Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

中文菜谱： 蓝莓奶酪冰激凌

Houston has been known for its long and hot and humid summer…  Well, let’s look at the bright side.  The ice cream season is really long too! O(∩_∩)O~

I love making ice cream from scratch at home.  Most people might assume it is a long, complicate and labor intensive process.  Guess what?  It is not always true! 

Allow me to introduce this blueberry cheesecake ice cream, which is super easy and simple to make.  it is so good that you won’t miss the store bought version once you have tried it.

I use homemade blueberry jam made with fresh blueberries here.  You can always substitute with the ones sold in grocery stores to save some time. 

When blueberry is in season, I buy pounds of blueberries.  Wash and drain them well.  Add to a large pot, along with brown sugar to taste.  Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice.  Cook over medium heat until it boils.  And then reduce the heat to medium low.  Stir from time to time to prevent burning at the bottom. 

Remove from heat when blueberries are cooked down and thicken.

Ingredients：

1package of cream cheese, 8 oz/ 226g
280 g condensed milk/ 10 oz
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
blueberry jam 

Directions：

Freeze ice cream container for at least 24 hours.

Take cream cheese out of fridge and leave it at room temperature for about 40 minutes or until it softens. 

Add cream cheese to a medium bowl.  Beat with electric whisker at low speed while gradually adding sweetened condensed milk. 

Add heavy cream, milk and vanilla.  Whisk until everything is well combined and smooth.

Refrigerate the custard for 2 to 4 hours before adding to ice cream machine.

Churn the custard in ice cream machine for 25 minutes.  It comes out as soft-served ice cream.  

Spoon the cheese ice cream to an ice cream container.  Add a couple ladles of blue berry jam in between and swirl with a spoon.

Cover with lid.  Freeze for another 4 to 6 hours.

It is very cheesy and creamy, sweet but not too sweet.  Blueberry jam adds a very nice touch of flavor to the ice cream.

Every scoop of blueberry cheesecake ice cream has its unique pattern O(∩_∩)O~

Peanut Sesame Milk with Jujubes

中文菜谱： 芝麻花生红枣桂圆露

My old soymilk maker finally broke after almost 10 years’ service in my kitchen.  I bought a new soymilk machine to replace it.  Oh man, I had no idea how soymilk machines had evolved during the past 10 years!  All my old machine did was to blend soy beans and heat the soymilk.  But the new ones available on market now can do so much more.  They can make smoothies, puddings, porridges and all kinds of nut milk instead of pure soy milk.   

I have been trying different nut milk and soy milk after I got my new toy.  It is been so much fun and I can’t wait to share some of my great experiments with you guys!

Nuts used in the recipe would have so much better result if you dry roast them first.

Ingredients：

30 g roasted unsalted peanuts
20 g roasted unsalted black sesame seeds
10 g dried longan fruits
30 g jujubes
10 g steel cut oats

Directions：

Rinse jujubes, oats and longan fruits under running water.  Drain well.  If the jujubes are large in size, cut them into small pieces.

Add everything to a soymilk maker.

Add 1000 ml cold water.  

Turn on the soymilk maker and select “grains” function.

30 minutes later, hot peanut sesame milk with jujubes is done!

There is no need for adding extra sugar.  Jujubes and dried longan fruits have naturally sweet flavors.  The nuttiness from peanuts and sesame seeds makes the drink very comforting and pleasant O(∩_∩)O~

Multi Seed Crackers

中文版菜谱：杂粮小饼干multi seed crackers

We all know the health benefits of eating more whole grains and seeds.  But the thing is, although very healthy, whole grain pastry items don’t always taste as good and don’t have the smooth texture as the ones made from refined flour.  

I have been trying making healthy whole grain snacks at home for a while.  After a few tries, I finalized this recipe.  These crackers are now my go to snacks for afternoon tea/ coffee.  

They are crunchy and crispy.  Lots of nuts/ seeds like almond, flax seeds, sun flower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds are added to the crackers to make them super tasty and healthy.  

I used to buy whole grain crackers from wholefood every week.  But these are so much better!  I can cross another whole grain item from my shopping list.  O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

60 g rye flour
60 g oat flour
40 g almond flour
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup of water
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds (both black and white ones)
1/4  cup flax seeds
1/2  teaspoon salt  

Directions：

Preheat oven to 325F/ 163C

Add rye flour, oat flour, almond flour, salt, olive oil and water to a large bowl.  Mix with a wooden spoon or a pair chopsticks.

