Icebox Cheesecake, From My Mother's Recipe Box

My mom would make this pie when strawberries were in season. In California it seemed like a very long season most of late winter and all of early spring. Here in Pennsylvania strawberry season is short, you can blink and miss it.

So with a few jars of fresh homemade strawberry jam I decided to break out this recipe and treat my family. I will be honest, we don't often use cool whip. I prefer fresh whipped cream. But since I wanted to make it like my mom did, I caved in a bought a tub of it.

My son whooped with glee when he saw the ingredients. He knew there was a cream pie in his future. "When are we going to eat it?" was his first question. The day was a very long one, anticipating the evening when he would finally able to have a slice of pie.

I used strawberry jam that I made a couple of weeks ago for the topping. I also garnished it with a few fresh berries before I served it. I made an almond crust and used a tart pan. One piece of advice, place the jam on the pie just prior to serving. My mom made a glaze and placed big mounds of fresh berries on top. Do as you choose, either way is delicious.

Icebox Cheese Pie
fills one regular pie crust


2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 8 oz. tub of cool whip thawed
1 pie crust


1. Beat cream cheese till fluffy, add in sugar and combine till mixed well.
2. Add in cool whip and mix till well blended.
3. Spoon into crust and refrigerate for at least three hours or until firm.
4. Before serving add fresh berries of your choice.


Enjoy

Today I am Grateful

In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. Brother David Steindl-Rast  Austrian-American Author and Benedictine Monk  Tomorrow I promise to share a recipe for these beauties. They are delicious in every way.

Light and Fresh Carrot Salad

When my son was very young we would go to the park and play almost everyday. It was there that we met so many playmates. One of these friends was a little boy, Tomas, from Argentina. It was through his mama that I learned how to make this easy delicious salad.


I say that it is simple because it relies on five ingredients. If you have a couple of hard boiled eggs on hand then you are almost there, and it comes together so effortlessly.

Start by grating carrots on the coarse side of a grater. I use about three carrots if it is for myself and five if I am serving 2. You can buy already grated carrots if you like. 

To the grated carrots add one tablespoon red wine vinegar, a bit more for a double serving. Add some fresh ground pepper and one quarter teaspoon salt. Toss to coat all of the carrot bits. Taste and adjust to your personal preference. I like less vinegar than my son. 

I serve one egg per person. Chop up the white part of each egg, or use the whole egg if you like.

Before serving, add the chopped egg white and give the salad a couple of extra grinds of pepper.

There you have it, Argentinian ensalada de zanahoria. Some people give the whole salad a drizzle before serving, you make the call on that one. I've also read that the salad is also served without the egg.

Coffee Magic

I love coffee and coffee loves me. I've tried to send it away and have said goodbye for a few weeks at a time. But I think that it was just waiting on the other side of the door, waiting patiently for me to call it back into my life. I think that it is just that ritual in the morning of pouring a hot cup of coffee and sitting down somewhere comfy to start my day.

But what to do when the weather turns warm and balmy? Why turn to iced coffee of course. Iced coffee is easy to love once you figure out it's quirky nature. You can cheat and start with brewed coffee that has been cooled. But why not start with coffee intended for a cup of ice and not leftovers.

I think that Pioneer Woman has the perfect method. But for me I like to make smaller batches, besides that big container wouldn't fit in my refrigerator. I choose to make a quart at a time. It is a small enough jug to fit into even the most space challenged fridge. 

I start with a quart sized canning jar. To it I add 3/4 to 1 cup of coarsely ground coffee.

I like to add about 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom. I also add 1/4 cup natural sugar at this time.

Now it's time to add the water. I add just enough cold filtered water to sit below the neck of the jar. I use a long chopstick to stir the coffee grinds into the water. They will want to float, just keep stirring and they will hydrate and most of them will want to sink. Once all of the grinds are stirred in and the sugar is dissolved, you might have to add a bit more water to bring it back up to the neck of the jar. 

