Lilac Scented Cheesecake with Blueberry Pomegranate Glaze

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Well, a cheesecake was one thing I had yet to venture to make since becoming vegan. It was inevitable that I would eventually try one. This is my first daring baker's challenge. I was kind of looking forward to making it. It turned out better than I expected, and was a hit with my omni friends, and their kids. I will definitely make this recipe again.

These are my changes to the original recipe. For my crust, I took 2 cups of golden oreo crumbs, and 1/4 c of melted Smart Balance light. For the cheesecake, I substituted tofutti better than cream cheese, ener-g egg replacer, and soysilk creamer. I omitted the liqueur. I added 2 tbsps of purple lilac flowers to the creamer after heating it in the microwave until warm. I let the flowers sit in the creamer for 15 minutes before adding the creamer into the cheesecake batter. I did not remove the flowers.

For the glaze, I boiled 10 oz. fresh blueberries with 1/2 cup water, 2 tbsp pomegranate juice, 1 tbsp agave nectar, and 2 tsp cornstarch for 2 minutes.

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

I'm beyond ready for warm weather. Its insane that it is April, and we are still having weather in the 30's. Omni man will be home from Iraq for 15 days in the middle of May. We are going to the Rennaissance Fair in Muskogee for our 6th anniversary. We are spending the rest of our trip in Tulsa. He has consented to go to Be Le Vegetarian. I'm so excited. Living in rural Arkansas its hard to go anywhere that has a vegan option besides a dinner salad, and a baked potato let alone a restaurant that is vegetarian. I'm really starting to think I'm the only vegan in Arkansas. I'm sure there are others, but I'm not sure where they are. I haven't been cooking much lately. We've been eating a lot of salads lately with different toppings. I finally convinced veggie girl that lettuce is not an evil alien substance. She has decided its not only edible, but that she likes it. She asked me why I never told her it was good before. I figured since I was trying to get her to eat it that was a given, but she is never going to forgive me for the tofu incident. Apparently not disguising the tofu by blending it in, or deep frying it is a crime against humanity in her 5 year old opinion. Oh who am I kidding, it really isn't that great. Its edible when cooked right, but for the most part not the tastiest option around. Yes, I admit it. I am a vegan who dislikes tofu. As if that wasn't bad enough, I hate hummus. I don't mean kind of sort of hate it. I despise it. I'm not really sure why anyone likes it. I've yet to try any, or make any that was anywhere near edible. I'm still searching for that perfect recipe though. I mean surely all vegans haven't lost their taste buds. Or maybe its just me, who knows.

Molasses Pear Muffins

I was bored, so I decided to do some baking. With the IC restrictions, I feel kind of limited on what I can make. I really have been wanting muffins lately, and I came up with this recipe. Veggie girl loves them, and I've already ate two! (They came out of the oven about 10 minutes ago.)

1 3/4 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1/3 c molasses
2 tbs Smart Balance light
3/4 c brown sugar
3 tsps Ener-G Egg Replacer
4 tbsp warm water
1/4 c rice milk
2 cups pears, diced

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with baking cups.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds.
In a medium bowl, cream Smart Balance with brown sugar, and molasses. Mix egg replacer with 4 tbsp warm water, and add slowly to the sugar mixture, and then add the rice milk. Pour mixture into flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Mixture will be really thick. Add pears and stir until evenly distributed. Fill muffin cups evenly with the mixture. Each cup should be quite full. Bake at 375F for 17-20 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.
Makes 12 muffins

Well I don't have any recipes tonight. But I did have a delicious IC friendly dinner tonight. It consisted of roasted red potatoes, carrots, and black olives. Seasoned with olive oil, rosemary, and dill it was delicious. I also had a side of couscous, and a piece of fresh baked filone bread. A very simple, but filling dinner.

So much for that

I'm sad. I couldn't even make it a full week on the IC elmination diet without caving. I'm glad I wasn't doing this for weight loss, or I'd feel really pathetic right now. As is, I'm just aggravated with myself. I mean I'm doing this for my health so I'd have thought sticking to it would be a breeze. I do however refuse to quit being vegan to make this work. That would be easier, but I'm a vegan in rural Arkansas, its never been easy. I guess that is part of what I love about it. The challenge. Though if I hear why don't you just graze one more time I am going to scream!
So, I have decided to not do such a strict elimination diet. Instead I am going to try going with the Usually ok foods on this list from the IC-Network. That way I won't feel so deprived, and cheat.
I know I have to do this to get better, or at least as close to it as possible. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, so if this elimination diet will help, then I will do it! Or try.......... Yeah I'm pathetic.

IC Diet Day two

Well I just finished day two of the IC diet. I can't really say that I'm feeling any better yet. But I am hopeful that at the end of my 14 days I will. Yesterday was easier. I found I'm not really that hungry at all. I went to Wal-Mart and bought several different vegan breads so that I don't get bored with it. I also bought yukon gold potatoes, and red potatoes. I already had several varieties of rice, so I didn't need to get any more. I'm praying that the next 12 days are as easy as today as was.

Interstitial Cystitis

Well, I have been neglecting my blog horribly. I have been sick most of the year, and going from doctor to doctor to try and find what was wrong. I finally have a diagnosis of IC (interstitial cystitis.) This is good and bad in a way. I'm so relieved to know what has been causing me so much pain, and to start trying to treat it. On the other hand, I'm worried about how the changes I have to make in my diet will affect my vegan diet. I'm currently on an elimination diet. All I am eating is bread, rice, and potatoes. No sauces or seasonings. Its very bland. I have made the switch to only drinking water. Which I needed to do anyways. No more cokes for me, and the only teas I'll drink are herbal teas. But those will come in time. I am on day two of this diet. I will begin to add other foods into my diet in 12 days. I will add one food at a time in, so I can see what is bothering my bladder, and what isn't.
I originally made the switch to being a vegan for my health. All of my other health problems have improved so much that I can't see myself going back to the SAD (Standard American Diet) again. I'm going to have to go through my cookbooks and adapt recipes, but this should be fun. It will be a learning process for me.
If any of you are vegan and have IC leave me a comment. It would be great to talk to someone else who has gone through this process, and could give me some pointers on it.
Poor veggie girl is terrified this means I'm going to make her diet even more restrictive. But I won't. There is no reason she can't continue to eat the way she has been as long as it is healthy.