Strawberry Cheesecake Pie and an Announcement!

Some pretty exciting things have been happening in my life and I wanted to share them with all of you! I don't really know who all of you might entail... but here goes. I will be spending next semester in Cajamarca, Peru! I am deferring Winter Semester here at BYU and will be working at a children's shelter and orphanage up in the Andes Mountains. I am going with an organization called Southern Cross and I am so excited. And even better news? One of my best friends in the whole world is coming with me! We arrive in Lima, Peru in January and we will work at "El Bichito" for 3 months.
To celebrate I made this pie. Ok, actually it was part of a bet. In return I am supposed to be getting homemade apple cider... I will tell you how that turns out.

*Disclaimer about the photos: These are from the first time I made this pie with a slightly different recipe. This recipe will fill the pie tin quite a bit more and the strawberries will mound a bit more, which I like better. 

Strawberry Cheesecake Pie

Ingredients:

·         3 eggs

·         3/4 cup sugar

·         1 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

·         11/2  package (12 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature

·         1 cup evaporated milk

·         1 1/2tablespoon lemon juice ( I think you could also add a dash of vanilla if you wanted)

·         12-inch graham cracker crust, baked

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs until thick and light yellow. Add  sugar and the flour, beating until blended. In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese with a small amount of the evaporated milk until smooth. Add remaining milk, the lemon juice, vanilla if you so desire ; beat until smooth and well blended. Pour egg mixture into the cream cheese mixture; beat just until blended.

Pour mixture into the graham cracker crust. Bake at 325° for 35 to 40 minutes. Until the tiniest cracks begin to appear on the edge. (I know cracking in cheesecakes is bad but it was the only way I could tell it was thoroughly cooked) Cool on a wire rack.

Strawberry Glaze

·         11/2 pints fresh strawberries, washed and hulled

·         1/2 cup water 

·         4 tablespoons sugar (plus a couple handfuls of powdered sugar)

·        2 teaspoons cornstarch

Cut up one pint of strawberries. I cut most of them in 1/2 and then a handful of them in half again so that they were thinner and could fit in between the cracks; arrange cut side down, over the cooled cheesecake. They should form a beautiful mounding creation of strawberry goodness. Crush enough remaining strawberries to make 1/3 cup; put in saucepan. Stir in 1/3 cup water and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Press through a strainer to make 1/2 cup of puree. Return the 1/2 cup puree to the saucepan. Mix together with 1/4 cup of water, the sugar and cornstarch and stir into the puree in saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. And here I have to make the confession that I have no idea if these proportions are correct because the original recipe didn't make enough so I kept adding handfuls of powdered sugar and dashes of lemon juice. Your end product should be a sweet lemon and strawberry flavored glaze that pours fairly easily over the entire pie. Cool slightly; spoon evenly over strawberries on cheesecake. Cool and store, covered, in refrigerator, at least an hour and probably more. 

When I'm gone, please speak well of me

One of my favorite bands just came out with a new album and my favorite song on it is called "Please Speak Well of Me". I have always loved the Weepies because their lyrics are so real and insightful. I know exactly how it feels to look back on a relationship and your one wish is that they can remember the good things. I have often wondered if everyone is like that, or if I am the only selfish one who wants everyone to at least somewhat like me. Does anyone else ever feel like they finally realize all the things they could do better after you break up? Life is funny like that. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i5BUYCQRKQ

Please Speak Well of Me- The Weepies

I’ve been away a year and a day
You recognize love after the fact
You did what you did and that was that

Don’t say words that you don’t mean
When I’m gone, please speak well of me

Looking back now
I only wish I had been kinder
Did I ever know love, did I ever know love?
And could I have been blinder?

Don’t hold back all your love for someday, for someday

I would say that I’m sorry if it would do any good
But to never regret means you have to forget
and I don’t think that I could

*This recipe has very little to do with ex-boyfriends, but it is incredibly wonderful all the same.

Peach Cobbler Muffins (from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

A dash of milk

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups white sugar

2 cups peeled, pitted, and chopped peaches

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease 16 muffin cups.

