ZEE's RECIPE: Blueberry Cheesecake (not baked)

One of the most popularly requested desserts by my friends, is my mum's blueberry cheesecake!
This cake has been in my family for many years and tasting it always reminds me of great times and celebrations.

I hope you can enjoy the recipe as much as we do. Please share it with your friends!

Mum's delicious Cheeckcake

Happy Eating <3

Ingredients:

Base:

• 1 large box of digestive biscuits 
• 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)

Cheesecake: 

• 2 Philadelphia cream cheese packs (400 g)
• 1 Nestle canned cream (170 g)
• 1 sachet of Dream Whip powder + 1/2 cup of cold milk
• 1 packet of Lemon Jell-o + 1 cup of hot water

Topping:

• Canned blueberries (or) Fresh berries 

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius / 360 degrees Fahrenheit 
2. Use a plastic zipper bag to crush the digestive biscuits into crumbs
3. In a large bowl, combine the biscuits and butter together
4. Once the ingredients above are fully combined, place them neatly in the bottom of a cheesecake pan. (make sure you buy a special pan for cheesecakes)
5. Place your pan into the oven for about 15 minutes
6. In a glass bowl, mix your lemon packet of Jell-o with the hot water
7. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature 
8. In a mixer, combine the cream cheese, Nestle cream, and the Dream Whip + Milk.
9. Add the cooled Jell-o to the mixture and incorporate fully
10. Ensure the consistency is heavy
11. Once the pan has cooled from the oven, pour the mix over the digestive biscuits
12. Allow the cheesecake to cool over night in the fridge 
13. Use the blueberry topping to decorate the topping 
14. Indulge 

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BUZZ: Green Juice?

Behind everything beautiful .... there is a lot of green juice and hard work at the gym!

vixi.com

Another one of my go-to smoothies is the "green juice," which has been making headlines in Hollywood, after many celebrities have repeatedly praised its magic!

I, on the other hand, have been a fan of green juice for sometime. My grandmother is big on all-organic food and homeopathy so she was the one who introduced me to it.

Juicing, therefore, is becoming the new trend! It has been proven to boost energy levels, work against aging, reduce inflammations, strengthen the immunity system and can even help you shed a couple of pounds! The best part is, you can be healthy and enjoy a delicious fresh juice!

BEAUTY SECRET: Celebrities like Miranda Kerr and Rosie Huntington-Whitley have admitted to using "Chlorella" supplements to help detox and cleanse their skin, and to improve energy, sleep, hair and nails. 

Chlorella, is an all-natural single-celled green algae which contains lots of healthy nutrients!

I haven't been able to get my hands on these supplements, but if I do, I'll be sure to post a review about it!

The great thing about juicing is that there are endless ways of doing it! You will eventually figure out how to customize the drink to suit you. Make sure you have a good blender or use a juicer!

How I prepare my green juice:

• Handful of baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 an apple
• 1/2 a cucumber 
• Lots of ice 
• Slice of Lemon + Lemon juice 
• One celery stick
• Sliced Peach / Grapes (optional)

This is great for those of you who are on-the-go, or need to figure out a way to eat more greens! I hope you all try it out and let me know what you think:)

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ZEE's PICKS: My Auntie's Death By Chocolate Dessert

This is the perfect dessert to prepare when you are expecting some young, fun friends over AND you don't have much time!

It is a delicious dessert that I learned from my aunt Amal when she used to make it for us during our summer gatherings! Ever since, it has been on popular demand by my entire family, but I save it for special occasions and fun get-togethers. I hope you enjoy it, and let me know if you decide to try it :)

WARNING: This is very fattening, but a small portion should be more than satisfying :)

Ingredients:

• 1 large pack of digestive biscuits 
• 1 stick of non-salted butter
• 1 medium sized tin of condensed milk
• 1 x-large bar of cadbury milk chocolate

Whip it up:

• Use a seal-top pastic bag to crush the digestive biscuits into crumbs
• In a large bowl, mix the digestive biscuits with the butter (at room temperature)
• Once the mix is thoroughly incorporated, lay it down flat in a pirex plate
• Chop up the cadbury bar into tiny cubes 
• Spread the cubes all over the mix
• Pour the condensed all over (to taste)
• Place the dessert into a warm oven, not too hot!
• Leave it in the oven for a maximum of 10 minutes for the chocolate to slightly melt and the milk to be warm. 
• Your dessert is now ready to serve! 