The dough might be a little wet and sticky.  It is fine.  Cover with with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 10 to 20 minutes.

Mix all the seeds together in another bowl.

Add to the dough.  Knead with hands until everything comes together.

Line up a cookie pan with baking mat or parchment paper. 

Transfer the dough to the center of cookie pan.  Punch it down and then roll it into a even thin layer with a small rolling pin.

Use a pizza cutter or kitchen knife to cut it into small squares.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the crackers are slightly golden brown.

Allow the crackers to completely cool down before removing them from baking mat.

They can be stored in air-tight containers or zip-loc bags for up to a week.

They are very crunchy and crispy, loaded with tons of rich hearty earthy flavors.

 These crackers are so tasty that I don’t plan to buy multi seeds crackers from supermarket again.   O(∩_∩)O~

Walnut Chocolate Butter

中文菜谱： 核桃巧克力酱

I stock up nuts and chocolate lately.  Someday it just occurred to me why not make a batch of chocolate nut butter?  It would be awesome for breakfast or a quick nutritious afternoon snack. 

Ingredients：

2 cups of raw walnuts
1/3 to 1/2 cup dark chocolate
1/4 to 1/3 cup honey / syrup

*****Tips:  

·         The darker chocolate is, the more smoothly it will melt.  I use 85% cacao chocolate.  They are available at Whole foods, Sprouts and Texas local Central Market.  The one I am using here is bought from Sprouts. 

·         If you don’t want to roast raw walnut at home, buy the dry roasted walnuts.  And make sure they are not salted or seasoned.  *****

Directions：

Preheat a toaster oven to 375F/ 191C

Bake the raw walnuts for 8 to 10 minutes, or just until they turn slightly golden brown. 

Add roasted walnut, honey and dark chocolate in a vitamix blender.

  I use a dry container instead of regular container because it is more convenient this way.

Turn on the machine and grind at medium low speed.  

In a few minutes, walnuts are crushed and chocolate melts. 

You would need to pause several times in between to stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. 

Keep grinding at low medium speed. 

It is getting silkier and smoother.

It is kind of shiny now.

Continue grinding for another couple minutes.

Wo-la, it is done!

Transfer the walnut chocolate butter to a glass jar.  Seal and store at room temperature. 

It goes great with a lot of things: bread, cookies, crackers, fruits, crepes, and even salad! O(∩_∩)O~

Candied Pecans and Walnuts

中文菜谱： 琥珀桃仁

Candied pecans or walnuts are very popular in China.  They can be served as appetizer, side dish or dessert.  Most of time, they are also a great snack to go with coffee or tea. 

They are sweet, crunchy, and super nutritious.  Who doesn’t love them? O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

1 cup raw walnuts / pecans
1/3 firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
toasted white sesame seeds

Directions：

Some people prefer pecans, and a lot of people prefer walnuts.  As for myself, I use more pecans then walnuts because pecans have a more delicate texture and flavor than walnuts.

Preheat a toaster oven to 375F/ 190C  

Bake the pecans / walnuts in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes. 

Please do remember to adjust the baking time accordingly because every toaster oven is different from one another.  Pecans and walnuts are so easily to be over baked.  Keep a close eye on them when baking.  Remove from oven when they turn slightly golden brown.  They will continue to cook even after being taken out the oven. 

Light or medium color brown sugar will be fine.  Don’t use the dark brown sugar.  Otherwise, the color would be too dark.

While the pecans/ walnuts are baking in the oven, prepare the syrup. 

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat.  Add brown sugar and water. 

Brown sugar melts quickly and the syrup will very soon become bubbly.

Keep cooking the syrup until it darkens a little bit.  Bubbles get bigger too. 

There is a trick to test if the syrup is ready.  Drop a couple drops of syrup into a cup of cold water.  if it turns  hard and firm, the syrup is done.  If not, just keep cooking for a bit longer. 

Add toasted pecans/ walnuts into the syrup, along with some roasted white sesame seeds. 

With a spoon, gently toss everything together.  

Line up a plate or cast iron pan with parchment paper.  Spoon the pecan / walnut mixtures onto the parchment paper.   Spread them as evenly as possible. 

You have to do it very fast and quickly, because the candy syrup will begin to harden once removed from heat.

Wait for the candied pecans/ walnuts to completely cool down to room temperature.  They will be super crunchy and tasty.