Cheesecake (for Passover and otherwise!)

Now, considering the fact that I probably know everybody who reads this blog personally, I'm guessing that nobody made the cheesecake. At least, I hope not.

Confession time: that was my first every cheesecake and it was, frankly, marginal at best. I basically put it up as a starting off point to improve.

THIS, however, is actually a good cheesecake. It almost didn't get baked since I was too busy eating bowl scrapings (salmonella be damned!)

I made this as a passover cheesecake with a walnut crust (a little bitter, to be honest), but if you want a more traditional graham cracker crust then see the bottom of this post. For non-Passover cheesecakes, you can also replace the almond meal with regular flour.

CRUST

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup ground walnuts (these are hard to find when it isn't passover; you can also grind plain walnuts in a coffee grinder)
5 T. butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Mix together the walnuts, butter, and sugar, then press into a spongiform pan as you would a graham cracker crust, making sure they go at least 1 inch up the sides (preferably more)

3. Bake for 8-10 minutes, then remove from over and allow to cool. If you aren't making the filling straightaway, keep it in the fridge.

FILLING

3 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 T. almond meal
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice from 1/2 a lemon (optional; this will make it REALLY lemony, too much so without a topping)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large pinches of salt
4 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325

1. Mix the cream cheese, sugar, and almond meal together with a wooden spoon until well-blended and all the lumps are out (this is done pretty easily at room temperature, and nearly impossible if the cream cheese is cold.)

2. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt, then stir until well-blended

3. Stir in the eggs, then the sour cream, until smooth and not lumpy.

4. Poor into crust, then bake for 45-50 minutes until the edges are set 1 inch from the middle

5. Open the oven door and allow to cool in the oven for an hour

Best if made in advance


Graham cracker crust:

Use 16 graham crackers instead of the walnuts. Rest is the same.

Watermelon-Feta Salad

Just what it sounds like.

This simple salad makes an excellent snack, and you'll be surprised at how well the flavors blend together!

Ingredients:

1 whole watermelon flesh, cut into chunks or rolled into balls
1 bunch of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup (or more) feta cheese, crumbled

Just combine and enjoy!

Sut Muzlu (Turkish Banana Smoothie)

This is a yummy and healthy way to start your day, and surprisingly filling!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups milk
1 whole ripe banana
1 heaping soup spoon of almond meal (crushed almonds)
1 small spoon of honey
(a couple ice cubes if you want it cold)

Directions:

1. Blend together half the milk and the banana in slices

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend on high until well-blended and bubbly at the top. Serve immediately.