Toaster Oven Food: Cheesecake Bars

I cannot believe how fast time flew by.  This Friday marks the end of the first quarter of the school year.    Soon it will be time to buy Halloween candy (to be consumed before Halloween!).

Last weekend, The Help, D2, and I went to Honolulu.  I had my ophthalmologist appointment, and it was also a belated back-to-school shopping trip for D2.

We stayed at the Hawaii Prince Hotel.  This was our first stay there since the renovations.  I was very impressed with the transformation.  While the lobby had a more contemporary, open feel, the room transformation was nothing short of amazing:  lots of granite and very clean lines.  They bathroom even contained a Toto washlet!

In spite of going to Honolulu for the purpose of shopping, we seemed to spend a lot of time eating.  We arrived early enough to walk over to Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, arguably the best tonkatsu restaurant in Honolulu.

I didn't realize how much D2 likes curry.  I expected her to order chicken katsu, and I was surprised when she ordered chicken katsu CURRY.

After an unmemorable lunch at Liliha Bakery, we knew we had to redeem ourselves with dinner.  We enjoyed a steaming hot bowl of ramen at Wagaya, one of the 9 best ramen places in Honolulu according to Thrillist.  Since we were done early enough, we decided to have dessert at a place we've been wanting to try for a while, Marion Crepes.

Marion Crepes Hawaii is located in Shirokiya Japan Village Walk.  They serve crepes with various fillings.  I'm quite sure I saw savory fillings on the menu, but since this was dessert, we had to go with sweet fillings.  The Help selected a yummy-looking-but-rather-uninteresting strawberry crepe.  D2 ordered a fruit crepe with a substantial scoop of green tea ice cream. 

I didn't realize how much D2 likes green tea sweets. 

I ordered a strawberry crepe with a piece of cheesecake.  It was absolutely delicious.  In fact, all of us enjoyed our crepes, but the prices are not for the faint of heart.  Our dessert cost nearly $30!

After a week back at work, I'm ready for another vacation. 

I am looking forward to Fall intersession and the adventures that await.  I'm hoping I won't forget to pack everything I need.  I have some sweaters, a shawl, and a new hat I can't wait to use!

Meanwhile, I need to concentrate on getting through this week.  I have progress reports and grades to do.  And I have to feed KikukatDad.  KikukatDad isn't too picky about food, but he likes to have dessert after his dinner.

Inspired by the yummy cheesecake in my dessert crepe, I wanted to make a simple cheesecake to serve KikukatDad.  Square desserts are so unfussy, and they fit nicely in the toaster oven...no need to heat the big oven to make this.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Cheesecake Bars

     1 1/3-1 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs

     1 tbsp sugar

     4 tbsp melted butter

     16 oz cream cheese

     1 c sugar

     2 tsp vanilla extract

     2 tsp lemon juice

     3 eggs

     1 c sour cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1 tbsp sugar, and 4 tbsp melted butter.  Press into an 8 x 8" baking pan (for easy clean up, line pan with foil before pressing in crumbs).  Bake for 10 minutes.  While crust is baking, prepare filling by beating cream cheese until fluffy.  Gradually add sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Blend in sour cream.  Pour over baked crust and bake for 70 minutes.  Turn oven off, leave door slightly ajar, and leave cheesecake in oven for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

Peanut Butter Brownies

My summer vacation is over.  Waaaaaaahhhhhh!

It sure didn't last long. 

D1 already made the journey back to the valley of the sun.   It feels like it was only a few weeks ago when KikukatDad and I went to pick her up in Kailua-Kona.  Shout out to Mr. Dependable for being a great dad and taking her back.  She had lots to do, and she is lucky he was there to help her.  Thanks to a rented minivan, they were able to get her shit out of storage and into her new apartment in one trip (would've taken at 3+ trips with her sedan).  I cannot imagine she would have so much stuff. 

Just like summer vacation, D1s visit didn't last long either.  I know I will see her in 4 months, but it  was nice having her home.  Who else would remind me to clean the house?  Who else would tell me it's too early to drink alcohol at 3:30?  School for her won't start for nearly 2 weeks, but she had recruitment practice and some other things she needed to get rolling.

In all seriousness, I will miss her many talents.  D1 can do all kinds of things once she sets her mind.  This summer, she conquered macarons.  Having never made macarons before, I was shocked at the lengthy and tedious steps to produce a batch of macarons.  I can also attest that a batch of macarons makes a mound of dirty dishes (and extra egg yolks).  I need to start a list of recipes which use just egg yolks or, at least, use more egg yolks than egg whites, so I will know what to do with the egg yolks (other than throw them away).

It took several attempts, but I think D1 perfected the filling.  Initially, the filling she used was just too sweet.  She experimented with different bases and flavorings and came up with a good filling which didn't try to compete with the already-sweet macaron shells.

