We had this today and it was absolutely delicious! It was the first time we tried the crust and we will definitely be using it again.....The filling I have made one time before....It is 100% as good as cheesecake using regular sugar.The topping I made up today and was SOOOO happy to find that it was just as delicious as my normal caramel topping made with brown sugar!
CRUST:
1 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
3/4 cup arrowroot flour
1/4 cup maple sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
FILLING:
4-8 oz packages cream cheese(softened)
4 eggs
1 cup maple sugar
1 TB vanilla
TOPPING:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
For crust.....In food processor,process hazelnuts until finely ground.....add the rest of the crust ingredients and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.Remove from oven and top with filling.....
For filling.....Beat cream cheese until smooth.Add sugar and beat until well combined.Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.Beat in vanilla.Spoon into crust and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.....
For topping......Combine maple sugar and butter in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.....Add cream and bring to a boil again....Boil for about a minute and then remove from heat....Add vanilla.Pour over cheesecake!
This is delicious warm but well chilled cheesecake (chilled for several hours) is the BEST!!
Enjoy your HEALTHY cheesecake!
I use fresh cream,homeade butter,real salt,organic eggs,real vanilla and our own maple sugar.I will be much happier when we have our own free ranged eggs (we buy organic from the neighbor but the are not free ranged) and my own homeade cream cheese! I have not made my own cream cheese yet...
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Eliminating refined sugar and white flour....
We have always used *alot* of wheat flour....We have even ground our own for several years now.....My Mom was/is and excellent cook and taught me how to bake bread (and alot of other things!) from scratch...I really enjoy it and most of the things we eat *are* from scratch.BUT....we use WAY to much sugar and white flour.....Wheat just isn't the same in some things....Yes,soaking helps the texture etc. but it still isn't the same as white....Sugar is another things hard to replace.....I love to bake desserts and we all love to eat them.....BUT, we love our health better....I have *always* been very interested in health/herbs.I have lots of herb books,grow my own herbs and love to make my own medicines for my family.We rarely go to the doctor but treat our own illnesses with herbs/wholesome foods.We live on a farm,drink our own raw Jersey milk....make cheese,yogurt etc.We have a huge garden and preserve alot of our food.We eat local grown meat....I could go on and on....I am passionate about health and health topics.Still,white flour and sugar are something that we still eat to much of.They are two big things that don't belong in our healthy lifestyle! Two things that we have not managed to give up and they also happen to be two of the worse things for us!I feel that they are two VERY bad things in our diet and that we suffer alot of consequences from eating them....Which makes me feel guilty.... Some think I am crazy for feeling this way as everyone thinks that we eat *sooo* healthy and we do *compared* to alot of people....I have never believed in that .We can always make ourselves feel better by comparing our eating habits with *most* other people as sadly,most people out there are severely lacking knowledge about health and eat very unhealthy....We should instead,compare our eating habits to what is the RIGHT way to eat.The Lord designed certain foods for us to eat and we believe that the healthiest way to eat is to eat our foods in their natural state as much as possible....Sooooooo white flour and refined sugar do not belong!We have recently decided to quit using both.....100%....We will have some *rare* exceptions of course and down the road,after we break ourselves from these addictions I am sure I will use them both again OCCASIONALLY but for now we are done! It feels great! It has been a couple of weeks now and I am AMAZED at the delicious desserts that I have been able to make without either of them!!!! We are using only unrefined sugar and MAPLE SUGAR off of our own property, that we made, is the number one thing we are using! DELICIOUS!! I have alot of recipes I will be putting on my blog that are just delicious!
Delicious wraps
I wanted to write this down so I wouldn't forget what was in them. I made some whole wheat tortillas and filled them with :
spinache
radishes
mixed sprouts
cheese
flax seed oil
horseradish
cayenne
salt
My husband just loved them and when he loves something healthy I keep track of it! Don't get me wrong....he likes *alot* of healthy things but ever since eliminating white flour and refined sugar from our diet it makes cooking/baking a little more challenging......
Of course you could use any vegies/cheese with any seasonings and I think they would be delicious! The horseradish gives them an excellent flavor though!
spinache
radishes
mixed sprouts
cheese
flax seed oil
horseradish
cayenne
salt
My husband just loved them and when he loves something healthy I keep track of it! Don't get me wrong....he likes *alot* of healthy things but ever since eliminating white flour and refined sugar from our diet it makes cooking/baking a little more challenging......
Of course you could use any vegies/cheese with any seasonings and I think they would be delicious! The horseradish gives them an excellent flavor though!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Whole wheat tortillas
This is a delicious recipe that is easy to make! If you want to soak your flour first then make this the night before and add 1/2 cup of whey or 1/2 cup water w/ 2 TB lemon juice added and let it sit on the counter overnight or for several hours.....When ready to make just add a little extra flour to get it the right texture!
