Although there are only a couple of days to go before Valentines Day I thought it would be fun to share with you a couple of ideas. Firstly member Beryl Farr has submitted a knitted pattern for a heart. Looks simple and can be used for decorating a card, patching or using in any manner of crafty ways.
HERE IS THE HEART PATTERN
KNITTED HEART
Cast on 2 sts.
row 1. knit into front & back of both stitches =4sts
row 2. purl.
row 3 . increase in first st, knit to last st. increase in last sts = 6sts.
Repeat rows 2 &3 until there are 14 sts.
THEN. R0W 1 Knit 2 tog, knit 5sts. TURN = 6sts ( 7STS ON LEFT
NEEDLE)
" 2 PURL
3 knit 2 tog, knit 2, knit 2tog =4sts
4 purl
5 knit 2 tog twice. end off.
.
Return to 7 sts on the LEFT needle & repeat from row 13
Sew together & stuff!
Also makes a good patch for elbows etc.
Beryl Farr
Secondly those who were at the last Saturday meeting will have enjoyed the cheesecake provided by member Barb Mewburn so I asked her for the recipe which is given below:
I have reproduced the recipe as given to me by Barb but many of us don't have a Multicooker so will need to bake the cheesecake in a conventional oven.
Multicooker cooked cheesecake. 1 loose 18-19cm loose bottom non stick pan ( I had to buy mine in Spotlight).
Filling: Nb , all ingredients must be at room temperature or it won’t work properly : 500Gm cream cheese, softened, 1/2 cup sour cream or yoghurt 2 eggs 2 TBS Corn starch ( pure maize corn flour 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp of vanilla essence Alternately: Use zest & juice of 1 lemon or 2 limes instead of vanilla.
Base 1 pkt gingernuts 5 TBS melted butter. 2 Tsp brown sugar Alternate base: 250 gm total of mixed finely crushed nuts/ coconut/ oats . 1/2 cup melted butter 2 TBS golden syrup 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 TBS ginger ( more if preferred) 2 Tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt ( I had blitzed about 1 cup of each nut & coconut in a nut mill, then used what I needed for the cheesecake base & kept the rest for making biscuits.
To make: Remove the base of the bake tin take a square of bake paper, cover the base & fold excess underneath. Replace the base into the tin, pushing down firmly, whilst gently tugging the excess paper underneath, to ensure a neat fit. Lightly spray the base and sides with oil. If using pkt biscuits, crush them finely, add melted butter & salt, then press into the base of the tin & a little up the sides. Freeze whilst the filling is being made. If using nut mix, Pre heat oven to 160 C Melt butter & add golden syrup Mix dry ingredients together & add butter/ golden syrup Press into the base & a little up the side of the pan. Bake for 15 mins. Filling: Gently cream together all the ingredients until well incorporated. Do not beat hard or long, as this will introduce too much unwanted air. When base is relatively firm ( from freezer or oven) Pour in the filling*
Put trivet into the base of your Multicooker Pour in 1 cup water. Take approx 45 cm piece of foil & fold it in 1/2 lengthwise & in 1/2 again, lengthwise. This is to form a sling under the pan& up the sides, to lift it out safely, once cooked. If your trivet has handles, you won’t need the foil. Lift the pan into the cooker, with the foil sling. Check that the sealing ring on the lid is seated correctly. Place the lid on the cooker & turn to tighten it as usual. Make sure that the knob on the top is set to seal. Plug it in, turn it on , press pressure cook button & scroll down to Manual setting. Set timer for 30 min, Press start When the cooking is finished & the cooker beeps, turn it off & leave to stand for 10 mins. After ten mins, the pressure should have dropped back to normal. Remove the lid & carefully remove the cheesecake with the foil sling. Place it on to a heat proof mat or wooden board. Take a piece of paper towel, using a corner, gently soak up the small amount of water from the condensed steam.
Cool, then chill for at least 4 hrs & preferably overnight. Decorate as wished with cream, sour cream, lemon butter, passionfruit butter, and /or fruit.
My multicooker is a Phillips, but there are many other brands on the market of these wonderful electric pressure cooker/ slow cooker/ yogurt & risotto cookers. They have a washable non stick ( it really is), or stainless steel inner pot They are a great investment, I’ve found ( after many years of procrastination looking at them & wondering what was so wonderful about them) Everything that I’ve cooked in mine has turned out well. Once preparations are finished, the lid is closed & it’s turned on, it’s literally ‘set and forget’. No worrying about whether it will blow up or burn the food. *Using conventional oven to bake cheesecake
Put the cheesecake onto a flat baking tray (to catch any drips or spills) and place into a low oven set to 140C (fan forced) or 160C conventional. Bake for 1 1/4 hours. Do not open door at any stage as this will cause the cheesecake to crack and sink. Let cool slightly before removing from oven.
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I'm certainly going to have a go at the cheesecake so hope it works well in a conventional oven as described but use your own baking times if you have made a cheesecake previously.
Have fun ........
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