Just to make Damian jealous...

hehhehe


it was Geoff's birthday today so I decided to make him this cheesecake (and yes, that is the infamous cauliflower tagine i've been waiting for!) unfortunately violet crumbles and crunchie bars aren't gluten free (not many lollies are, surprisingly) so i had to use shaved chocolate as the decoration - next time i would use a combo of dark and white shaved.

Chocolate Cheesecake - gluten free version
as always please check ingredients to ensure brands are still gluten free

Ingredients
270g chocolate gluten free biscuits (or we used a mix of freedom chocolate ones and arnotts rice cookies)
55g butter
125g block milk chocolate (we used Cadbury
60g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste or essence
750g cream cheese
5 eggs
160g sour cream
2 tbsp Dutch process cocoa mixed with a little warm water
small block of white and small block of dark chocolate
gluten free heart sprinkles

Method
Place biscuits and 40g butter into TM bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 7.
Press into large spring form pan and bake in 160°C oven for 10 minutes. Set aside.
In clean TM bowl chop chocolate with remaining 15g butter for 5 seconds on speed 4. Melt for 4 minutes at 37°C on speed soft.
Add sugar, essence and cream cheese and beat for 30 seconds on speed 8.
Add remaining ingredients and blend for 1 minute on speed 9.
Wrap a double layer of foil around the outside of the springform pan.
Pour cheesecake mix into spring form pan and place in a water bath in 160°C oven.
Cook for 1 hour or until set in centre.
Cool.
cover with peelings of chocolate and sprinkles sprinkled over lol



to be honest i wasn't that excited by this cheesecake, but i am not a chocolate cheesecake lover anyway! i think the honeycomb would have made it more interesting, or some baileys or other liqueur and / or berries would have made it more interesting.

it was not my day for cooking though, as i burnt the crust a little by having to go to the shop after putting it in the oven (mind you, the trip meant having to put the kids in our little car, without them all being properly restrained like they are in the big car, but g had taken that to put petrol in - usually we never need to go out when we're home alone with the kids on a weekend!!) i had only bought 250g of cream cheese and needed 3 times that!

i have made cheesecake 2-3 times in my life and have to admit i am no cheesecake chef :(

random links

i need to clear out my bloglines and i don't have the time or patience to put these into my othe rlinks posts, so just posting the lot here! thanks to all those who've shared these yummy recipes!

apple pie

black & white chocolate bark

Eggnog Bread Pudding with Bourbon Cranberries

Mocha Sandwich Cookies

Chocolate Covered Homemade Marshmallows

Sour Cream and Green Onion Biscuits

CrockPot Chai Tea Latte Recipe

CrockPot Roasted & Spiced Nuts Recipe

Asian Coleslaw

Hummingbird Cake Recipe

Capsicum and Tomato Relish Recipe

Pasta alla Vodka

Polenta Casserole with Fontina and Tomato Sauce

Sauteed Kale with Smoked Paprika

curried pork empanadas

vietnamese baguettes

caramelized onion dip

brown butter brown sugar shorties

pie crust 102
pie crust 103

parmesan grissini (tmx)

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffeecake
cream cheesecoffee cake
Chili Cheese Souffle
Spiced Apple Cider
French Breakfast Puffs
Strawberries and Brown Sugar Cream

garlic cheese biscuits (scones)

peanut butter pinwheels

mexican meatball soup with rice & coriander

wheat-free banana loaf

white chocolate holiday bark

cranberry cinnamon rolls

lemon shortbread
brown sugar shortbread

sweet & sour grilled pumpkin

buttermilk cranberry scones

sweet potato biscuits with bacon and thyme (scones)

rosemary garlic sweet potato fries

panforte (tmx)

Bandh Gobhi Massallam (a whole cabbage smothered in a nutty curry and baked until tender)

Mughlai-style Indian tomato soup

Lasuni Dal Palak (daal)

Dahi Wale Aloo (potatoes)

sour cream fruit dip

on friday i went to a morning tea and wanted to take a fruit platter. i decided to make a dip to go with it, inspired by this apple dip. i didn't have any cream cheese but had a tub of sour cream so used that - it made a much runnier dip but it was fine :)

approximately:
1 tub lite sour cream
around 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tspn vanilla bean paste

mix well until there are no lumps.
serve with cut up fruit to dip - i used apples, strawberries, bananas and rockmelon (cantaloupe)

Links - Sweets (cakes, slices, pancakes etc) #2

ran out of room in the last list of 'want to makes' so here's part 2 :) part one can be found here

blueberry & yoghurt crumble cake

Chocolate pecan cheesecake bars

double lemon bars

easy apple pie

healthy pumpkin bread

light cranberry oatmeal bars

majestic and moist honey cake

maple huckleberry coffee cake

moist gingerbread cake from the crone

orange cranberry walnut loaf

parkin

peanut butter crispy bars

peanut butter oatmeal bars

pumpkin cake roll

pumpkin pecan scones

raspberry spice cake

sour cream coffee cake with chocolate and nuts

sour cream coffee cake

Spinach & Ricotta Lasagne and Lisa's Cobb Dip

I haven't been posting much because :
i think my last cookathon put me off cookign for a while lol
i have been quite run down and lacking energy
and then got sick :(

so anyway, i was inspired by a thread on eb to post these recipes and might post some others i haven't shared yet...

