Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Topping

 There's something about cheesecake that makes it acceptable any time of the year.

It really is one of those desserts that can fit any occasion. You can do a Fall Pumpkin cheesecake. A birthday rainbow sprinkle and chocolate chip cheesecake. There are recipes for cheesecake dip and cheesecake bites and vegan cheesecake and on and on and on. It's very much unlike hot soup, which I can't stand in the summer, or fruity Popsicles, which do not belong in Colorado winters. 

This cheesecake was inspired by a huge lemon binge that I've been on recently. Everything has been so bright and sunny (84 degrees today!) and the sky has been so blue, and my cravings are really influenced by the weather (cough, see the picky statements above, cough). 

It almost tastes like blueberry lemonade, which is what I came very close to calling it, before I decided that was too stereotypical. Plus, lemonade has a certain.... sweetness to it most of the time that replaces the bright and fresh lemon flavor. This cheesecake keeps that flavor, and the blueberry reduction on top just balances it all out beautifully (and makes it look so nice).

Almost all of my recipes end up being brought to work, because it's just me at my house (and my boyfriend, but he doesn't like sweet things very much), and I had a ton of people ask for the recipe. One woman asked, "Alright, this is delicious, how bad is it for me?" and then I told her it wasn't, she was shocked. It's a really rich-tasting cheesecake that is lightened up significantly with the low fat cream cheese and the nonfat Greek yogurt. I also used two eggs and twp egg whites instead of four whole eggs to cut back a bit on the fat, and Splenda to reduce the sugar amount (you can use sugar if you want, but it increases the gram amount to 46... yikes! That's why I went with the much lower Splenda version.) 

Nom nom nom. 

Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Topping
Serves 9

Ingredients:

• 1 graham cracker crust, of your choosing 
• 1 (8 ounce) package low fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 2c. fat free vanilla Greek yogurt
• 2/3c. splenda (can use sugar if wanted)
• zest of two lemons
• juice of one lemon
• 2 cups frozen blueberries

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. 
2. Meanwhile, place cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high for two minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add egg whites, one at a time, and mix until combined. Add the whole eggs and Greek yogurt, and beat well for at least one minute or until fully mixed. Add in the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and mix just until evenly combined.
3. Place cheesecake on a baking sheet for easy placement in oven. Bake at 350F for 60 min, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cheesecake comes out almost clean. 
4. Remove cheesecake from oven. Cheesecake will likely puff up when baking, but will even out when let to rest. Allow to sit at room temperature for one hour, then place in fridge for at least 7 hours and up to 24. 
5. On the day you are serving the cheesecake, place the frozen blueberries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cover until the blueberries thaw and you can see the juice at the bottom of the saucepan. When this occurs, turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for three minutes, or until juice thickens and becomes sauce-like. The natural sugars and pectin in the blueberries will allow it to thicken by itself, so adding sugar or cornstarch is not necessary. 
6. Remove the saucepan from heat, and let sit for five minutes. Spread blueberry topping over the top of the cheesecake, and serve.

Nutrition Information (with splenda):
Sodium: 236mg
Total Fat: 10g
       Saturated: 5g
       Monounsaturated: 3g
       Trans: 2g
Sugar: 16g
Protein: 9g
Calories: 222

Nutrition Information (with sugar):
Sodium: 236mg
Total Fat: 10g
       Saturated: 5g
       Monounsaturated: 3g
       Trans: 2g
Sugar: 46g
Protein: 9g
Calories: 337

Basil-Lemon Cucumber, Tomato, Mozzarella, and Garbanzo Bean Salad

Holy hell of a long salad name, amen! I can't imagine saying the name of this Basil-Lemon Cucumber, Tomato, Mozzarella, and Garbanzo Bean Salad three times fast.

Anyone want to try?

Seriously, though, this salad is packed with all the good stuff. Cucumbers are dirt cheap right now, as are tomatoes, which makes this an easy recipe to feed a crowd. The recipe itself makes ten servings, which is perfect for a big BBQ or a summer picnic, but it can easily be halved or portioned to whatever size you want. Plus it is easy to make. SO easy! I basically cut stuff up, threw it in a bowl, poured the basil-lemon mix over it, and then tossed it in the fridge to sit and marinate for about an hour.

It's a strangely complex salad, in the best way? You get some bright acidity from the tomatoes and lemon juice, and then a cooling crunch from the cucumber, which balances it out nicely. The mozzarella adds just a touch of richness, while the garbanzo beans add some much-needed texture. And of course, what is summer without basil and lemon?

