Simple Recipes 1st anniversary…I cannot believe that has been a whole year since I started this site. I want to thank you all for the support that I have been receiving daily…it has been a year full of new experiences and joys. It has been really fun to meet and get to “talk” to people all around the world and learn a little bit of you life, things that you like, things that you don’t like…

To celebrate my blog anniversary I want to share a special recipe for cheesecake. This pineapple cheesecake is light and you just cannot have enough of it…actually I made 3 of them!!! Moreover, with the drained pineapple juice from the crushed pineapple cans I made pina colada by adding Malibu to the juice and marinated chicken, which I’ll post next week…

Ingredients:
3 8oz cream cheese
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 20oz crushed pineapple (no sugar added), drained

Ground cinnamon to taste

2 16oz sour cream
10 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ready made pie crusts

Preparation:
Whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy, add the eggs one at the time by continuous beating. Once the eggs are added to the cream cheese, add the sugar and the vanilla extract. Mix for 1 more minute and fold the crushed pineapple into the cream cheese mix.
Pour the cream cheese mixture into the ready made crust and bake for 25~30 minutes at 350F.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let them cool down. Sprinkle the cakes with cinnamon. In the meantime mix the sour cream with the sugar and vanilla extract.
Pour on top of the cheesecake and bake for 5 minutes at 375F. Let it cool and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

Now the award…I will be brief, I don’t want to get you bored…

This Happy 101 award was sent to me by Shaz at Test with Skewer and Kristy at My Little Space, I feel very flattered for receiving this award and really appreciate

I am passing this award to 10 bloggers friends, random order:

1. Anna at Chef Wanabe
2. Sook at My Fabulous Recipes
3. Joanne at Eats Well with Others
4. Mimi at Mimi’s Kitchen
5. Erica at Itzy’s Kitchen
6. Doggybloggy at Chez What?
6. Peachkins at The Peach Kitchen
7. Barbara at Moveable Feasts
8. Blond Duck at A Duck in Her Pond
9. Gloria at Canela Kitchen Recipes
10. Zita at Simplicious

Did you know that pineapple was first discovered by the Spaniels in Brazil? The original name of pineapple, ananas came from the Tupi language (used by the Brazilian indigenous). Now pineapple is spread throughout South America, Caribbean, Philippines, Hawaii, Zimbabwe (former Republic of Rhodesia, Africa) and Guam (South Pacific Island).

These coconut rolls are yummie, it is very common in Brazil, where they are sold in the “padarias” which translate to bread stores. “Padarias” are found in every block in major cities and you can smell the bread baking during morning time.

I used my Zojirushi bread machine to make the dough. The rolls are filled with a tasty and creamy coconut filling. It is a treat as snack and even for breakfast.

Ingredients:
Dough
½ cup milk
1 egg
1 cup bread flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon yeast
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup milk
¾ cup coconut flakes

1 egg to brush the rolls

Preparation:
Follow the instructions of your bread machine for dough setting. After removing the dough from the bread machine, knock the dough back and rest the dough in the refrigerator overnight by wrapping the dough in plastic wrap or a container, just remember that the dough will rise throughout.

In the meantime, mix the ingredients of the filling and cook in low heat until a slightly creamy sauce. Do not over cook.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, knock it down gently and roll it open to a rectangle of approximately 1/3 to ½ inch thick. Spread the coconut filling on top of the dough. Roll it and cut into 16 pieces. Place the rolls in the pan and let it rise in a warm place for approximately 1~2 hours or until double the size.

Brush the rolls with the beaten egg and bake in a preheated oven for 15 ~ 20 minutes at 350F.
The leftover can be stored in the refrigerator and warm it up at the microwave.

This baked cheese can be served alone or with bread and crackers. It is tasty and easy, and makes a great appetizer dish.

Ingredients:
1~1 ½ lb Panela Cheese
3~4 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation:
Slice the cheese, about 1 inch thick. Place the slices of cheese in a baking dish, top with the minced garlic and sprinkle with the oregano and top it with olive oil.

Bake in preheated oven at 375F for approximately 20~25 minutes or until the garlic turn slightly golden brown. Serve hot.

Panela cheese or queso panela is used in many Mexican foods. When fresh has a similar texture of mozzarella, but once cooked carries a very different texture, since does not melt like mozzarella cheese by holding its shape.

This a very popular dish in the Taiwanese community…my mom used to make this very often and we all loved it. It is very tasty and is just a great complement with a bowl of white rice…yummie! Since it is kind of rich I like to cook this dish when the weather is cold.

Ingredients:
2 lbs of pork ribs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons sugar
½ cup cooking wine
½ cup soy sauce
4 green onion cut into 1 ½ inch
5 slices of ginger
1 cup water

Preparation:
Cut the pork ribs into approximately 1 inch. Boil the ribs in 4 cups of water, drain and set aside. In another pot, heat the oil and stir the sugar until the sugar turn light brown and bubbly. Add the soy sauce, cooking wine and water. Once start to boil add the green onion, ginger. Once start to boil lower the heat and cook for 1 ½ hour until the ribs are soft. Serve with white rice.

Did you know that soy sauce was invented in China? Soy sauce is produced by the fermentation of soybeans.

This is a very interesting mushroom, has a thick and very meaty stem and the cap is kind of small compared as a whole. After cooking the texture of this mushroom is different from the others species of mushroom.

Ingredients:
1 pack King Trumpet Mushroom
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/3 bunch fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon butter
½ tablespoon soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Wash the mushroom and remove the bottom part, where the mushrooms attached to the soil (brown and flaky). Slide approximately ½ inch and boil in water for 2~3 minutes. Drain it and reserve.
In a pan sautee the garlic in butter until brown, add the sliced onion, let it cook for 1 minute, add the mushrooms, soy sauce, salt and pepper to your taste. Stir gently, until well distributed. Finally, add the chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Did you know that king trumpet mushroom is also called French horn mushroom or king oyster mushroom? Is the largest one in the oyster mushroom genus.