GREEK YOGHURT AND LEMON CURD DESSERT

Good Morning to you,

The week before last, I was busy working in the garden and did not hear the knock on the front door. George had gone swimming, so he was not around to answer the door and I have to say, I keep meaning to buy one of those door bells which alerts you, when in the garden, that the front doorbell is ringing, but as yet I haven't managed to get around to buying one.... I really must make a point of remedying this situation.

Luckily, I have a lovely neighbour, who was working in her front garden and saw the postman arrive at my door. She peeked over our adjoining back garden fence, to let me know that the postman was knocking on my front door, and that he had a parcel in his hand. I stopped what I was doing, and luckily on this occasion I was wearing gardening gloves, so my hands were nice and clean, but I have to say, that is not always the case, so I did not have to waste time washing my hands. I opened the door and there stood the postman with a large parcel in his hand.

I was pleasantly surprised, because I wasn't expecting a parcel to be delivered, but I was secretly thrilled, because don't you just love unexpected parcels.

I signed for the parcel and thanked the postman. I then closed the front door and as I was walking into the kitchen, I noticed the postmark on the parcel and I knew immediately who the sender was. The lovely Bea and her family had sent us a  gift from America.

I wasted no time, I immediately found my scissors, which for once, were where they were supposed to be, and opened the parcel, to discover a jug of Wolcott New York Pure Maple Syrup, a jar of pure maple cream, some granulated maple sugar and a packet of maple fudge..... how wonderful is that. I was tickled pink.

I have heard of maple syrup, but I feel sure, I have never used it as an ingredient in my cooking. I remember eating pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast, on one of my visits to America, but that is all I know about its use. I was not sure how to use the rest of the ingredients.... but that is what is so exciting about discovering new ingredients, finding out how to incorporate them into a recipe.

.... but no research was needed, because after removing the jars and jug, I discovered a recipe card tucked into the side of the parcel. I was especially surprised to see a recipe for spicy maple lemonade, which included a touch of cayenne pepper.... sweet and spicy sounded good to me.  I love salmon and there was a recipe for maple glazed grilled salmon.... a definite winner in my book. Also maple jalapeno peppers, which included cream cheese, feta cheese and grilled, crumbled bacon strips... all the ingredients I love. I also discovered that maple syrup can be added to coffee, my breakfast muesli, plain yoghurt and a host of other dishes.

I then read the nutritional value of the maple syrup and was surprised to learn that maple syrup is described as 'nature's healthful sweetener' containing vitamins, minerals and necessary amino acids. How exciting, something sweet and healthy.... now that's unusual.

Now I feel sure you are expecting me to write about a dish I have made using this maple syrup.... but  I have to say, not on this occasion, because today, we are making, what I had meant to share with you last week,

a very simple dessert, but a delicious dessert.  My favourite yoghurt, is full fat Fage Total Greek yoghurt, it's creaminess and slight tartness is divine and I often use it as an after dinner dessert, because good yoghurt also aids digestion.

I had decided upon our evening meal, but we both fancied a dessert as well. This tends to happen more at the weekend, but we had both been working hard and I think we had built up quite an appetite. Now believe it or not, I did not fancy whipping up a dessert. Yes, sometimes, even I, am not in the mood for cooking. So I took a look inside my fridge to see what I could use, to create a dessert.  I had a full tub of Greek yoghurt, but I had run out of honey and walnuts, which is my favourite way of eating Greek yoghurt, but I noticed half a jar of lemon curd which I had made the previous week, languishing in the back of the fridge and which needed to be used. I decided the tartness of the lemon curd would make a nice change to the sweetness of my usual honey... so the dessert was decided.