D1 put her macaron talents to good use.  She made some for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life event in July.  I helped her package them and did the clean up.  I also decided that I won't be making any macarons on my own.  I will stick to less fussy snacks. . .with a lot less dishes to wash. 

If you are like me and don''t like having too many dishes to wash, then these peanut butter brownies might be in your wheelhouse.  They are totally unfussy, whip up in no time with ingredients you likely have on hand, and are mega-delicious.  You will also not be left wondering what to do with extra egg yolks.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Peanut Butter Brownies

     1/2 c butter, softened

     1/2 c peanut butter

     3/4 c sugar

     3/4 c brown sugar, packed

     2 eggs

     2 tsp vanilla

     1 c flour

     1 tsp baking powder

     1/4 tsp salt

     1 c chocolate chips

     1/2 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9 x 13" pan with foil (or grease a 9 x 13" pan).  Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.  Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar.  add eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla.  Add in flour mixture a little at a time.  Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.  Spread in prepared pan.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Cut into bars when completely cool.

A few months ago, I purchased a bag of Korean chili pepper powder.  The ingredients are chili pepper and salt.  I use it occasionally and store it in the fridge.  Last week, I discovered another use for the powder.  I've made the notation on the Spicy Soybean post.

It's been a little over a year since my mom passed.  Although I still miss her dearly, I feel like some normalcy and routine have returned to my life.  I'm hoping to post more frequently since I'm cooking more now (I have another mouth to feed during the work week).  Over the past few years, I've become more adept at knitting, something which would have made KikukatMom proud.  While I will continue to share favorite recipes, I hope to also share my knitting triumphs, fails, WIPs and FOs.  

Fruitcake Bars

We are entering the home stretch.  Just a few more days until vacation!

Yippeeee! 

I will need to exercise great restraint and not let on to the students that I'm looking forward to the break more than they are.

Other than getting my tooth fixed and the winter ball, I'm looking forward to a quiet vacation.  I'm already off the hook for the New Years gathering; I'm just waiting for my marching orders.

I also need to figure out a way to keep my darn kat from messing up the tree skirt.  I have fixed that skirt almost daily since we put up the tree, but she doesn't fail to mess it up.  I'm surprised she hasn't actually climbed INTO the tree yet.

Oh, and I almost forgot, I need to start/finish my Christmas shopping.  Ummm yeah, the timeline kinda got away from me.  I was busy taking orders on how to cut letters on the Cricut for a presentation board.  Cripes. . .some people in this house have OCD.  And I thought D1 was bad.

In the past week, we managed to survive Christmas Corners, science fair project (only barely), Christmas concert, traveling alone, psycho cats, and early wakings.

Actually, attending Christmas Corners did wonders to put me into the Christmas spirit.  I must thank the Tongans.  Their corner was amazing.  They did an excellent job in creating a longhouse and extending their warm, Polynesian hospitality to all who visited.  They were even kind enough to offer me food from their buffet.


Since I was feeling festive, I decided to do some additional holiday baking.  I love these bars, and the candied fruit makes it a perfect way to get into the spirit of the season.

Years ago, my aunt brought these to my house.  I couldn't resist the buttery crust paired with the just-sweet-enough filling.  Unlike my friend LAMN, I don't mind the candied fruit mix sold in the tubs.  LAMN used to take forever to eat a piece of fruitcake because she would pull out all of the fruits and eat only the cake part.  Crazy, yeah!?  And if my memory serves me right, I don't think LAMN ate nuts either, so those would be extracted prior to eating as well.

I find it easiest to cut these bars while they are still warm.  When cutting with a sharp knife, be careful not to scratch the baking pan.  If you prefer, you could actually just score the top half of the bar while still warm, then remove the bars from the pan (if you cover your pan with foil, this is easy to do when completely cool) before cutting all the way through the crust.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Fruitcake Bars

Crust:  2 c flour
            1/4 c sugar
            1 c butter

Filling:    1 c sugar
              1/2 c flour
              1/2 tsp baking powder
              1/2 tsp salt
              4 eggs
              1 c candied fruits (fruit cake mix)
              1 c nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine crust ingredients until fine crumbs form.  Press into 9 x 13" pan.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.  Beat in eggs.  Stir in candied fruit and nuts.  Pour over hot crust.  Bake 35 minutes.  Cut into bars while warm.  Cool completely and dust with powdered sugar.

We're baaaaack!

