Raspberry Lemonade Tea

Boil a kettle filled with water, and put a raspberry tea bag, and two any-flavor white tea bags at the bottom of a pitcher. Once the water boils, pour water into pitcher and let steep for 5 minutes. Add 3/4 a cup of honey OR sugar. Squeeze three lemons in OR add 6 ounces of frozen lemonade. Throw in some raspberries and lemon slices to garnish!

Rasberry Tempest

This Cheesecake was inspired by a Ukiyo-e print by Hokusai entitled "The Great Wave off Kanagawa".


Preheat Oven to 325 degrees F

Crust
* 2/3 package of oreo's ( makes about 2 1/2 cups crumbled) OR plain chocolate cookies( 1 1/2 cups crumbled)
* 3- 4 Tablespoons of butter

After crumbling the cookies ( place in plastic gallon size bag and crush with rolling pin) add in the melted (room temperature) butter, mix, and pat the sides and bottom of a 9 inch pan with said mixture. If you have any left over, you can use them to line a muffin/cupcake tin and make extra mini-cheesecakes! Set aside and begin working on the... * note : you can use a traditional springform pan or any baking dish of your choosing. I used a glass 9 inch baking dish)*

Cheesecake Filling
*2 lbs ( 4 packages) of Neufchatel or Cream Cheese
*1 1/3 cups of Sugar
*5 large eggs
*16 ounces of sour cream
*1/3 cup of Flour
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
*2 teaspoons lemon juice
All the filling ingredients should be at room temperature. With the electric mixer on low, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the sugar a bit at a time until creamy. The mixer will be on low for the entire filling -making process. Add one egg at a time and beat after each egg. Add flour,vanilla, and lemon juice, mix well. Add the sour cream and beat well. Pour mixture into the pan ( and cupcake forms), then place into the preheated 325 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
When done, open the oven door and let it sit in the oven for one hour. Remove from oven, let sit for one more hour, then chill for a few hours.While you are waiting for all the chilling and whatnot you can work on the ....

Raspberry topping
I doubled the recipe,because the extra raspberry topping is great for pancakes, ice cream etc. But here is the regular version:
* One twelve ounce package of frozen raspberries, defrosted
*2 tablespoons of sugar
*2 tablespoons of cornstarch
*1/3 cup of maple syrup

Drain defrosted raspberries, and reserve the liquid. If needed, add water to the liquid to measure 1/2 cup.In a saucepan,combine sugar and cornstarch,add berry liquid and maple syrup.Cook over medium heat,stirring constantly,until mixture boils and thichkens, boil one minute. Stir in raspberries and cool to room temperature before using. Yummy. Now on to make the...

Chocolate Waves
* half a package of semi-sweet chocolate
Fill a saucepan half way with water, then put a mixing bowl on top of that, so you can melt the chocolate using the steam. Put the chocolate in the bowl and stir until melted. Using a spoon, make wave designs on a wak sheet of paper, then refrigerate flat.


Once everything is ready, it is time to assemble. Using a spoon spread the raspberry topping over the cheesecake. Then arrange the chocolate wave pieces however you desire. You are pretty much amazing at this point. Now you can cut a piece and savor every bite!

Tuscan Hummus

The Tuscan Hummus from Trader Joes is one of my favorite things ever! This is the closest I have come to it...enjoy!

Ingredients

Two 15 ounce cans of Canellini beans, drained and rinsed
4-6 cloves of garlic (depending on your taste), minced
1 cup of Tahini( ground sesame seeds)
1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice ( save the skin for garnish!)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin ( you can use more if you like, I just like the lemon and garlic flavors to come out more)
2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 cup of water
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Smoked Paprika
A handful of toasted pinenuts
2 Basil leaves, one cut and one whole

So combine the first six ingredients in a blender, until all is smooth. Add the water bit by bit for desired consistency. Put into a pretty bowl,drizzle olive oil over it and sprinkle with paprika and pinenuts. Add as much lemon zest as desired, and then sprinkle the dish with the cut basil leave. On one side of the bowl put a little cut end of the lemon over the whole basil leaf to garnish( I used a sprig of parsley as well). Voila!

I went to the French countryside for a bit this summer, and stayed at a monastery. I would love to relax in the evenings ( it doesn't get dark until 10:30) by reading in a hammock tied between two plum trees. The wind would softly move my hair and gently run over my skin, and sometimes it would be strong enough to move the hammock . Sister Martina said I could have the plums because they were "too small" to be of any use. I ate one in less than a bite and it was so good I decided to make those plums useful! And So I created a plum like tart/cobbler.
Here are the steps:
1) after preheating the oven to 350,wash 4 cups of little wild plums ( you could do this with wild cherries/blackberries/anything really)
2) Remove the pits or whatever isn't good in them
3) Add half a cup of honey and one cup of sugar to the clean, de-pitted fruit, and let it sit until the crust is ready.
4) Fashion a shortbread dough out of fresh butter,flour ,and sugar. Don't forget to add a pinch of salt!
5) press 3/4 of the dough in the pan of choice,covering the bottom and the sides...let this bake on its own for 15 minutes!
6) Remove from oven, add the fruit, and coil the remaining dough over the top of it,fashioning a snake if you wish. Brush egg white over the design.
7) Bake for 45 minutes and then enjoy the taste of accomplishment...you just proved Sister Martina wrong!

* Note: In the picture,my second tart, I added mirabelles( the green fruit), and the crust was made of of slices of pound cake pressed to the bottom and sides.*