IP Food: Cheesecake

OMG!

Hurricane Lane was a doozy!  The amount of rain it dumped here was absolutely insane.  I can only imagine it will take weeks (maybe even months for some residents) for East Hawaii to recover from the flood damage.

My home is generally good during heavy rains.  Even though our foundation is a slab, it's built high enough and has fairly good drainage.  Unfortunately, part of my property borders a pasture which also shares a boundary with another lot.  Both property boundaries meet up along my fence, and both have contributed to headaches for me during heavy rains.  The runoff from the pasture is just disgusting, and somehow, during heavy storms, the pasture flows alongside my fence.  The other property owner is elderly and has done nothing to maintain the far reaches of her property, so the area along my fence is overgrown with weeds.  No doubt that these weeds and brush contributed to the backup of the drainage, which makes the pasture flow into my property even more.

Luckily, after the pic below was taken, TheHelp was able to figure out from where the gush of water from the pasture was entering, and he was able to put up a reasonable dike to minimize the pasture water flowing into the pool.  In addition to the outside water woes, this time TheHelp also had to crawl into my attic to fix 2 places in my roof where water was seeping into the wall.  I am hoping that there will be no lasting effects, as the water was draining out (I saw the water draining onto my patio and master bedroom sliding door area).  With the exception of the roof and the pasture, we managed to fare alright.

I was pleasantly surprised that we had power during the storm.  I was worried about having to deal with thawing food, not being able to do laundry, having to cook on the patio, and, the worst, having no internet.  And with a storm like Lane, there would have been no way for HELCO to get power back on until after the storm settled.

School was cancelled on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday last week, and I was glad the decision to cancel was made early.  The decision-makers in the past, especially when I was in school as a student, had a tendency to wait for a long time before making the decision (in my older years, I've come realize that the decision-maker back then was just pathetic).  Having time off was nice, but like other "vacations", the time seems to just slip by.  I realized today that we will soon be entering September.

Even if school has been in session for close to a month, in my mind, it's still summer.  Anything August is summer.  And one of my favorite desserts to have during the summer (actually, I lie...anytime is good for this) is cheesecake.  Like D2, I cannot get enough of cheesecake.  My aunty in Seattle made THE BEST cheesecake.  I was lucky enough to eat it often when I lived in Seattle.  It was like AChar had an endless supply of cheesecake in her chest freezer in the basement.  It was a heavy, stick-to-your-ass kind of cheesecake.  And I loved every ass-sticking bite I had of it.

Of course, it was an old-fashioned cheesecake, baked in a springform pan.  Yes, baked.  I have baked a few cheesecakes, but recently, caught up in the Instant Pot craze, I experimented with making cheesecake in the Instant Pot.  I will be the first to admit, it's not even close to AChar's, and her cheesecake did not have a sour cream topping.  But it's fast and rather convenient.  No need to worry about the water bath and cracking.  And because the size is rather limited, it makes a cheesecake sized just right for a small family.

One of the popular cheesecakes for the Instant Pot is Cheesecake #17.  This recipe is not cheesecake #17.  In fact, this isn't anyone else's cheesecake.  This is MY cheesecake.  I came up with this formula because TheKeeper often blesses me with fresh eggs.  Unlike store eggs, TheKeeper's eggs come in various sizes, so that is why this recipe has a volume measurement for eggs.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Creamy IP Cheesecake

     8 rectangular graham cracker sheets
     1 tbsp brown sugar
     2 tbsp butter, melted
     16 oz cream cheese, softened
     1/2 c sugar
     1 tbsp flour
     1 tsp lemon juice
     1/4 tsp vanilla
     7 1/2- 7 3/4 tbsp beaten eggs (a little less than 3 large eggs)
     1/2 c sour cream
     1 tbsp powdered sugar
   
Line bottom and sides of 7" springform pan with parchment paper.  Pulverize graham crackers into crumbs.  Add brown sugar.  Add butter.  Press into pan.  Bake at 375 degrees for 6 minutes.  Prepare filling.  Combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, lemon juice and vanilla.  Add in eggs.  Pour over baked crust.  Add 1 1/2 c water to Instant Pot (IP) and place trivet in pot with arms folded.  Center a 20" aluminum foil sling on trivet.  Place springform pan on sling.  Set IP to Manual (high pressure) for 35 minutes.  Set valve to seal.  When cooking is done, use natural pressure release for 20 minutes.  Release any pressure left and open the lid, being careful not to drip water on surface of cheesecake.  Combine sour cream and powdered sugar.  Spread evenly on surface of cheesecake.  Chill cheesecake at least 12 hours prior to serving.

The bad weather brought by Hurricane Lane was perfect for one thing...knitting.  I finished one project, which is currently blocking.

Another project finished drying just before the storm actually hit.  This was a good thing because alpaca takes a while to dry (and is horrifically stinky when wet).

Pic was taken just one day before the pool picture earlier in the blog post

This is Keene by Alicia Plummer.  How can anyone resist such a cozy, snuggly turtle neck?

...and huge hugs and a big thank you to TheHelp for the new banner art...maybe I need a PhotoShop Elements upgrade.

IP Food: Boiled Peanuts

Happy Birthday to The Help!

The Ds and I got him his birthday gift a few weeks ago. . .a Yeti cooler for his ride.  We managed to find it in the ever-elusive gray color.

We will celebrate later today with a cake.  I am hoping Hilo will not be as crazy as it was this past week. 

Whenever it's Merrie Monarch Festival time, the town takes on a whole different persona.  We get inundated with visitors.  This is great for our economy but creates havoc with the normal flow of business and traffic.  Nakaz said it took him close to an hour to get from his place (just across the "Singing Bridge") to Target!  To put it in perspective, it took The Help, D2 and I about an hour to drive the entire length of the Saddle Road!