8 c. whole wheat flour
4 tsp. salt
1 c. of butter
3 c. water
Mix all ingredients.Form into gold ball sizes.Roll out flat into a circle.Cook on each side in a lightly buttered pan.Do not over cook.(about 1-2 minutes per side)
Fill with desired fillings!
These are sooo soft....even made with 100% whole wheat!!
8 c. whole wheat flour
4 tsp. salt
1 c. of butter
3 c. water
Mix all ingredients.Form into gold ball sizes.Roll out flat into a circle.Cook on each side in a lightly buttered pan.Do not over cook.(about 1-2 minutes per side)
Fill with desired fillings!
These are sooo soft....even made with 100% whole wheat!!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Tapping Maple Trees!
We have a new and very addicting hobby.....
This year we finally tapped our trees.We put out 36 taps and so far, we have boiled down 360 gallons of sap from those taps! We have made over 9 gallons of syrup! I am so thrilled for many reasons but the biggest two are:
1. We have our *own* source,off of our *own* property of healthy,WHOLE, sugar!
2. It is SOOOO much fun! From start to finish it is absolutely fascinating.....
The buckets hanging on the trees and hearing the drip,drip,drip......The taste of the clear,sweet sap......The smell of the steam as the sap boils down and starts to become concentrated......
Tasting.....Finishing off the syrup....Watching the golden syrup pour of of the ladle and waiting to see the "apron" which lets me know it is done......Filling my jars....Letting the children lick all of the bowls,spoons,funnels......Putting my cooled jars of syrup away.....Pancakes with maple syrup that we made ourself!.....Making maple cream,sugar,candy and butter! I plan on posting recipes/methods for all of the things I have tried.....I am amazed at how many delicious things you can make out of just 100% maple syrup! This is a dream come true of mine!
This year we finally tapped our trees.We put out 36 taps and so far, we have boiled down 360 gallons of sap from those taps! We have made over 9 gallons of syrup! I am so thrilled for many reasons but the biggest two are:
1. We have our *own* source,off of our *own* property of healthy,WHOLE, sugar!
2. It is SOOOO much fun! From start to finish it is absolutely fascinating.....
The buckets hanging on the trees and hearing the drip,drip,drip......The taste of the clear,sweet sap......The smell of the steam as the sap boils down and starts to become concentrated......
Tasting.....Finishing off the syrup....Watching the golden syrup pour of of the ladle and waiting to see the "apron" which lets me know it is done......Filling my jars....Letting the children lick all of the bowls,spoons,funnels......Putting my cooled jars of syrup away.....Pancakes with maple syrup that we made ourself!.....Making maple cream,sugar,candy and butter! I plan on posting recipes/methods for all of the things I have tried.....I am amazed at how many delicious things you can make out of just 100% maple syrup! This is a dream come true of mine!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Peanut butter
A year or so ago I stopped buying the "junk" peanut butter and determined to keep it up...Since then I have been only buying REAL peanut butter....Well,It takes some getting use to but we like it.......HOWEVER.....I made something really wonderful recently!! Peanut butter "Spread" that tastes SO much like junk stuff but is healthy! I was thrilled.....We all loved it and I could actually eat it for dessert......
Peanut butter spread.......
1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 TB maple syrup
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
Melt the peanut butter,butter and coconut oil together on very low heat.When combined,add everything else and beat/whisk until smooth.Pour into container and refrigerate!
Delicious!!!!!!!
Peanut butter spread.......
1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 TB maple syrup
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
Melt the peanut butter,butter and coconut oil together on very low heat.When combined,add everything else and beat/whisk until smooth.Pour into container and refrigerate!
Delicious!!!!!!!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Nettle
Latin name - Urtica dioica
Common names- Stinging Nettle,Common Nettle
Medicinal actions-diuretic,astringent,tonic,styptic,rubifacient,alterative,nutritive,
hemostatic
USES- ( This information comes from my well stocked library of wonderful herbal/health books.)
*Increases fertility in men and women
*Eases leg cramps and other muscle spasms
*Diminishes pain during and after birth dues to its high calcium content
*Prevents hemorrhage after birth.Nettle is an excellent source of vitamin K and increases hemoglobin,both of which decrease the likelihood of postpartum hemorrhage
*Reduces hemorrhoids
*Increases the richness and the quantity of breastmilk.
*Stops external bleeding
*Excellent hair tonic
*Blood purifier....This makes it an excellent remedy for all kinds of skin problems (including eczema and acne)Since the cause of skin problems is often internal we must use blood cleansing herbs to treat them.
*Wonderful for the kidneys/bladder (including kidney stones)
*Headaches
* Helps prevent illness of every kind
MY personal experiences with Nettle......
