Amy's Frozen Mock Cheesecake (Vegan, Soy and Gluten Free)

My daughter Amy's favorite dessert is cheesecake. She asked for cheesecake for every birthday for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately she has developed dairy and gluten intolerances and she longs for this beloved dessert. For this birthday she found a recipe and developed it according to her taste and needs. Wow was it ever good, but it needs to be eaten semi frozen to keep its best shape. Whether you have allergies or not, this cake is a keeper and worth a try.

Crust:

• 8 medjool dates, pitted
• 3/4 cups pecans
• 3/4 cups almonds (or any other mix of nuts equalling 1 ½ cups)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg

Filling:

• 2 ½ cups raw cashews
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, in liquid state
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 6 Tbsp coconut milk
• 1/2 Tbsp vanilla

*DO AHEAD* - Soak the cashews in water overnight. Soak the dates in water for approx. 1 hour.

Crust:

1. Line the bottom of a round 9” spring form pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a food processor, process the nuts, salt, coconut, lemon zest and spices until everything is chopped finely.
3. Drain the dates and add them to the food processor. Pulse until mixed into a sticky mixture. This will not look smooth; you should see small pieces of nuts and dates.
4. Press mixture into spring form pan.

Filling:

1. Drain the soaked cashews and rinse them.
2. Place all filling ingredients into a high speed blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour mixture into spring form pan.
4. Place pan in the freezer and freeze overnight or until solid.
5. When ready to serve remove from freezer and allow the cake to thaw for approx. 15 minutes.
6. Serve topped with fresh fruit, fruit sauce, chocolate sauce or any other topping you can think of. My favourite has always been raspberries!   

Raspberry Sauce:

• 2 cups of frozen Raspberry
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (it brings out more of the natural taste of the berries).
• 1/4 cup of water
• 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch (dissolved in the water)
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

1. Mix the Raspberries with the sugar in medium size pan. Let sit for a while until the natural juices are released. 
2. Bring to a boil. 
3. Dissolve cornstarch in the water. 
4. Add to the raspberries and cook for a few minutes until the sauce is thick and clear, stirring constantly.
5. Cool, add fresh lemon juice before serving.

Schwartzies

This hash brown dish takes a few minutes to mix and is a good addition to a brunch or main meal. Last Sunday morning I added some peeled and cut farmer sausage in a separate dish with a little water. I covered both dishes, pre-set the oven and we came home to a ready meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag (2 lb) frozen hash browns
• 2 cans cream of mushroom
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp. fine onion flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt,
• pepper
• 2 cups grated cheese
• sprinkle Parmesan cheese
• paprika

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, then spread into 9x13 or 2 quart Pyrex dish. For four people I do half the recipe in a 1 quart casserole dish.
2. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and paprika.
3. Bake 1 hour at 375° F.
   
   Variation: Add cubed cooked ham or bacon bits.

Ambrosia Trifle

This coconut and fruit filled trifle would make a lovely dessert for Easter. The cake turns our light and airy and can also be used as a sheet cake, layer cake or jelly roll. Using the cream mixture as the filling and frosting.
I'll let you in on a little secret. I was to bring a dessert to a friends 60th birthday tea and thought a spring like jelly roll would be a perfect choice. I baked this cake in my jello roll pan and had all the fillings ready to go. It's turned out perfect other times...but on this occasion the cake began to really crumble and rolling became impossible. Whatever you do, don't panic when this happens. Grab your trifle bowl, or any pretty glass bowl and turn your crumbling cake into a trifle masterpiece. It's your secret...unless you tell....as I did.

Cake:

• 1 white cake mix
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup water

1. Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix well. 
2. Pour batter into greased and parchment lined 9x13 pan.
3. Bake as directed on cake mix box.
4. While cake is cooling make the following filling.

