Mmm... Sun Kissed Cheesecake (with the recipe)

My son loves cheesecake. He always orders it when we go out to eat. He asks me to buy some for him at the store. And I never do. And I feel guilty... 
I love my kids so much that I can't force myself to buy them a cheesecake (or anything else for this matter), that would hurt them with all those chemical and artificial ingredients that should be kept locked in a lab under biohasard warning sign. 

I love my kids and I want them to enjoy food, the real food. And if I have to walk an extra mile looking for real food I'd do it.

So I start with a trip to a local farm, that raises happy goats and chickens, and all other animals on pasture. When it comes to food, I am a control freak: I need to know where did it come from, how it was raised and produced. I was excited to learn that in our neck of the woods natural farming exists, and I was able to find eggs from free range chickens, raw goat's milk, grass fed beef, naturally raised pork. All of this just a short drive to the Cedar Creek Farm in Cedarville, AR. 

Eggs come from this chickens, that roam free on this beautiful pasture and have full access to their favorite food: bugs, grass, seeds, rocks... 

Milk for the cheese come from a friendly goats, that eat, play and rest on the sun all day long.

First, I have a glass of fresh raw milk. It's a meditation moment: I close my eyes and smell a meadow.   It puts a smile on my heart, and fills me with even more love. Love is an important ingredient to put in your food, or anything you create. And then I make a simple cottage (or farmer's) cheese for my cheesecake. 

***

Sun Kissed Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup organic polenta (plus Tablespoon for dusting the baking dish)
2/3 cup milk
1 Tablespoon butter (and some for greasing the baking dish)

4 cups farmer's cheese (drained overnight cottage cheese can be used)
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar 
1 Tablespoon sour cream, or buttermilk, or kefir
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier (optional)
pinch of salt (1/4 teaspoon)

1/2 cup raisins
1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Pour boiling water over the raisins and let it soak for 20-30 minutes.

2. Pour milk in a small sauce pan and bring it to a boil, stirring to prevent milk from scorching. Take off the heat and slowly add polenta, stir in the butter and mix well. Cover, and let it cool.

3. Pre-heat oven to 180C/ 360F.

4. Prepare an 8 or 9 inch spring form: lightly grease it with some butter, dust it with 1 Tablespon polenta, and tap to knock out the excess polenta.

4. Drain the raisins and pat dry it.

5. In a mixing bowl (or stand mixer if you have one) whisk together eggs and sugar. Add cheese, sour cream, Grand Marnier (if using), and vanilla, and beat well.

6. Add polenta mash, and mix until all well blended.

7. Stir in raisins. 

8. Place the thick batter into prepared spring form and with a spatula even the top. 

9. Bake the cheesecake for 45-50 minutes. 

It could be made in two small spring forms for a cute looking cakes

Cool cheesecake completely and serve with sour cream and strawberries, dusted lightly with sugar powder (whipped cream can be used instead of sour cream, but try with sour cream first, you'll be surprised!).

***

The recipe for cheesecake has been in our family for a very-very long time. And it was always made out of home made cottage cheese. Therefore I can't tell you what it would be if made out of store bought cheese. 
Making your own soft cheese is very easy, and I will make a post about it. For now, enjoy the cake! Sun kissed indeed. :)

See you,
Marina

P.S. This Thursday is our son's graduation from the High School. On Friday container should be here for packing. It looks like a busy week ahead. So... With all that said, my posts will be sporadic for the time being, until we move and settle somewhere. I also may not be visiting your lovely blogs as often as I'd like to.  But I think of you all often. Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving your touching comments! 

Improvising in the Kitchen Before Payday

It doesn't rain all the time in Seattle...

When we came back from our trip to Seattle, I did a small shopping for milk, vegetables and some fruits and decided to experiment: what if I don't go shopping anymore until the payday? We had milk, apples, flour, legumes, and different vegetables that I used for everyday cooking. 
Three days before payday I realized I am out of many fresh ingredients, so I had to be really creative to cook from what I had available. 

