Orange Cheesecake Recipe

Thought I would go for orange this time, and I am impressed, by far the nicest I think, although each flavour has its qualities.

Here are all my other recipes for other tasty things you might like to try – MKW Recipes

Orange Cheesecake

My adaption is for 2 ramekin servings.

SYRUP

100 ml freshly squeezed easy peelers juice (or any oranges)
25 g caster sugar
100 ml water
5 g cornflour

BASE

30 g digestive biscuits or Hobnobs
12.5 g butter, melted

FILLING

40 ml double cream
12.5 g caster sugar
67 g cream cheese, such as Philadelphia/mascarpone (or mixed)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Syrup = heat water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved, simmer for a few minutes to start it getting syrupy. Add the orange juice, and keep simming until it thickens. Once done, pour into a container and set aside to cool. Can be done in advance and keeps for at least a couple of weeks.

Base = Crush the biscuits in a food processor until they are the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. (Or smash them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin which is my preferred method.) Melt the butter and add the blended/crushed biscuit crumbs, evenly divide the mixture between the 2 ramekins and leave to cool. You don’t need to press the base too much or it might end up quite solid, loose is fine and easier to eat.

Filling = Whip the cream and sugar together until fairly stiff. In another bowl, beat the cream cheese to soften, then fold in the whipped cream and vanilla extract. Lightly fold through a teaspoon of orange syrup.

Spoon the creamy mix on to the biscuit bases, and smooth the tops with the back of a spoon. Then use about 2-3 teaspons of orange syrup on top of each one and then place in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours until firm, but is best if left overnight. Eat and enjoy.

(c) MKW Publishing

Saying Grace

Saying Grace. To someone non-religious, this seemed a strange formality and ritual to have around food. I understood being thankful for your food and of being appreciative, but the way it was portrayed in entertainment, it often had a strange undertone of families squabbling, tensions, unawareness, and so on. And I didn’t really give it much overall thought, just accepting that’s what some people did before eating because of their religion.

Now, however, having spent some time thinking about food, systems, cell Memory, and ideas of the power of thought, it came back the subject of saying grace, and of why it might actually serve a purpose. And not just one of an ordered compliance.

There have been many discussions around food in recent decades, what’s good for you, and nutritious m, what’s recommended and what to avoid. Telling you one-minute eggs increase your rate of disease, then the following season, they are in, and good for you. Too much salt, no, not enough. Cholesterol, fat content, sugar, blood pressure, weight, and more. Targeting different aspects of your lifestyle, habits, tastes and mentality, like how they did for general Consumerism, but this time it wasn’t for products in your living room, your Social Status or your external facade. This time it went for the ultimate, what people really can’t do without. Food.

I have already written a number of articles around food and the systems already in place with –

If You Control The Food

Supermarkets

The Weight of Food

You Are What You Eat

Beyond Meat or Beyond Ridiculous?

And we all must have heard about the ‘fight against agriculture’ the governments are putting in place, to crack down on farming and people growing their own food, targeting Trucks and Tractors and the industry as a whole. We now hear of limits of fizzy drinks in establishments, by order of ‘the government’, calorie counters to be had in commercial businesses, the supermarkets getting on board to also restrict your calories once they scan your basket. Wanting people to literally be spoon fed by the government and their extended branches and affiliates, so they longer understand what is good for them, what may be harmful or helpful or of benefit in some way.

We know there are certain parts of all industries that are not what we thought, and now and again we get to see part of the full picture. How animals are treated within the food and farming industry seems to vary greatly, and if you have ever seen a real farm, and also seen some of the disturbring undercover videos that have emerged over the years, you’ll know what I mean. The latest outrage I see trying to gather steam appears to be for Halal meat, as it turns out that it has infiltrated the general markets, and is being distributed through schools, universities, supermarkets, prisons and wherever there are bulk sales and purchases. Not labelled as such, and turns out breaks it’s own definition of legal allowance by being sold to non-religious people. However, upon checking the wording, as they do quite cleverly word things sometimes to get around such instances – it says ‘not intended for non-religious consumption’, so as long as they didn’t ‘intend’ to sell it to that outlet at the time of slaughter, I guess, technically, that doesn’t affect it thereafter? And that’s where it obviously gets murky, and how it seems to get around the existing laws against animal cruelty and of selling meat killed in a certain type of way.

I’m also guessing that we have a fair amount of Kosher in this country too, and as far as I know, it’s the same practice, but clearly has been more select about their market, although occasionally people tag them together. But we as people, do not know really where our food has been, what it has experienced, and how it’s been treated. They say everything has an energy field, everything has a life force, and intentions and actions make an imprint, leaving something behind in the cells. That’s why I mention cell memory, because if you think of an animal being treated extremely cruelly before death, whether it be on an average farm, in a slaughterhouse or any kind of animal death row really, then it adds unneccessary suffering and horror. And when you then eat that meat, you are momentarily taking in the energy that now lingers in those cells, and if it had a good life and was treated well to the end, you are then aware of the exchange, that life gives life.

So, the actual point of this article comes around, that perhaps saying grace or a prayer over your food isn’t just about thanking your deity for providing, but because it helps to cleanse the energy that may have been imbued by something that came before. And to acknowledge that a process of growing, living and dying happens so that we can eat, and it doesn’t seem completely unreasonable to think we might show a little respect for that…

(c) MKW Publishing

Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe

Sometimes you just feel like something comforting and tasty, and it’s even better when you know how to make it yourself…

Dough

225g Strong White Flour

5g Dried yeast

25g Caster Sugar

45g Butter (cold and cubed)

100ml full fat milk

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ medium egg

Filling

12.5g melted butter

50g light brown sugar

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Method:

Sift flour, add caster sugar and yeast, mix together.

Rub butter through to make breadcrumbs.

Gently warm milk, add the milk, egg and vanilla to the flour mix.

Knead for 7-10 minutes, or use mixer with dough hook for about 4-5 minutes.

Place in oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise for about 2 hours.

Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together and put aside, then melt the butter.

Once risen, roll into a flat rectangle, brush with the melted butter, and then sprinkle with the sugar/cinnamon mix covering the entire surface area.

Then, roll it longways into a chunky log and press down and slightly flatten. Next, cut down the middle of the roll and twist each strand over itself like a plait, and twist as you go. Tucking in the ends once finished. Then place in an oiled loaf tin to rise again for another 30 minutes to an hour before baking.

Cook in oven at 160°c for 50-60 minutes or until done.

(c) MKW Publishing

Pistachio and Ginger Biscuits Recipe

Having purchased some pistachio cream to make some chocolates, which didn’t turn out as I had wanted, there was most of a jar of it left. So, I wondered on it for a few days and finally had the idea to make some biscuits with it. Using just a normal recipe for vanilla biscuits and substituting the butter for pistachio cream as well as adding some fresh ginger. It went well…

90g Pistachio Cream

80g Caster sugar

185g Plain flour

1 large egg

1 tsp of vanilla extract

3 tsp fresh crushed ginger

Mix the cream and sugar together to form a smooth paste, whisk the egg, ginger and vanilla together and add to the mixture, combine until smooth. Add the flour and bicarb and form a dough.

Then roll out, cut into desired shapes and place in the fridge for about 15 minutes before cooking. Bake on 160°c (fan oven) for 10-12 minutes or until start to brown. Then place on cooling rack, and enjoy eating them…

(c) MKW Publishing