A long slow descent and a Simon (Spinach Dumplings, p200)

An active bank holiday this. But first, the news from the scales... 6 days as follows: 177, 177, 176, 176, 175, 175. Yes, really. It would be nice if this series could continue... And exercise: two bike rides (33 miles and 34 miles, rides 4 and 2 from the OS book for Sussex etc). One fitness test: 14.33 for 1.5 miles, 28 press-ups, 30 sit-ups and a faintly pathetic number of floor pull-ups (with a retest every month from now) and a bootcamp circuit (just getting the hang of medicineball press-ups, but only just: my arms gave out on them tonight, as did S's). And a lovely little (4-6 miles?) walk in the country. Hwsgo, despite my worries about his fitness for the bike rides, surprised me enormously by not only being fit but also dashing away from me most of the way round. Although we were both terrible hill-crawlers on the first ride, by the second ride we were improving, and Hwsgo at least seems to have his grimp sorted now. I've now threatened to go to spinning classes (static bikes) until I can catch him on a hill again. Erm, I mean at all.

Foodwise, there has been a Simon, but no picture (too tired to face either the stairs or the hunt for the digital camera). Spinach Dumplings: a mix of blanched spinach and cheese, pepped up with nutmeg and pepper then cooled, formed into balls and boiled in a pan. Hwsgo loved them, but I don't think I'd actively try to cook them again, especially if the choice was between them and Parmesan Fritters. Worth noting though is the optimal ball size: inch-wide balls cooked a little too fast leaving quite dry balls; 2.5 inches was too big, with not-quite-cooked middles; 1.5 inch balls were just right, crisp without being dry and cooked through with a good crunchy shell. Oh, and coating the balls in lots and lots of flour helped a lot too.

A cheesecake also happened. And has been left behind by Hwsgo in an attempt to even up our weight loss distribution. I'd say that I could resist, but I can't. Never have been able to resist a good home-cooked carrot cake, and am not about to start resisting now. The good side is that the cake won't last much longer. The bad side is that I will have single-forkedly eaten it.

Onwards...

Old ROTW: Cheescake

ROTW from 18th September 2007

Base:
60g unsalted butter plus extra for greasing
125g digestive biscuits

Filling:
250g Ricotta cheese
250g Fresh young goat's cheese
250ml soured cream
100g caster sugar
2 large free range eggs
2 large or 3 medium unwaxed lemons

Fresh raspberries to decorate or on the side

Preheat the oven to 160C
Grease a 22cm rubber dish. Diameter is not crucial.
Melt the butter on a low heat or blat in the microwave.
Crush the biscuits with a rolling pin. Add the melted butter and mix well. Tip into your dish and push down flat. Put in the fridge to chill while you do the next pit.

Put the ricotta and cream in a large bowl. Cut the cheese into small cubes and add. Crack the egg yolks into the bowl and mix well then add the sugar and whisk together. Keep the whites separate.

Grate the lemons and add the zest to cheese/egg mixture. Squeeze the juice into the mixture and mix well.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Fold into the mixture and add the lot to the base.

Bake for an hour then turn off the oven without opening the door and leave to cool. After another hour you can remove it.

Serve with fresh berries.