Tag Archives: Recipes

Crustless Eggplant Pizza’s

Crustless Pizza

Crustless Mini Eggplant Pizza’s

Number of Servings: 4-6

INGREDIENTS
1 eggplant
1 tsp salt
4 teaspoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup pizza sauce
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 425 degrees F.

Grill Eggplant Slices

Prepare eggplant-peeled and sliced along width of eggplant for circular slices (3 inch diameter), each slice about 1/4 inch thick.
Sprinkle salt on both sides of each eggplant, place them into a colander and set aside for 2 hours, allowing the eggplants water to come out and reduce the bitterness of the vegetable (set colander onto a large bowl to collect water from eggplant).
Pat dry each eggplant slice with paper towels to remove moisture.
Brush both sides of the eggplant with the oil and season with pepper.
Grill Eggplant. OR arrange slices onto a baking sheet  and bake until browned and almost tender, about 3 minutes each side, turning once.

Layer each eggplant with tomato sauce and topped off w cheese

Place individual eggplant slices onto  a baking sheet from oven and spread 1 tablespoon of pasta sauce on each eggplant slice. Top with the shredded cheese. Bake until the cheese melts, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Cucumber Guacamole Dip

Cucumbers and Lime give this guacamole a refreshing flavor.

INGREDIENTS
2 ripe avocados, peeled and chopped
1/2 medium cucumber, (peeled) chopped              
1/3 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp pepper flakes
1 squeeze lime (about 1-2 Tbsp juice) may use lemon
Salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp)

DIRECTIONS
Add all ingredients to blender or food processor and process to desired consistency. Add salt (about 1/2 tsp) to taste. Serve chilled. Enjoy with your favorite chips or tortillas.

Top off with chopped1 freshly diced  tomato and 1 tablespoon torn cilantro leaves.

Number of Servings: 8

Cindy’s Basic Cheesecake

Basic Cheesecake is heavenly and fresh! Serve within the first 24 hours to optimize the enjoyment of this dessert.  Serves 12 portions.

Crust
2 cups finely crushed graham crackers (avail. @ Vivimarket)
½ tsp. ground cinnamon (optional)
½ cup butter, melted

3  250 g  packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour (“0”)
1 tsp vanilla extract (avail. @ Vivimarket or make your own)
½ tsp finely shredded lemon peel (optional)
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
¼ cup milk

  • Items needed: parchment paper, 1 shallow baking pan, small sauce pan, 1 round baking pan, 1 large mixing bowl, 1 small mixing bowl, fork, Mixer, zester or knife, measuring cups and measuring spoons, rubber spatula or spoon
DIRECTIONS for Cheesecake
  • Preheat oven to 325 F or 150 C.
  • Prepare a shallow baking pan with water 2/12 cups of water and set it aside. It will be used at the end of the recipe for the Bain-Marie.
  • Begin to melt 1/2 cup butter in a sauce pan over low heat, about 3 minutes.
  • Line an 8×3 round cake pan with cooking parchment (measured and cut at 12×7) that has been dampened and crumpled.
  • For crust, use a small mixing bowl and combine with a fork crackers, melted butter and cinnamon. Empty ingredients into round baking pan on top of dampened parchment and with your fingers, press crumb mixture into prepared pan lined with parchment paper, taking care to press up the sides about 2 inches. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla and lemon zest (yellow skin do not cut white pith it is bitter) cut into strips.  Beat with an electric mixer till fluffy.
  • Add eggs and yolk all at once, beating on low-speed just till combined.
  • Stir in milk.
  • Pour mixture into crust-lined pan.
  • Place prepared cheesecake in round baking pan onto a shallow baking pan in oven and fill outside pan about half full with boiling water (Bain-marie).
  • Place in oven and bake at 325 F or 150 C for 55 to 65 minutes.  Cheesecake is done when the center seems nearly set, but jiggles slightly when shaken.
  •  Remove cake pan from water and let cool at least an hour before removing from pan with paper (just lift it out).
  •  Place on plate and refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.

Variations:

Oreo Cheesecake: Substitute Oreos for graham crackers and reduce butter to 5 Tbsp.  Crush an additional ½ cup of Oreos and mix into cream cheese mixture just before pouring it into the crust-lined pan.

