Oh yeah, because then I'd be 400 pounds.
Guess I'll have to run marathons forever now...
This week's recipe is North Coast Cheesecake, a family recipe for Dr. R, and a cake she calls comfort food. Her husband baked this cake to ease the sadness the week their oldest daughter left to go back to school.
I don't know why I decided I needed to bake yesterday, but I had time, and what better way to fill it than with something as productive and delicious as the making of a cake? The recipe is incredibly easy, and crushing up graham crackers for the crust is excellent stress relief. In addition to the actual cheesecake layer, there is a sweetened sour cream topping, which adds a unique and incredibly tasty twist to an otherwise simple, classic cheesecake. Extra bonuses: you can make it in a 9x13 pan (no fancy sprinforms in this girl's apartment...), and you can use reduced fat cream cheese and sour cream and it still tastes incredible (although probably not as good as if you use the full fat stuff, right?).
The timing of this call to cake-baking was actually appropriate, as my sister started graduate school today. She's all moved off and away from home in her own apartment like a real adult. I don't live close to the rest of my family, so it's not her leaving that makes me a little sad. It's more that it's the end of an era. We're both adults now, trying to figure out how exactly to make it on our own in the real world. From my own experience thus far with graduate school and life in general, I know that in both areas there will be some struggling, and some failure. But that's part of the learning process, and ultimately makes us stronger. I'm also confident that she will be successful; she'd never let herself be anything but. She called me this weekend full of questions before her orientation; having just gone through this process a few years ago, I know exactly the overwhelming mix of emotions she's feeling, and am happy to offer suggestions and advice based on my own limited experiences. If she lived closer, I would have also offered her some of this cake.
As it was, I took half this cheesecake and the leftover lemon poppy seed cake from Friday to lab meeting today. Science seems extra interesting when discussed over cake. And it's such a gratifying feeling to see your boss smile and have your coworker come in and say "Oh good, there's still cake!" It's an instant little confidence boost and a dose of the kind of happiness that can only be achieved through service to others. Knowing that I've brightened their day a little brightens my day. Add that to the simple fact that I'm eating cheesecake... how could it possibly get better?
No comments:
Post a Comment