Perils of Food Challenge

I have discovered something dangerous.

Food Challenge cheesecake.

It all started when Senia made a big batch of Greek yogurt. A big batch. So big that we actually had trouble eating it all. Some of it had become thick and crumbly, like dry cream cheese. And what do you do with cream cheese?

A quick cookbook search revealed a simple cheesecake recipe. The ol’ mixer blended yogurt, eggs, butter, raisins, etc, and soon there was a gorgeous golden cake puffing up in the toaster oven. My mom was right—it IS a good idea to have a springform pan on hand! It’s just the thing for making a cheesecake.

Now I question whether it should be all this easy to make a cheesecake, even though we essentially make it with only fruit as sweetener.

Look, the cake didn't even stay whole long enough for me to take a picture.

Made with a flaxseed and walnut crust, heaps of raisins, and a dash of the dried lemon peel powder from Senia’s lemons, a cheesecake disappears quickly. It disappears much faster than, say, roasted radishes or bean soup leftovers. The best cake happened after Kimberly mentioned that currants make such a nice jelly. I took the bundle of red currants Cindy gave us and made jelly with some old honey that needed to be melted anyway. The left-over honey-soaked fruits were not wasted, of course—they went into the bottom of the cheesecake pan.

When people ask us what’s difficult about this Food Challenge, I can truthfully say that the challenge is not to eat too much cheesecake. This is a good problem to have.