Festive Pumpkin Cheesecake

If you are a pumpkin pie and cheesecake lover you can have the best of both worlds with this delicious cheesecake. An easy recipe with few ingredients, but a bit costly due to the fact that the recipe calls for four packs of cream cheese. I used light cream cheese and it still turned out great! This is by far the best cheesecake I've ever had / made. The pumpkin makes it super moist and not too sweet. I used pure pumpkin from a can, not the kind for pie filling.

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 cup graham crumbs

3 tbsp. butter -melted 

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. brown sugar

Filling:

4 - 250g packages cream cheese -softened 

5 eggs

1/4 cup flour

2 tsp. pumpkin spice or equal parts ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg

1- 14oz can pure pumpkin (not pie filling)

2 tbsp. light rum

1 cup whipping cream -whipped 

splash of vanilla

Combine crust ingredients. Lightly grease a 10" springform pan and line bottom with crumb mixture. Pat firm and chill. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat softened cream cheese till fluffy on low-med. setting. Slowly beat in sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour, spices, pumpkin and rum. Pour batter over crust. Bake for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours or till filling is set. Cool for an hour. Refrigerate several hours. Garnish with vanilla whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Serves 10 to 12. 

Burger or Bust

Alright, so I'm not usually a fan of chain restaurants, but if you're looking for a tasty burger that isn't fast food, Milestones is a great option. For only $12.99 you get to choose from 3 customized burgers. I typically get the "American", which includes bacon, cheddar and the trimmings (pickle, onion, tomato and lettuce). You can also choose to have it served with curly fries, salad, or half and half at no extra charge. The burger is huge so I would suggest the later option. At least you can feel somewhat healthy by ordering a half salad... yeah right, I was full for the entire next day. I had to do some intense yoga to burn some fat, but it was well worth it.  And if you'd like to indulge even further... order the watercress dip for your fries... yum!  A very satisfying burger, to say the least. I think the picture says at all.

Lesson learned: I can eat a lot!
Next burger joint to try: Romer's 

I'm jammin' and I hope you like jammin', too

Not sure what it is about making jam, but I always find it problematic. Today, I decided to use some apricots that I had prepared and froze in the summer. The nice part was not having to do all the washing, cutting & pitting so I could get straight to it. Mind you, I still managed to mess it up. I probably should have let the apricots defrost completely before tossing them in the pot, but sometimes it's nice not to follow all the rules. I made the special calcium concoction, which helps the pectin gel without adding the sugar required in conventional pectin brands. I somehow completely missed that I was supposed to use a particular brand of pectin called Pomona's. So I ended up using conventional pectin (because I had it on hand), made my own calcium water (normally it comes in the Pomona package), AND decided to use water instead on concentrated apple juice seeing as I didn't have any (the juice is what provides the sweetness since there is no sugar). 

End result: Apricot Jam that isn't sweet 

Lesson learned: Make sure you have all the ingredients before starting a recipe. 

So much for winging it! 

Please note: I don't usually do this. In fact, I am infamous for following recipes to a t. 

The actual recipe can be found on ehow.com

Healthy Hints about apricots: high in fibre and potassium, low glycemic index

Tis the season... for making apple sauce

Apples are in season and I can't think of a tastier, healthier, sugarless treat that makes the perfect substitute for dessert. The recipe I discovered on food.com literally tastes like you're eating apple pie, minus all the calories. If you're lucky enough to have an apple tree in your backyard, then you will be looking for a way to use up them apples. If you don't, I would suggest buying local and organic considering the high pesticide use on apple crops. You can often find bags of apples on sale at Choices and even at regular cost there isn't much of a price difference. I used King apples, but any sweet apples will do. You can even throw in a couple tart apples if you have some laying around. I doubled the recipe and filled about 5 mason jars. My only modification for the recipe would be to use lemon juice over lemon slices because I found it hard to remove the lemons after boiling and some little pieces could be tasted in the end product (which isn't really a big deal if you like lemons). If you do use lemon slices, be sure to remove any lemon seeds as they give off a bitter taste. Don't forget to boil your jars so that the lids seal to preserve your sauce. If you want, skip the jarring process altogether, as you will probably end up eating the sauce faster than you think (especially if you have kids). Yum!

Uses for apple sauce: eat it straight up, slap it on a pork roast, pour in on yogurt, or eat it with latkes.

Here is the recipe I used (quick and simple):

www.food.com/recipe/quick-homemade-applesauce-no-sugar-added-201473

How to Sterilize Jars for canning:

www.ehow.com/how_4577254_sterilize-jars-canning.html

Healthy Hints about apples: High in fibre and potassium, can keep hunger at bay

Les Faux Bourgois

On Saturday night, I revisited my new favourite restaurant. Being a creature of habit, I ordered the exact same thing I had the first time I dined there back in the Spring. I started with the Alsacienne Tart consisting of an onion puff pastry, lardons, creme fraiche and ricotta, followed by the mussels and frites. The tart was flaky, rich and delicious! I would probably suggest sharing it. The mussels were also very good. Their sauce was simple yet flavourful with lots of garlic. The side of fries that came with the mussels was a nice, large portion and was the perfect compliment to the dish. I have yet to try any of their desserts. I think the pricing is really reasonable and the value is unbeatable in Vancouver. The only downside is you need to make a reservation well in advance as they book up very quickly! 


lesfauxbourgeois.com

Next dishes to try: Beet salad & Beef tenderloin