Three days before payday: soup (a.k.a. Kale soup)

After a quick inventory of the refrigerator, I made a "Three days before payday" soup, also known as Kale and Potato Soup. A friend, that we visited in Seattle, gave me the recipe, and despite a few missing ingredients, this soup quickly became my men's favorite.  To make it I had one potato, a small container of whipping cream, one onion, a few kale leaves, two cups chicken broth, salt and pepper, a tablespoon of butter or good quality olive oil. 
Cooking is just as easy:  saute onions in fat of your choice, add chicken broth, bring it to a boil, add potato, cook until potato is done, add cream, salt and pepper to taste. Add kale leaves and turn the heat off. Quick, easy, and simple. Plus delicious, as my men said.

Two days before payday: Beet salad with micro greens, and a meat filled pastry

The next day, I decided to make a meat filled pastry and a salad from a roasted beets and shoe box microgreens. "What?!" I hear you. Microgreens are a tiny green vegetables, that grow in shoe box (in my case), that rent a kitchen's window seal. Still have question? I guess it's about the shoe box. 
Well, there was an empty plastic shoe box, that was traveling from one closet to another, than to the shoe rack, than back to the closet until one day I looked at it and... Evrika!, decided to plant my greens in it. I made a few holes in the box, filled it with a good soil (I don't have a garden, but I do have my worms, that eat our food scraps and make a perfect compost and tea for my plants), planted seeds, and in two weeks I had my first harvest of the most nutrient and ecofriendly greens.

While I was making my pastry, beets were roasted at 400F for 90 minutes. Then I peeled it, sliced it, and mixed it with a sliced green onion. I seasoned it with a freshly grind black pepper and a good quality sea salt (I had Alaea Hawaiian sea salt), and served with a handful of micro greens (arugula, dill and lettuce), then drizzled a little olive oil on the top.
The Husband loved the salad, teenager however gave the greens a look and tried to push it to the side of the plate. I gave him my look (we have a long negotiated agreement that he finishes his salad before he eats any meat), and he asked me what was it. I told him it's lettuce, but a very small one. He scoffed but made a first bite. Then he quickly finished his salad and moved a bowl with meat filled pastry closer, giving it a soft hug. Kids... :)

One day before payday: Polenta with shallots and porcini mushrooms

On the morning of the third day I was inspired by Ottolenghi's recipe from his book Plenty, and had all available in my kitchen ingredients (polenta and dried porcini mushrooms) set on the kitchen counter to make polenta pizza for dinner. I don't have a book, hence I know only that this polenta pizza has mushroom topping. 
I prepared the mushroom with shallots and white wine, and all was left is to make the pizza crust from polenta. I was in the middle of making polenta when the husband came home with question that sounded more like a statement: "when's the dinner?" He rushed himself into the kitchen, looking for something to warm up. "Oh, polenta! Let me wash my hands!"
I quickly  changed my plans from pizza to simple polenta with porcini mushrooms: an always welcomed dinner in this house! 

Peach and berry pie

That was an interesting experiment that proves no extra shopping necessary to make a good dinner. We often tend to over-complicate our food, forgetting that simple food tastes just as good. 

Oh, yes, we also had some pie! All before payday. 

See you,
Marina

Polenta for Breakfast

I've been trying to write something but my cold affected brain  refuses to work. So I decided to share a picture of polenta with scrambled eggs and mushrooms.  There's no recipe for this meal as it is easy: cook polenta, make scrambled eggs with mushrooms, and serve! 

See you,
Marina

"Wake Up!" Polenta Muffins

If you are like me, intimidated by all things  baking, this simple, quick and easy recipe would turn you into a baking addict (to a degree).
Making this muffins is very easy, just a few basic ingredients mixed together. And how quick? Before you know it a 12 beautiful muffins come out of the  oven and put a happy smile on everyone's face in your home, including you, on any given morning, or evening, if you like... 
Not convinced? Well, it takes longer to brush your teeth than to mix a batch of this muffins. I timed... :)

***

"Wake Up!" Polenta Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup fine polenta
• 1/2 stick butter (4 tablespoons/60 gram), melted
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon sugar (or 2-3 tablespoons if you like it sweet)
• 1 tablespoon minced cayenne pepper (or 1 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper)

Preheat the oven to 375F (190C) and prepare a muffin pan. 

