Lemonade Cheesecake Squares
Lemonade Cheesecake Squares
I always enjoy the combination of lemon and cheesecake. I wanted a new recipe and decided to jazz up the flavor with lemonade both in the filling and as a glaze on top. The end result is just what I had hoped for. Creamy, not too sweet and a pop of lemon flavor from the glaze. I also wanted to add more texture to the crust so I added some oats in addition to the graham crackers and baked this cheesecake in a 9×13-inch pan. You could serve it with a few berries on top, if you like. Here is the recipe.
Lemonade Cheesecake Squares
Crust:
¾ c. butter (1½ sticks)
1 ¼ c. graham cracker crumbs
1 c. oatmeal, old-fashioned or quick cooking
¼ t. salt
Filling:
2 (8oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
¾ c. frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed*
3 T. flour
2 eggs
2 t. grated lemon peel
Glaze:
¾ c. frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed*
2½ T. cornstarch
Heat oven to 350-degrees. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. Beat together butter with the rest of crust ingredients. Press into bottom of prepared pan and bake 20 minutes. Beat cream cheese, lemonade and flour until fluffy. Stir in eggs and peel. Pour over crust and bake for 25 minutes, or until set. Cool then add the glaze. To make the glaze: in small saucepan combine the lemonade with the cornstarch. Heat together over medium heat until mixture becomes thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly. Pour over cheesecake. Store covered in fridge. Makes 24 squares.
*You can use store bought frozen lemonade concentrate or here is the recipe I use to make my own.
Homemade Lemonade Concentrate
1 1/3 c. lemon juice- fresh or bottled
1 c. sugar
lemon zest, optional
Combine ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved. Freeze until ready to use. Makes a little over 1 1/2 cups. To use: combine three parts water to one part concentrate.
Homemade Lemonade Mix
Homemade Lemonade Concentrate
Lemonade will always be a favorite summertime drink for me. I make it plain or sometimes with berries added. I like the convenience of those frozen lemonade concentrates but I prefer using fresh squeezed lemon juice. I started making my own concentrate a few years ago when I got a whole case of lemons from a friend. I juiced the lemons and froze much of the juice just plain. There was still a lot of juice. I decided I might as well try to make some lemonade concentrate, too. I went to the store and read the ingredients on several brands of frozen lemonade concentrate. High fructose corn syrup and concentrated lemon juice. Well I decided that wasn’t going to work for me so I did something radical. I stirred some sugar together with lemon juice until the sugar dissolved. There didn’t seem to be much point in adding water- that would defeat the purpose of it being a concentrate. Then I just froze the juice/sugar mixture.
Sometimes I freeze a whole batch together either in a plastic container or in a Ziploc bag. I also froze some of this lemonade mix in ice cube trays. That way once frozen I could pop the cubes into bags and just take out what I needed at the time. I’ll often add some lemon zest, too. Don’t toss all that zest, either. If you are going to be juicing a lot of lemon just for the juice, zest them first- and freeze or dry the zest for later use.
Well here is the recipe for my lemonade concentrate.
Homemade Lemonade Concentrate
1 1/3 c. lemon juice- fresh or bottled
1 c. sugar*
lemon zest, optional
Combine ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved. Freeze until ready to use. Makes a little over 1 1/2 cups. To use: combine three parts water to one part concentrate.
* You can use honey instead of sugar- but only use 1/2 c. honey as it is much sweeter than sugar.
Mustard Potato Salad
Mustard Potato Salad
For a recent dinner with friends I was doing a potato salad. I love potato salad and always try to do something different. This time I went with an old stand by. It was the way I remember my Mom making it when I was a kid. I didn’t like mustard back then, but I sure liked it in her potato salad. The plan was for me to make a home made Bavarian mustard with beer in it- but alas time got the better of me so I used a nice whole grain mustard. Just a few ingredients but the flavors worked well together. Mom knew what she was doing. Here is the version I made.
