I am taking part in this months Bake Together held each month by Abby Dodge, where each month you are invited to use a recipe from Abby but make our own changes to that recipe. The theme for the February bake together is Cheesecake!  I’m supposed to be on a diet, supposed to be watching the carbs so cheesecake making I should not be taking part in! But its cheesecake which happens to be one of my husbands favorite desserts and it’s almost Valentines day so it’s a great excuse to make something nice! Reading this back I can see how I’m justifying making the cheesecake! To hell with it! I just want some cheesecake! I’ve seen a few  versions of others joining in the Bake together and dreamt up a few of my own versions, so here it is my variation of Abby’s recipe.

Really, I thought Abby’s recipe sounded and looked just perfect so I found I really wanted to make 2 cheesecakes, one of the original recipe and one of my version but there I did resist! I will be making Abby’s another time!

For my version the first thing I changed was the size, as it was only my husband and I eating the cheesecake (and I’ve got that boring diet nag in the back of my head!) I halved the recipe. I have a cute little 5 inch loose bottom cake tin so I used that. The next change was the easiest as I don’t have any Graham crackers so for the base I used Lotus biscuits, also known as Speculoos. This was going to be a chocolate cheesecake , with Valentine’s in mind but then I saw some lovely big strawberries in the supermarket so I got those to use  instead. I should have known better, no matter how lovely strawberries look, out of season they are always a disappointment! Not wanting to make another shopping trip I sprinkled some sugar onto the strawberries and roasted them to bring out their flavour. I then pureed the strawberries to swirl through the vanilla mix once in the baking tin.

I was a little heavy-handed with my swirling of the puree so the cheesecake was a little more pink than I intended but that does not affect the taste, which I was very happy with! I did have alittle too much for a 5 inch pan so Ithink this would work better with a 6 inch if you have one.

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake (adapted from this recipe by Abby Dodge)

For the Strawberry Swirl:

• 300 gram Strawberries, rinsed, hulled and cut in halves
• 2 tsp sugar

For the crust:

• 130 gram finely crushed lotus biscuit crumbs
•  45 gram unsalted butter, melted
• 25 grams granulated sugar (I use unrefined)

For the filling:

• 360 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 130 gram granulated sugar
• 120 ml sour cream, at room temperature
• Seeds scraped from 2 vanilla beans or 2 tsp pure vanilla extract or paste
• 2  large eggs, at room temperature

To make the strawberry puree

1. Preheat oven to  300 degrees F, 150 degrees C, Gas mark 2
2. Place the prepared strawberries in a baking tray, sprinkle with sugar and bake for around 1 and a half hours, until the strawberries have shrunk a little and given out their juices.
3. Place in a blender and puree, you may need to add a few drops of water to get things moving if the strawberries are not that juicy.
4. Reserve the puree for later.

To make the Cheesecake

I followed Abby’s instructions  See here until just before putting in the oven.

Then I dropped a few teaspoons of strawberry puree on the top of the cheesecake already in its tin.

With a skewer I swirled the puree into the cheesecake. The idea is to make gentle swirls but I was a little heavy-handed and over mixed so did not get the swirls I was after. A light swirling motion is all that is needed.

I then followed Abby’s instructions again for the cooking and cooling See here

A really quick post today! This is a really easy one pan meal to make.  I look after 3 children and its rare to find a meal that all 3 of them like. This is one meal that mercifully they all like and there is no fuss when it’s served. When feeding children who doesn’t feel relief when that happens! I’ve never liked “real” sausages, not even as a kid! As I don’t eat sausages I’m not very good at cooking them so I prefer to use the soy based ones but Quorn are fine too, in fact the kids seem to prefer the Quorn sausages as they are less peppery.  I see no reason that this couldn’t be made with real sausages if you prefer. The vegetarian sausages are good though, especially if you want a lower fat meal for the whole family.This is a fast meal that can be made ahead,  I usually make it at lunch time to serve for dinner after school, it also freezes well.

