Mother's Day Meal . . .

I chose this meal because both dishes are wonderful comfort foods and seemed perfect for Mother's Day.

I made the cheesecake first as it needed time to set in the refrigerator and then the soup as I had Bruce here to cut up the pumpkin for me.

I love this Lemon Cheesecake and it is so easy to make, is creamy and refreshing. After gathering the ingredients, I started by lining a 20cm loose bottom cake tin with baking paper. To make the base I crushed the biscuits in my pestle and mortar. However, it works just as well if you use the handle of a rolling pin in a bowl, put the biscuits in a bag and roll them with a rolling pin or bottle, or use a kitchen whizz. There is no right or wrong way. After tipping the crumbs into the melted butter, I combined the two and pressed them into the tin, pressing them down with the back of a spoon. I put the tin into the refrigerator to allow the base to firm up while I prepared the filling.

Next, I whipped the cream into firm peaks. This is important because the cake won't set if the cream is too soft. Then I put in the rest of the ingredients and combined well. I slowly put the mixture into the tin, pushing it down well as I went to make sure there were no air pockets. Once I had levelled the top, I added some more zest to the top of the cheesecake and put it bake in the refrigerator. It needs 2-3 hours to set.

Once it was set, I removed it from the tin. The easiest way to do this is to put the tin onto a glass and the bottom separates from the tin. Then I popped it onto a plate and decorated it with some extra whipped cream and some of the lemon that was left over from the zesting. Then it was back in the refrigerator till dessert time.

Lemon Cheesecake Recipe . . .

200g digestive biscuits

80g butter - melted

280ml cream

250g cream cheese

100g caster sugar

5 tsp lemon juice

Zest of 3 small lemons - reserve some for decorating the top

To decorate - extra whipped cream and lemon pieces.

Method - as above.

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Once the dessert was done, I started preparing the pumpkin soup. I was very grateful to Bruce cutting it up for me. I was struggling a bit with such a large pumpkin when he arrived and took over for me. Once again, I started by gathering the ingredients together. I put the vegetables into the soup pot and covered them with water. Then I added the rest of the ingredients to the pot, except for the pepper and nutmeg. Once it came to the boil, I turned it down to a simmer until the pumpkin was cooked. Then using the stick blender, I pureed it till it was creamy, added the pepper and grated in some nutmeg. When it was time to serve it, I added a spoonful of sour cream and some chopped chives. It was delicious.

 

Pumpkin Soup Recipe . . .

1 kg prepared pumpkin

2 onions - chopped

Water to cover - may need to add more if too thick after pureeing

1 tsp crushed garlic

2 tsp instant chicken stock

2 tsp green herb stock

¼ cup brown sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

½ tsp grated nutmeg - can use ground reduce to ¼ tsp

Note - because it was such a large pumpkin I doubled the recipe and will put some into the freezer.

#PumpkinSoupRecipe  #LemonCheeseCakeRecipe  

12th May 2024