In an attempt to escape the craziness in Hilo, The Help, D2 and I ventured to the other side of the island.  Apparently, the rain had the same idea and met us in Kona!  Upon embarking on our journey, we passed a familiar sight...the pop-up tent on the side of the road selling boiled soybeans and peanuts, two of D2's favorite snacks.

Over the past few months, I've made multiple attempts to perfect boiled peanuts in the Instant Pot.  I have found that the ideal cooking time is somewhere between 8-15 minutes.  If you prefer your peanuts on the crunchier side, go for 8 minutes.  If you prefer them softer, then go for 15 minutes.  A 6-quart Instant Pot will hold a pound of raw (dried) peanuts. 

Many other recipes suggest using something inside the pot to keep the nuts submerged.  I have never done that.  I find that by allowing the pressure to come down naturally (about 45 minutes) and waiting an additional 15 minutes, the peanuts will all be submerged when the pot is opened.  This wait time allows the brine to penetrate and flavor the nuts.

If you prefer to make this the conventional way, I posted a recipe a few years ago.  You can find the post here.

 click on recipe title for printable recipe

Instant Pot Boiled Peanuts

     1 pound raw peanuts (dried)

     1 1/2 quarts water

     3 tbsp rock salt

     2 star anise

Place all ingredients in Instant Pot.  Place a heat-proof plate on peanuts to keep submerged. Set cooking time for 8 minutes (crunchy nuts) to 15 minutes (softer nuts) on high pressure.  When cooking is done, leave for 60 minutes before removing from pot.  Drain and serve.

Under Pressure: Almost Cafe 100 Beef Stew

Last Friday, I got a frantic call from D1.  She wanted my salsa recipe.  I chuckled silently to myself.  She goes to college in the land of salsa, good, real salsa, and she wants to make the salsa I make.  But being the good mommy that I am, I pointed her in the direction where she could get the recipe any time.

I know I haven't been too good about blogging recently.  I just haven't been able to do it weekly like I used to (a few years ago, I had the gumption to do it twice per week).  Blame other hobbies and having a shitload of other things to do, as well as poor time management on my part.  But D1's call reminded me that being able to provide her with recipes of "home food" (or at least a place where she can go to get them without relying on her own organizational skills) is a good reason to try to post regularly.

Back in 2013, I posted a recipe for beef stew made in a crock pot.  I went on at length about my history with beef stew.  It's been about three years since that post, and a lot has changed.  I will never get to have my mother's "natural" stew again.  I'm not saying that I would want to eat it, but I would love to have her offer some to me.  That won't happen, and I have very little confidence that my father would actually know how to make it.  And if he offered me some, I'd refuse it anyway.

I still don't like beef stew very much, but I cook it more now than I used to.  But after D1's call, I thought I'd be remiss in not posting a beef stew recipe she could easily make.  According to The Help and UJames, this version tastes very much like the one served at Cafe 100, an iconic Hilo drive-in.  Many Hilo ex-pats make it a point to stop there when they come home for a visit.  And if, like D1, you don't own a pressure cooker, you can make this the traditional way. The pressure cooker advantage is being able to cook and serve a pot of beef stew for dinner in the short time between the end of the standard work day and dinner.

So after D1 had a chance to go to the website and check out the salsa recipe, I received another call from her.  This time, she asked, "Mom, do you really put in onions, bell peppers and olives, in the salsa?  Did you really put stewed tomatoes in the salsa I ate at home?  I don't think I eat any of those things."  I told her she did indeed eat all of those things.  Now I'm hoping she won't call and ask about the stewed tomatoes in this recipe!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

 Almost Cafe 100:  Beef Stew

     2 lbs boneless beef stew meat
     flour
     oil
     1 c water
     1 onion, cut in chunks
     1 stalk celery, sliced
     3 carrots, cut in chunks
     2 russet potatoes, cut in chunks
     1 15 oz. can stewed tomatoes (broken up with hand blender or kitchen shears)
     1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
     1 tsp salt
     1/4 tsp pepper
     1 tsp sugar

Pressure Cooker instructions:  Dust meat in flour and brown in heated oil.  Drain excess fat.  Add water, bring to a boil and cook at high pressure for 15 minutes (may go up to 30 minutes if meat chunks are large).  Use natural release method to lower pressure.  Add vegetables and other ingredients and cook at high pressure for 5 minutes.  Use cold water release method to lower pressure.  Thicken gravy by mixing 1 tbsp flour with some water and add to stew.  Return to a boil, then simmer until ready to serve.

Traditional instructions:  Dust meat in flour and brown in heated oil.  Drain excess fat.  Add water, bring to a boil and simmer about 1 hour.  Add vegetables and other ingredients and continue cooking until vegetables are cooked.  Thicken gravy by mixing 1 tbsp flour with some water and add to stew.  Return to a boil, then simmer until ready to serve.

 

Instant Pot instructions:  Heat Instant Pot on Saute (high/more) setting.  Add oil.  Dust meat in flour and brown in heated oil.  Drain excess fat.  Add water, bring to a boil and cook at manual pressure (high) for 12 minutes and 5 minutes NPR.  At this time, fat may be removed from liquid.  Add vegetables and other ingredients.  Cook at manual pressure (high) for 3 minutes and 5 minutes NPR.  Combine 1 tbsp flour with some water.  Place Instant Pot on saute setting (low is usually enough if stew is already hot) and add flour slurry to stew.  Simmer until ready to serve.