Vegetarian Sausage Casserole

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 6-8 vegetarian sausages each cut into 2 or 3 pieces
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 350 ml passata 250-300 ml vegetable stock (I like a low salt version for kids)
• 1/4 tsp  of dried thyme
• Fresh ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large pan.
2. Add onion and carrot to the pan, cook until the onions have softened and are just starting to brown at the edges.
3. Add the vegetarian sausages, stir until the sausages are starting to brown.
4. Add the garlic, stir then add the passata.
5. Add the stock, thyme and pepper.
6. Simmer, stirring regularly until the carrots are cooked through.
7. Serve hot with rice or cous cous and vegetables.

I’m linking this up with Family Friendly Fridays at Fabulicious Food

I have made this recipe for years, it is adapted from the  Banana Bread recipe on page 33 of Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess, the first baking book I fell in love with. I have never used the alcohol in the recipe, I just didn’t fancy it, also I usually make this for children and I remember as a kid alcohol in things just ruined it so I have always left it out. I added cinnamon because one of the children I make this for suggested it and it works really well! A more recent change was the replacement of some of the white flour for wholemeal and caster sugar with brown muscodavo in an effort to be more health conscious and include less processed and more whole-wheat foods into my diet.

The beauty of this cake is you melt the butter so it can be made at a minutes notice without worrying about whether the butter is soft enough which in the winter here can mean 24 hours thinking ahead to allow for butter to soften! It’s also a great cake as once you have made it you will never have wasted bananas again, in fact you will be hoping for overripe bananas as an excuse to make this!

Banana Bread

• 100 gram Raisins, soaked in a cup of boiling water
• 175 gram Plain white flour
• 100 gram wholemeal plain flour
• 100 gram Caster sugar (I use unrefined)
• 50 gram soft brown sugar (I use muscodavo)
• 1/2 tsp Baking soda
• 2 tsp Baking powder
• 1tsp Cinnamon powder
• 2 large eggs
• 3 Bananas, mashed

1. Preheat oven to 170 c, 325 f, gas 3.
2. Grease and line a loaf tin with a long strip of baking paper (see here for tip).
3. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
4. Melt the butter over a low heat.
5. Add the melted butter to the sugars and mix until blended.
6. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with each addition.
7. Add the mashed banana.
8. Add the flour mix a third at a time, stirring well after  each addition.
9. Drain the raisins and fold them into the cake, if you have used a mixer do this with a spoon to avoid breaking the raisins.
10. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.
11. Leave to cool before enjoying.

I’m linking this up with a monthly Nigella Lawson recipe blog event called January’s Forever Nigella #11 organised by Sarah of Maison Cupcake also hosted this month by Sarah.

It’s that time of the year again when everyone is trying to be healthy! I know that’s rather boring but after the Christmas period when most of us over indulged and ate less than our share of healthier foods January is a time to nourish ourselves. It makes us feel better to do some good after all that excess.  I have yet to decide which diet I am doing this January! (I’m only half-joking!) While I ponder over that decision I am avoiding processed foods, drinking lots of water and stuffing myself with healthy vegetables, especially greens. Green is the colour this January!  On a recent trip to the local market I came home with a bag stuffed with greens including kale, spinach, cavalo nero and brussels tops.  I had however got carried away with all these greens, too much just for me, my husband has an aversion to greens!  I find the shelf life of greens shorter than some other vegetables so as speed to use them was necessary  I whipped up a speedy soup using the spinach and some of the kale.

This is a use what you have kind of soup, with a base of potato, onion and garlic and what greens you have or fancy.  The greens are only wilted so they retain their vibrant green colour and their nutrients.  Its very green, something this green has to be good for you!  Although my husband hates most vegetables he will eat spinach so I hoped that by mainly using spinach he would at least try it! Well he did try and whats more really enjoyed it! He knows me well though and while eating said ” I know there is more than just spinach in here and that you will tell me when I’m finished”!

I did tell him about the kale in the soup when we had finished but he declared it to be delicious! Ever keen to feed my husband vegetables I will be making this again.

Healthy Green Soup

• 1 medium potato, peeled and chopped into chunks
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 350 gram spinach leaves, washed
• 150 gram kale (I used curly kale) washed
• 1 litre stock, vegetable or chicken as you prefer
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large saucepan heat the oil and add the potato and onion. Coat with the oil and turning the heat right down cover and leave to sweat for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic to the pan and stir.
3. Add the stock and bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer until the potato is soft.
4. Add the green leaves to the pan, no need to stir. Put the lid on and leave until the greens have wilted, about 5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and puree to desired consistency  using a blender or as I did an immersion blender.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.