Not summer, that's what.

(On a side note: cucumber-lemon water is my drug right now. I am chugging that stuff by the gallon).

I got in the mood to make this because it is finally, finally getting warm here. And it's probably going to rain tomorrow since I just declared it to feel like summer. Colorado is sassy and likes to go against whatever weather anyone predicts. Wasn't there a Garfield comic once where the weather forecaster said that the estimation was between negative 50 and 1000 degrees? Well, that's Colorado. So I'm taking advantage of the nice weather while it lasts, and making a ton of summery food!

Hope it is just as nice where you all are (and if not, I'll send some good weather vibes your way! It's not like Colorado would listen to them anyway)

Basil-Lemon Cucumber, Tomato, Mozzarella, and Garbanzo Bean Salad
Serves 10

Ingredients:

• 3 large cucumbers, washed and cubed (a bit larger than dicing)
• 10 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 (15 oz) can no salt added garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 8 ounces part skim mozzarella, diced 
• 1/4cup fresh basil, finely chopped
• zest of two medium lemons
• juice of four medium lemons
• 1/4c. olive oil
• 1/2t crushed black pepper
• 1/4t kosher salt

Instructions:

1. Combine cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, garbanzo beans, and mozzarella in a large bowl. Toss to combine, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, black pepper, and salt. Whisk thoroughly for one minute. Pour lemon-basil mixture over the cucumber mixture.
3. Refrigerate for thirty minutes to 24 hours. Serve cold. Best served within four days.   

Nutritional Information:
Sodium: 209mg
Total Fat: 10g
     Saturated Fat: 3g
     Monounsaturated Fat: 5g
     Trans Fat: 0g
Sugar: 5g
Protein: 10g
Calories: 197

Update (Where I've Been) and some Pearl Barley Salad

Wow, long time no write!

I am so sorry about the almost month-long hiatus. I could give you a detailed list of exactly why I've been lacking in my normal weekly updates, but none of you really want to hear about that! Instead, I'll give you a fun little story: I've been working on a student-body political campaign for the last two weeks.

And guess what?

WE WON!!

So all of the sweat (literally), tears (literally), and blood (ok, maybe just a little of this one) were completely and totally worth it. But helping to run a campaign, even if I was just volunteer coordinator, really sucked up a ton of my time. My eating bills this month skyrocketed, because I was on a tight schedule that left no room for actually making food. I would get up at 5AM, bustle around getting all the campaign stuff ready, be on campus by 7, have classes and work from 8-4, go to campaign meetings from 4-6, and then head to the nearest coffee shop and do all my actual school work until about 1AM. Rinse and repeat.

Needless to say, I ate a lot of pre-made food. Even in Fort Collins, which is super granola and all about fresh/local, I felt so weighed down after about the first week. There's something about making a huge plate of vegetables at home, the way you like it, that is immensely more satisfying than scarfing down a bagel or even a pre-made salad. It just tastes better and lighter and all-around more fantastic.

Today is the first day I've really been able to sit back and get all of my daily routines and chores back on schedule. I ran a 5k this morning with a close friend called The Flying Pig, which was great, and then I came home and cleaned everything (I just get in these obsessive moods sometimes where I have to clean?? Does anyone else experience this?? The kind of mood where I-have-to-clean-before-I-can-even-think-of-anything-else?).

And then I cooked for the first time in two weeks.

When I was looking in my fridge I was trying to figure out what the heck I could do with all the random (almost dying) vegetables, and so I naturally moved to the pantry. The Pearl Barley was found, and voila. Introducing a chilled pearl barley salad with tons of vegetables.

This is totally customizable, y'all. It's wonderful. You can throw in whatever vegetables you like. Personally, I always have mushrooms, carrots, and spinach on hand, and then I grabbed some frozen peas in to add a tiny bit of a pop and some more beautiful green color. When I tasted it initially, it was lacking some salt and zing, so to make it more interesting I added feta cheese and lemon juice (which, I admit, it my go-to. If something isn't perfect, cheese and lemon juice usually fix it). The pearl barley adds some awesome texture. It's so close to being like rice but with a bit more substance, almost chewy but no exactly?

Words are hard.

But yes, feel free to mix it up in any way you want. I made enough to last me the whole week, which is awesome because HOMEMADE FOOD. I've been missing it. Cooking and I used to be tight, but the past two weeks strained our relationship. So, clearly, I just need to make all the delicious things that way we can be friends again.

