I’m in the midst of the first draft of this year’s Diabetes Mystery podcast (tentatively titled: ‘Swan Wake’) entailing among other things, a gluten-free cheesecake prepared by yours truly. Chaos ensues when my cheesecake mysterious ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Here’s the Diabetes Mystery synopsis:
When the happy healthcare, Mr. Divabetic heads to the Gotham City Ballet Company’s box office to fix a mix up with his Swan Lake tickets he’s faced with a even bigger problem – a murder. To make matters worse, one of his gluten free cheesecakes seems to be covering the victim’s face. Even more shocking are the numerous scandals swirling around the Gotham City Ballet and it’s members that have everyone walking around on tip toes.
Could our happy healthcare host’s questionable culinary skills make him an accessory to the crime or even a possible side dish? Now Mr. Divabetic with the help of his team of smart Diabetes Educators, a best-selling mystery writer and his own nosey Italian Mom must whip up his own crime-solving recipe, and fast–before a hearty dose of intrigue and a deadly dash of danger ends his diabetes advocacy and healthy catering career once and for all.
For inspiration, I’ve been researching various gluten free cheesecake recipes for the past few months. I recently stumbled upon Solla Eiriksdottir’s recipe below posted on Twitter by the Guardian.
Solla Eiríksdóttir is one celebrity chef you may not have come across, but she is a household name in Iceland because of her TV shows and four restaurants focused on raw food and vegan dishes.
If such an approach sounds a little purist, Solla, 55, is more interested in flavor than philosophy.
“It’s a way of preparing food, not a way of life,” she says. “Everywhere in the world, people are told to eat more fruit and vegetables. What we’re doing is transforming fruit and vegetables into real dishes instead of just making salad all the time. This is just food. We love the freshest raw materials so your taste buds are screaming for more.”
Solla Eiriksdottir’s Cheesecake with Blueberries Recipe
Ingredients (for the filling):
450g cashew nuts
240g maple syrup
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla powder
2 tsp probiotic powder
A small pinch of salt
160g coconut oil
2 tbsp ground chia seeds
Ingredients (for the crust):
150g pecans
280g dried mulberries
60ml coconut oil, liquefied
A pinch of sea salt
For the topping
275g blueberry jam
150g fresh blueberries
1 Line a 23 cm-round cake tin with parchment (baking) paper. For the filling, put the cashew nuts into a bowl, pour in enough water to cover, and soak for about 2 hours. Drain and discard the soaking water. Set aside.
2 Meanwhile, make the crust (base). Put the pecans, mulberries, oil and salt into a food processor and blend until it all sticks together, but is still a little coarse. Press the mixture into the prepared pan with your fingertips. Make sure it covers the bottom of the pan in an even layer.
3 To make the filling, put the drained cashew nuts into a high-speed blender or food processor with the maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, probiotic powder and salt. Blend. Add the coconut oil and chia seed and blend briefly. Pour the mixture over the crust and chill overnight in the refrigerator or for 3-4 hours in the freezer until the filling is firm. Top with a layer of blueberry jam and fresh blueberries and serve.
Chef’s Notes: You will need to make this at least three hours before serving. Serves 10 – 12
Raw: Recipes for a Modern Vegetarian Lifestyle by Solla Eiríksdóttir (Phaidon). Featuring 75 healthy and delicious recipes, Raw introduces readers to the new look of vegetarian and raw food. Divided into five chapters – breakfast, snacks, light lunches, main dishes, and sweet treats – readers can expect bright, fresh flavours with recipes like Green smoothie, Pistachio and kale hummus, Quinoa pizza, and vegan Vanilla ice cream. All the recipes are vegetarian and many are raw and vegan.
Every recipe includes symbols to indicate whether dishes are suitable for a dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, raw-food, or vegan diet.
After each chapter of recipes there is a seasonal recipe and activity section, which explores some wider lifestyle elements of living healthily, for example growing vegetables in small spaces, dying cloth with turmeric in summer, picking wild berries in fall, and making holiday gifts in winter.
Thinking about eliminating gluten from your diet? Get expert advice from Jill Weisenberger RD, CDE about gluten free diets and food choices exclusively for Divabetic. LINK