Easy and delicious

Everything seems quiet at the moment, the beautiful pouis are in their flowering splendour, children are back to school, and many are at home studying for exams.

It’s the time when they will be in need of some comfort foods and some dangerous desserts that always somehow make everything better.

Here are some suggestions that they can create at home and will also serve as much-needed stress relief.

Cheesecake trifle

½ cup granulated sugar

4 egg yolks

5 tbs dark rum (optional)

1 tsp vanilla

1 lb cream cheese cut into pieces

1½ cups whipping cream

20 Italian lady finger biscuits

1 28-oz can peaches, chopped, and drained, save peach juice

1 cup peach juice

½ cup toasted almonds

cherries to garnish

With an electric mixer beat sugar with egg yolks until thick and fluffy, add vanilla and continue beating, add cream cheese and continue beating until smooth.

Refrigerate for about one hour or until chilled.

Beat whipping cream until stiff; fold into cream cheese mixture.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Line the base of a glass dish with ladyfingers, sprinkle with juice/rum mixture or dip ladyfingers into juice and arrange at the bottom of your dish.

Top with half the cheese mixture.

Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers and cream cheese mixture.

Sprinkle on the toasted almonds, garnish with cherries and cover with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Serves 8 to 10

Soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies

1 cup unsalted butter

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

2½ cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream butter with sugars until light and fluffy.

Add egg and vanilla. Beat well.

In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt.

Add flour mixture gradually to butter mixture and beat just until blended.

Stir in chocolate chips by hand just until combined.

Drop cookie dough by tablespoons unto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes until light and almost set. Remove from heat and cool on wire racks.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Mexican mac and cheese

2 cups uncooked macaroni, broken into 3- inch pieces or shells 3 tbs unsalted butter

1 tbs minced garlic

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 green bell pepper seeded and chopped ¼ cup chopped celery

2 tbs all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

1 tbs chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin 1 14-oz tin whole kernel corn, drained

4 leaves chadon beni. finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Topping

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

½ cup bread crumbs 1 tbs butter

Preheat oven to 375F. Boil macaroni according to package directions in enough salted water, drain and set aside.

Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan, add garlic, onion, bell pepper and celery, stir, add flour and cook stirring constantly until flour and butter becomes slack in texture.

Add milk. Stir until sauce begins to thicken.

Add chilli powder and cumin, stir.

Stir in corn and chadon beni.

Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Turn into a greased 9x5-inch baking dish.

Combine all the ingredients for the topping and spoon onto macaroni mixture.

Bake for about 20 minutes until top is golden brown.

Serves 6-8

Oven roasted Cuban chicken

2 lbs chicken thighs or leg and thighs, separated, washed

1 orange cut into 8 wedges

Marinade

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch chadon beni

⅓ cup fresh orange juice, preferably sour

1 tbs orange zest

⅓ cup fresh lime juice

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tbs minced garlic

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp hot pepper sauce

1 tsp salt

Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels.

Place all the ingredients for the marinade into a blender or food processor and process.

Pour marinade over chicken and cover well. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place chicken skin side down in shallow baking dish, add remaining marinade and orange wedges.

Roast for 30 minutes. Turn chicken, spoon drippings over, continue roasting for another 20 minutes.

Chicken should be dark golden in colour.

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