That's how it works, right?

Chilled Pearl Barley and Vegetable Salad
Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 5 large carrots, sliced into rounds
• 12 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced in half
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 cup cooked pearl barley
• 1 cup spinach, chopped
• juice of one lemon
• 1/2tsp salt
• 1/2tsp pepper
• 1/2c. reduced fat feta cheese

Instructions:

1. Steam the carrots and mushrooms, either by microwaving them with 1 tablespoon of water for approximately five minutes or bringing them to a simmer in a large pot with 1/4cup water and then removing from heat and sitting, covered, for ten minutes. (Or until tender).
2. Meanwhile, combine the peas, barley, and spinach. Add the steamed vegetables, and immediately squeeze the lemon juice over the mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Move to the fridge and allow to chill for at least thirty minutes.
3. Before serving, sprinkle with feta cheese. 

Nutrition Information:
Sodium: 383mg
Total Fat: 2g
        Saturated: 1g
        Trans: 0g
Sugar: 5g
Protein: 10g
Calories: 198

Poached Pears with Blueberries

Happy February! 

Tomorrow is my Dad's birthday (Happy Birthday Dad! I love you more than anyone in the world.)

Who watched the Superbowl? Anyone? Yeah, I failed as an American and didn't watch it. Partly because I worry about seeing people get injured (apparently someone broke their arm? Can't handle it), and also because I'm an avid Sea Hawks fan and I knew that I would be sad if they lost. (Which, whelp... we all know how that ended). I will admit that I'm more of an ice skating fan than I am a football fan, though. Maybe because I can actually imagine myself ice skating, but not playing football? I am way too intimidated by large men running towards me to be successful in any type of football career.

Things here at CSU have been going very smoothly. I've been drinking copious amounts of coffee and keeping up with school work, which is great. I still have this weird sensation that each day is flying by faster than I can catch up, though. I'll wake up at 6AM and bam, it's 7PM and I'm tired (because yes, I do go to bed at 8PM every night. I am internally an old person in terms of sleep. And probably about five years old in terms of energy level during the day). 

I've really been digging having before-bed snacks. They're usually composed of mini caramel rice cakes (once again: I'm old) or some type of cereal doused in soy milk (living the college life). But recently it's been all about the fruit. Fruit fruit fruit. It started out with me adding frozen raspberries to my cereal but after a while I was really craving something more fresh. Then a few days ago I started to feel a cold come on, which made me crave ginger --I have this weird association between sickness and ginger, because I always crave it whenever I'm sick-- and that led to some pretty creative combinations. 

Thankfully for you, I won't be sharing all those disgusting creative combinations (dates and rice and popcorn may have been involved). Instead, you get this lovely creation, which has actually been a staple of mine for some years now.

Poached pears with blueberries! And ginger. And vanilla extract for that little extra (is that a pun? It could be a pun) sweetness. This is a simple recipe that still impresses friends and family. When I made this for guests back in High School, they thought I was some type of fruit magician. In reality, I put the pears in a pot, walked away to do something else, came back and voila! That was pretty much it. It is a quick and easy way to create a fresh end to a meal. 

A simple scoop of ice cream or some whip cream is always a bonus, but this perfectly sweet dessert is delicious without it as well! Cooking the pears brings out a nice sweetness and the poaching softens them to give a smooth, melt-in-your mouth desert. Blueberries and ginger add little pops of flavor to keep it interesting.

If anyone has suggestions of fruits besides pears to use in this, I'm all ears! Because I think I could devour a whole table's worth of ginger-based goods around this time.


Xoxoxo. 

Poached Pears with Blueberries

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 large Green Anjou pears (firm, but ripe), peeled and cored, cut in half
• 4 and 1/4c. water
• 3tbl sugar
• 1/2 inch segment of peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2tbl vanilla extract
• 1 cup frozen (thawed) or fresh blueberries

 Instructions:

1. In a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Dissolve in the sugar, and add ginger/vanilla. 
2. Gently slide the pears into the water, and cook over medium until soft when a knife is able to slide in and out easily (about 15 minutes, but may take as much as 30 depending on your elevation).
3. Remove the pears from the syrup, and let cool. Cut pears into bite-sized cubes, and divide cubes evenly among 4 serving bowls. Top each serving with 1/4c. blueberries and 1/4c. liquid.

Note: If you want to serve the pears warm, you can chose not to cut them up into pieces. Simply serve each person the equivalent of 1 pear, 1/4c. blueberries, and 1/4c. liquid. This method is best if you are planning to top it with ice cream or some other creamy deliciousness!

