Cheesecakes with fruit were made tonight for the students to make them and then take them home to enjoy. Fruit we used raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and tinned pineapple pieces but you could use any fruit you like.


Cheesecake recipe

8 digestive biscuits – crushed mix together
1oz/25g – butter/margarine – melted

½ pint/284ml double cream – whipped in a bowl

½ lb/225g – soft cream cheese
2 tbsp golden syrup mix together in a bowl


Fruit – fresh - strawberries, raspberries, blueberries
Tinned – crushed pineapple


This cheesecake is delicious when making without fruit but by adding the fruit you make it into a healthier option. The ingredients above make one foil container cheesecake. If you double the mixture and you can make a loose bottom 8 inch cake tin cheesecake.

Method

1. Make biscuit base by mixing the crushed biscuits and melted butter together and place in foil container or loose bottom cake tin.
2. Mix together soft cream cheese and syrup and mix with the whipped cream.
3. If using fruit then only use 1 tbsp of golden syrup.
4. if using fruit you have several options –
Halve whole fruit and place on base of cheesecake or on top
Dice whole fruit and mix through mixture
Drain tin of fruit and add the fruit to the mixture
Sieve frozen fruit and add through the mixture to make a marble effect


Pictures of the finsihed cheesecakes

Salads and healthy eating go together really well but salads dont just have to e boring. We used the following ingredients to create a variety of different salads with the students taking two salads home to share with their family.
Ingredients were - different lettuces, carrots, celery, radish, cucumber, spring onions, new potatoes, peppers, kidney beans, chick peas, cherry tomatoes, tuna, feta cheese, edam cheese, home made coleslaw.
Here are some pictures of the students preparing the salads.












Recipe for coleslaw:-

1 white cabbage
4 carrots (peeled)
1 onion
Jar of mayonnaise
1 dessert spoon salad cream optional

Grate all of the above and place in large bowl
Mix thoroughly together
Add mayonnaise and salad cream if using
Mix thoroughly and add pepper or teaspoon of mustard if you want a hotter taste

You can keep this in the fridge for two days in a sealed container.

All the students enjoyed making a variety of salads and worked really well in the preparation of them.

Tonight another Ready Steady Cook with Mr Scott and Mr Forster.
Mr Scott preparing a wonderful vegetarian meal of Lentil Curry.



Mr Scott busy preparing his lentil curry. Why dont you try the recipe below:




Lentil Curry

500g bag Lentils (Red split)
2tbsp garam masala
2 large onions
fresh corriander
6 tomatoes

Boil lentils as per pack instructions (approx 20 mins)
Fry chopped onion for 5 mins until golden
Turn heat down on onion and add 2 tablespoons garam masala
Fry onion/garam masala for 2 mins and then turn off heat.
When lentils cooked add onion/garam masala and mix well, continue cooking on low heat and add chopped/sliced tomatoes and finely chopped coriander.
Warm through and serve with rice.


Mr Forster preparing his food







Try the recipe below for a tasty treat

Mushroooms in Bacon with Cheese


This can either be a starter or a light snack.

Ingredients

4 Large Flat Mushrooms

Slices of Stilton Cheese (Change the cheese to suit your likes)

Thin cut bacon.


Remove the centre from the mushroom and put the slices of cheese in the centre.

Wrap the mushroom and cheese with two slices of the bacon.

Place in a preheated oven for 15min at 180-200 oC.

Serve with toast or a salad of lettuce, peppers (red and yellow for colour) and tomatoes

Tonight it was ready steady cook with Mr Fenney and Mr Zkowalczyk. Mr Zkowalczyk made a traditional Polish dish which tasted fantastic. Mr Fenney cooked macaroni cheese which his scouts cook on exhibitions to give them lots of energy.


Mr Fenney stirring his macaroni







Macaroni Cheese recipe:-

Ingredients
250g/9oz macaroni
40g/1½oz butter
40g/1½ plain flour
600ml/1pint 1½fl oz milk
250g/9oz grated cheddar
50g/2oz grated Parmesan (Optional)
1 tsp mustard (optional)



Method
1. Cook the macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes; drain well and set aside.
2. Melt the butter over a medium heat in a saucepan slightly larger than that used for the macaroni. Add the flour and stir to form a roux, cooking for a few minutes.
3. Gradually whisk in the milk, a little at a time. Cook for 10-15 minutes to a thickened and smooth sauce.
4. Meanwhile, preheat the grill to hot.
5. Remove the sauce from the hob, add 175g/6oz of the cheese and stir until the cheese is well combined and melted. If using mustard add and stir well.
6. Add the macaroni to the sauce and mix well. Transfer to a deep suitably-sized ovenproof dish.
7. Sprinkle over the remaining cheddar and the Parmesan, if using. and place the dish under the hot grill. Cook until the cheese is browned and bubbling. Serve straightaway.

Enjoy a tasty meal to give you lots of energy.



Mr Zkowalczyk with his polish sausage







Polish Meal

A basic polish meal consisting of Polish Sausage, mashed potatoes and Kapusta.

Ingredients – sufficient for a main meal for a hungry family (or to feed the Cook It Club).

There are a variety of Polish sausages and currently Morrisons in Redcar sells many types. They are mainly made from pork with various additives and herbs and come in different sizes. The Krakowska (pronounced – Krakovska) is about 6cm in diameter and is very suitable for this meal. The Wiejska (pronounced Vyayska) sausage contains a hint of garlic, is about 4cm in diameter and is sold in the form of a boiling ring. About 1 and a half to 2 Kg of sausage are required.

1 tin Campbells Condensed Tomato Soup
1 tin Chopped tomatoes
Caraway Seeds
1 large white cabbage
3 Kg potatoes
Butter
Milk

Method

Start by making the Kapusta (Cabbage) which takes about 1 hour.
Cut the cabbage into quarters – cut out the hard centre parts and chop the rest into pieces about a thumbnail in size. Boil in a large saucepan for about 20 minutes until the cabbage is soft. Pour off the water. Add the contents of the tin of soup and the tin of tomatoes to the cabbage and also add a sprinkling of caraway seeds. Stir well to mix the ingredients and let this simmer for at least half an hour.

Peel the potatoes - cut into reasonably small parts and boil in a saucepan.

The Polish sausage comes with a skin which can be eaten but most people prefer to remove it. The sausages can be eaten cold or cut into slices and fried or boiled either on its own or in a stew. For this meal the sausage is cut into pieces suitable for fitting into a large saucepan and is boiled for about 20 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and add milk and butter to produce a creamy mashed potato.
Remove the skin from the polish sausage and serve suitable portions (possibly cut into slices) with the potato and kapusta.

Note – Its good to make more kapusta than you require for a meal because if you cool it down and freeze it or keep it a day or two in the fridge it always tastes even better when its re-heated!

The students had a wonderful night with both the teachers so thank you to them:-]