Rhubarb Cheesecake Tart

Its that time of year again.

The time when I struggle with where I will

dedicate my time....

the kitchen or the garden.

The garden can take up so much time

yet I don't mind because I love my garden.

Its full of beautiful roses, raspberry bushes,

and eventually heavily burdened tomato plants.

There is also a sweet little pond that has

a soothing fountain, humming birds wearing

what seems like jet packs considering the speed they fly by.

And the occasional neighborhood cat

passing through to say hi.

But as much as I love my garden,

its my kitchen that has my heart and soul.

The great thing about these two different

worlds is that more often than not

they can come together and produce something

A.W.E.S.O.M.E.

Today's recipe is a really good example.

Not everyone likes rhubarb I know.

And that's just crazy.

But this tart could change their mind

or yours if you are the crazy one.

If you are not lucky enough to have

any rhubarb in your garden there is

plenty at the farmers markets and

grocery stores at this time of year.

So go and enjoy some spring rhubarb love.

Rhubarb Cheesecake Tart :

one 10 inch flan pan

1 lb chopped fresh rhubarb

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine rhubarb and sugar in a shallow casserole

dish. Cover with foil. Bake in a 350 F oven for 20 minutes,

or until tender.

Remove from oven and add vanilla. Strain rhubarb and reserve

juice. Chill both rhubarb and juice.

Meanwhile:

Crust :

1 cup flour

1/2 cup ground almonds

1/2 cup butter

5 tablespoons sugar

In a food processor combine all ingredients.

Blend until fine crumb.

Press into flan pan or pie dish pressing up the sides.

Bake in a 325 F oven for 20 minutes or until light brown.

Remove and cool completely.

Cheesecake Filling:

250 grams cream cheese ( block )

100 ml heavy cream

2 tablespoon cointreau

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

3 tablespoon sugar

Combine all ingredients together and beat until

smooth. Chill for 30 minutes.

Assembly:

Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over cooled crust.

Drop spoons of rhubarb onto cheese filling and using a knife

swirl together carefully.

Using a pastry brush brush on cooled reserved rhubarb juice

( it should be slightly thick )

Chill tart thoroughly for at least 6 hours.

:))





Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes (GF)

Hello Cupcake.... my old reliable friend.

You are so easy to get along with,

very dependable, just small enough not

to have any room for judgement.

