need nearly as much. I also added about 1/2 of the seasoning packet to the dressing for a kick.

This meal is great - from 1 head of cabbage, 3 carrots and 3/4 of a daikon, I've been able to make 8 meals! Yeahhh!

Broiled Polenta with Winter Tomato Sauce

Made this on new year's eve, and it was totally delicious. We used regular cornmeal instead of the instant polenta, which took a long time but was totally worth it. Pretty easy recipe, would be even easier with instant.

Also, I'm not sure why it's a "winter tomato sauce." It's just a very basic tomato sauce, and honestly, you can probably make this polenta with any of your favorites sauces and it would be delicious. Maybe the recipe makers knew I was making this during the winter.

For the basic polenta:

4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal or instant polenta

1/4 pound Fontina cheese, preferable Italian, grated (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil plus additional for brushing
1 large onion
1 garlic clove, chopped
a 28- to 32-ounce can whole tomatoes including juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves (I didn't use any parsley...)

To prepare basic polenta:

In a heavy saucepan bring water and salt to a boil and gradually whisk in cornmeal in a thin stream. Cook polenta over moderately low heat (it should be barely boiling), stirring constantly, until very thick and pulls away from side of pan, about 40 minutes for cornmeal and about 15 minutes for instant polenta. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm. Stir polenta just before using. Polenta will keep warm, covered, about 20 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.

To prepare the polenta:

In a bowl stir together warm polenta and Fontina until smooth. Pour polenta into a lightly oiled shallow 1 1/2-quart bowl (or just a plate... it will be very solid) and cool. Polenta may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.

To prepare sauce:

In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté onion with salt to taste, stirring, until golden and tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice, stirring to break up tomatoes, and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Stir in parsley. Keep sauce warm.

Preheat broiler.

Unmold polenta onto a cutting board and cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices in one layer in a lightly oiled shallow baking pan and brush slices with additional oil.

Broil polenta about 3 inches from heat until edges are golden, about 5 minutes. Turn polenta over and broil until edges are golden, about 3 minutes more.

Arrange polenta on a platter and spoon sauce over it. Enjoy!

Ramen with an Egg

This is a quick, cheep and easy meal that never gets old.

1 pack oriental ramen noodles (including flavor packet)
5 green onions (white and light green parts only) chopped small
1 egg
toasted sesame seeds

In a large pan, bring an inch and a half of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook (3 minutes?) drain water out of pan (I use a plate to hold the noodles in the pan while the water drains). Put pan back on burner and add flavor packet. return the flame to medium and crack the egg (or two if you're super hungry) over the noodles and scramble it all together. Once the egg is cooked, add the green onions and sprinkle the sesame seeds over noodles.

Serve and enjoy!!

Artichoke Nibbles

This makes for an amazingly delicious, vegetarian appetizer. It's a big crowd-pleaser and goes very fast!

2 small (6-oz) or one large jar of marinated artichoke hearts
1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup pre-cooked Polenta (dry-ish)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbs pesto
1/8 teaspoon Tobasco sauce
2 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 9x13x2 glass baking pan; set aside. Drain marinade from artichokes and pour half of it into a saucepan or large skillet. (Use marinade from second jar for salad dressing). Coarsely chop artichoke hearts and set aside. Heat marinade in skillet. Add onion and garlic, set over moderate heat, and stir-fry until glassy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add polenta and stir until lumps are mostly gone. Then add salt, pepper, pesto, hot pepper sauce, cheese, and chopped artichokes, and mix well. Add the eggs at the end and mix again. Pour into the greased baking pan and bake uncovered about 45 minutes, until well set (like custard or quiche). Cool slightly, cut into inch squares, and serve warm or at room temperature. (These can be cooked a day or more ahead and reheated, if desired.)

Veggie Lasagna

•1/2 box lasagna noodles or ~0.5 lbs lasagna noodles, cooked according to directions on box.
•1 Jar Pasta Sauce of your choice
•16 oz mozzarella, shredded
•A container of Ricotta Cheese (not sure how many ounces are in it)
•Two Eggs
•Two Zucchinis, sliced into rounds
•A gaggle of mushrooms. I had a bunch, I think 8 or so large white buttons, sliced
•1 Package Frozen Spinach, also prepared according to directions and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375˚

1) Take all of the ricotta cheese, and 3/4's of the sliced mozzarella, and mix together in a large bowl. Also add two eggs to this cheesy mixture and make sure it is well blended. You could also at this point mix in the cooked spinach to make things easy, but I made things hard on me and did not as will be seen below.

2) Grease up a baking pan with spray, olive oil, or butter. Anything will work, you just don't want too much sticking.
2) Lay down a layer of zucchini slices, and pepper/salt generously
3) A layer of sliced mushrooms
4) A layer of spinach goodness
5) Layer of Ricotta/Mozz/Egg mixture
6) Slap some noodles down, depending on the size of the pan, 3.5 noodles will do.
7) Cover in some sauce!
8) Repeat these steps indefinitely until you run out of things to add.
9) Once you have your top layer of sauce, cover with the remaining 1/4 of the shredded mozzarella on top.
10) Cover this whole 'Mesopotamia with aluminum foil and pop it in the oven for 30 minutes.*
11) Rip off the aluminum foil and let bake uncovered for 10 more minutes. Longer if you like it extra crunchy.
12) Take out of oven, let cool for ~10 minutes or until you cannot wait any longer and eat. I like it with salad and crusty bread.

**So someone in the Corral used all the aluminum foil and so I baked mine uncovered for the entire time. If you do this, it may take a bit longer for everything to get done. The veggies remain toothsome and the noodles are crunchy. You may want to have some sauce (or gravy) on the side if you like it wetter.

It makes a ton of lasagna. And is good energy for tackling reaction mechanisms.