Naturally Optimistic

Beavis enjoying the nice sunshine through the kitchen window. Steve's Easter basket filled with coffee & chocolates. Our Easter hike - FULL of snow! The quiet woods (once the snowmobiles left).

Ah the cheesecake! That's what Easter's about, right? I started off here with the MARTHA STEWART BAKING HANDBOOK - New York Cheesecake: It called for 7 8 oz packages of cream cheese. I thought that was a lot. What I didn't realize was it was a recipe for a 10" pan which as cheesecakes go is quite large. I believe my pan is only 8" doh. So much for reading ahead. After reading more of the recipe and starting to feel a time crunch as I had to be to Steve's Dad's by a certain time....I started researching other cheesecake recipes in my cookbooks and online. I decided to forgo the "water bath" and bake it the normal way. I did learn though that you can let your cheesecake cool from 3-5 hours IN THE OVEN which apparently prevents cracking. Hmmmm, the top popped up (I used SO MUCH FILLING - and sadly still dumped a ton down the drain. Pooey for wasting good cheesecake filling! the top got quite brown - unfortunately. Hmmmm..... After freaking out a bit...

It's been a good day - although I've had a headache for hours (my caffeine intake was much later today than on a normal day - pooey - I hate being addicted to ANYTHING. Hmph). Steve & I had a leisurely morning and a productive afternoon. I cleaned & did laundry while he did fun things like take our food scraps to the city's compost site and work on patching our upstairs ceiling (ongoing neverending project - ugh). I just finished reading my book (Hansi) and am now going to make the cheesecake for tomorrow - after doing more laundry. Tonight we're having a lasagna dinner at Steve's Dad's house with his brother, sister, brother-in-law and his Dad's gf. Tomorrow we have Easter dinner at his Mom's (duh, hence the cheesecake). We went to a really good play last night called NECESSARY TARGETS. It was about two American women (psychiatrist & journalist/counselor) who traveled to a Bosnian refugee camp in 1996 to work with the refugee women there. It...

My Mother-in-law has asked us to bring dessert for Easter dinner on Sunday. I am considering making a simple New York Cheesecake w/chocolate crumble crust & topped with fresh strawberries & cream.... The recipe in the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook calls for seven 8oz packages of cream cheese. SEVEN? Ay yi yi - so much for my "diet."