more updates ...

well, it has been busy getting this blog reconfigured. thank G-d it's only a few weeks of work and not several months.

the old blog has been deleted and replaced with this one. i hope everything is up & running properly. i also plan to continue to improve it as time goes by.

in the food realm, i made the cheesecake i spoke about in the earlier post about tvorog from yulinka & yiddishe mama's blog, with a few changes. when i measured the tvorog, it yielded 3 cups and not 4 as needed in her recipe. so this is my twist on her recipe:

3 c. fresh tvorog [or storebought]
2/3 to 3/4 c. sugar [3/4 c. being sweeter]
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
lemon zest

preheat oven to 350 F

with a hand mixer, mix all except eggs til well blended. add eggs, one by one and blend. pour into a springform [6 or 7 inch] which has been "lined" on the bottom with a simple graham cracker crust [graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar: push in bottom of pan & prebake this approx. 10 min]. pour mixture into pan and carefully put in oven to bake for approximately 1 and 1/4 to 1 1/2 hr. The top should be browned around edges and the middle firm-ish. remove from oven to cool and refrigerate overnight or several hours. serve with a fruit coulis. note: make crust beforehand and i used a larger springform than i indicated which is why it does not have a big height.

Minute & A Half Lemon Sauce

serve this with your next cheesecake. great with sponge cakes or pound cakes.

1/2 c. water
1/4 c. sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp butter or [pareve] margarine
3-4 drops yellow food colouring

in a microwavable bowl, add everything but the butter or margarine. whisk all ingredients until smooth and place in microwave on high for one minute. remove and whisk. replace in microwave and cook 15 more seconds. whisk and repeat as many times as necessary until a pourable texture is achieved. remove from microwave and add butter or margarine and whisk until smooth. let cool.

note: if not used right away, the sauce will gel in the fridge due to the cornstarch. gently reheat it in the microwave with a little extra water, if needed to thin it.

and another update from a past post on avocados —


simple avocado & corn 'end of summer' salad:

1 to 1 1/2 ripe avocado, cut in chunks
several slices of red onion
1 small [or medium] can sweet corn
1/2 sweet yellow pepper, cut in dice or sliced
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp marjoram [or greater amounts of fresh parsley or cilantro to your liking]

combine all carefully so as not to destroy the chunks of avocado. taste, adjust seasonings and refrigerate & serve.