Mustard Potato Salad
4 lbs. potatoes- I used Klondike Rose and I did not peel them
4 hard cooked eggs, peeled and chopped
1 sweet pepper, seeded and chopped
1 c. mayo- maybe a little less
1/4 c. prepared mustard
salt and pepper to taste
dash of hot sauce
Bake whole potatoes until tender and allow to cool. Cube potatoes into large bowl and combine with remaining ingredients. Chill until ready to serve. Serves 8.
Cookie Baking in Mentor
Kids camp today was all about cookie baking. They made butter cookies and decorated oatmeal shortbread cookies. Here is some of what they made. Well done, kids.
Plants for Sale
Chameleon Plant- Hauttunyia Cordata
I have been teaching cooking classes all week in Mentor. Every day this week as I pull out of the parking lot at Wildwood after class I pass a house with a Plants for Sale sign out front. The sign says .50-$1.00. I decided to stop today after class. What a fun time I had. It isn’t a business, just a person selling a few plants. They have mostly perennials, many that like shade. Daylilies, hostas, several different ground covers, giant marigolds. Most things are in the 1-2 dollar range, some are 50 cents.
I got a plant called the Chameleon Plant. It is a shade and moisture loving ground cover that by some accounts can be invasive. I have a friend who has grown it for years and says it is not a problem for her. It is also edible. I am planning on making a shady area I have more edible plants so adding hosta and more daylilies to my yard.
The lady was very nice so I thought I’d pass on the info if any of you are interested. I don’t have the exact address. Pretty sure it is 7742 Little Mountain Road in Mentor. Its just across the street from Wildwood and has a big sign so hard to miss even if the address is wrong.
Cooking with Herbs Class
Lovage
I will be teaching a class on Cooking with Herbs this Monday at the Wellness Center in Rocky River. Registration information follows.
Cooking with herbs (and spices) can enhance even the simplest of foods. It can also be a way to reduce the use of salt in cooking. In this class you’ll learn the basics of cooking with herbs, both fresh and dried. Buying, preserving and storing herbs will be discussed as well as extending their shelf life. There will be a cooking demo and plenty of food to taste and recipes to take home.
The class runs from 7-9 pm. Located at 3035 Wooster Rd., in Rocky River, the Wellness Center is operated by Fairview Hospital, a Cleveland Clinic hospital. For more information, or to register for classes, visit fairviewhospital.org/wellnesscenter or call 440-356-0670.
Cupcakes in Mentor Cooking Camp
I will say very little as the pictures speak for themselves. We made 120 cupcakes and had frosting, food coloring and some candy and cereal for decorating. I let the kids be creative and they were very creative. Love what they came up with. Puppies, cats, minions, oceans, flowers and even a spaghetti and meatballs cupcake. Here are the pics from today.
Raspberry Lemonade
Raspberry Lemonade
Often the best things are the simple things. I will admit to making some pretty fancy dishes at times. I am not afraid of adding lots of ingredients for layers of flavor. But sometimes less is more. I had about 8 oz. of frozen raspberries. Well, they weren’t frozen anymore. I had thawed out a bag of raspberries for use in a cake. I had some extra and didn’t really want to freeze them again. I also had some fresh lemon juice so I decided to make a raspberry lemonade. I started with lemon juice, the berries and all the juices from the berries and a little sugar. Mixed it all together and added some water. At first I thought I’d strain out the berries but I decided to leave them in. Simple and delicious. Perfect refresher for a warm day.
Kid’s Camp- Mentor- Play with Your Food
Radish Mice
Today was all about being a little playful and a little creative. The kids made ants on a log, radish mice, pretzel cabins and “cheeseburger” cookies. Nothing was what it seemed.
“Cheeseburger” cookies
Ants on a log
Mentor Cooking Camp- Breakfast
Easy Cherry Danish
Started the first day of cooking camp in Mentor. Today was all about breakfast foods. The kids made fudge waffles, pumpkin pancakes, Easy Cherry Danish and nested eggs. The kids did a great job. Here are some pictures from today.
Fudge Waffles
Pumpkin Pancakes
