La Strega’s Hover Fluff and Scrubbing Sprinkles will soon be here! It will definitely enhance and ease your regimen, making La Strega a much more complete package. Take a peek here!

This week in Component Corner:

Cucumber Distillate

(Cucumis sativus) It has been said that Cleopatra may have used cucumber juice for skin preservation. It gives skin a cool feeling. It is a very mild astringent, and aids in removing dull skin while easing inflammation.

La Strega is proud to show it’s ingredients, so nothing is hidden. Along with La Strega’s compendium, you can truly learn about what you are getting. Don’t forget to click the “more information” button on each product and take a look!

You will probably end up seeing a pattern of me using erythritol sugar alternative in a lot of these recipes. That is because it is not an artificial sweetener, nor is it bitter like Stevia, nor is it a problem gastrointestinal-wise like xylitol or matlitol. I’ve let people taste a pinch and they are shocked. I found out about it three years ago and it is FINALLY more accessible in the U.S. This is one manufacturer that is easy to find. You can check them out here: http://www.zsweet.com/index.html

I have no affiliation with them in any way, so this is not an advertisement or endorsement. Just info.

It does take some getting used to, because it is not as sweet as sugar and does have a slight cooling effect and doesn’t blend quite the same. If you can handle it, 50/50 split is usually best. It depends on the type of baking or cooking. It takes experimenting, mixing, throwing away, concocting and succeeding. Talk about alchemy!

Trust me, if you can make it work, it’s worth it. It’s rare to find something naturally occurring, pretty much calorie-free that looks like sugar, tastes close to sugar, can cut into butter and whip like sugar, that’s not bitter or laxative inducing. Yay!

If you can handle pure sugar, go for it. Just substitute the recipe with raw cane sugar.

Here is my minty summer dessert drink, since I don’t like having to wait until winter to drink chocolate!

FRESH CHOCOLATE ICEd POTABLE

Mix cream, cocoa powder and erythritol in a sauce-pot. Simmer until hot and erythritol is melted, stirring frequently. Take off heat and allow to cool in sauce-pot or transfer to a suitable vessel to cool in refrigerator.

Pour potion into tall, ice-filled 8-ounce glasses and garnish with fresh mint.

Makes 2 servings.

Now that we will soon be in the real swing of summer, La Strega’s MIDSUMMER NOON Flickering Flame Candle is a warm welcome! It is the June arrival in The Order of Strega Month Club! The freshest scent of dandelion and creamcicle. The memory-inducing aroma to a wet tomato garden. And the faintest hint of a mesquite barbecue burning in someone’s far off yard. This candle is especially inviting for an apartment, where there is no patio or yard! Summer in a candle!

- Jennifer

How cute are these! I found these vegan peep toe dress slingbacks by Vegetarian Shoes. Sexy and cute for summer evening party. Just trying to keep up my obsession with shoes.

Please please look into this website.

G.M will probably try kill their Volt like the EV. Let’s hope people have woken up enough, with gas the way it is, that it may HAVE to stick this time. What do I mean? If you get a chance, take a look at  ”Who Killed the Electric Car?” documentary. It will clarify all that you suspected or already knew. Catch it on Encore if you can.

The Tesla Roadster. Finally an all-electric sports car (supercar if you will) that can go fast enough for even BBC’s Top Gear crew to MAYBE not complain. No, most of of can’t afford these, but electric cars have to start (again) somewhere. Read the list here.

If you are curious the Tesla website rocks. 

The incentive section and foreign oil reducing section alone is worth it.

All my life I’ve loved to cook. I love to throw theme parties. I love herbalism and science and playing with new ways to make food. I was a chocolatier for 7 years. It’s in my blood, handed down from my grandmother, to my mother to me. What can I say, I’m Italian. I’m also a food geek. And that didn’t help my love of dabbling in things I shouldn’t eat. Then in 2001, I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia and IBS. Though depressing, I found ways to keep food interesting. For a while, I was pretty strict with myself and did well. As soon as I started to feel better, time went by and I went back to eating anything I wanted. Five years go by and I forgot why I’m feeling like dirt, I can’t think straight, I’m drowning in insomnia, and my mood and weight are up and down faster than the Tower of Terror. I was becoming ill with everything I ate. So I decided to take my love of being a mad scientist and pull the cauldron back out. If I can’t imitate it, I’ll find a way to use the real thing and still maintain my objective. I should be able to say, “I eat healthy and I did well all week, now I want one awesome thing that’s over the top.” Just don’t eat tons and you’ll be fine. But at least you won’t feel like hell anymore. My cheesecake recipe has no sugar, no starches and is gluten-free. A few of the ingredients may be a little out of the ordinary, but I’d be very shocked if you can tell. It may even be extraordinary. You’ll just have to see for yourself.

Extraordinary Chocolate Cheesecake with Cocoa-Lemon Creme Fraiche

Crust:

¼ cup hazelnut flour

¼ cup almond flour

¼ cup coconut flour

4 tablespoon sugar substitute (if you can handle full sugar use raw, turbinado)

2 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

Cake: 


2 (9oz. block) of cream cheese, softened 


1 pint sour cream

3 eggs 


½ cup erythritol (non-chemical sugar alternative found at Wholefoods and online)

1 cup sugar substitute
 (if you can handle full sugar use raw, turbinado)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (preferably without sugar)

4 oz. high quality unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon of guar gum or xantham gum (optional, also found at Wholefoods and higher end markets)

Cocoa-Lemon Creme Fraiche:

1 (8oz) container of Creme Fraiche

3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoon sugar substitute

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

For Crust:

Combine the crust ingredients in a mixing bowl and pour on melted butter until completely moistened. Transfer to a skillet and toast the crust ingredients on medium heat until golden and has a nutty aroma.

Cake:

In an 8-inch springform pan, add the crumbs. Using a rounded cup, press the crumbs down into the bottom and sides (up an inch or two) of the pan. Refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on low-medium until smooth. Add sour cream until any lumps are gone. Scrape down the paddle and sides of the bowl. Add erythritol and sugar substitute. Drizzle in room temperature melted chocolate until blended. Scrape down the sides again. Add eggs one at a time and beat on slow. Add vanilla and beat until creamy for 3 more minutes on medium. You can add the guar or xantham gum at this time (for extra insurance in prevention of cracking cake top). Don’t over mix. Pour the filling into the springform pan and twist the pan back and forth gently to settle the filling evenly.

Set the pan in a larger cake roasting pan and pour hot water into the larger pan to make a water bath. The water should come halfway up the cheesecake. Bake for 35-45 minutes. The cake should still move in the middle. Let cool in the water bath on the counter for an hour. Take out of the water bath and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Run a think knife around the pan to loosen. Release springform and serve or add this very simple Chocolate Lemon Creme Fraiche:

Take the cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of the Creme Fraiche and make a paste. Add the paste to the rest of the Creme Fraiche and blend until smooth. Add the lemon juice and mix thoroughly. Add optional sugar substitute to sweeten if desired. Spread over cheesecake or dollop on individual servings.

   YUM.

-Jennifer