As both kale and spinach are in season I am linking this recipe up with the Simple and in Season Blog event organised by Ren at Fabulicious Food

I’ve had a good 2011,  its been quite eventful.  In May I wrote a review for Five Minute bread by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois on the wonderful online magazine Foodie Bugle!

I went to Vanessa Kimbell’s book launch of Prepped! in June. That was so exciting for me, nerve-wracking too as I made some cupcakes using a recipe from the book to take along!

My husband and I had a fabulous holiday in Florida in August where we managed to drive more than 2000 miles in 2 wonderful weeks of exploring. We also met the delightful Wendy of Sunchowders Emporia this really was a highlight of 2011 for me! I just loved Wendy and know she will always be a friend of mine. Her jams and pickles are amazing too, I just can’t wait for them to hit the big time, she so deserves it!

In November I took part in the food blogging gift swap Lets Make Christmas organised by the lovely Vanessa Kimbell at Fortnum & Mason. By some stroke of amazing luck I won the drinks section with the Slivovitz I entered! My prize is a champagne tasting evening in February which is something to look forward to in 2012!

Writing my blog has been a new experience to me and thank you to all who have stopped by to read it (it still astounds me that anyone, no matter how few, reads this!)

There have been many other highlights and good times,  but in fear of losing your interest suffice to say many, many wishes for a healthy, happy 2012 to you all!

I have just taken part in Seasons Eatings, organised by the lovely Katie of Thyme for Cooking. Its a worldwide holiday gift exchange to spice up our holidays! The idea was that we sent a small gift of a herb, spice or food from where we live, with a recipe of how to use it to someone somewhere else in the world.  I received a wonderful, generous array of wild rice, dried cranberries, some wild rice seasoning and spud seasoning (see picture above) from Kate in Minnesota.  With the holiday season busy as it is I am only just getting around to my Seasons eatings post after Christmas. But that turned out to be a good thing as after the indulgent few days (weeks!) I’ve had I was craving something healthier and my new wild rice is perfect for healthy recipes!

I cooked the rice using the wild rice seasoning in the water. The seasoning contains salt, raspberry granules, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, orange peel and herbs. If you aren’t lucky enough to have this I’m sure you could use stock in your cooking water as an alternative. When looking for wild rice recipes I came across many salads, lots were creamy which didn’t appeal to me, I really just wanted the rice and cranberries to be the stars of this salad so I didn’t add to many other ingredients.  I ended up with a lovely simple salad that I thoroughly enjoyed, Id forgotten how much I like wild rice! Thanks Kate for the lovely package and Katie for organising!

Wild Rice and Cranberry Salad (2 servings)

• 100 grams Wild rice
• 1 litre cold water
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Spring onions, chopped
• 1 tsp Lemon zest
• 1 tbsp Flat parsley, chopped
• 30 grams Dried Cranberries
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. Put the rice in a medium saucepan and pour over cold water. At this point add some stock or salt as you wish to the water. Bring to a hard boil, reduce heat cover and simmer for 30 minutes. I stirred a couple of times during cooking.
2. After 30 minutes turn off the heat and leave to stand with the lid still on for 20-30 minutes until the rice reaches the desired texture.
3. Meanwhile make the dressing by adding the olive oil and lemon zest together and whisking well.
4. Drain the rice and place in a dish, adding the chopped spring onion, olive oil and lemon zest dressing. Stir gently to coat
5. Add the parsley and cranberries, stir gently and season with pepper to taste.

I enjoyed this salad at room temperature with a mix of green leaves.

