Pumpkin Cheesecake

Hey there! I've been on the pumpkin kick for the last week or so. Maybe you've noticed it's been quite pumpkin-y? It's so awesome I can pretend it's fall here in Peru :) 

While looking for pumpkin pie recipes, I stumbled on this pumpkin cheesecake recipe over at The Crunchy Moose by Ashlee and I decided it was an even better idea! Her post has pictures of the steps so I didn't include those here. 

Ingredients

- 2 cups of vanilla cookies (or graham crackers)

- pinch of cinnamon

- 3/4 cup butter

- 6 oz. of cream cheese

- 2 tbsp corn starch

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 2 eggs

- 1 chia egg or an egg white

- 1/4 cup evaporated milk*

- 1/4 cup sugar

- 2 cups pumpkin puree

* The original recipe calls for heavy cream but I used evaporated milk and it still turned out. 

** These are approximate measurements

Prepping...

the crust

Blend cookie crackers well in a food processor until they're fine crumbs. Here you could also blend in some kind of nut, if you'd like. Mix in the cinnamon.Then melt butter until liquid and mix into the crumb mixture. Form crust evenly into an greased pie tin.

the filling

Mix the following in a blender: cream cheese, sugar, corn starch, vanilla, eggs, and chia egg. 

(In this step it's really important to make sure the cream cheese is went blended. I don't have an electric/hand blender, so I just mixed by hand. I learned that it doesn't melt into the cake, as I thought it would. You can see what I mean in the photos.)

Then hand mix the milk and puree into the mixture. 

Now, pour the filling into your pie tin.

Bake...in oven for about an hour. I'm not sure what temperature (our oven is only on or off. really.) but I imagine it would be around 350*. It should be lightly browned around the corners, the crusted baked, and the filling slightly jiggly. 

Let it cool for a bit, then pop in the fridge for an hour or 2 to finish it off. 

For my first ever cheesecake, it turned out pretty taste-y. The crust is sooo delicious! The filling was good too, but I learned that the cream cheese really needs to be blended well. Here are some photos:

Thanks for stopping by :) Have you made any pumpkin recipes this season??

Pumpkin Chia Pancakes!

Hello lovers of fall... today the pumpkin fun continues! Since we carved a pumpkin and made puree the other day, I have been trying lots of pumpkin recipes. Which means, you'll be seeing some on them right here, on this little blog!

This morning was the perfect day to experiment with some pumpkin chia pancakes. I put together this little recipe to share. Let me know how yours turn out :)

Ingredients:

I really made it by feel, so these measurements are rough estimates

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup pumpkin puree {from can or make it yourself}

1/2 cup milk

1 egg (oops, not shown in photo)

1 scoop chia

pinch of cinnamon powder

pinch of ginger powder

add sugar or vanilla extract for more sweetness

and an egg!

To Make: 
Mix all the ingredients together. 

Get your pan really hot and add a little butter. Use a spoon, cup, or - I used an ice cream scoop - to get a consistent size. I made mine small because...aren't small things are always cuter? They're like little orange pumpkins :)

Cook until lightly browned and voila ~ there you have them! With a little melted butter and sprinkle of sugar on top, they are even better...They have a subtle pumpkin flavor and are just the right sweetness. Plus, they're a little healthier with the chia. For some more chia recipes head over here! 

Thanks for stopping by! I wish you a lovely, restful, adventurous or (fill in the adjective you'd like) Sunday!

Ch-ch-ch-chia!

Hey there! I´d like to a few a minutes to share a new and very exciting discovery of the last 2 weeks...CHIA seeds (did you guess from the title?!) First I´ll talk a bit about what chia is all about, then onto 3 chia recipe ideas.

What´s chia?

Maybe you've heard of this little guys before, since they're in the health food hype these days. They´ve actually been around since Mayan/Aztec/Incan times and were used to sustain energy. [Read more here or watch a video here] The other day, I found them at a local market and decided I should try them out. Until I researched them a bit, I had no ideal of their potential benefits. Well, let me tell you, it´s super good stuff!

Chia seeds have
   <> more calcium than a glass of milk
   <> more Omega-3s than almon
   <> more antioxidants than blueberries
Chia seeds are also
   <> gluten/grain-free
   <> energy-giving
   <> are able to keep you full 

Chia Recipes

Another plus is that chia is very versatile. This is partially because it´s consistency changes into a type of gel when it´s mixed in liquid. I've experiemented with a few different ways to use it this week. 

#1 Chia as an Egg Substitute 

Apparently, you use chia instead of an egg in some recipes. I tried this in a carrot bread and also a quiche. In the quiche, I also used part real eggs and part chia (or ´chia eggs´ as I like to call them). To make make 1 chia egg = 3 spoons water + 1 spoon chia.

#2 Chia as a drink: Chia Fresca

After reading up, I learned this drink is hugely popular in Mexico. It´s refreshing and gives an energy boost, plus it´s got a fun texture! My husband loves limeade, so this healthy variation was an instant hit. It would also be great with coconut water! [Idea from Oh She Glows]

¨Chia egg¨ + 1.5 cups of water + spoonful of lime/lemon juice + 

scoop of ice + sweetener to taste = Chia Fresca

I definitely recommend trying this mild, refreshing, and super easy recipe!

#3 Chia as a Mustache

Ok, ok so it´s not a recipe but this was priceless so I had to share! My husband had just drinken the Chia Fresca in this picture :)

I hope you have fun in your chia adventures and I´ve got some more recipes coming this way. Until then, chia later!