Filling and Cream:

• 1 8 ounce tub cool whip dessert topping
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups fine sweetened coconut
• 2 284ml cans mandarin orange segments, drained well
• 1 398ml can crushed pineapple, drained well
• 3 cups whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract (or vanilla extract)
• 2 tablespoons white sugar

1. Stir together cool whip, sour cream, coconut, oranges and pineapple. 
2. Whip cream together with extract and sugar until stiff.

Assembling trifle:

1. Cut cooled cake into cubes. 
2. Layer the cake, filling and cream alternately into trifle bowl ending layers with the cream.
3. Decorate with more sweetened whipped cream, a sprinkle of fancy coconut and mini coloured marshmallows, or decorate with fresh fruit. 
4. Cover well and place in refrigerator for at least 6 hours or over night. 

Cherry Danish

This handwritten Cherry Danish recipe has been tucked into one of my cookbooks for many years. I finally decided to make it, and realized it's pretty well just like an apple bar I've made (posted by Lovella). I decided to still add it, as the fruit combination is very good and the lattice top gives us another option. This is the perfect sweet to bake fresh for the weekend. Leftovers freeze well.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup shortening or lard
• 2 egg yolks, plus milk to make 2/3 cup
• 2 cups cherry pie filling
• 1 cup frozen cherries, chopped and/or berries
• 2 egg whites, whisked until frothy

icing

• 1 cup icing sugar mixed with about 1 Tbsp water and 1/4 tsp vanilla

Method:

1. In mixing bowl, mix flour and salt, then cut in butter and shortening with pastry blender until biggest crumbs are about pea sized.
2. With fork, stir in egg yolks and milk. Keep stirring until mixture comes together. If you need to add more liquid, do not add more than a tablespoon. 
3. Push together with your hands and gently knead into a ball. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes.
4. In the meantime, prepare fruit. I added chopped frozen cherries, blackberries and raspberries to a can of cherry pie filling.
5. Preheat oven to 400 F.
6. Divide pastry in half. On floured surface, pat out pastry into a rectangle. Roll out slightly larger than a 10 x 15 inch rimmed cookie sheet so that edges can come up. 
7. Roll up with rolling pin and unroll into ungreased cookie sheet. 
8. Brush pastry with egg white and then cover with fruit.
9. Roll out second half of pastry. BTW if you see small pieces of butter in it as you roll, it's perfectly fine. It will make the pastry flaky. Roll up with rolling pin and unroll over top of fruit, folding sides under with a butter knife. Alternately, you can cut it into strips, the long way. Lay half of the strips over top the long way, leaving spaces. Cut the rest of the strips in half and lay across the long pieces, starting in the center, lifting as you weave them in. 
10. Brush with egg white. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown and fruit is bubling.
11. Brush with icing while warm.
12. This pan serves 12 - 14 pie pieces, you can serve with ice cream or it can be cut into thirds, the long way, and sliced into bars to serve 36.

Tip: You can freeze the whole pan unbaked and bake it (from frozen) when you need it.

Ham and Barley Soup

My husband is an easy man to please when it comes to food and new recipes but because his least favourite vegetable is overcooked green beans and his least favourite soup is split pea I had to find another way to use up a ham bone.
I still make my favourite Mennonite Green Bean Soup once in a while but
I don't make Split Pea soup at all.

So I was looking for another option for that leftover ham bone and came across a Ham and Barley soup in a magazine.  I've changed it up to use what I had in my fridge and came up with
 a hearty ham based soup he really likes.
It's a bit of work, making soup from scratch but it's a large recipe and you can freeze the extra for  meals at a later date.

For the Broth (make a day ahead)

• 1 ham bone (I like to leave a good amount of meat on it for the soup)
• 12 cups water
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 rib celery with leaves still on it
• 1 washed, unpeeled carrot - ends trimmed
• 1 onion, halved
• 1 tablespoon peppercorns (in a soup ball)
• 2 teaspoons salt (use sparingly for the broth as the ham adds salt. You can adjust the salt later after the vegetables and barley are added.)