Liqueur Cheesecake: Substitute White Crème de Menthe, Crème de Cacao, Coffee Liqueur, or Amaretto for the 1/4 cup milk.

Recipe from CIndy Evans

True Lava Cake

   Delicious Lava Cake that will leave your palate pleasantly satisfied. Soft warm chocolate cake center will make you a success amongst your guests. Having tested various Lava Cake recipes, this recipe will work producing the “Lava” that the cake is known to do.

Serves 6.  20 minutes preparation time. 7 minutes cooking time!   

Pre-heat oven to 170 C or 340 F. Generously grease a muffin plan.

Ganache
2 ounces Chocolate Bar. DARK Chocolate
6 tsp heavy whip cream or condensed milk
1 tsp butter

In a microwaveable combine all ingredients and allow chocolate to melt on DEFROST for 90 seconds. Incorporate all ingredients. Place in refrigerator. With a fork whisk melted chocolate every 3 minutes for a total of 7 minutes. Extend plastic wrap onto a tin. With a teaspoon, scoop out a ball of chocolate and with a knife gently place chocolate ball onto plastic, repeat. Place ganache into the freezer for 10 minutes.

Chocolate Batter
3.5 ounces Dark Chocolate
1/3 cup butter
3 Egg yolks
3 tsp Chocolate Powder  (Various name brand’s will produce different types of color chocolate. This will not effect flavor!)
3 Tbsp Flour sifted.

In a bowl, place chocolate and butter. Place into microwave for 90 seconds until chocolate is melted. Incorporate ingredients with fork. Allow to cool down. Add 3 egg yolks, sifted flour and chocolate powder to chocolate mixture. With a spoon or fork, mix all ingredients together. Set aside.

Merengue
3 egg whites
Salt
3 Tbsp sugar

Beat egg whites on high speed for 1 minute. Add a pinch of salt and beat for 1 minutes. Add 3 Tbsp sugar slowly while beating eggs for another minute.

Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture until all chocolate and egg whites are well combined. Gently, Fold ingredients with a flexible spatula bringing together both mixes, by using a motion that rotates from bottom to top in a folding over motion. Continue to fold mixes together until the egg whites are no longer visible, but the air pockets are still noticed. (stirring the mixes will deflate the egg whites and the cake will fall flat.)

With a tablespoon place 1 spoonfuls of chocolate mixture into muffin tin/ramkin. Remove Ganaches from freezer and center one ganache into cake batter. Top off with extra batter as to enclose ganache, tin/ramkin should not exceed 3/4’s full. (otherwise bake lava cake for 9 minutes.)
Place muffin pan into oven and allow lava cakes to bake for 7 minutes on 170 C or 340 F. Do not open oven door while baking! Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Invert muffin pan onto cookie pan so that lava cakes fall onto pan by themselves. Serve with berries and sprinkle with powder sugar. May rewarm lava cakes in microwave for 3 seconds before serving.

Pasta Carbonara

Carbonara with added asparagus makes for a flavorful dish

Serves 2

1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pancetta or 4 slices bacon cut into 8ths
2 eggs (raw and whisked)
Salt and Pepper to taste (1/2 teaspoon dried parsley and red pepper flakes optional)
4 Asparagus stalks cut into small pieces.
Parmesean cheese
Pasta: Spaghetti for 2 (approximately 4-7 ounces 120-200 grams)

BEGIN, in a large pan add water and place onto high heat.

In a sauce pan, heat oil and pancetta over medium heat. Make sure that the oil and the pancetta does not burn.

Using a a mixing bowl crack open eggs and whisk with a fork. Set aside.

Add 1 Tbsp salt when water boils. Add half box pasta and allow to boil in water for allotted time along with asparagus. Drain well!

Drain pasta well! Place pasta back into pan over low heat. Add eggs to pasta and then add hot oil with pancetta/bacon to pasta. Turn well. Eggs will cook fast. Allow to cook together for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve with parmesan cheese, cracked pepper to taste and dried parsley/pepper flakes.

Kim Crocker-Scardicchio