2.      In a large bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the oil, milk, eggs, and sugar. Stir the oil mixture into the flour mixture just until moist. Fold in the peaches. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups.

3.      Bake 20-23 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.


Just some fiction...

Conference Weekend

I love General Conference weekend. Listening to Prophets and Apostles as you sit all cozy on the couch with your notebook and tasty food, nothing better. Erin and Sarah slaved away all night over beautiful, homemade croissants for us to enjoy that morning. For lunch in between sessions I decided to try out this recipe that my mom had sent to me. She got the recipe from Kristen Powell who brought it by to feed my family while my mother is out of commission. Not only is Kristen a good cook, she is a great hairdresser too. And for those of you who missed conference, it's online now and you can watch it while you eat! http://lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,23-1-1298,00.html

Thai Noodle Salad

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (boiling is probably fastest, but grilling might taste better)

1/2 lb angel hair pasta, cooked al dente

1 tsp sesame oil, toss w/ pasta after cooking

1 cucumber, sliced thin

Bean Spouts

Green onions, sliced

Cilantro, chopped

Peanuts, chopped

Dressing – blend the following:

¾ cup rice vinegar

½ cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp sugar, (honey would work too)

2 Tbsp sesame oil

2 Tbsp minced ginger

1 tsp crushed red pepper 

2-3 teaspoons minced garlic
(This dressing is a pretty amazing oriental dressing on its own, my roommate wouldn't stop smelling it) 

Prepare ingredients and arrange in separate bowls. All ingredients should be chilled up until serving time.  Let everyone make their own salads – starting with the noodles on the bottom and topping with the dressing.  

Tip from Sister Powell- I keep my ginger in the freezer and then grate it with a fine grater instead of mining it, that way I don’t even have to peel it, but it only works to grate it if it’s frozen

Seasons of Change

I have finally admitted to myself that summer is over.
School is in full swing, nights are getting colder and life is starting to move on. Now that summer is over though, I can fully enjoy fall. The leaves are just beginning to change and the mountain is dotted with a hint of red and orange with a promise of more to come. Fall is the perfect time to bake pies. I don't really know why, maybe because so much fruit is in season, or maybe because I am trying to gain fat to keep myself warm in the coming winter. And because I have a wonderful brother who was willing to go with me to the farmer's market in the morning, I became the owner of a beautiful bag of fresh peaches. These peaches were delicious. They are beautiful first of all, just getting soft and barely fuzzy. And they made the most wonderful peach pie ever. I know you probably aren't supposed to say that about food you cook yourself, but it was pretty tasty. Here is the recipe.

Fresh Peach Pie (adapted from Leite's Culinaria)

1 recipe of Extra Flaky Pie Crust (add 2 teaspoons sugar to recipe for sweeter crust)
5 cups peeled and sliced peaches (maybe 8 peaches)
a few generous squeezes of fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp cold butter




1. Preheat oven to 425 F
2. Squeeze lemon juice over peaches and toss gently. In a separate bowl combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Combine with peaches until coated.
2. Pour peach mixture into prepared pie dish. Grate cold butter with cheese grater and spread butter flakes evenly across the top of the pie. Cover pie with top pie crust and crimp edges. Cut steam vents in top.
3. Cook for 35-40 min until crust is browned. Spread a bit of butter across top of hot crust and let pie cool at least one hour. Serve warm, at room temperature, cold or however you so desire.

Ode to Basil

This is the beautiful basil plant in my apartment that inspired me to make bruschetta. I gave it to my roommate when I moved away for the summer and we are all a little surprised that it survived. You may note that in the bottom right corner that our little basil plant is in a splint due to a number of accidents like falling off the windowsill. Reason #532 why basil is awesome- it has a strong will to live.Fresh basil makes everything taste better. It has a clean, earthy smell that is almost sweet and it's flavor is full and rich. When people see a basil plant in your kitchen they assume that you are a savvy and exotic cook and that you are therefore desirable as a friend/ wife, if you care about that kind of thing. As I have sworn off dating, I keep the basil in the kitchen because it looks nice Everyone should own a basil plant, go out and buy one right now.