1. Add ham bone to water in a large soup pot.
2. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil
3. Reduce heat to a good simmer and cook for about 2 hours.
4. Strain broth,  removing bone and any meat to a bowl and discarding vegetables,  
5. Remove meat from bone, cut it up and return it to the broth and discard bone..
6. Let broth cool a bit and then refrigerate overnight.
7. The next day, skim fat from soup.

For the Soup

• 3 cups water
• 1 pod chicken stock base (or  2 cubes of chicken bouillon base)
• 1 cup barley*
• 4 carrots, peeled and cubed
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cups butternut squash cubes (peel squash, remove seeds and cube)
• 3 or 4 ribs celery, sliced
• 1 large can tomatoes (undrained)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme or rosemary
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced and browned a bit
• 2 cups fresh or frozen green beans (1 1/2" lengths) or 1 can cannellini beans, drained
• salt and pepper

1. Bring water and chicken base to a boil.
2. Stir in barley and let cook until tender, (check package directions)
3. Strain and set aside barley to add later.
4. Saute carrots, onion and celery until lightly browned.
5. Add carrot mixture and squash to broth with tomatoes and Thyme.
6. Add to broth and ham, bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are just tender.
7. Add barley, mushrooms and green beans and cook just until beans are tender.
8. Adjust seasonings and serve.

*Barley is a little like pasta in that it swells as it sits in a liquid. So I like to cook it separately and add it at the very end.  

Old Fashioned Jelly Roll

For this flashback Friday post I'm bringing back one of the first recipes I ever posted. This was one my Mom used the way that one would use a white cake mix today. She'd bake it in a spring-form cake pan, slice it horizontally, fill it with fruit or pudding, and decorate it with whipped cream. It also served well as a jelly roll which she usually filled with chocolate pudding. I checked the Mennonite Treasury of Recipes and found about 8 variations of jelly rolls, obviously a favorite of days gone by. I believe traditional jelly rolls got their name because of the jam/jelly filling, but in our family we have always used a custard pudding such as vanilla, coconut, lemon or as already said, chocolate.

Ingredients:

• 1 c sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 4 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Prepare 11x17 inch (or slightly smaller) cookie sheet by greasing bottom and sides, lining with parchment or wax paper and greasing again. I use shortening  Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In small bowl, beat egg whites until very soft peaks form when lifting the beater (turned off). Set side.
3. In mixing bowl, beat sugar and egg yolks well, (I use a wooden spoon) until pale yellow in color, then stir in water, lemon juice and vanilla. 
4. Stir in combined dry ingredients, then fold in the beaten egg whites (with a spatula) until the egg white is blended in and the batter has a very light and airy consistency.
5. Pour into prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake at 350 F for 15 - 20 min. until pale yellow. 
7. In the meantime lay out a clean tea towel and dust well with confectioners sugar. (1)
8. When cake is baked, turn hot cake out onto towel, peeling back the paper. (2)
9. Dust with confectioner's sugar again and roll into a log, along with towel, beginning at narrow end. (3) Let rest to from shape for 15 - 30 minutes.
10. Unroll, spread with 2 - 2/1/2 cups cooled pudding (4) keeping about an inch away from sides and a few at the end. Roll up again, starting at the same end, leaving the towel underneath. (5) Transfer log onto serving platter, using end of towel to lift, then slide towel out from underneath. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Can be made day ahead. Dust with fresh powdered sugar before serving.

For coconut cream filling ( a condensed version of Lovella's coconut cream pie filling)

• 1 1/2 cups light coconut milk (1 can - shake before opening)
• 4 Tbsp sugar
• 4 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 egg yolks
• vanilla
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 Tbsp butter

In saucepan, heat coconut milk, bringing to a simmer. In the meantime, blend sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks and 1/2 cup milk, using whisk. (add a small amount of milk, then yolks to blend smoothly , then the rest of the milk)
Blend into hot milk as it begins to boil, stirring until it bubbles. Remove from heat.