Put it in the refrigerator and let it sit overnight. I've forgotten about my jar and have let it go as long as 24 hours at a time. 

I like to strain the coffee twice. Once with a fine mesh sieve and then a second time with a coffee filter in the sieve. I think that it goes faster with my method. You can try and strain it once with the filter in place, but it is a much longer process. 

It's ready to pour over ice with a splash of milk or half and half. It is pure magic in a cup. 

If you want to make Thai iced coffee, omit the sugar at the beginning of the process. Add 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk and a splash of milk to your coffee. 

Any way that you make it, you won't be disappointed. Happy coffee drinking.

Gluten Free Energy Bites.

I was going to talk about a mishap in my kitchen involving that cute little terrier from yesterday, but I am having trouble uploading the evidence. So I will share a recipe that I make about once a week. I first stumbled upon them on the blog Smashed Peas and Carrots.

Theses little guys are a snack staple in our house. They pack well and are pretty flexible as far as recipes go. They can be vegan, gluten free, or paleo friendly depending on what you add to the mix. The other great thing about them is that they don't require baking, so you can make them without turning on the oven.

The things that I don't deviate from are the oats, coconut, and honey. I choose to use honey because it is the glue that binds everything. A friend has used corn syrup and a other agave, I hear that they both work. For the nut butter I use Sunbutter, but peanut butter works great too.  The rest of the ingredients are pretty flexible. I try to stay on the healthy side and add chopped dried fruit and raw seeds or nuts. My favorite combination is dried cherries and toasted sliced almonds that have crushed.

No Bake Energy Bites. (makes about 18 to 20 small bites)

1    cup    oatmeal
1/2 cup    nut butter
1/3 cup    honey
1    cup    coconut flakes
1/2 cup    ground flaxseed
1    cup    mix ins (chocolate chips, seeds, nut, dried fruit)

Mix everything in a bowl till completely incorporated, I use a stand mixer that makes quick work of the process. Chill the mixture for 30 minutes. Use a scoop to make little 1 oz balls. You might need to roll them out in your hands. Enjoy. They are tasty and keep well in the refrigerator.

Doughnut Love

Doughnuts, those little round things have been on my mind. I wanted to find a great recipe that was gluten free and would keep the ones I love away from temptation. Nothing really called out to me from the shelves housing all of my cookbooks. Next stop was Facebook, a call out to all of my friends. My niece came to the rescue with a family approved recipe. But later that night I decided that I wanted something that didn't need to rise and was simple enough to put together first thing in the morning.

I decided to try a recipe from here. These went from mixing bowl to kitchen table in less than 30 minutes. I mixed up the dry ingredients the night before and left out the eggs along side. In the morning I threw it all together and voila, doughnuts.

As side note, Roost is my favorite eye candy blog at the moment. She has a lovely way with words and has the most beautiful photos. If you want to surprise your family with some doughnut love follow my first link and you will find the recipe. Have a fantastic weekend full of love, laughter, and family.

Gluten Free Almond Waffles

Since I found this recipe for gluten free waffles it's been on my mind. Maybe I don't have enough to do because sometimes recipes that I find around the blog world dance through my head and saunter in and out of other more important thoughts. But then again, what is more important than good nourishing food? I knew that I had to try this recipe out so that it could leave me alone. Let me just begin by saying that it did not disappoint. I didn't try the orange infused honey syrup because my mind had other plans.

 I love waffles in the evening as a quick dinner. I mix the dry ingredients together ahead of time and leave the eggs out so that they are at room temperature. I also wash and cut up fruit ahead of time so that the flavors can mingle. I was unable to find strawberries at the local market, so I went with blueberries. Next time I will sub out the yogurt for almond milk, I really do think that it will work out just fine. I used a local maple syrup that was delightfully light with the right amount of maple goodness.

If you have some time check out Roost, Caitlin really does have one of the best looking blogs around.