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 or 7 ripe tomatoes ( I use roma because they are cheap)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
• Salt to taste
• Some type of bread, a baguette would probably be best, but all I had were English muffins and those worked.

1 Prepare the tomatoes first. Bring a medium pot of water to boil, once water has begun to boil remove from burner and immediately submerge whole tomatoes. Let sit for one minute. Cut tomato skins off with knife, skins should peel off fairly easily, but will be hot. Cut tomatoes in half and scoop out seeds, and juice from inside. Dice remaining tomato flesh.

2.  Put garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt to taste. Add tomatoes and toss thoroughly, put in refrigerator while preparing bread.

3. The fast and easy way to prepare bread is to just stick it in the toaster. If you have more time, top sliced baguette or french bread with a little olive oil or butter and a dash of Parmesan cheese and garlic salt. Stick in the oven on broil and pull out when the tops are brown and crispy (1-2 minutes). Top warm, crispy bread with a plentiful amount of bruschetta and enjoy!
 

Today's Story is a quote: "Color my life with the chaos of trouble" - Belle and Sebastian

In Search of my Soul

 Back to school. Back to work. New apartment. New ward. New People. And I feel like I'm drowning slowly. I miss the mountains, I miss my children, I miss knowing everyone and I miss mon etoile. I don't really feel like meeting new people and I don't want to be social. So I decided I needed to do some soul searching. I am taking some time to figure myself out. I don't really know what that means, but that's what I'm doing. So here is a delicious and not too difficult Thai recipe for anyone else who might be soul searching and getting a little hungry on the way.
 Panang Curry Recipe
Ingredients

• 3 large chicken breasts,
• 1-2 tbsp Panang Curry Paste (depending on how spicy you like it)
• 4 cups coconut milk
• 8-10 kaffir lime leaves, very finely chopped
• some salt
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 bell peppers- red, orange or yellow, cut into thin julienne strips and halved 
• 8-10 cups cooked rice

Preparation

1. Wash the chicken and cut into thin, bite size pieces, and fry until barely done.
2. Heat 2 cups of coconut milk over medium heat until the oil surfaces. Add curry paste, stir constantly for 2 minutes until fragrant and red oil surfaces. Add the chicken, and cook for a further 2 minutes or until done. Add the remaining coconut milk.
3. Season to taste with salt, fish sauce and sugar. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Add lime leaves and bell peppers and let simmer for 5 minutes. 
4. Spoon 1-2 cups rice in each bowl and top with curry. Eat. Ponder life. And read this sad story. 
 

Some Sad Story

Strawberry Cheesecake and My New Life

I spent a few weeks in Colorado at the beginning of the summer and my mother was kind enough to let me bring home a beautiful, nonstick springform pan. So of the course the first thing I must do when I get home is make a cheesecake. I have been wanting to try a cheesecake ever since I saw a cheesecake recipe on Smitten Kitchen. Her pictures are far more beautiful than mine but I bet my cheesecake tasted just as good. It took forever, I had a few disasters but It turned out pretty darn delicious...

I lost the recipe and all the changes I made to it, but I am working on it.

Mother's Day and a Marathon

Yes I do realize that Mother's Day is long gone, but I didn't get the chance to tell everyone about my amazing mother. My mother celebrated her 46th birthday on Mother's Day by running a marathon. I know, she is amazing. She has been training for the past 10 months so that she could wake up at 3am and run 26 miles down the Poudre Canyon. And then come home and shower so that we could go to church. Oh and then 2 days later she had to take her Spanish final. In honor of her I made this cake. But because she was not eating sugar as part of her marathon diet we did not actually eat it. We took it to a church function for other people to eat. But it is delicious and looks wonderful. I discovered this recipe when I was writing my Folklore Research Paper about food blogs. This cake was the first recipe I tried from a food blog, and I found it on Orangette, a food blog by Molly Wizenburg. I made a double batch and forced banana cake upon my roommates, boyfriend, neighbors and the Quarry Staff. I got a positive response so I decided to make it when I came home. I tried messing with it this time to make it more light. I don't know if it made a difference...

