Saturday, October 30, 2010

Got a Cheesecake Craving?

The cheesecake craving hit me HARD at the end of last week. All of the ingredients (except for the cream cheese and powdered sugar) are things I almost always have on hand. This recipe was thrown together from my knowledge of baking, and came out PERFECT, literally.

Ingredients:
- 1 8oz package cream cheese
- 2-3 tbs plain yogurt
- 2 tbs butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 pre-made pie crust
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbs flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
optional: your favorite fruit
Tools: electric mixer, cake tin (or cheesecake tin), plastic scraper

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter a 9" cake pan and lay out pie dough (or you can use a pre-made graham cracker crust). Bake in oven for 7-10 minutes.
3. On low speed, mix all of your "wet" ingredients: butter, cream cheese, and yogurt. Add vanilla, lemon juice, egg and egg yolks. Continue to mix ingredients until they resemble a pudding-like mixture.
4. Add powdered sugar and flour. Mix well.
5. Next add salt and baking powder. Blend well.
6. Pour into pie crust and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown on top.
7. Let cheesecake cool before cutting (it will sink in a little bit when it cools). I find that a cheesecake always tastes best if I wait 24 hours to eat it...though sometimes I do take it out to eat sooner.

8. When ready to eat, dice up your favorite fruit (I used canned peaches in this instance), and pour over each slice as desired. YUM-YUM!! :)

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Udon Soup...thanks you, local Asian supermarket..

On a chilly Fall day, nothing warms me up like a delicious bowl of homemade soup. You can keep them simple with a broth or fill them up with something you love. This soup recipe involves traditional Japanese noodles called "udon" (pronounced "Ooooo- dong"). These noodles come soft and prepackaged. I found them grocery shopping at a local Asian supermarket with one of my gfs from Taiwan. She suggested things to add to the soup, including tofu, eggs, or chicken. I tried out the recipe with something called "fish tofu" which gave the soup a light, delicious, seafood flavor. Absolutely おいしい! (pronounced "Oishii"- which means "delicious")

You will need:

Tools:
- a medium pot, vegetable peeler, measuring cup, large spoon

Ingredients:
- 1 package udon noodles
- 1 package chicken boullion (some udon noodles already come with a packet of flavoring which you can use instead)
- one medium carrot
- 1 tbs parsley
- 2 tbs rice wine
- 1/4 pound of fish tofu
- 1 tbs garlic powder
- 1 tsp old bay
- Adobo and pepper to taste
1. STEP ONE: Assemble your ingredients (above) and fish tofu (below).

2. Bring a pot of 1 cup of water to a boil over high heat.
3. Add your fish tofu (below) and udon noodles, and bring to a boil (about 3-4 minutes).
4. Use the vegetable peeler to add pieces of shaved carrot. Add your parsley, garlic powder, old bay, and boullion. Continue to boil for another 1-2 minutes.
5. Add rice wine and stir gently. Add salt (adobo is my salt) and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Allow to cool in pot for at least 5-10 minutes before serving.
6. Pour into a large soup bowl (should make about 3-4 servings).

...楽しむ!

(pronounced "Tanoshimu"- which means "enjoy!")