Nettle is a wonderful,nourishing herb! It contains almost all of the minerals and vitamins needed for good health, especially vitamin A,D,C and K.Calcium,potassium,phosphorus,iron, and sulpher are abundant in Nettle.It is a very good tasting tea.Everyone in my family loves it except for me! It is one herb that I particulary do NOT like the taste of.I think I am the weird one though because I have heard from several sources that it is one of the best tasting herbal teas.It is readily available for gathering by nearly everyone as it grows just about everywhere!
This is the first herb I would recommend for any kidney/bladder problems and one of the first herbs I reach for when feeling run down.It is such a wonderful tonic!I send my husband a big mug of herbal tea everyday to work and it is often Nettle.
Nettle is my very healthy/good looking:) midwife's tea of choice.She drinks it daily and believes it to be a very big part of her good health.She has seen wonderful things happen with Nettle and anemic people.
As stated above, it is a great herb for maintaining health.Keeping healthy should be our goal.Herbs will help us heal ourselves when we are sick but the *best* route to go is to KEEP healthy.Nettle tea is a perfect for this!
Preparations and dosages:
Tea is the only way I have ever used Nettle.With nourishing/tonic herbs teas are the best way to get all the vitamins/minerals the herb has to offer. You can NOT overdose on Nettle tea! To make a good strong tea take a quart jar and put a nice size handfull of dried herb.(If using fresh,use two handfulls.) Fill the jar with boiling water,cover and steep for atleast 20 minutes.I like to let it steep until it is completely cool and then just reheat it if we want it warm.The long steeping time draws alot more nutrition from the herb.I like to get my tea steeping before I go to bed and then it is ready in the morning to strain and drink!
* BE CAREFUL* when pouring boiling water into glass jars.I have been making teas for years and love making it this way but occasionally a jar does bust.I have only had it happen a few times but it has happened.
* If you do not enjoy the taste of Nettle tea (like me!) add some mint.Mint is wonderful for disguising bad tasting herbs.
Common names- Stinging Nettle,Common Nettle
Medicinal actions-diuretic,astringent,tonic,styptic,rubifacient,alterative,nutritive,
hemostatic
USES- ( This information comes from my well stocked library of wonderful herbal/health books.)
*Increases fertility in men and women
*Eases leg cramps and other muscle spasms
*Diminishes pain during and after birth dues to its high calcium content
*Prevents hemorrhage after birth.Nettle is an excellent source of vitamin K and increases hemoglobin,both of which decrease the likelihood of postpartum hemorrhage
*Reduces hemorrhoids
*Increases the richness and the quantity of breastmilk.
*Stops external bleeding
*Excellent hair tonic
*Blood purifier....This makes it an excellent remedy for all kinds of skin problems (including eczema and acne)Since the cause of skin problems is often internal we must use blood cleansing herbs to treat them.
*Wonderful for the kidneys/bladder (including kidney stones)
*Headaches
* Helps prevent illness of every kind
MY personal experiences with Nettle......
Nettle is a wonderful,nourishing herb! It contains almost all of the minerals and vitamins needed for good health, especially vitamin A,D,C and K.Calcium,potassium,phosphorus,iron, and sulpher are abundant in Nettle.It is a very good tasting tea.Everyone in my family loves it except for me! It is one herb that I particulary do NOT like the taste of.I think I am the weird one though because I have heard from several sources that it is one of the best tasting herbal teas.It is readily available for gathering by nearly everyone as it grows just about everywhere!
This is the first herb I would recommend for any kidney/bladder problems and one of the first herbs I reach for when feeling run down.It is such a wonderful tonic!I send my husband a big mug of herbal tea everyday to work and it is often Nettle.
Nettle is my very healthy/good looking:) midwife's tea of choice.She drinks it daily and believes it to be a very big part of her good health.She has seen wonderful things happen with Nettle and anemic people.
As stated above, it is a great herb for maintaining health.Keeping healthy should be our goal.Herbs will help us heal ourselves when we are sick but the *best* route to go is to KEEP healthy.Nettle tea is a perfect for this!
Preparations and dosages:
Tea is the only way I have ever used Nettle.With nourishing/tonic herbs teas are the best way to get all the vitamins/minerals the herb has to offer. You can NOT overdose on Nettle tea! To make a good strong tea take a quart jar and put a nice size handfull of dried herb.(If using fresh,use two handfulls.) Fill the jar with boiling water,cover and steep for atleast 20 minutes.I like to let it steep until it is completely cool and then just reheat it if we want it warm.The long steeping time draws alot more nutrition from the herb.I like to get my tea steeping before I go to bed and then it is ready in the morning to strain and drink!
* BE CAREFUL* when pouring boiling water into glass jars.I have been making teas for years and love making it this way but occasionally a jar does bust.I have only had it happen a few times but it has happened.
* If you do not enjoy the taste of Nettle tea (like me!) add some mint.Mint is wonderful for disguising bad tasting herbs.
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