Either Late or Early

It's right smack-dab in the middle of the North American Thanksgiving "season" right now - our Canadian celebrations (along with my grandfather's birthday) are long since past, and the USA has yet to haul out their birds and pumpkin pie. It's always been the same sort of thing on our table during the holiday season, both at Thanksgiving and Christmas: roasted turkey (though dad did deep fry the thing a few years ago), mashed potatoes, a couple veggies of some kind (usually broccoli and Brussels sprouts at mom's, more often than not some sort of mashed squash thing at dad's), cranberry sauce, and... stuffing.

Oh, stuffing. the bane of my existence. I have never liked the whole idea of that dish... everything from the fact that it's scraps of otherwise inedible bread to the fact that it's shoved up a turkey carcass' butt and left to soak up all the fat and salmonella-y juices to the fact that it's like eating crusty mush is just not right.

A Great-Full Start to A GF Day

I can't believe it's taking me so long to write posts these days. Mind you, unlike before, I'm not actually cooking and baking a whole lot either, so it's not only laziness that's led to the huge gaps between y ramblings on here. No, between school, commuting, sleep and myriads of doctor's appointments it seems that by the time I do get home looking at the computer screen doesn't rank very high on my list of to-dos. It doesn't help that I was diagnosed last week with iron-deficiency anemia, low blood sodium and a progression of my osteoperosis either - now I'm oscillating between snoozing my energy back and running on overdrive to catch up on everything I missed while asleep!

Merci, Julia, Merci

I honestly think that the application of the term "kitchen luminary and amazing home cook" cannot be applied to anyone better than Julia Child. She brought French cooking to the American and British masses (like I needed to tell you that!), and incorporated a style, grace and manner of teaching that endears her still to cooks and chefs worldwide. She also has the distinction of being the only cookbook author - indeed, the only chef - that made my mom change her entire approach to a dish that she's been making and we've been eating for years: cauliflower and cheese sauce. I personally have nothing against mom's recipe - really, it is delicious and probably won't be replaced anytime soon in our home. But Julia's recipe is not simply cauliflower and cheese sauce. And it certainly isn't the same "lighter" option for a dinner side that mom's Weight Watchers - age casserole is.

Whoa... Double [Cinnamon] All the Way...

I'm of the firm belief that when you find something - be it a flavour, a colour, an ingredient or even an idea - that is just so perfect that you can't get it out of your head, it is only fitting that you do it full justice. It is not enough to include that element just once in a recipe. No, no... the real way to experience the flavour filling your mind is to layer as many different types of it on top of one another. Take, for example, lemon cake, made with a lemon filling and topped with a lemon frosting. Really... can you ever have too much lemon? I think not. Or Alton Brown and his Super Apple Pie - the one with applejack booze in the crust. When I made it, not only did I throw Calvados (no applejeck around here) into the crust, but also a glug of local apple cider, and the filling used some homemade apple butter instead of AB's apple jelly. So the pie was not simply an apple pie. No way... that was apple on steroids pie!

When Pie Won't Do

We finally got in our annual apple-picking trip last weekend, over the Thanksgiving holiday Monday up here in Canada. Usually, that's the precursor for more batches of my mom's famous apple pie than most people would think humanly possible to churn out... and there will be several of them, I'm sure. But because we were fairly late in the harvest season - simply because the fruit ripened incredibly early with the hot, humid Summer weather - a lot of what would normally be considered "prime" cooking apples were a little... well, not so prime.

Don't get me wrong, they'll still make pie. More than "decent" pie, as a matter of fact. But there was just enough of our batch that were battered and scarred enough that my mom was prepared to chuck them into the compost. Instead, I figured I'd see what I could do with them after making oven-roasted apple butter like before. It really is my all-time favourite "use up" trick for leftover or almost bin-worthy apples, and it helps keep them hanging around just that little bit longer. Which is perfect for the season!

With my new bounty of concentrated, caramel-hued and lusciously velvety butter in my hot little hands (or big, cold fridge... whatever) I was faced with a myriad of options as to what to do with it. I did do the apple-butter pumpkin pies, of course... but I think I like these cheesy, dense, tall cakes better. There's just something about cheesecake that brings it above and beyond any other dessert out there, and really with the home made apple butter and the combination of toasted coconut, oats and cookie crumbs in the spiced crust, you'll be glad it's Fall all over again!

Apple Butter Cheesecake
Serves 16
¾ cup vanilla or graham cookie crumbs (GF if needed)
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup butter, melted
--
16 oz cream cheese
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup apple butter (sweetened)
10.5 oz (300 g) silken tofu, pureed
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp fresh-grated ginger
1 tbsp instant apple cider mix (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla
2 tbsp sweet rice flour (or tapioca flour)

1. Preheat oven to 350F, grease and line the bottom of a 9” springform pan with parchment.
2. In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs, oats, coconut, nutmeg, cinnamon and butter, tossing with a fork to moisten.
3. Press evenly into the bottom of the pan.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and wrap the bottom and sides of the pan with a layer of foil. Set aside.
5. Turn the oven down to 325F.
6. In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, brown sugar, apple butter and tofu until well mixed.
7. Add the cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cider mix and salt and beat well.
8. In a small dish stir together the milk, vanilla and sweet rice flour until smooth, then add to the cheese mixture and beat in.
9. Pour into the prepared crust and tap on the counter sharply to dislodge any air pockets.
10. Place the cake into a deep roasting pan and pour boiling water ½ way up the side of the springform.
11. Bake for 1 hour, until the centre is mostly set.
12. Turn the oven off and allow the cake to cool inside for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and the water bath and cool completely on a wire rack.
13. Chill overnight before serving.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 240.2
Total Fat: 14.4 g
Cholesterol: 39.0 mg
Sodium: 153.3 mg
Total Carbs: 27.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.7 g
Protein: 3.9 g