Saturday, April 11, 2009

Pappu pass ho gaya!!!

1.5 years of lab work

4 months of writing

1 week of fighting with power point

35 slides

Non-stop repetition of 'opsin', 'Gammarus', 'evolution' till J's ear drums were affected

10 white faces looking at me

1 small brown face looking back at them

summarising my entire work in 30 mins

30 mins of grilling until I burnt

Finally I cleared my proposal defense*phew* One down one more to go!
Kuch meeta ho jaye?
tofucake

Tofu Cheesecake: Tweaked from here

1 pound silken tofu
2 cups Graham cracker crumbs
3 tbsp butter
1.5 C strawberry juice (blend the fruits and strain)
3 tbsp honey
4 tbsp maple syrup (depending on how sweet you want it)
1 tsp vanilla essence (I do not like the raw smell of soft tofu hence the essence, you can skip it)
1.5 tbsp gelatin (I know this is collagen from animals, I could not find agar/pectin. Just don't tell my mom)

Heat oven to 350F. Blend the graham crumbs with butter till somewhat sticky. Press this mixture onto a well-greased 9 inch springform pan. Bake for 10 mins. Cool.

Bring the strawberry juice to near boil and add the gelatin/agar/pectin. Mix well, simmer for 5 mins. Cool and strain to remove any stray gelatin pieces.

Combine all other ingredients in a mixer and blend for a min or 2. Add the juice and blend till homogeneous. Pour this into the baked crust. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

TC2

I just went one step further and poured some jello on top and let it set. This is a very forgiving recipe add anything and it will set (because of the gelatin) and you can flavour it in anyway just by changing the fruit juice. Make it tart or sweet or bitter (pavakkai cheesecake-PJ I know).

TC3

There was no smell of the tofu, but slightly over-sweet, next time will use less maple syrup. Good taste with no guilt. Except for that collagen...Shush!
Note to her, her and them: You tempt me no more!

15 comments:

  1. Congratulations SJ, so proud of you! :)

    Tofu Cheese cake looks yum.

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  2. yummy cake
    congrats on the defense!

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  3. yay yay! 3 cheers girl and congratulations to you!

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  4. Congrats on your thesis defense. Cheesecake looks lovely and pretty in pink!

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  5. Congrats!! Way to go and wish you lots of luck:)

    The cheesecake looks beautiful!

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  6. Congrats to you!! Cheese cake is sooo lovely!

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  7. @ Ashakka, la Vida loca,RC Divya, Harini, Sharmilee

    Thank you very much!

    @Nandu,
    Shush!!

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  8. Perfect! :)


    got ur email. quite busy @moment. will reply when I get time. sorry abt that!

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  9. Atta Gal pass on my congrats to pappu will ya?? U so good that u made a cake from scratch for good boy pappu?? oops did I miss something here?? Hey now that you have passed do u need an assistant?? The cake looks so yummy and maple syrup...too good combination.

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  10. That's a beautiful recipe with lovely pics! Did you add the title banner using PPT? :)

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  11. @Sia,
    Take your time. Thanks!

    @Sakshi,
    Yes, I need an assistant very badly, when are you coming over?

    @Nags,
    Hail to you mighty Godess of PPT. Thanks a bunch for all those tips!!

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  12. One silly doubt...am trying your recipe today instead of my boring plain mango cheese cake and I noticed you have not told us how to cut that strawberry for garnishing...waiting for your reply and will hold on to the cake before putting it in the fridge till then....and yeah thanks for climbing up all the way up the faraway tree to stop by my blog..

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  13. Congratulations !! Thats wonderful :) the cheescake looks awesome - great pics and great recipe...Way to go girl !!

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  14. Oh...I missed this ..Such a torturing revenge..!! That looks amazing ..!!
    Congrats SJ..!!:)

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To avoid letting your comments go to my trash, always appreciate me and my posts! I will do the same :P