*serves 10

prep time: 15 - 20 minutes

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FOOD FACTOR: Iranian Bread

I'm sure you all enjoy your warm Iranian bread with a nice scoop of Hummus or some other choice of savory treat! But, have you ever wonder how that scrumptious bread is baked?

Well, it's not something you see everyday, that's for sure!

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La Varenne - Tornado Tower, Qatar

I am yet to try out this restaurant, but from the pictures I can already tell it's going to be beyond amazing! La Varenne is a French brasserie that offers classic French cuisine is a contemporary/modern setting.

Open for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Sunday-Thursday +974 4499 0680

28th Floor, Tornado Tower · lavarenne.qa

They also serve a 3 course business lunch meal for QR 95, every Sunday - Thursday from 12pm - 3pm.

Find them on Facebook: La-Verenne

Twitter: La_Verenne

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CREATIVITY: Chin Chin Labs

If you're searching for the coolest ice-cream parlor in town, I've got it on lock-down. Unfortunately, it's all the way in London's Camden Town :(

The Chin Chin Labs is a ice-cream laborotary. The "scientist" mixes your desired ingredients, then adds nitrogen gas to freeze the ingredients and mixes them together ... viola! 

You then can meet the "assistants" who help you choose your toppings from test tubes, before getting to enjoy the experiment! 

You enjoy the ice cream because of the journey and experience that came with it, and that is one of the best ways to ensure the satisfaction of customers, give them a memorable experience!

The pictures below will tell you the story;

Yum! I had the chocolate flavor, and my friend had vanilla. We both chose to add hazelnut crunch topping!

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CREATIVITY: Sketch, London

If you're in London, then you NEED to check out Sketch!

Sketch is a very unique restaurant, located in Mayfair. It has attracted media coverage and celebrities from all around the world due to its myriad food, drink and entertainment styles. Not only is the restaurant artistic and thematic, but the food itself is very creative, bold and ground-breaking.

For example, this butter-nut squash soup I had came in three stages:

1) There was a delicious paste in the bottom of the bowl 

2) The waiter poured the hot soup into the bowl infront of me

3) He then used popcorn as garnish 

This was: a) delicious b) marvelous c) I had to take a picture.

Butternut Squash Soup with Popcorn Croutons 

Macaroons on display

CREATIVE: bathrooms at Sketch

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GREECE: Divine Food

Greece is home to many legendary things, from intellectuals, mathematicians, and politicians, to architects and philosophers - the Greeks have achieved it all. To add on to all that glory, the authenticity and richness of Greek cuisine was my favorite part of the trip!  Below are some images of the best food I tried in Greece. I wish I took more pictures of the food, but it seems I was too busy devouring it!

Even if some of the images are not "Greek" food per say, they did it better than anything I tried. Enjoy :)

Chocolate Fondant Heaven! 

Buftaki Burger

Greek Yoghurt, Honey and Walnuts

Honey Glazed Feta Cheese

Pizza!

Greek Sandwich and COFFEE (THE BEST)

Acropolis

Forgot the name of the place but it sold amazing chocolate and coffee!

Ice cream and cake! - this was GIANT SIZED by the way!

How cute and cosy are these coffee shops?

Amazing restaurant for traditional Greek Food in the heart of the city!

Dinner with a view of the Acropolis

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BEST BITES: YUM YUM at K108

Located in the heart of Qatar, with a perfect view from the 10th floor is Yum Yum! I have to admit, this is my favorite restaurant in Qatar! Not only is the food absolutely divine and unique, the place also has a great view and ambience!
Also, the restaurant is in Qatar's first boutique hotel, K108, which donates all its profit to charity!
Great food for a great cause - two birds in one stone!

Although the menu changes throughout the week, I would recommend the K108 burger (not on the menu) and the Beef Mignon!   

Check them out when you can and let me know what you think! 

Website: http://www.k108hotel.com/
Facebook:K108HotelDoha

The K108 Burger

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