So it is on with the pinnie, and it is a bit of a cheek to talk about ingredients and method, because this dessert is easy peasy. I decided to include the dessert this week, because I felt that maybe you had not thought about combining these two flavours to make a quick dessert for your family and we all need speedy desserts to add to our repertoire.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL 

NEED

TO MAKE

GREEK YOGHURT AND LEMON CURD DESSERT

Serves 4

500g tub of Greek yoghurt

2-3 dessert spoons of lemon curd

plus 4 teaspoons of lemon curd to decorate

4 tablespoons of blueberries

4 thin slices of lemon and lime zest, per dish, 

to decorate

HOW 

TO MAKE

GREEK YOGHURT AND LEMON CURD DESSERT

Place the Greek yoghurt 

and

the lemon curd

into a 

medium sized bowl.

Mix 2 dessert spoons of  lemon curd into the yoghurt.

and mix together.

At this point I would suggest you taste test, because the dessert may be lemony enough for you, 

but if you feel you would like a little more lemon flavour, then add the 

3rd dessert spoon of lemon curd.

Place the yoghurt and lemon curd dessert into a pretty dish

and

place a teaspoon of lemon curd in the centre of the yoghurt.

Arrange the lemon and lime zest over the lemon curd

and

add the blueberries.... yes it really is as simple as that.

Then all there is left to do,

is

enjoy.

You can use a good quality bought lemon curd, but I have to say, if you have the time, homemade is really much nicer.  If you would like to make your own, you can follow my recipe. Or if you prefer, you can click on the Featured Post towards the top of the page, to see how I make lemon curd.

Now since, I have made this Greek yoghurt dessert, I just had to try the maple syrup, swirled through some Greek yoghurt.... and oh my word.... it certainly is a little moreish.

Just to say, I will be sharing a recipe, using maple syrup, in the next couple of weeks, but for now, whatever you decide to do, have a wonderful Easter and take good care of yourself. 

I will catch up with you next Thursday, which will be around before we know it.

As Always,

LEMON CHEESECAKE WITH GINGER BISCUITS

Good Morning to you,

I wonder, are you like me?

Do you have a drawer in your kitchen where random items, spend their lives, for a period of time?

The one drawer, where bits and bobs end up.  You know the sort of thing, odd bits of string, elastic bands, takeaway menus, which funnily enough we never use, so I have no idea why they are in the drawer in the first place, it just seems to be the place they end up.

A drawer where random recipes live.  The type of recipe, which over the course of time, have been cut from magazines or handwritten and shared by friends, then placed into plastic wallets, in the hope that one day they will see the light of day and be made. Don't be misled, not one plastic wallet per recipe, but one plastic wallet for about 50 or more recipes.

I have a drawer which is packed to the gunwales and really does need sorting out, but the problem is, I can be a bit of a procrastinator.  No, that's not true, I am a procrastinator.  But on this occasion, as the drawer was  filling up, I couldn't procrastinate any longer. I decided to spend an hour or so, having a little sort out. The takeaway menus were easily sorted, they went straight into the recycling bin, but when it came to the many recipes written on bits of paper, well, that was a whole other matter. Instead of just throwing them away, I decided to read through them... now that was a huge mistake. 

One of the recipes  I came across, was  a recipe from 2005, which I had cut from the Cyprus Weekly newspaper. The recipe was for a Survival cake, which I had always meant to make, because I loved the ingredients, but todate, it has not been made. That's 11 years which have gone by, I wonder when I will get around to making it.

Then I found a snippet from a daily newspaper for back exercises.... have I done them....nope not as yet, but you never know, at some point, they might prove useful.

Then I found a recipe for roasted figs and walnuts, which I thought looked delicious.  The recipe called for Acacia honey from the Pyrenees... consequently this was never made.

Then I came across an article about the Chelsea Flower Show.... date 2010.  I kept it because I had meant to buy the new rose 'Beatrix Potter' and yes, you've guessed it again, I didn't.... but I might.

....and the oldest piece of paper I discovered, was a diet sheet from 1975, called The Human Diet.