Melt the butter, take off the heat and add olive oil. Set aside.

Whisk together all dry ingredients, except baking soda.

Mix together buttermilk and baking soda, add it to the butter and oil, and mix well.

Add butter mix to the bowl with dry ingredients, and stir to form a batter. Do not overmix! 

Pour the batter into the muffin pan, and bake around 18-20 minutes, turning the pan 180 degrees half way through the baking. 

Muffins are ready when a wooden stick (toothpick, small skewer, etc.), inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out dry.

***

I tested this recipe many times with different proportion of polenta and flour, and ratio 1:1 works the best: not too dry from the corn, and not too heavy from the flour.
I also tested different fats, including lard (my favorite), but because good lard is hard to find (I made my own lard to use in this muffins), and store bought has so many additives, I did not include it in this recipe. However, if you come across good lard, that has only one ingredient listed, which is... yes, lard, I encourage you to try it. You can use 60 grams butter and 60 grams lard, or just lard. The result is "melt-in-your-mouth" muffins. 
What's in the name? Why "Wake Up!"? That is easy: the amount of spicy cayenne, added to the batter would wake up any sleepy head in the morning. I use fresh minced cayenne pepper, with gives a nice kick with every bite, and brings you to a reality from your dreams... :)

See you,
Marina

Zaletti: Polenta Cookies From The Veneto

Aren't those cookies gorgeous? How innocent those diamons are?! Close your eyes and try them: do you taste a little Venice in each bite?  Lemon zest and cranberry, combined in this recipe with a little polenta, invite you to experience a new taste: fragrant and romantic. I fell in love with this cookies from the recipe in the book, as soon as I read through the ingredients list. One hour later I had a plate of an incredibly delicious gems.

Zaletti

(recipe adapted from the book Dolce Italiano by Gina DePalma)

Ingredients (I made a few substitutions, which are marked in red):

1 ¾ cups All-Purpose Flour
¾ cup dried currants
¼ cup boiling water
3 T. Grappa Brandy 1 cup quick-cooking polenta or fine cornmeal
¾   1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling on the cookies
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1 egg yolk
4 oz. (1 stick) sweet, unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon 

1. Start by pouring 3 tablespoon of brandy over the dried currants. Add boiling water, set aside.

2. In a bowl combine together all dry ingredients (flour, polents, sugar, baking powder, and salt).

3. In another bowl combine "wet" ingredients: lightly bitten egg and eggyolk, butter and lemon zest.

4. Stirr "wet" ingredients into the dry, add currants and form the dough. Don't overwork the dough!

5. Chill the dough in refrigerator for one hour.

6. Preheat the oven to 325 F.

7. Form the dimond shaped cookie and place on cookie sheet with parchment paper.

8. Bake 12-15 minutes until cookies are colden brown.

9. Let cookies to cool for 5 minutes.

10. It's time to make some coffee or tea, and enjoy!

It says that cookies can be stored in the air tight container for up to three days. Ahm,  in this family they didn't last even three hours...
My verdict: belissimo! (which in Italian means lovely). 

Cat's verdict... :)

Chao,
Marina

  

Breakfast: Polenta With Peaches

Our Farmer's Market smells like orchard lately: peaches are in it's season. Baskets filled with a velvety fruits and delicate aroma invite the visitors from many stands. We've been eating peaches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and in between for two weeks. Our home is perfumed with a lovely peach aroma. 
I am experimenting with peaches in unusual (for us) meals. For example: polenta for breakfast with peaches and agave nectar. Easy, but healthy and delicious start of the day. Why it is unusual? Because we eat polenta with cheeses, mushrooms, vegetables, in other words savory. 

Polenta with peaches and agave nectar

Cook polenta following the instruction on the package, and serve with peach slices and agave nectar. 

Dear friends, have you made an unusual meal with the peaches? 

See you,
Marina