Pumpkin Cheesecake and Fear

For Thanksgiving, I made Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake.

Our newspaper, the Kansas City Star, had a Thanksgiving menu section last weekend and this recipe was included. It sounded like a nice alternative to pumpkin pie. An added bonus was that the recipe was from Lidia's Restaurant in Kansas City, from one of her pastry chefs.

It was good, rich variation on tradition. I'm not sure I'll make it again, though. Cheesecakes are rather labor-intensive and the recipes usually make a huge cake. I could eat cake at every meal, but that's probably not very healthy. I'm limiting it to one piece a day.

(As I reread the nutritional information, I'm glad I lightened it up by using neufchatel cheese for 2 of the 3 blocks of cream cheese. It probably helped lower the calories and fat, but not as much as I'd like to tell myself! I also used Redi-Wip instead of real whipped cream. Honestly, I just didn't feel like making real whipped cream.)

I made a side dish from the same menu section in the paper: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pickled Cranberries and Plum Vinaigrette. It sounded crazy enough to try and it was surprisingly tasty. I made one major change to the recipe. I didn't know what "plum sauce" was (in the vinaigrette) so I substituted red currant jelly. I had that left over from a sweet-sour (fake) meatball dish I had made. It worked out fine - I only needed about 1 tbsp - and it gave the dressing a fruity-tart flavor without overpowering it.

I do like brussels sprouts, and I doubt this recipe will convert anyone. Surprisingly, the pickled cranberries filled the role of "cranberry sauce" in our Thanksgiving menu. This recipe is a two-fer!


A month ago, I wrote about fear. It's still here, but I've taken several steps to improve things. First, I am seeing a counselor for a little while. Second, my first "homework" from this counseling is to get a massage. Sounds good to me. Third, I've contacted a housecleaning service and they start on Friday.

The counselor has recommended listening to several recorded books. I've started one by Pema Chodron, called the Pema Chodron Audio Collection. It contains three works: Pure Meditation, Good Medicine, and From Fear to Fearlessness. I'm about half way through the first one. Pema has a soothing voice and calming demeanor, and I like her slight New York/Long Island accent.

The second book is by Harriet Lerner called Fear and Other Uninvited Guests. I was eager to read this one on the Kindle, but I could only find it as an audiobook. Oh well, guess I'll get to it after I'm done with Chodron.

The counselor commented that I seem unhappy with my job. It surprised me to hear that from someone else. I suppose I am, although I wish I were not discontented at all. This is supposed to be the ideal job for me. I thought I was old enough to stay in one job for a long time and I don't really want to change. I have some ideas of why I'm not liking the job right now, but a single cause is not clear. More to come.