It was not produced on a glossy sheet of paper as diets are today, no this diet, was produced using a stencil. Now that took me by surprise. I remember using stencils back in the day, way before we had photocopiers. In the early days, if a letter needed to be sent to 10 or more people, I would type the information on a waxed stencil. The next stage which I always disliked, was the inking of the Gestetner drum.... and the stage I always dreaded, was laying the stencil on top of the ink, hoping that I would not make any creases in the stencil and I always kept my fingers crossed, that the ink did not bleed and that I would not be covered in ink, which invariably I was. You can see by my choice of words, how much I disliked using the Gestetner duplicating machine.

Now that is 5 pieces of paper,  which I have kept and not used and this is only the tip of the iceberg. So why do I feel the need to keep this stuff. What I do know is, I just have this love for old recipes, but the back exercises I cannot explain those, they are a mystery.

.... but I digress, why on earth have I kept a diet sheet from 1975? For posterity? Again who knows, but keep it I have, so I thought it would be fun to share with you a couple of the meals which were recommended on this diet.

Breakfast.  1/2 a grapefruit, 1 slice of starch reduced bread, spread with 1/4oz of butter and 1 teaspoon of marmalade or honey.  

Now if my memory serves me correctly, wasn't the bread called Nimble.... and such tiny slices.

Lunch.  1 portion of Cadbury's snack soup,

2 cream crackers with 1oz Edam cheese or cucumber. Notice I say or, not both.

Supper.  Beans on Toast.  A 5oz can of baked beans placed on a thin slice of toast. Topped with a poached egg.

My word, did I do this diet. I don't remember it. Maybe it was one of those diets a girlfriend recommended, which I didn't get around to. I'm glad I didn't because I feel there's not enough food  to feed a sparrow.

.... luckily George does not have the appetite of a sparrow.  That is why he loved this,

Lemon Cheesecake with a  ginger biscuit base.  Do you remember when I used my Lakeland moulds for the Pearl Barley, Chicken and Feta Cheese Stack, well I decided, instead of making one large cheesecake, to make 4 individual cheesecakes. I have to say, I am using these moulds such a lot and I love how, whether I make something savoury or something sweet....the presentation is impressive.

So it's on with the pinnie and the music I am listening to today is,

source

Justin Bieber's 'What Do You Mean'.... does that surprise you?  This is a song,  the minute I hear it, I want to dance around the kitchen.... I can't help myself.

So listen to this song, and I bet you will be foot tapping as well. Now I haven't included the Utube clip, because I think it is a little raunchy, you however may not, but it doesn't take away from the fact that I love this song.

I think I had better get on now, and organise my ingredients, before time runs away from me.

INGREDIENTS YOU 

WILL NEED

TO MAKE

LEMON CHEESECAKE

WITH GINGER BISCUITS

FOR THE BASE

200g dark chocolate coated, ginger biscuits

75g melted butter

THE TOPPING

250g mascarpone cheese

200g single cream

1 tin (397g) condensed milk

2 large lemons - juiced

You will need: a baking tray lined with
greaseproof paper
4 Lakeland moulds
or
1 x 9" springform cake tin

HOW TO 

MAKE

LEMON CHEESECAKE WITH

GINGER BISCUITS

Oil the 4 moulds

and

place on a baking tray lined with

grease proof paper.

Blitz the biscuits

in a food processor

or

place the biscuits in a plastic bag

and 

using a rolling pin gently tap

the biscuits until they become

biscuit crumbs.

Slowly melt

the butter in a saucepan

then
add the biscuit crumbs
and mix together.

Divide the crumb mixture

between the 4 ring moulds.

Gently press the biscuit crumb

with the back of a spoon.

Place in the fridge for half an hour.

While the biscuit base is firming,

place the cream

and

the mascarpone cheese

in a large bowl

and 

using a balloon whisk,

mix together

to combine the ingredients.

Add the condensed milk

to the bowl

and

add the lemon juice
a tablespoon at a time.