Sour Cream Banana Cake with a Chocolate Ganache (Adapted from Orangette)

For the cake:
2 cups + 2 Tbsps all purpose flour
¾ cup plus 2 Tbs sugar 
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 large ripe bananas 
½ cup sour cream (not low- or non-fat)

1/4 cup cold water 2 large eggs, separated 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
10 Tbs unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the ganache:
¾ cup heavy cream
8 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate chips ( Ghirardelli of course)
1 Tbs vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9-inch round springform pan with cooking spray, line the base with round of wax paper and spray again.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a blender, purée the banana, water and sour cream until completely smooth. Add the egg yolks and vanilla, and blend briefly to combine. The mixture will be light yellow and soupy.
Add the softened butter and about ½ of the puréed mixture to the dry ingredients in the bowl. Beat to combine on low speed; then increase the speed and beat for about 90 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, and add the rest of the purée, beating to combine well. Whip egg whites with a pinch of cream of tarter until stiff peaks form. Fold in egg whites to batter until just combined.

Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and dry. Remove the cake from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, and then remove the other rim of the pan. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, and carefully remove the base of the pan and the parchment paper. Allow the cake to cool completely.
When it is cool, begin the ganache. Put the chocolate in a medium mixing bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a near boil in small saucepan. When it is steaming well, remove it from the heat, and pour it over the chocolate in the bowl. Stir or whisk until most of the chocolate is melted; then cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir or whisk gently until the mixture is completely smooth. Stir in the vanilla. If all of the chocolate chips have not melted stick it in the microwave for a minute and stir. Chocolate should be thick and pourable.

Place the cooled cake and its wire rack onto a rimmed baking sheet, and slowly pour the ganache over the cake, using an icing spatula or long, flat knife to spread and smooth it across the top and down the sides. Scrape excess ganache off of the baking sheet for reusing, if you like. You will likely only need to use about 1/3 of the ganache for one cake; the rest will keep in the refrigerator for a week, or frozen for up to 3 months. Soften or melt before using. Allow the cake to sit at room temperature for at least a half hour before serving. 

*This was also my first attempt making sugared flowers. I think they turned out quite nice. I just went to this website for instructions http://www.essortment.com/all/howtosugarflo_rgcv.htm. 

Chiffon Cake and Goodbyes

Saying goodbye is a funny thing. My goodbyes at the end of this school year were mostly to people I knew I would see again. Some people I would see in 3 weeks, and most people I would see at the end of the summer. So of course I felt ridiculous being sad about leaving. Some people I already miss more than others and some people I'm sure have forgotten that they promised to call. That is the wonderful and sad thing about this change. No matter how much you miss someone or don't miss them- life goes on. The sun keeps setting, clocks keep ticking and the world adjusts to a new rhythm. With each new season things change, but thankfully some things stay the same. Like lemons, they will always be wonderful. So of course my first chiffon cake would be a lemon chiffon. I made this cake to avoid studying for finals and to bring to our goodbye work party. I dedicate this cake to all those wonderful people in the CCC. And I want to thank my roommate for letting me wake her up after she had gone to bed so she could taste it for me.
Lemon Chiffon Cake (adapted from every Chiffon Cake Recipe I could find)

*I doubled this recipe and it made ridiculous amounts of lemon chiffon cake. I made 12 cupcakes, 1 8 in round cake and an entire bundt cake with it. All of them delicious, just a lot. 
2 cups flour 

1 1/2 cups sugar 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

3/4 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup cold water 

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

Zest from 2 lemons 

7 egg yolks 

7 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 

Glaze: 

1/3 cup soft butter 

2 cups powdered sugar

Zest from 1 lemon 

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl and stir to mix. Add in order: the cold water, the oil, vanilla, lemon zest, and, one by one, the egg yolks. Set batter aside. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar and beat until very stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into the batter and pour batter into a pan. If making cupcakes pour into paper liners and bake for about 20- 30 min. Watch until they are golden on top. Turn upside down on cooling rack. If making a round or budnt cake pour into ungreased or parchment paper lined (very important) pan and bake 40 minutes. For bundt cake, hang upside down over a bottle until cake is cool. Turn out. Top with glaze and if feeling colorful add strawberry puree. 