Spinach & Ricotta Lasagne

Serves 6 - 8

An easy and healthy lasagne recipe. (based on the canneloni recipe which i am too lazy to make lol)

all approximate!
500g low fat ricotta
250g frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
300-400g diced pumpkin (I used jap), lightly steamed til just tender, OPTIONAL
1/2 cup grated lowfat cheese - mozzarella or tasty
nutmeg to taste (a pinch to a teaspoon)
salt & pepper to taste
chopped garlic - 1 or 2 cloves

two tins or 800g tomatoes - the ones with italian herbs are great
dried italian herbs if needed
a splash (1 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon) olive oil

instant lasagne noodles
1/2 cup extra grated cheese - mozzarella / tasty / parmesan or mixture


1. combine the ricotta, spinach, pumpkin, cheese, nutmeg, S&P, and garlic in a bowl.

2. combine the tomatoes and oil in a pot, turn onto medium heat and partially cover so the steam can get out but it doesn't spit everywhere. let it bubble gently until it thickens a bit.

3. put a little of the tomato liquid on the bottom of a lasagne dish (or large flat dish). cover with a layer of lasagne noodles.

4. spread half the ricotta mix over the noodles, then cover with half the tomato mix, and another layer of lasagne noodles. repeat with ricotta and tomatoes, and top with extra cheese.

5. cook at 180'c for 45 minutes, until the noodles are soft.


Lisa’s Cobb Dip

Cobb loaf
1 packet frozen spinach
½ packet Philadelphia cream cheese
½ container sour cream
1 packet Continental Dutch Curry & Rice soup mix
¼ jar fruit chutney (or to taste)
Parsley or dill chopped, optional

> Mix all ingredients other than cobb loaf.

> Cut top off cobb loaf. Hollow out cobb, keeping pieces. Brown pieces in oven.

> Place dip into hollowed cobb. Sprinkle with parsley or dill. Cover with top of loaf.

> Serve with browned bread pieces, corn chips, broccoli and carrot pieces.

note: i rarely have teh soup mix in my cupboard, i generally throw in a bit of chicken stock and curry powder and you can't tell the difference :)

Spinach and Potato Soup

emelia complete with green tongue lol
and thumbs up from ryan

G just made this for dinner, it was very nice, definitely one ot make again. this quantity only just went around the 5 of us though as a main meal (with homemade garlic bread) so i would double or triple it next time. the kids were a little unsure of the green at first but a bit of bribery worked wonders and they ate a bowlful. they decided it was green chicken soup - usually i would tell them the truth but decided not to this time lol

recipe from Family Circle Soups and Stews 1996

30g butter
1 large leek, sliced (or onion)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bunch english spinach or silverbeet
4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup sour cream
S&P

1. melt butter, cook leek / onion over med heat for 10 mins. add garlic and cook 1 minute
   
   
2. wash spinach thoroughly, discard stalk and shred leaves. add to pot with potato, stock and bring to the boil. reduce to simmer, partially covered, for 30 mins
   
   
3. allow to cool slightly and use a stick blender to puree til smooth. don't OVER blend as it will make the potato go like glue paste! stir in the sour cream and S&P
   

SANTA FE CHICKEN STEW

another from my paper stash - as yet untested

1 tbsp vege oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 tspn garlic powder
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 x 28oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 x 15oz can pinto beans, drained
1 x 14oz can kernel corn, drained
1 x 4oz can diced green chillies, drained
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tspn cornstarch
1 1/4 lb cooked, shredded chicken
sour cream (garnish)
shredded cheddar cheese (garnish)

1. in dutch oven or large pot, heat oil. add onion and saute 2-3 mins
2. add taco seasonings, tomatoes, beans, corn & chillis, mix well
3. in small bowl gradually blend broth into cornstarch using a wire whisk, stir into stew
4. stir in cooked chicken. bring to a boil, stirring frequently
5. reduce heat to low, simmer uncovered 30 mins, stirring occasionally (simmer longer for thicker stew)
6. garnish each serving with sour cream and cheddar cheese if desired.

here is the 'brazen-ification' of this recipe, this is what i will do when i make it.

SANTA FE CHICKEN STEW, brazen style (Thermomix)

1 onion, peeled & quartered
1 clove garlic, peeled
a little olive oil
taco spices - about 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbpn ground coriander, 1 tspn cumin seeds, 1 tspn oregano, 1/2 tspn paprika
800g 0r 2x 400g can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 x 400g can mexi beans, undrained
1 x 400g can kernel corn, drained
jalapeno green chillies (to taste), drained & diced
1 cup cold chicken stock
1/2 tspn cornflour
600g cooked, shredded chicken (that's about 1 double breast)
sour cream (garnish)
shredded cheddar cheese (garnish)

1. chop onion and garlic for around 5-8 seconds on speed 6. add oil and taco seasonings, and cook 2-3 mins on temp 90, speed 1
   
2. add chicken stock and cornflour and mix for approx 20 seconds on reverse speed 4 until blended
   
3. add tomatoes, beans, corn & chillis, and cooked chicken. cook for 20 minutes on ??60-80, reverse speed 3-4 ???? (will need to test this)
   
4. garnish each serving with sour cream and cheddar cheese if desired. would also be nice to serve with black olives, corn chips or cornbread
   

OR.... SLOW COOKER VERSION
I would also do this in the slow cooker. i would double if not triple the recipe. i would leave the chicken breasts whole and shred them after cooking. i would not put in teh chicken stock - i would use chicken stock powder and add maybe 1 cup of water, and then only add more if needed. it would probably need cooking for around 8 hours.

i will definitely have to try this one soon!