Our World in Food

In search of sustainable food systems: back home in Seattle, Washington

Cheesecake de Chèvre April 17, 2012

Filed under: France,Hèrault,Travel Recipes — Nicole @ 10:02 pm
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Mi torta de cumpleaños este año fue un cheesecake hecho con queso fresco de cabra servido con ciruelas en almibar. Hecho con casi todo de la granja, fue una delicia!

 

A couple of weeks ago I celebrated my birthday here at Roquecave Ferme des Chèvres. Every year I like to celebrate with a cake, but this would be my first year celebrating with a gluten-free cake. I thought about using gluten-free flours, but then I remembered that I’m surrounded by cheese and could make a killer cheesecake! The other WWOOF volunteer on the farm and I made her friend, Krishenka’s, simple cheesecake recipe. It was fantastic!

Like all cheesecake recipes it requires a day of refrigeration and thus should be made a day ahead of time. We used fresh goat cheese (of course!) but the original recipe is made with cream cheese. It is best decorated or served with fresh or preserved fruit. We used plums preserved in sugar syrup, but any fresh or preserved berry would be fantastic too.

 

Cheesecake de Chèvre

Adapted from Krishenka’s Cheesecake Recipe

 

  • 1 package of crunchy cookies (we used gluten-free oat cookies)
  • 80 gr of butter
  • 5 rounds of fresh goat cheese (weighing about 100 gr each)
  • 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
  • Juice and zest of half a lemon
  • Pinch of salt
  • Fresh fruit or preserves

 

  1. Crush the cookies in a bag with the bottom of a glass bottle until sandy. You can add chopped nuts or used a flavored cookie (like ginger) for a richer crust. Melt the butter in a pan and throw in the cookies crumbs. Add more butter if needed until all the crumbs are coated.
  2. Butter a 9 inch spring-form pan and press the buttered cookie crumbs into the bottom and the sides too if you like, but it’s not necessary. Place in the fridge as you prepare the rest of the cake.
  3. With a fork, mix the fresh cheese with the sweetened condensed milk, zest, juice and pinch of salt until creamy. Add less sweetened condensed milk if you prefer a more sour cake. Pour over crust and smooth with a spatula. Refrigerate for about 24 hours.
  4. When it’s time to serve the cake, pop it out of its mold and decorate with fresh fruit over top or serve with a dollop of fruit preserves.
 

Watermelon Granita September 9, 2011

Filed under: Italy,Sicily,Travel Recipes — Nicole @ 1:43 pm
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Granita di Anguria

The Sicilians claim they invented granita, though I doubt it. It’s such a simple concept that I’m sure lots of people were enjoying it for centuries, just under different names. Granita is basically sweetened, flavored ice; refreshing and not as heavy as gelato, it is popular in the hot summer months here on the island. The most traditional flavor in Sicily is almond. We didn’t have any almonds at home, but we did have a huge, pretty bland watermelon. You never know with watermelons, sometimes you get a really sweet one and sometimes you don’t. We thought it would be tastier turned into granita, and sure enough it was!

It’s super easy to make watermelon granita, but I’m sure this recipe would work fine with any other very watery fruits, or any fruit juices for that matter. I’m sure you could even substitute coffee for the watermelon juice and omit the lemon.

Granita di Anguria, Watermelon Granita

  • 1kg watermelon
  • 100 ml water
  • 100 gr sugar
  • Juice of ½ a small lemon
  • A touch of vanilla extract

 

  1. Heat the water and sugar over medium high heat stirring initially to help dissolve the sugar. Add more sugar if you have very bland fruit. Allow to boil for a few minutes then remove from the stove and place this sugar syrup in the fridge.
  2. Juice the melon. I just pressed it with potato masher and then pressed the pulp against a thin colander to remove as much juice as possible. In a large dish mix together the watermelon juice and the sugar syrup, add the lemon juice and vanilla.
  3. Place in the freezer and mix every 30 minutes to 1 hour. This may take longer if you double the recipe as I did! Eventually it should have the consistency of slushy snow. You can store this in the freezer for as long as you like, just let it warm up a bit at room temperature to shave off a serving later.
 

Madeleines July 1, 2011

Filed under: Brazil,Pirenopolis,Travel Recipes — Nicole @ 3:59 pm
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Maracuja madeleines!

Here at Sitio Galeria Murielle cooks very healthy, vegetarian meals, but I had one little request for her. I’ve always wanted to know how to bake madeleines, a traditional French cookie. Murielle used to bake and sell madeleines here in Pirenópolis. It turns out they are originally Polish, not French! But the French are famous for them.

Madeleines are very simple to make, there are just two secrets to success. First, you need a madeleine mold, these cookies have a shell shape. Murielle has a traditional metal mold, but now-a-days you can pick up silicone molds that the cookies will never stick to. The second secret, excellent quality butter!

Medeleines du Joёl Robuchon

  • 200 gr unslated butter
  • 200 gr confectioners’ sugar
  • 80 gr flour
  • 6 egg whites
  • 1 TB honey
  • Flavoring of choice: vanilla extract, ground almonds, lemon zest, etc…

 

  1. Butter, flour and place your madeleine molds in the fridge.
  2. Sift the four and confectioners sugar into a medium bowl.
  3. Melt butter, let cool.
  4. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff and white.
  5. Combine eggs with flour mixture, then mix in butter. Add any flavorings.
  6. Pour enough batter to reach the top of each madeleine mold and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
  7. Bake for 15 minutes in a medium hot oven. During the 13th minute open the oven door to let a rush of cool air in. Madeleines should be pale yellow in color and should have a spongy, fluffy texture.
 

Granola June 17, 2011

Filed under: Brazil,Pirenopolis,Travel Recipes — Nicole @ 6:17 pm
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Granola con yogur y bananas, una delicia.

I’ve been making granola since I started this trip in Costa Rica. I don’t know if you end up saving much money by making your own granola, it depends how much granola costs where you live. Store-bought granola from most places I’ve traveled to is either prohibitively expensive, not very tasty or very hard to find. I never posted a granola recipe because I’ve wanted to perfect the process first. I think it’s finally time to share what I’ve found to be the simplest, most delicious granola recipe.

  1. I’ve found it’s best to make granola directly over a hot stove because there is less chance of it burning. So take the widest pot you’ve got and heat it up over the stove with about 1 cm of oats scattered all over the bottom. Stir continuously to toast evenly.
  2. Once the oats start to turn color add your favorite chopped nuts, or whatever nuts you have on hand. Then add any seeds. I also like to add fillers like corn flakes or puffed rice. Stir to toast these along with the oats. If you have shredded coconut add this last as it burns easily.
  3. The toughest part about making granola is not letting it burn; even a few burnt oats will cause all the granola to taste burnt. The trick is to stir continuously and remove the pan from the fire once the oats are golden.
  4. Once the pan is off the fire, pour in honey, maple syrup or rapadura syrup. I also add brown sugar or rapadura. Mix well. Add a touch of salt. I also like to add plenty of cinnamon. Lastly, mix in any dried fruits you may have like raisins, cranberries or cherries.
  5. Let the granola cool completely before storing in an airtight container, preferably a glass container so you can display your colorful creation!