And everyone loves you no matter what your

shape or size.

``` sigh```

Some days just require a little cupcake.

I wish life was as easy as making cupcakes.

Short time commitment, big payoff.

But no... life is more like a 3 course meal

for a 100 people in 3 hours

and the grocery store closes in 15 minutes.

Well my life feels that way... some days.

So to save my sanity, I slip into my kitchen,

grab pretty cupcake liners to inspire

and let my mind relax.

Today's cupcake is brought to by

"strawberry cupcake liners " and the makers of

" stop this life I want to get off ".

Hmmm....

That is All.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes ( gluten free )

makes about 20

preheat oven to 350 F

line muffin tin

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cup GF flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup oil

1 small lemon zested

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup frozen lemonade

In a medium bowl beat together the sugar, eggs, oil,

frozen lemonade, vanilla and lemon zest.

Add to this the flour, salt, baking powder and

the xanthan gum.

Beat well until smooth. Pour into the lined pan and bake

for about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Lemon Glaze

juice from zested lemon

1 1/2 tablespoon sugar

Mix together until sugar is dissolved.

Brush over top of cupcakes using pastry brush.

Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely.

Strawberry Butter Cream

1 cup diced strawberries

1 1/2 tablespoon sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter

4 cups icing sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together the diced strawberries and sugar.

Set aside.

In a mixer beat butter until fluffy.

Add icing sugar, vanilla and milk

Mix well together and add the diced strawberries.

Beat for a few minutes until light and fluffy.

Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Refrigerate to store.

Bring to room temperature before serving.

Peace out Cupcake :))





Coconut Cream Pie with Toasted Cashew Crust

Where has the week gone?

Is it just me or does time seem to be speeding up?

 I am happy that the weekend is here already

and even happier that it's a Long Weekend.

The unofficial weekend to kick off summer.

I am more than ready for summer.... well not really

but I am seriously ready for heat and sunshine.

Too long of a wet winter and too cool spring.

At times I have felt like my skin after sitting in the bath too long.

All wrinkly and basically gross.

Yesterday I took the patio furniture out of storage.

Usually my husband does this so I don't

have to be subjected to spiders that are bigger

than they have a right to be.

But I was on my own..... I basically looked like

a Ninja checking underneath the table slats

and inside the umbrella.... thanks for nothing, husband.

So here we are at the end of the week

and my last Pie Blog.... of 3.

And it's a good one, especially for a Long Weekend.

with the potential of sunny weather.

Who doesn't like Coconut Cream Pie?

That would be crazy.

Whoever doesn't, must be a really sad person.

Or maybe from another planet?

HAPPY WEEKEND

Coconut Cream Pie with Toasted Cashew Crust:   makes one 9 inch

Toasted Cashew Crust:

Preheat oven to 350F

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup toasted and chopped fine cashews**

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

5 tablespoons butter melted

In a medium bowl mix cashews, graham crumbs and sugar together.

Pour melted butter over top and mix well.

Put into pie dish and press crumbs onto bottom and up sides of dish.

Bake in oven for 5 to 8 min.

Remove and cool .

Coconut Cream Pie Filling:

1 large ( 6 - 8 serving ) box Jello Vanilla Cooked Pudding Mix

1 cup canned coconut milk ( stir before measuring )

1 cup milk

2 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons coconut rum

1 cup shredded coconut

In a large saucepan and over medium heat stir together Jello mix,

coconut milk and milk.

Stir constantly until thick and bubbly.

Remove from heat.

Stir in vanilla, coconut rum and shredded coconut.

Pour into prepared pie shell and cool slightly.

Chill in refrigerator until set about 4 hours or even overnight.

Decorate with:

1 cup heavy cream whipped and sweetened.

1/2 cup shredded coconut lightly toasted and cooled.

Peace out with Pie :))

*** measure cashews after they have been toasted and chopped fine

CHOCOLATE PIE

Okay are you ready?

PIE... part two.

I have to be honest... out of the pies created this week

this Chocolate Pie is my least favourite.

Yikes... please keep reading.

Why I said this, is because I am not really

a chocolate craving monster.

And that is the only reason.

The pie itself, if you are a chocolate lover

IS AMAZING.

My youngest ate 3 pieces in one sitting!

Oh the metabolism of youth.....

It WAS exactly what I was hoping it would be.

Creamy, light and intense chocolate flavour.

And if I was a chocolate lover I would sell

my soul for it.

 It was a huge hit because it disappeared

F.A.S.T.

It is a simple recipe and if you go the short cut

of buying a ready made crust this is a

easy pie that will impress with little fuss.

The only difficult part is waiting for it to set.

Be patient..... it is worth it for

 all you chocolate monsters.

Chocolate Pie :   makes one 9 inch

1 pre-baked 9 inch pie shell

2/3 cup milk

1 cup water

6 tablespoons darkest cocoa ( Hershey's Dark )

4 tablespoons of cornstarch

1 can ( 14 oz ) sweetened condensed milk

3 egg yolks ( beaten well )

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup heavy cream whipped ( and sweetened )

chocolate shavings

In a large saucepan combine milk, water, cornstarch and cocoa.

Whisk together to remove any and all lumps.

Stir in sweetened condensed milk and beaten egg yolks.

Heat on medium and stir constantly until mixture comes to 

a boil and is thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

Let cool for 5 minutes then pour into prebaked pie shell.

Let cool for 20 minutes then refrigerate for at least 4 hours

or until set.

**** important after 20 minutes of cooling cover pie lightly with

foil to prevent a skin on top. Making sure foil does not touch filling.

When completely chilled garnish with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. 









FRESH STRAWBERRY PIE

Happy Mothers Day.

Regardless of how you spent it I hope it was a beautiful day.

Mine was wonderful in lots of ways.

It wasn't relaxing or indulgent.

But it was a day spent with my boys together

and that is always special.

My youngest and only kid at home started the

day with his special Mom's Day breakfast.

Eggo waffles and strawberries.

It always touches my heart, for the mere fact that

he gets his now teenage body out of bed earlier than he would normally

and puts together such a simple meal in a beautifully styled way.

He then sits with me to make sure I eat and refills my coffee.

This allows me to share stories of when he was little and so determined

to make breakfast for me and at that time the only word to describe

his efforts would be " alarming".

It has never mattered if the gifts

were store bought or hand made by themselves,

I am so thrilled that these future men are so thoughtful.

This year was no exception

Not only did they buy gifts that they knew

would make their mom happy,

they also took time to make homemade gifts.

This is significant because my oldest son is 24

and my youngest is 16.... and they are boys.

What they did in making these sob worthy gifts for me

and without their knowing, they also gave themselves

a gift.

Time spent together.

This will be something they look back on

as they grow older as a great memory.

In this action they have once again showed me that

they are doing just fine.....

I love my boys and without them

Mothers Day would never be as wonderful.

So... they more than deserved to have pie made for them.

This first one I will share with you is a

Fresh Strawberry.

And when I say "first one" ,

what I mean, is that there will be 2 more PIE blogs

over the next week......(FINGERS CROSSED)

 I spent some of my Mothers Day in the kitchen

creating  Great Pies of Love to share with my

family while we celebrated my mom.

So come back in a few days and see whats next

in pies.

Come on people time to get your Pie Crust on.

Fresh Strawberry Pie:     Makes one 9 inch

2 1/2 pounds fresh strawberries ( washed and pat dry )

1 1/4 cup sugar

4 Tablespoons corn starch

1/2 lemon (juiced)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pre-baked 9 inch pie shell

Using a masher or food processor chop 1/2 lbs of strawberries.

Place them in a medium saucepan and cook on low heat.

Mix together the sugar and cornstarch.

Add to the chopped strawberries along with the lemon juice.

Bring to a low simmer and cook  for about 12 minutes stirring

constantly until thick.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter.

Let cool slightly.

In a large bowl cut remaining 2 lbs of strawberries

in halves. Pour cooked mixture over top and combine gently.

Spoon into prepared pie shell and let cool completely.

Place in refrigerator and chill for at least 3- 4 hours.

Serve with fresh whipped cream

Enjoy :))