Resurface to salads

Crudité Monster: celery, carrots, cucumbers

Berry Salad: blueberries, strawberries, kiwi

I've finally finished my exams and term work! I can't believe another school year has finished already. Now that I can devote more time to doing things I enjoy, I've been guiltlessly dreaming up new recipes and crafty projects to try out. So I'd decided to snack on some fruits and Crudités while I fantasized what sorts of recipes I should try out first...

Summer arriving early

It's March and where I live, it feels like June. I feel like I need to start digging for those ice cube trays and jello moulds for summery desserts! For now, however, I must concentrate on my exams and end-of-the-school-year projects. I promise I will be back soon to share all the new creations and ideas I come up with this season.

By the way, feel free to leave comments on any of the posts!

Purple Cheesecake

It's February! The weather has been wonderful here – some snow, lots of blue skies, lots of sunshine – but I've been largely confined to indoor areas. You see, February is a midterm month, which means Valentines day, my birthday, and any other sunny day are traditionally spent intimately with textbooks. This long weekend provided a much needed breather and an opportunity to test a recipe that had been brewing at the back of my mind through out all those hours of studying. The recipe involved using a new kitchen equipment that I'd been planning to buy for a while: the potato ricer. I was so excited to try it and finally did yesterday. Let me tell you, it felt so incredibly satisfying to press the pulp out of the potato and watch the potato spaghetti-shaped strands emerge from the bottom. I used it to make a purple sweet potato cheesecake.

The recipe: Steam three small purple potatoes (about 1 lb) until soft. Mash potatoes and 12 oz light, plain cream cheese together in a bowl. Add 3 tbsp brown sugar, 3/4 cup milk (any fat content will do) and 2 egg whites. Using a whisk, gently stir to thoroughly mix all ingredients without adding air. Pour into two 6 inch round cake pans lined with parchment paper on the bottom only. Even out the top and place in the refrigerator (I just covered mine and placed them outdoors) to chill. Meanwhile, to make the base, stir together 2 tablespoons each whole wheat flour, soy flour, and coconut flour with 2/3 cup milk and 2 tbsp melted butter. In a separate bowl, beat an egg white with 1 tablespoon sugar and a pinch of salt to medium peak. Fold egg whites into the flour and milk mixture. Gently pour the base batter on top of the chilled cheesecake batter, being careful to keep the surface of the cheesecake even. Bake in a 250F oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. Top should be golden brown. Let the cheesecakes cool at room temperature before chilling in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Run a thin spatula around the edges of the chilled cake and gently turn it upside down onto a plate. Slice, serve, enjoy!

I used the potato ricer to mash the potatoes and cream cheese. This eliminates the need to bring the cream cheese to room temperature first. I find 3 tablespoons of brown sugar makes the cake sweet enough for my tastes, but if you prefer sweeter, feel free to add more. Baking the crust on top of the cheesecake has many benefits. You don't have to worry about baking in a water bath, excess soufflé, or cracks. It also prevents a soggy crust. Just make sure not to use removable bottom cake tins and remember to line the bottom of the cake pans with parchment!

Coconut Pillow Cookies

I made special coconut cookies this weekend. Being special, they were of course, unlike any other coconut cookie I'd tasted. These are soft, round, pillows with a crisp crust.

The Recipe (in case you are interested):
Dry ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chapati flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Wet ingredients: 

• 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce 
• 2/3 cup plain greek yogurt (I used 2%, but any fat content should be fine)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

In a skillet on medium heat, reduce applesauce until only about 1/3 cup is left and add  cinnamon and salt. Remove it from the heat and stir in greek yogurt. In a bowl, stir and sift together dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg whites to stiff peaks with sugar and cream of tartar. Now, gently fold the applesauce and yogurt mixture into the egg whites. Then pour all the sifted ingredients in at once and fold until a very soft but non-runny dough forms. I dust my hands with a generous layer of flour, scoop off 1-tbsp sized dough balls and roll them into a sphere. I place them on a lined cookie sheet and bake at 400 F for 8 minutes then at 250 F for another 20-30 minutes.

I rolled some of these in flaked unsweetened coconut for extra texture and flavour.
I meant for these to look like the smiling cookies (a traditional cookie used to celebrate Chinese New Year), but taste completely different!

