All things Delicious

Yesterday, my youngest told me I should write a cookbook.  The reason being that I have been working on a recipe for a Peanut Butter, Pretzel and Salted Caramel Cheesecake.  I was up to the third version in as many weeks and he was curious as to how many more times I would tweak the recipe.

Son #3:  Are you going to make this every week?

Me:  No, I have got the recipe pretty good now, I shouldn’t have to make it again.

Son #3:  You should write a cheesecake cookbook.

Me:  It wouldn’t sell very well with only one recipe.  I would need to come up with about 50 recipes to publish a recipe book.

Son#3: So if you had to make each cheesecake at least three times to get the recipe right, that would be nearly a cheesecake a week for the next 3 years.  You should write a cheesecake cookbook.

 

Peanut Butter, Pretzel & Salted Caramel Cheesecake

 
150g pretzels
80g melted butter
2 tabs peanut butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
500g Philly Cream Cheese
1/4 cup water
3 teas gelatine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
200 ml thickened cream (whipped)
1/4 cup hard caramel lollies (crushed coarsely) (I used Werthers Original 
Cream Candies)
2 tabs brown sugar
20g butter
2 tabs cream
pinch salt (or to taste)
Base:  Crush pretzels (coarse crumb).  Mix in sugar, melted butter & peanut 
butter.  Press mixture evenly over base of a springform pan.  Refrigerate.:  Sprinkle gelatine over water in a heatproof jug and microwave in 
30 sec bursts, stirring in between, until gelatine is dissolved.  Beat cream 
cheese until smooth and creamy, add sugar and peanut butter and beat until well 
combined.  Add 2/3 crushed caramel to cooled gelatine mixture and stir through 
cream cheese mix.  Fold in whipped cream.  Pour onto base and smooth top.  
Return to refrigerator to set.

Salted Caramel:  Add sugar, butter and cream to a small saucepan and melt over 
medium heat until caramel bubbles.  Remove from heat.  Add salt (I use two 
pinches), and remaining crushed caramels.  Pour over cheesecake and refrigerate 
till set.  Better the next day.

Gifts for Christmas

Well the last market day is done and dusted for 2016.  So now it is time to rest and enjoy the remainder of the year.  Or not.

Every year there is an enormous amount of money spent worldwide in the name of Christmas.  In the developed countries, nearly everybody, wants for nothing in their everyday lives, so when it comes to buying Christmas gifts, instead of giving a token of love, friendship or appreciation to those close to us, it has become common to buy lavish gifts for everyone.

I was guilty of this for many years, but one July, about 10 years ago as I paid the last bit of my Christmas credit card debt from the previous year, I decided that this had to change.

Since then, every year, I give a hamper of homemade goodies to those that are close to me. My children and grandchildren do get a little extra something, but no longer does my credit card debt carry past January.

So now the fun begins.

Over the years, I have collected a large number of recipes for treats that I only make in December for my Christmas Boxes.

As well as the usual shortbread, fudge, nuts, ginger biscuits, almond bread, etc, I also like to include some of my homemade preserves.  Throughout the year, as I bottle each batch of jam or chutney, I fill a couple of tiny 100ml jars.  So when hamper time comes around, I can add 4 to 6 tiny bottles of Dotty’s Jam to each box.

This year, I have gone back into my recipe collection and found an oldie from about 20 to 30 years ago.  One Egg Meringues.  The recipe makes about 20 to 30 little meringues using only one egg white.  These were very useful as they kept in an airtight container in the pantry for a couple of weeks. Assuming that the kids didn’t find them.  I love them dotted on top of a trifle as decoration.

                       One Egg Meringues
1 egg white
3/4 cup castor sugar
2 tabs boiling water
1 teas vanilla extract
1 teas white vinegar
2 teas baking powder

Combine egg white, sugar, water, vanilla and water in small bowl of electric
mixer, beat on high speed for 10 to 15 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and
mixture is thick.  Fold in baking powder

Place mixture into a piping bag with a fluted tip.  Pipe stars 3cm in diameter
onto foil lined trays.  Sprinkle with hundreds and thousands (optional).

Bake in a slow oven (120 C to 150 C) for 1 hour. Cool in oven.  
Makes at least 30.

 

I am in my 21st year of being on a diet.

In that time, I have followed a countless number of weight loss programs; counting calories, fat free, high protein, no carbs, no protein, prepackaged meals, shakes, the famous cabbage soup diet and the list goes on, and most have been successful at all different levels.

Then, sooner or later, the weight starts creeping back on, sometimes slowly, sometimes at a gallop, but always bringing a few extra kilograms with it.

When is a diet no longer a diet but a new way of eating?  Or a change of lifestyle or whatever else it is refered to other than a diet.  How do you maintain focus for long enough to lose a lot of weight?  The first few kilos are always a breeze, but when you get up over 10 or 15 kilos, it starts to get difficult..

Who has the answer?  Is it weight loss surgery?

Weight loss surgery seems to be the current craze, fad, fashion with a lot of people of all ages, taking that path.

Looking around at the people in my circle of family and friends, there are a lot of people that I know, who have had either lap band surgery or gastric sleeve surgery.

Seeing the success that these peoplea have had, I have considered it as an alternative.  What stops me is the fact that I don’t know what the implications are for my later years.  Has it been around long enough for this to be known?

Also to consider, is that we are talking about surgery, and this in itself carries risks, especially for someone who is overweight.

I am a list person..  I love making lists and having something to check off as I go.  So following diets that involve menu plans are the ones that work best for me.

So, my real question is, how hard would it be to eat like you have had weight loss surgery, without actually having the surgery?  That is, having 5 to 6 tiny meals a day.   Would it work?  Should  I take a multi-vitamin?  What food groups would be essential?

I guess I’ll need to make a list…

Every person has their own means of unwinding and relaxing.

This is what cooking jam is to me.  My method of relaxing.   The preparation, the cooking time and the bottling are all so very rewarding.  Once all the full, shiny,  labeled bottles are lined up, I get a great feeling of satisfaction of a job well done.

When I talk of cooking jam, it includes every type of preserve, sweet and savoury.

The problem with cooking preserves for a hobby is that you end up with a lot more than you can eat yourself, so then you move on to giving it to your friends and family until their fridge and pantry are also groaning.  So what next?

My answer was to set up a stall at the local markets, where over the last few years, I have actually grown a client base and become quite well know in our community as the jam cook or the sauce lady.  This then led to receiving buckets and bags of fruit from people’s trees and gardens, which then in turn triggers a recipe search.

Sourcing the recipes is time consuming as there are so many out there that only have a very short refrigerated shelf life and my ideal recipe has a pantry life of at least 1 or 2 years.  My favourite recipes are vintage recipes.  Hand written into fragile note pads with imprecise measurements and lack of method.  The measurements and method can be found scribbled in the margins, added over the years as the recipe was refined and shared.