For glaze, mix soft butter with powdered sugar, zest and lemon juice. Spread over cooled cake.

Wake up your roommate at 11pm to taste some. 

Story in progress...

Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows...

I love spring. I'm sure you picked up on it with my recent choice of recipes. I love that I can walk to work in the morning wearing shorts. I love that the trees are in bloom and the air smells like freshly mowed lawns. I love that we leave our windows open well into the night and that the sun is still warm after 5pm. And I love the color of food. I hear lemons are in season year round, but they just seem most appropriate in the spring. Hence all the lemon recipes. And if you haven't had enough, here is one more! This one has been by far my favorite. These pancakes are the most wonderful, perfect thing in the world. They are light and full of lemon flavor and when paired with the strawberry puree they are tangy and sweet to boot. I first heard of lemon pancakes on Tara Weaver's blog Tea and Cookies when she posted about Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. They looked fun and tasty and so a few months later I gave it a try, with a few twists of my own. Enjoy spring, enjoy these pancakes and enjoy life!


Fluffy Lemon Pancakes
1 C. all-purpose flour
1/8 C. powdered sugar
1/2  tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 C. milk
1/2 C. Sour Cream
1 egg
1 Tbs. Softened butter
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1-2 Tbs. freshly grated lemon peel depending on how lemony you want it to be
Combine flour, powdered sugar, baking soda and baking powder in large bowl. Combine all remaining pancake ingredients in small bowl; mix until smooth. Stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until well mixed.Heat lightly greased griddle or frying pan. For each pancake, spoon 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle; spread to form 4-inch circle.Cook until bubbles form on top.Turn pancakes; continue cooking until very light brown. Keep warm.Repeat with remaining batter.


                                                                                    Strawberry Puree
2 cups fresh strawberries, stems and leaves removed
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs. fresh squeezed lemon juice
Blend strawberries, lemon juice and powdered sugar in blender until smooth. Puree should be medium thin and easy to pour. You can adjust sweetness to sourness by adding more lemon or more sugar. If you need to thin out the puree add a few Tbs water. Pour puree on pancakes and go outside to eat. 

And now for more of that crazy dragon story...

Part III: That Chapter When I Learn About Myself

Chicken Pot Pie and Finals

Final Exams call for comfort food, but none of this ice cream or cheap cookies or hot pocket stuff, as delicious as those can be. Finals are heavy duty and therefore one needs heavy duty comfort food; food that takes you back to family dinners, and reminds you of your mom in a warm, toasty kitchen. Homemade Chicken Pot Pie is the ultimate comfort food; the pie crust is flaky and thick, filled full of grilled chicken and cheese and broccoli. It takes so long to cook that you can avoid studying for your finals for 2 whole hours, but at the end you are still happy because you are eating something warm and delicious. This also happens to be the best pie crust recipe ever. 

Extra Flaky Pie Crust (Adapted from my Mom who got it out of a Pillsbury Cookbook)

2 cups sifted cold flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon vinegar (to make crust flaky)

¾ cup butter

6 tablespoons ice water

Sift cold flour, sugar and salt together.  Grate butter (on cheese grater) into flour/salt and add vinegar. I grate the butter so that I don't have to cut it in with a pastry fork. Mix butter and flour together gently with hands until a crumbly mixture has formed. Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time while mixing with hands until a ball is formed. Dough should be pliable and hold together but not wet at all. Adding too little water will cause the dough to crack when rolling, and adding to much water will make the dough sticky.  Split in half and roll out both halves on floured surface, then put one half in pie plate.

Chicken Filling

4 oz sour cream (1/2 cup)

3 oz canned/evaporated milk (1/3 cup)

½ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

½ bunch of steamed/chopped broccoli

1-2 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped into bite size pieces

Mix all ingredients together. Fill crust in the pie plate with filling and then cover with the other pie crust. Pinch sides together to seal. Brush evaporated milk on top of crust before baking for a golden brown crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Invite a friend over to eat. And then take a break from finals and read Part II of this story. 

Part II- In Which the World Turns Itself Inside Out...