Sunny sides up!

This version of sunny side up will never have you worry about your waistline or cholesterol levels! The sweet filling, crispy edges and wonderful smell will surely bring a smile to your face. 

The recipe (if you haven't already guessed...): Crack 6 large eggs and separate whites and yolks. Add 1 egg yolk and 1/4 tsp cinnamon to 3/4 cup mashed, cooked pumpkin or acorn squash and stir to mix thoroughly. Preheat a non-stick skillet to medium-high heat. Use two spoons to drop six round dollops (2 tbsp each) of pumpkin mixture in the skillet, keeping the dollops evenly spaced. Let them cook on one side for one minute. Then pour all of the egg whites into the skillet over the pumpkin. Using two small spatulas, flip each pumpkin patty over. Lower the heat to a medium low, cover the lid and let it cook for five minutes. Use a spatula to transfer onto a plate. Season with salt and pepper to taste, divide, and enjoy! (serves 3)

Swept up a quiche

I had a variety of leftovers at the end of last week and a few bags of new groceries sitting patiently on my front porch waiting to be placed in the fridge. My family and I have been using the front porch as a giant walk-in refrigerator until last week, when the temperature finally started to drop below 0 degrees (Celsius). Now we use it as a giant freezer instead. So the little boxes of groceries and leftovers we'd been stashing in our 'natural fridge' had to move inside and while we refilled those boxes outside with frozen food. Of course, our indoor fridge wasn't nearly big enough to hold everything so we had a day of creative usage of leftovers. This quiche is one way to sweep many leftovers into one dish.

The quiche

The recipe (in case you were curious): I stirred a bowl (about a cup) of cooked brown rice, 2 tbsp of whole wheat flour, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt and 2 egg whites together and spread it in an even layer at the bottom of a 8 inch non-stick round pie tin. I baked that in a 325 F oven for about 30 minutes, until the surface has turned light brown. Meanwhile, I gather the rest of my leftovers: about a cup of sauteed onions, 1/2 of a bell pepper, and a handful of enoki mushrooms. I cut and sliced everything into similar sized pieces and tossed them together with half a carton of liquid eggs. Because it didn't look quite enough to fill the pie tin, I also sliced half an apple into thin slices and added those into the bowl as well. I added a dash of salt, a pinch of pepper and a sprinkle of dried thyme and gave it a stir. When the crust was baked, I lined it with a layer of fat free sandwich cheese and poured my leftover mixture over it. I slid the tin back into the oven and baked for another 30 minutes. I let the egg settle and cool for 10 minutes in the tin before slicing and serving.

This obviously isn't a strict recipe because you can use almost any leftovers (or fresh ingredients) in the filling as long as you think you'll like the combined flavours!

Feathery berry cakes

Today is my last day of winter break before going back to school for another long term. After 3 weeks of blissful relaxation, I now face another 3 months of difficult study that I love and hate at the same time. At the beginning of my break, I had unwisely spent a week fretting about how quickly this holiday will pass and worrying about all the long hours I will have to spend memorizing my textbooks. Fortunately, in recent days, I had come to the conclusion that the time would pass whether I'm miserably counting the days left or fearlessly enjoying the seasonal festivities. So I have full-heartedly given in to doing the latter. Even on this last day.

Berry cake

The recipe for berry cakes (in case you wanted to know): I stir together 1/3 cup of room temperature light cream cheese with 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp lemon zest, and 1/4 cup skim milk until a smooth mixture forms. Then, I sift 1 cup of natural wheat bran, 5 tbsp of stone ground barley flour, and 1/2 tsp baking powder over the wet mixture, and stir until a thick batter forms (top picture). In a separate bowl, I beat 4 egg whites until frothy. I add 2 tbsp of white sugar and 1 tbsp of brown sugar (1 at a time) and beat until I get medium peaks. I fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter and roughly stir. Then I carefully (but quickly) fold in the rest of the egg whites using a spatula. Finally I add 1/3 cup of frozen mixed berries, straight from the freezer (without thawing) as a last minute addition. I fill two 5 inch diameter round baking tins with batter and bake in a 325 F oven for 30 minutes.

When they came out, I took a few minutes to take some pictures (bottom picture) and let them cool before slicing into a feathery light cake with dotted with hidden berry gems. Yummy and healthy!