I recently took part in a Secret Santa food gift swap and have been astounded at the generosity and imagination of the people taking part.  I am not really the most imaganitive of people but I am good at following rules so while the package got posted by the date specified it sadly wasnt the most exciting of parcels, I do apologise for that to the recipient!  After the event and seeing the many wonderful things others had sent I began looking at more recipes for sweet treats that would survive posting.  I came across this recipe from Martha Stewarts Everyday Food.  It sounded so good I decided to try it right away. I am a fan of almonds and covering them in the cinnamon sugar coating was good enough for me but then they are covered in chocolate and rolled in cocoa!  They really are a “Christmassy” treat.  I put 150 grams of the almonds into little bags and tied them with ribbon for handing out with some of my Christmas cards.

The recipe really just works so I havent changed it but I added the word cinnamon into the title as cinnamon is not as popular in the UK as it is in America so I didnt want to surprise anyone with the unwanted taste of cinnamon!

Cinnamon Sugar, Chocolate Covered Almonds (from this recipe)

• 14 ounces whole almonds (unblanched)
• 10 ounces Caster sugar (I use unrefined)
• 2 ounces Water
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 16 ounces Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped
• 6 ounces Cocoa powder

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put the whole almonds on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until the nuts are toasted. Shake the pan half way through cooking.
3. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Add the sugar, water, cinnamon and almonds to a medium sized saucepan and cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves and turns a golden brown. Tip onto the lined baking sheet and chill in fridge or freezer until hard, around 15 minutes.
4. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simering water.
5. Line 1 or 2 abking sheets (depending on size) with greasepoof paper.  Add the chilled almonds to the chocolate, stirring until all almonds are coated with the chocolate.  Tip the almonds onto the baking sheet(s), separate the almonds with a fork and chill until teh chocolate is set, about 5 minutes.
6. Some of the almonds will be stuck together and to the paper, break them up.
7. Put the cocoa powder into a bowl and add the almonds, tumble the almonds gently in the cocoa until all are covered.
8. Shake off excesss powder and store in a tupperware box or put into little bags to give as gifts.

I’ve been guilty of only using cranberries for a sauce to go with turkey.  After Thanksgiving I had some left and rather than freezing them I wanted to use them differently. The Cranberry orange muffin at Starbucks was my inspiration but rather than make muffins, I wanted to make a loaf.  I found this recipe on the internet and its my new favourite cake! It really wakes up the taste buds! It has a zingy, zesty taste. Orangey with tart little bursts of cranberry cutting through the sweetness.  It’s like a little burst of sunshine in your mouth!  As well as tasting good, this cake only has a little butter compared to other cakes so it’s not so high in fat!

Cranberry and Orange Loaf (adapted from this recipe)

• 250 gram plain (all-purpose) flour.
• 1 & half tsp baking powder.
• 1/2 tsp baking soda.
• 200 gram sugar (I use unrefined).
• Zest of 1 orange.
• 150 ml orange juice (from about 1 and half oranges depending on size).
• 60 gram unsalted butter, melted.
• 1 large egg, beaten.
• 125 gram fresh cranberries, rinsed.

1. Preheat oven to 180 C, 350 F, Gas 4.
2. Base line and grease a loaf tin (mine was a 2 lb tin).
3. Weigh flour, baking powder, soda, sugar into a bowl and give a little whisk.
4. Add melted butter followed by the egg, zest and juice of the orange. I used my mixer but it turns out fine if you just mix with a wooden spoon and some elbow grease!
5. Fold the cranberries in by hand.
6. Pour into prepared loaf tin.
7. Bake for 55-60 minutes.
8. Let cool in tin on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before turning cake out of tin to finish cooling.

I’ve always had cranberry sauce with turkey, from the little portion in the tv dinners we grew up with to the solid lump that came out of a can, I couldn’t have turkey without it.  As a kid I loved it, I thought it was like having jam with your meal! The first time I made my own was in the early 90′s when Delia Smith had a Christmas series on tv.  I loved that series, it’s the first cookery series I remember watching on tv. Possibly because it was a series devoted to Christmas it really caught my interest and I hung on to Delia’s every word. Delia inspired me to make a Christmas cake, my own stuffing, to get my turkey from a butcher, the name Kelly Bronze and how to make your own cranberry sauce. That was the time in my life when I stopped just cooking dinner but started enjoying the ingredients and making things from scratch.  Delia, I believe, was almost responsible for fresh cranberries becoming available in the UK!