Nutritional Information: 
Sodium: 7mg
Total Fat: 0g
       Saturated:  0g
       Trans: 0g
Protein: 1g
Sugar: 39g
Calories: 196

Crustless Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche

Today is feeling so much like spring, I can't even handle it.

Colorado has the tendency to completely do 180s on the weather, which shouldn't surprise me considering that I've lived here for nearly two years. But every single time we have a week of cold and then a week of warm, I become weirdly infuriated but thankful at the same time? My thing is that I am the poster child of first-world, lazy-person problems and the switching weather means that I have to alternate between spring and winter wardrobes.

I'm the worst.

But I also have a kind of legitimate reason for hating this time of the year, and that's geese. I hate hate hate geese, with a burning passion that can be ignited by the simple sound of one honking outside my window. They are so mean (I have a friend who was attacked by a goose once. No joke) and messy (and therefore smelly), and serve no purpose in my mind but to eat all the pretty green grass outside my apartment. Also someone told me that they have sharp teeth?? Is this true? Are there any geese experts among my readers who can tell me whether or not a goose would draw blood if it bit me? I'm going to stick with caution and believe it until someone tells me otherwise. It fuels my irrational perfectly reasonable and accurate fear and disgust. 

Blah, blah, blah, I know. I'm a ruiner. I should be outside jumping for joy, shrieking "It's warm! It's warm! I can eat bright spring things with lots of green without feeling completely and totally strange!" I haven't been running around, but I have been eating a lot of bright greens and daydreaming about spring foods. For me, spring usually reminds me of fresh fruits and lots of bright green vegetables, because it's so alive and happy. Plus yellow, which obviously means cheddar cheese. It also brings to mind Easter (even though my family isn't technically Christian, whoops!), which reminds me of eggs, which reminds me of quiche. So if I combine all of the above fresh thoughts and greens and yellows, it's pretty easy to come up with something that perfectly captures that mood.

Quiche.

Crustless quiche, to be exact. I've never actually been a fan of traditional pie crust?? I like it more raw (I know, it's gross, but I seriously could eat an entire package of refrigerated pie dough and be super happy. It doesn't happen often), so it seems pointless to me to add it. taking the crust away also hugely cuts down on fat, which therefore means we can add more cheese, which isn't even a question. I also use a mix of whole eggs and egg whites, to get more protein (one serving of this is about 25% of your daily value!) but less cholesterol, while not sacrificing flavor.

Quiche is actually one of the few egg dishes I will contemplate eating sometimes, especially if it is packed with veggies. I'm a sucker for anything broccoli-cheddar, and this recipe is especially suitable for any non-vegetarians or vegetarians who do eat eggs. It's easy to make and has familiar flavors. Warm, gooey cheese and tender broccoli, baked with eggs into a light, fluffy cloud of deliciousness. Half and half adds a splash of richness, complimenting the bold flavors of the sharp cheddar. The cheese melts and bubbles to create a golden crust that adds "wowza" to the dish. Every bite is packed with broccoli and sharp cheddar.

Drool.

Crustless Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche

Adapted from Martha Stewart
Serves 4                Serving Size: 1 (12-oz) ramekin

Ingredients:

• 12 oz uncooked broccoli florets
• 2/3c chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 large eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4c. skim milk
• 1/4c. fat free half-and-half
• 3/4c shredded (3oz) reduced fat (2% milk) sharp cheddar
• 1/4tsp salt
• 1/4tsp pepper
• 1/8tsp paprika
• 4 (12-oz) oven safe ramekins

Instructions:

1. Cook the broccoli (I prefer to steam it). Allow to cool, and then chop into small bite-sized pieces. In a small pan, saute the onions until slightly tender (about four minutes on medium). Remove from heat. Put the broccoli and onion into a medium-large bowl, and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the eggs and egg whites. Slowly add in the milk and half-and-half, whisking as you do so. Add in the broccoli-onion mixture and the cheese, along with the salt, pepper, and paprika.
4. Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Ladle broccoli mixture into ramekins, dividing evenly. Bake until golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. You can test the doneness by gently poking the top of the quiches; they should not leak any milk when touched.
5. Remove from oven and serve!

Nutritional Information:
Sodium: 360mg
Total Fat: 9g
      Saturated: 4g
      Trans: 0g
Protein: 14g
Sugar: 4g
Calories: 180