No bake strawberry cheesecake

When good strawberries have been hard to come by for awhile we get a little bit excited when we stumble across delicious berries like these. They smell absolutely sensational, and taste as sweet as can be. Eaten fresh, they require nothing else to compliment their beautiful flavour. Added to a cheesecake however, they are equally as delicious, and the sweet smell of strawberries only compliments the mild flavour of cheesecake.

These beauties are locally grown in Wanneroo, and if you like strawberries we suggest you get your hands on some.

Ingredients
Base:
250g Granita biscuits, blend to crumbs

100g unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
300ml whipping cream

500g light cream cheese, softened

100g caster sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 punnet strawberries, hulled and pureed

10g unflavoured gelatine (1 sachet - or 2 sachets if you prefer your cheesecake more on the firm side)

Topping:
1 punnet strawberries, hulled

Grease round springform cake tin. ** Tip: turn removable base of tin upside down so the cheesecake base won’t stick into the groove that forms at the join.

Mix biscuit crumbs and butter well and press firmly into base of tin. Place into the fridge while making the filling. 

Whip cream to medium stiffness (mousse-like texture) and chill. In another bowl mix cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and creamy.

Heat lemon juice and pureed strawberries in saucepan. Take pan off heat and sprinkle in gelatine, stirring until dissolved. Set aside to cool – gelatine and cream cheese mixtures must be at the same temperature before combining. Add ¾ of the cooled puree mixture to cream cheese and sugar mixture (the remaining ¼ kept for the top of the cheesecake), stir until combined. Fold in whipped cream until well combined. Pour into base and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Remove cheesecake from fridge after 1 hour and pour remainder of puree mixture on top. Return to fridge overnight or until fully set.

Once set, gently run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake to loosen it before unlocking the spring form pan. Garnish with strawberries and serve!

We are joining in the Berry nice to meet you! blog hop. Check out some of the other lovely recipes below.

Five reasons why vegetables are so good for you

At The Lettuce Shop we take our vegetables very seriously. Not only do we pride ourselves on the good quality vegetables we supply, we genuinely have an interest in good veg. And in our opinion, it is all good! Vegetables are so versatile and there are hundreds of different ways to prepare them. Here are five reasons why vegetables are good for you:

1. Vegetables are fat-free. Over 95% of vegetables contain less than one gram of fat per serving. With low or no calories, vegetables are the ideal accompaniment to any meal.
2. Vegetables are dense in nutrients. High in vitamins and other nutrients including fibre and anti-oxidants which are vital for a healthy diet, vegetables are the obvious choice. So while they taste delicious, they are also good for you.
3. Vegetables help boost the immune system. Vegetables high in vitamin C help keep our bodies healthy during the flu season.
4. Vegetables aid in protecting us against a number of diseases such as some cancers, stroke, diabetes and heart disease.
5. "You are what you eat." Eating a diet rich in healthy vegetables improves appearance in skin, eyes, hair and teeth. Vitamins and minerals in vegetables aid in keeping circulation and the overturning of cells at a healthy rate.

If this is not enough to convince you, just imagine a dish without the colour of a range of vegetables. The reds, deep greens, oranges and yellows of vegetables only add to the appearance of dishes. Get your fix today!

Have a great week!

The Lettuce Shop team

Behind the scenes at The Lettuce Shop

The Lettuce Shop team works like a well-oiled machine. Incoming orders are processed, produce is carefully selected from the markets and returned to our premises whereby we then set out to pack the orders for our customers in our refrigerated packing room. All produce selected by John at the markets is the freshest he can find. John doesn’t settle for substandard, he is very fussy when it comes to quality produce.

We hope you are happy with your deliveries, we welcome feedback and love to hear what you think. The Lettuce Shop team strive to provide the best service possible, we love what we do and it shows!

The Lettuce Shop Team

Cherry tomato love!

Cherry tomatoes, although botanically a fruit, are considered a vegetable as they are mostly used in savoury dishes. Cherry tomatoes are ideal for roasting, on bruschetta, as a basis for pasta sauces, as garnish, in salads and as a healthy snack option. Nutritional benefits include a rich vitamin C content, low in calories, fat and cholestrol free and a good source of lycopene, which scientists believe contain powerful anticancer properties. Cherry tomatoes are ideal for meat-free diets in assisting iron absorption due to the high vitamin C content. Cherry tomatoes are best when plump, tight-skinned and firm. 

For a deliciously easy pasta recipe check out this simple oven-roasted cherry tomato based pasta provencale that the whole family will enjoy.

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook, we'd love to hear from you.

Have a fabulous week!

The Lettuce Shop Team

Fancy a good cuppa?

Coffee is one of the world’s most widely consumed beverages, and to the astute coffee lover it’s all in the bean. The Lettuce Shop gladly supplies Café Gourmet coffee beans to our customers, and the feedback has been fantastic! Café Gourmet's 100% Arabica beans are freshly roasted in WA. We supply 500g bags and we’ll happily deliver to the workplace. So if you have an espresso machine at work, why not have your milk and Café Gourmet coffee beans delivered right to your door? If you’re lucky enough to have an espresso machine at home, pop beans onto your next order and we'll deliver them to you. If past feedback from our customers is anything to go by, you won’t be disappointed. Order here.

For all you devoted foodies the annual Eat Drink Perth festival is on for the month of March. Head over to the website to see the program stocked with information on events, competitions and gourmet goodness. 

Enjoy the start of autumn!

Quality produce is our passion!

You may have heard about the recent price reduction by some supermarkets of their fresh produce. We can't vouch for the supermarkets however we can guarantee that none of the produce you order from The Lettuce Shop sits in a coolroom for days or weeks before reaching you. We select the fruit and vegetables to your order and buy all your produce the morning of your delivery. So when you are biting into a deliciously fresh piece of fruit be assured it has come to you straight from the market, not from a shelf in a coolroom. We take the quality of our fruit and veg very seriously, it's our passion!

New season Nashi are very impressive, take a look for yourself.

They are super crisp and as fresh as can be, perfect for school lunchboxes or healthy snack times. Order some today and try them for yourself.

We hope you had a deliciously fresh weekend!

The Lettuce Shop Team

Great food ideas

We have noticed a lot of interest lately surrounding meal plans. The idea of drafting up a list of weekly meals is a good one. There is no need to race home after work and try to concoct a meal at short notice, the key is preparation and knowing what will be cooking days ahead. Imagine having your week’s meals written out and an order in for your fresh produce, eggs and milk to be delivered at the start of the week. Talk about being prepared! (Watch this space.)

One great way to keep the sugar cravings at bay for kids is to cut up a whole heap of fruit and lay it out on a plate within easy reach. Kids won’t always think to pick up a piece of fruit and peel and/or cut it, but if it is all laid out strategically in their view chances are they will grab a bit on their way past. Do this on weekends to combat the afternoon sugar craving. Or at night after dinner to stop the night time fridge dwelling. And let’s face it, a colourful display of fresh, sweet fruit does look very enticing.

Well we can officially say The Lettuce Shop is back in full swing after the festive season break. New season Nashi are in and they are looking sensational! Fancy some delicious pears for kids’ lunchboxes? Order some here.

Have a fantastic week!