Whisk until the mixture

becomes thick.

As you can see from the picture,

I made a pretty mess when I whisked

the ingredients together.

Divide the 

mixture between the 4 moulds

and

place in the fridge for at least

4 hours to set.

By which time,

these fabulous cheesecakes

will be ready to eat.

Now you can eat them as they are,

or

you can decorate them as I have

with either a strawberry 

or

some some chocolate curls.

On this occasion I plumped for

the 

strawberries.... now that's a surprise, as you know
how much I love chocolate.

Then all there is left to do,

is,

enjoy.

You might have noticed an odd photograph.... the lemon.  I had forgotten to photograph the lemon, so I used the photograph from another dish. It does look a little odd I know, sorry about that.

.... and guess what, this is a recipe I discovered in my plastic wallet, which I haven't made for years. Now that the recipe has seen the light of day, I am going to start a book and write out all the recipes I have discovered.... I'm not sure how long that is going to take.... probably a little while, so hopefully, before not too long, you will see the Survival Cake appear on Ivy, Phyllis and Me!

Before I take my leave. Do you remember earlier, I mentioned, that George really loved this cheesecake.

Well take a look at what he did to my strawberry decoration. 

Yes, he was in a really minxy mood yesterday.

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Mary from the Boondocks for Sweet Inspiration Link Party

Laurie from My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies, for Snickerdoodle Sunday

Kathy from A Delightsome Life for Home and Garden Thursday

As Always,

PART 2 ~ SWEET AND JUICY MANGO WITH LABNEH AND ROASTED OATS

Good Morning to you,

I was wondering, how do you record birthdays, anniversaries and appointments, which you need to remember?

Are you a paper person?

Or,

are you a computer, Ipad or Iphone person?

In the back of my mind, as it is the year 2015,  I feel the correct answer should be, that I am a computer person. I am not without skills, I do use a computer quite a lot, but not to keep track of appointments or the like.

George does, he records all his comings and goings on the ipad and loves it.  Along with checking the weather.... yes, as you can guess, we are English and checking the weather is ingrained in our psyche.

..... but, to date, I have resisted .... and do you know why.

Call me old fashioned, but I love paper calendars. 

I love visiting card shops during the month of December, (did you notice I didn't mention Christmas) to see the newest calendars .... I will look at four or five, but I always end up buying the same style..... a line a day calendar, for each month of the year, as it suits me well. 

.... and the reason is,

At the beginning of each year, I love to sit down at the kitchen table, reach for a pen and record what is going to happen in the future. I find by writing the information down, I am more likely to retain it.

I love to be able to see at a glance what is happening throughout the week. I highlight birthdays and remind myself at least two weeks in advance that a card needs to be bought.... yes I do try to be organised. 

.... and I am happy with my paper calendar, 

but,

each time Natasha and Danielle come home, they invariably encourage me to change my habit of a lifetime. They both encourage me to use my ipad and tell me, it will make life simpler. I always listen and smile, then I say 'I'll give it a go',

but,

they both know, that I know, it won't happen, as next time they come home I will still be using my paper calendar, then once again they will try to convert me.

It is a little game we play..... just a thought, I wonder, will Natasha and Danielle ever manage to win me over?

... but there are no games being played today, as today, we are going to be making the second part of our dessert.

The roasted oats to place on top of

our

Mango and Labneh dessert.

Now then, you may be asking, 'Why are there blueberries on top of the roasted oats, when last week Daphne used mangoes'.  Well, there is a reason.

Someone, who shall remain nameless, although, if you have been reading my blog for a little while, you will know, it's George, ate the last remaining mango. It meant that I was scuppered, there were no mangoes left. I did not have a replacement, and I could not buy anymore, because the mangoes in the shops would be firm to the touch and not ripe enough to eat. 

Note to self: remember to let George know when I need to keep an ingredient.

So apologies for the blueberries, but having said that, blueberries would be lovely to use in this dessert as well.