Stir in vanilla, coconut and butter. Let cool in ice water or cover with plastic wrap (placed right on the pudding) and refrigerate.
Cake pictured is decorated with 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1 tsp sugar whipped, then sprinkled with toasted coconut.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This coffee cake was my go-to when guests were coming for coffee and dessert during the 80's.  I pulled the recipe out not that long ago and it is just as delicious as I remember it.  It stays moist and fresh tasting for several days.

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup sour cream (regular or low-fat)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Nut Mixture

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 
2. Spray or grease an 8X10 or 9X13-inch pan and set aside.  
3. Dice the butter if it is cold to help it soften quickly.  
4. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
5. Combine the ingredients for the cinnamon and nut mixture in a small food processor if you have one until nuts are finely chopped, or alternately, chop nuts and then combine with sugars and cinnamon.  Set aside. 
6. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar and cream together well.
7. Add eggs and beat until combined.
8. Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, then half of the sour cream and repeat, mixing well after each addition.  
9. Spoon half of the batter into prepared pan, then sprinkle with half of the cinnamon nut mixture, spoon the remaining batter over top and spread gently to cover the nut mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon nut mixture.
10. Bake about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick tests clean in the center. 
11. Serve warm or cool completely and then cover lightly to retain freshness over a few days. The crumbs on top won't be as crisp but the coffee cake will stay moist and fresh tasting. 

Easy Leftover Roast Beef Stroganoff

It's a great idea to make enough Roast Beef for leftovers and this is one of my favourite ways to make a whole new meal.  

• 3-4 cups slivered leftover roast beef
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 large onion
• about 15 large button mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups beef or mushroom broth
• 1/3 cup red wine (optional)
• 1/4 cup fresh or freeze dried chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• a few dashes cayenne pepper
• 1 cup sour cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• wide or medium hot buttered noodles

1. In a large saucepan, saute onion and mushrooms in oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until veggies begin to caramelize.
2. Add flour and stir to combine for a minute and then add mushroom or beef broth and red wine, stirring to create a sauce.  
3. Add leftover roast beef and seasonings and simmer a few minutes to blend flavours.
4. Add sour cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat through.
5.  Add a bit more broth if necessary to thin the sauce and bring to a simmer. 
6. Serve over hot buttered noodles. 

Homemade Flour Tortillas

I had been told that tortillas were easy to make and now I know that they are. Fresh flour tortillas really taste better than store bought. These can be made in a cast iron or a nonstick frying pan. I used my trusty old cast iron frying pan and the tortillas turned out great.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 2/3 cup hot water

Method:

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Cut in shortening until crumbly.
3. Pour in hot water, a little at a time, mixing with a fork until dough comes together.
4. Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth.
5. Cover and let rest 45 minutes.
6. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece into a ball, cover balls with plastic wrap. 
7. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle, don't worry they don't have to be perfect circles. Cook one tortilla while you roll out the next one. 
8. Preheat your pan on medium heat. Do not add oil.
9. Place tortilla in hot pan and cook until small bubbles appear before flipping to the other side, cook approximately one minute on each side.   
10. Stack cooked tortillas and cover with a tea towel till all are cooked.
11. Now they are ready for your favorite recipe.  Can be frozen for future use.

Citrus Lime Punch

A perfect mix of sweet and tangy make a refreshing punch. Pretty for Easter or spring showers.

• 2 295ml cans Five Alive frozen juice (Passionate Peach Citrus flavour)
• 6 cups pineapple juice
• 2 295ml cans frozen Limeade
• 3 cans (using one of the frozen juice cans for the measurement) cold water
• 1 1 litre bottle sprite (regular or Citrus Sprite)
• 6 cups ice cubes
• frozen berries and citrus slices (optional)

**Do not add the water that the cans of juice called for, only the water listed in the recipe. I never find it too sweet, but if you do, add more ice an extra can of cold water**

1. Add all juice and water into a punch bowl. Stir until frozen juice has broken up well and is incorporated into the pineapple juice and water. 
2. Add ice cubes and stir the punch for a few minutes to combine and cool off well.
3. Add Sprite and serve. Garnish as desired.