New York Cheesecake (ニューヨークチーズケーキ)

I'm getting adventurous...Inspired by a recent trip to Japan, I perused the Kinokuniya bookstore for Japanese cookbooks before settling on one for desserts and snacks. 大人のお菓子 translates to "adult sweets" and is filled with a variety of recipes, all of which look pretty simple. This is before translation of Japanese to English and measurement conversion. I've tackled recipe conversion once the other way around; it turned out okay, not perfect, but okay.

I've settled on ニューヨークチーズケーキ, "New York Cheesecake", a classic. The proof is in the pudding though, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

See the cheesecake recipe here.

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Blueberry, Lemon, and Chili Pepper Jam

I'm not going to lie...I went back to pick even more blueberries--for this recipe! It just didn't seem right to dig into my freezer stash to make this.

I made a blueberry, lemon, chili pepper jam the other day and had to have more. I was expecting it to be spicy, with the jalapeno and habenero peppers, but the peppers just add a bit of heat (not spiciness). It's really good! I think it would be good with cornbread or biscuits, you know, served up in a bowl...

Blueberry, Lemon, Chili Pepper Jam

Ingredients

• 3 pints blueberries
• 2 1/4 cups demerara sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick, toasted
• 1 lemon rind, sliced into thin strips
• 1 tbsp jalapeno, minced
• 1/2 tsp habenero, minced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp cilantro, sliced

Method

1. If using, prepare the canning pot, jars, lids, bands, etc.
2. In a large pot, add the blueberries and sugar; mash berries and blend well with the sugar. Add the cinnamon stick, lemon zest, peppers, and salt.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often. Jam should thicken slightly.
4. Stir in the cilantro and cook for about 1 minute. Remove cinnamon stick.
5. Fill into jars or container. If canning, process for 10 minutes, then sit at room temperature for 24 hours; refrigerate any jars that do not seal. Otherwise, refrigerate until ready for use.

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Blueberry Rhubarb Crisp

Continuing the blueberry theme...this is the best blueberry dessert I have EVER eaten. I'm already freezing blueberries and rhubarb so I can make this all year. The best part is the simplicity of it; you mix up some crumble topping, toss the fruit with some standard pantry items, throw into the pan, and bake!



Blueberry Rhubarb Crisp
Bob's Red Mill Baking Book

Topping
¼ cup unbleached white flour
¼ cup soy flour
½ cup brown sugar, packed
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
5 tbsp butter, chilled and diced

Filling
1/3 cup sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 cups rhubarb, diced into ½ inch pieces
2 cups blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9x9 inch baking dish.
2. For the topping, combine the flours, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Add the butter and work it into the flour mixture until crumbly. Refrigerate while making the filling.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Add the rhubarb and blueberries, tossing well.
4. Spread the mixture in a prepared baking dish. Sprinkle topping over the fruit and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the topping is brown and the fruit is bubbling. Serve warm.

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Blueberry Lemon Sauce

This recipe is so easy, I'm typing it up as the stuff is processing.

For more information about canning, check out this site by the National Center for Home Food Preservation: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/general.html

Blueberry Lemon Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 pints blueberries, washed
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup orange juice

Canning supplies: canning pot, jars, lids, bands, etc.

Method

1. Prepare jars and lids per manufacturer instructions. Prepare canning pot with water to full boil, ready to process jars.
2. In a large pot, combine the lemon juice and zest, sugar, orange juice, and blueberries. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
3. Lower the heat and simmer blueberry mixture for 2 minutes, stirring to completely dissolve the sugar.
4. Ladle sauce into jars, leaving 1/4in head space. Wipe rim clean, attach lid and band.
5. Process in canning pot for 15 minutes./li>
6. Remove jars and allow to cool on a rack. At this point, the jars make a cool popping sound as they are sealing. Allow jars to sit out for 24 hours. Place any jars that do not seal into the fridge.

If you don't care to can you can refrigerate for up to 3 months.

Makes about 3 pints..

This sauce is ridiculously good. It reminds me of a nice blueberry syrup, perfect for pancakes, french toast, or crepes.