So without further ado, 'it's on with the pinnie' and the music I am listening to is,

the fabulous Blake Shelton.  Do you remember, I mentioned, that I had never heard of Blake, until he dueted with Barbra Streisand on the song 'I'd Want It To Be You'. I had mentioned this to George, and he surprised me with this wonderful album.... and I love it.

BUT, before I share some of Blake's music from the album, I discovered this YouTube clip.... you may have seen it already as it has had a lot of hits, but it is the first time for me.  Get your tissues ready, because you will need them. 

Natasha and Danielle, are you ready?

Dad signing ~ I Loved Her First

Then when you have dried your eyes and composed yourself, listen to,

I Don't Care

and fall in love with Blake's beautiful voice.

So while I gather my ingredients together, I am listening to,

What I Wouldn't Give

I have played this album so many times, that I know most of the words, to the songs.... so yes, I am singing along and I have to say, as I gather my ingredients, I am also including, very dramatic dance movements around my kitchen.  It's just as well you cannot see me, as you would be in fits of laughter.

INGREDIENTS

YOU 

WILL NEED

TO MAKE

ROASTED OAT TOPPING

4 oz large rolled oats

6 or 7 large walnuts

2 oz dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons organic Agave Syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon organic coconut oil

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Preheat the oven to 160 C

or

140 C if you have a fan assisted oven

You Will Also Need

1 medium sized baking tray

Baking parchment 

HOW TO 

MAKE

ROASTED OAT TOPPING

Place the oats

onto a baking tray

and

bake for 30 minutes.

Move the oats around every 15 minutes.

Keep an eye on them, because ovens vary 

and you might find it takes

 less time to roast the oats.

Whilst the oats are baking, cut the walnuts into

small pieces.

You will notice there is a mix of large and small

pieces of walnuts.  This is because George enjoys

a larger walnut, whilst I prefer
 a smaller piece of

walnut.

Place the walnuts into a small pan and toast until they take on a golden colour.  

It is important that you move the walnuts around the pan and

that you keep an eye on them.

I did not heed my own advice, as I answered a text from Natasha, which is always welcome,
 and I managed to burn a few walnuts.  
It is so easy to do.

As my father would say, 'Don't do as I do' Do as I say'.

When the walnuts have toasted, set  them aside for the moment.

Place the dark brown sugar into a small saucepan

along with

the Agave syrup,

the coconut oil,

the

vanilla essence,

the

salt

and finally,

the 

toasted walnuts

and

cook over a low heat

until

the brown sugar has dissolved.

Using the same baking tray as you used to toast the

oats, line it with baking parchment,
 as this will make 

it easier to remove the roasted oats
 when they have cooled.

Oops, here is my second mistake, I forgot to line the baking tray. I think I am enjoying Blake's music a little too much.

We'll move on..... Spoon the mixture onto the lined baking tray

and

using the back of a spoon, level the mixture.

Cool completely.

By which time you will have the most delicious, gooey topping.

Break into small pieces

and

 place

on top

of your sweet and juicy mango with labneh dessert.

I thought I would let you know, that you will have some roasted oats left over, but they are delicious and I usually find once I place them in a dish, they are eaten by the end of the day.

As I mentioned last week, please don't be put off by the Part 1 and Part 2 of this dessert.  It really is straight forward, but because I take step by step photographs, it makes the whole process seem a lot longer than it really is. Just remember to drain the yoghurt and roast the oats the evening before and the following day, you will be ready to complete this dessert.

As you know, I always own up to mistakes I make in the kitchen, because I am not a chef, I am someone who enjoys cooking, and I am not infallable, I am prone to making a few mistakes here and there when I lose concentration.

I'm sure you are the same, have you had the odd mishap in the kitchen?

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Lesley from Lamberts Lately for Create it Thursday

and

Miz Helen's Country Cottage for Full Plate Thursday