Although I started off all those yeas ago using Delia’s recipe it has now become my own with different additions over the years. This version fills the house with the scent of Christmas. With the addition of red wine, cinnamon and cloves its reminiscent of mulled wine.  The tartness of the cranberries and the hint of citrus balance out the sweetness so it’s still sweet but not overly so. It’s an easy all in one pan, ready in 5-10 minutes recipe and can be made in advance.

Cranberry Sauce

• 300 gram fresh cranberries, rinsed (supermarket punnets differ, just use 1 punnet).
• Zest and juice of 1 orange.
• 100 gram light muscodavo sugar.
• 100 ml red wine.
• 1 bay leaf (fresh if you can).
• 1 cinnamon stick.
• 3 cloves.

1. Put all of the ingredients in a pan.
2. Heat over a medium heat until it all starts to come to the boil and the cranberries start popping.
3. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until the cranberries are soft (about 5 minutes).
4. Turn off the heat and leave to cool with the cinnamon stick, cloves and bay leaf left in to infuse with flavor.
5. When cool fish out the cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf (good luck finding the cloves!)
6. Store in the fridge in a clean jar or a Tupperware pot. This will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
7. Serve at room temperature.

Tomorrow I will have been blogging for roughly a year, that is not something I ever thought I would hear myself say! I say roughly as I started a blog with posterous but didn’t get on with it so after just a few weeks on November 14th I moved over to WordPress.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have a blog much less anyone read it! Well that last sentence may be debatable!! While I still have much to learn its been a blast and thank you to those of you who have shared it with me!

One person that was a great inspiration to me when I first started blogging is Cathy, otherwise known as Mrs Wheelbarrow and its her recipe for Slivovitz that I want to share with you today.  On a whim I just happened to have bought some damsons that I had no idea what to do with.  Cathy’s timely post for Slivovitz was all the inspiration I needed!

Slivovitz is a plum schnapps made in Eastern Europe. I’d had success with making Limoncello earlier in the year and as the Slivovitz takes 3 months of brewing it would be ready for Christmas which seemed perfect. The plums are left whole, (Cathy says that the pits are an important factor in the final product), pierced and left to steep in vodka with sugar in a large jar, so easy!

I should have written this post at the time of making the Slivovitz when damsons were in season but never having tasted it before I didn’t dare! Well in the interests of writing this post I tasted it a little early and its good! Its sweet and warming and very drinkable! It will make a lovely winter tipple or gift. Although too late to for you to make for this Christmas it’s well worth saving the idea for next year! I also meant to do this post a little earlier to take some along to  Vanessa Kimbell’s (the person who encouraged me to start a blog!) Lets Make Christmas food bloggers gift swap but I fear I’ve missed the deadline!  One thing I must improve on with my blogging is actually getting the post written! Wish me luck with that, and in the meantime.. Cheers!

An update – I will now be bringing this to Lets Make Christmas!

A second update, I’ve never done 2 updates before and am not sure if “one does that” but I had to share! My slivovitz won the alcohol category at the Lets Make Christmas food bloggers gift swap! I’m so happy, excited, shocked! Truly I went along simply to meet other bloggers and swap a gift, I never expected for a minute that I may be in with a chance of winning anything, the quality of the food gifts was outstanding as was the company! Thanks to Leiths School of Food and Wine for the Champagne tasting I won! Also many thanks to Vanessa for organising such a wonderful event and Dan Lepard for his judging!

Slivovitz (from this recipe from Mrs Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen)

• 2.5 lbs Damson plums, unblemished, washed and left whole.
• 10 oz  Sugar
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 2 strips of Lemon peel
• Vodka approx 500 – 600 ml

1. Pierce each damson right to the pit with a sharp knife. Put all the damsons into a large clean jar.
2. Add the sugar, cinnamon stick and lemon peel.
3. Pour the vodka over until the plums are covered.
4. Seal the jar.  If, like me, you are forgetful put a label with the date on the jar.
5. Each day for 2 weeks turn the jar over to mix the contents, no shaking. After this time the sugar should be dissolved.
6. Store the jar in a dark place for 3 months.
7. After 3 months strain through a coffee filter paper and decant into nice bottles.