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U-pick? U-betcha!

It's now an unofficial annual tradition--blueberry picking with my aunt. Last year we went out one morning to pick and walked away with 16 pounds! How did that happen? Well, when you're chatting away and picking big, plump berries, it's pretty easy it seems. This year, we were extra careful to unknowingly pick 20 pounds; we ended up picking about 14 pounds this time.


We went to Lolich's Blueberry Farm where u-pick blueberries were $1.50 per pound. They've got a huge field of blueberries, it seemed like different varieties were mixed in, so tasting each blueberry bush to find your preferred flavor is a must.


Check them out:

Lolich's Blueberry Farm
18407 SW Scholls Ferry Road
Beaverton, OR 97007
503.352.4448
http://www.lolichblueberryfarm.com/

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freezer mania

Ahh, the joys of the freezer. Tuck away those extra bits of dough (scones, cookies, bread), homemade jams, fresh picked berries, and extra cakes and cookies for a rainy day.

With the recent berry season, I have gone a bit wild making jams (freezer and traditional) and freezing all those delicious berries. Canning seems like a daunting process, so it's best to do a big batch of stuff at a time with another person or two to help out. For the majority of my jam making, I used the standard Certo recipes. I like the low sugar stuff if I can use it, otherwise I tend to add extra berries to lower the sugar to berry ratio. For strawberry jam, try using balsamic vinegar in place of the lemon juice for a FANTASTIC strawberry balsamic jam full of depth and wonderful strawberry flavor. Trust me. I originally saw it here: http://achowlife.blogspot.com/2009/05/canning-is-cool.html

Just this weekend, I pulled out a couple of chocolate dessert items--a chocolate chip pound cake and chocolate drop cookies. I made this chocolate chip pound cake recipe earlier this year and froze the second loaf, wrapped twice in foil, once in a freezer wrap, and then into a freezer bag (worried about freezer burn much?). The loaf cake recipe also comes with a chocolate sauce to dip the cake in or drizzle over. Absolutely delicious.

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Smoked Salmon and Apple Carpaccio

What to do with leftover smoked salmon or lox?

I saw this recipe for Smoked Salmon and Apple Carpaccio on Giada at Home.

It came together fairly quickly; with nothing to cook, it was as quick as slicing an apple and arranging everything on the plate. I chose to not serve mine on bread (Giada uses olive bread). I thought the flavors were interesting, not sure if I'd make it again though.

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Mother's Day--in [food] photos

Blueberry Pancakes with Orange Butter (orange butter not pictured)


Homemade Bagels and Lox


Coconut Shrimp Stew


Fresh fruit with rose scented whipped cream

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Chocolate Covered Bacon

Take a good look, for this is what chocolate covered bacon looks like! I'm not sure this rivals the bacon cookies I made, but it is kinda tasty. Makes me want to try the Vosges Bacon Bar (I saw it today at Whole Foods and was tempted...fortunately the price wasn't marked, otherwise I just might have bought one!).

This "recipe" isn't so stellar, so I won't post anything official. To try it yourself, cook up some bacon to your desired doneness; I prefer mine crispy. Meanwhile, melt some chocolate. When the bacon is cooked, spoon the chocolate on the bacon pieces. Chill until serving.

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mojto time!

I got a taste for mojitos while in Japan. I'm not really a big mint fan, so it really doesn't make a lot of sense. When I make mine at home, I tend to cut way back on the mint, using only a sprig or two. This week, I tried two "new" types: blueberry and pineapple. Yummy!

Some mojito fans may call me uncivilized for messing with this drink...but I can't help it! I like what I like. Besides pineapple and blueberry (pineapple was my favorite), I think strawberry or raspberry would be delicious.

Fruity Mojito

Ingredients

• 1-4 mint leaves
• 2 tsp sugar
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1/4 C fruit, pureed
• 2 oz light rum
• Club soda
• Ice

Method

1. In a glass, add the sugar, mint, fruit, and lime juice.
2. Muddle to bruise the mint and dissolve the sugar into the fruit.
3. Add rum, then top off with club soda and ice.

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