Post Five: Dessert CAN be Healthy: Here's Proof!

Going along with the theme developed in last week's post, I decided I would start off with the low-fat tiramisu recipe that I found on www.baking.about.com. My roommates and I love desserts, and I've made tiramisu about 4 times aside from this. From my experience, this one turned out the best! I'm so glad I attempted something that wasn't loaded with calories but still ended up tasting AMAZING. What girl doesn't love an Italian dessert!?

Ingredients:

* 8 ounces semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped (We don't have a food processer but it would have been REALLY useful in this situation)
* 1/4 cup fat free egg substitute
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
* 1 8-ounce package fat free cream cheese, cut into small pieces
* 1 8-ounce frozen light whipped topping, thawed
* 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
* 1/4 cup hot water
* 1 cup cold water
* 1 fat free pound cake, cut into 1/2 inch slices

Preparation:
In food processor with metal blade (We ended up blending it instead. Same effect) process egg substitute and sugar for 30 seconds. Add vanilla; process 1 minute or until pale yellow. Add cream cheese pieces, a few at a time, processing until smooth. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour. Fold whipped topping into cream cheese mixture. Set aside. In large shallow dish, dissolve espresso powder in the hot water; add the cold water. Quickly dip cake slices into espresso, turning to coat all sides. Arrange slices in bottom of 13x9 inch baking dish or 12 cup shallow dish, smoothing with fingers to mold cake slices together. Sprinkle with half of the chopped chocolate. Top with chilled cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight before serving. Store in refrigerator.

If you can't tell by looking at the picture... it was DELICIOUS. I'll definitely be making it again. Needless to say...my roommates love me, too.

Post Four: Nutrition Comes First!

I don't know why, but I've realized that eating healthy has never really been a huge concern for me. Why? I think it's partly because I've been fairly active for most of my life in things such as dancing and competitive jump rope. I got the idea in my head that because I exercised, eating "healthy" wasn't necessary for me. Recently, though, I haven't had time to get into any physical activities. School is taking over my life and I hardly have time to breathe these days. I've noticed that the lack of physical activity mixed with not eating "well" is taking a toll on my body. This got me thinking, "Hey, I should steer my blog in a whole new direction: Healthy Eating". With this being said, from now on (hopefully), the majority of my posts will revolve around this ideology. Don't worry, I'll still post yummy desserts, but perhaps they will be a little lighter and a lot healthier. :)

Post Three - Dessert Time!

Today, to get into the spirit of fall, my roomies and I decided we would try out this recipe that I found on allrecipes.com (this is where I find most of the recipes I use). It's for pumpkin cheesecake! It was DELICIOUS!

The ingredients listed on the site are:
* 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
* 1/2 cup ground pecans (We didn't use the pecans because some of us don't like them)
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 1/4 cup butter
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
* 3 egg yolks
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese (We used Phili light cream cheese)
* 3/8 cup white sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 egg yolk
* 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, ground pecans, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and the melted butter or margarine and mix well. Firmly press mixture into one 9 inch springform pan.
3. Combine 3/4 cup of the white sugar, the pumpkin, 3 egg yolks, ground cinnamon, ground mace, ground ginger and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well, and set aside.
4. Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; gradually add 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar and mix well. Add the whole egg, remaining egg yolk and the whipping cream, beating well. Add cornstarch and vanilla and lemon flavorings, beat batter until smooth. Add pumpkin mixture and mix well. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 to 55 minutes. Do not overbake. Center may be soft but it will firm up when chilled. Let cheesecake cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate.


Anyone who likes cheesecake and pumpkin flavoured things will definitely love this. We're going to be making it again for our residence potluck which is coming up next week! :)

Post Two - My Hobby

I've decided that I'll be blogging about food. I love cooking. Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved the idea of helping out my mom in the kitchen. I felt like I had accomplished something by helping her out. As I grew older, I realized that cooking was becoming more than just a fun thing to do. Not only did I enjoy eating the product, but the process of experimenting with food and testing out new ideas for different dishes was a lot of fun for me. Desserts are my personal favorite, but of course, no one can survive on dessert alone. Coming to university and living on my own is forcing me to cook for myself (although, I don't mind!)This gives me a chance to expand on my knowledge. I'm getting the chance to test out tons of new potential recipes without my mother fearing that I'll burn the house down. In this blog, I'll be posting recipes that I've tried recently, (hopefully) video tutorials on how to make different things, and more, so stay tuned! :)