Ohelo Berry Cream Cheese Pie

What a week I had!  I ended up in bed Monday afternoon and evening due to a bout of food poisoning.  I'm certain I got it from the Krispy Kreme donuts Mr. Dependable brought back from Maui.  I don't think he poisoned them on purpose, but it was my second experience with food poisoning from Krispy Kreme donuts.  My favorite Krispy Kreme is the chocolate (no hole) with creme filling.  I had one on Sunday evening and another for breakfast on Monday.  By noon on  Monday. I was praying to the porcelain god. . .sick, sick, sick.  I couldn't eat dinner.

By Tuesday morning, I was much better, but going to Asami's to buy lunch for D2 was totally unpleasant.  The food aroma was excruciating.  I think the cause of my troubles was the staphylococci bacteria.  It was horrible, and it wasn't until the end of the weekend that I could even think about eating normally again.  I don't want to see another Krispy Kreme for a while.

Sometime in the middle of my recovery, it turned into July.  This means that my summer is over halfway done.  That sucks.  In just a few weeks, I'll be back at my regular job.  Hmmmm. . .maybe that doesn't sound so bad.  I've been working all summer, and my summer job is actually more intense than my regular job!

July also means that it's ohelo berry time!  I wonder if I will be able to make it up to the mountain to pick a quart.  Probably not this year.  This past weekend would've been a good time to go, but I didn't wanna chance walking in a rocky area with my ankle not yet fully healed.  I forgot to mention that I twisted my ankle when we had the earthquake last week.  My foot had fallen asleep, but the earthquake scared me so much that I jumped out of my chair, forgetting that my foot was numb.  I didn't step properly and I stumbled around before being able to regain my balance.  It still hurts when I bend and rotate it.  Ohelo tends to grow in rocky terrain so there's no way to avoid walking on rocks.  Luckily, ohelo berries freeze well, so at least I'll get to have my annual ohelo berry dessert since my tummy is better now.

When I worked for a government office, one of my former coworkers would recount tales of an annual trek to Hilo just to pick ohelo berries at a "secret family spot".  She made some kind of cream cheese pie with the berries and served it at a luncheon hosting new teachers.  While I was ecstatic at being reacquainted with ohelo, I wasn't liking the pie much...the topping was hopelessly runny and fell off the pieces when she cut them.  The runny topping also diluted the cream cheese layer.  Auwe!

About a year ago, I posted a recipe for Ohelo Berry Bars.   Those are good to make if you don't have the refrigerator real estate to hold an oblong pan.  If you have space in your refrigerator, then this is THE ohelo berry dessert to prepare.  Ohelo Berry Cream Cheese Pie, at least this version, will not disappoint.

Ohelo Berry Cream Cheese Pie

Crust:  2 c flour
            2 tbsp sugar
            1 c butter

Filling:  8 oz cream cheese, softened
              1 c sugar
              8 oz Cool Whip

Topping:  4 c ohelo berries
                1 c sugar
                1/4 tsp lemon juice
                pinch of salt
                1 tsp gelatin, optional
                4 tbsp cornstarch
                2 tbsp water

Combine flour and sugar for crust.  Cut in butter.  Press into 9 x 13" pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Cool completely before adding filling.  While crust is baking, make topping.  Combine ohelo berries, sugar, lemon juice, salt, and gelatin in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Combine cornstarch with water.  While stirring berry mixture, add cornstarch and water.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and cool completely.  Beat cream cheese with sugar for filling.  Mix in Cool Whip until well combined.  Spread evenly over cooled crust.  Keep chilled until topping is cool.  When topping is cool, spread evenly over filling.  Chill at least 2 hours before cutting into squares to serve.

Last month, Mr. Dependable went to the mainland with AC.  They visited Las Vegas and Oregon, the zenith of their trip being T's graduation from THAT school.  Since the Ds were left with the task of feeding, watering, and caring for his pets, I asked him to bring us back some Trader Joe's cookie butter.  In addition to my request, he also gave me 2 chocolate bars.  One said "Thank You", and the other, well. . .let's just say it had profanity on it (look at the gold foil-wrapped bar).

Mr Dependable must be on a generosity streak.  On Friday, before taking the Ds on a mini vacay, he brought over a box of apple bananas and 2 more of those nasty chocolate bars.  Talk about adding insult to injury (my ankle and tummy)!

I agree that the sentiment of bringing back omiyage from traveling is a generous gesture, and sharing the bounty of your harvest is also very generous, HOWEVER, the candy bars celebrate the team in the entire NCAA I loathe most.  

Once my tummy is totally better, I will be disposing of those darn chocolate bars in an utterly undignified manner. . .I will gnaw on them with my canine teeth!

I will NEVER EVER cheer for the ducks. 

Go DAWGS!

Food Processor Dessert: Lemon Bars

Happy New Year!!!  I'm back at work today, but students don't return until Wednesday.  I'm not excited about having to work, but I am excited about beginning the second half of the school year.  In 5 months, the bleeding will end (and new gaping wounds will open).

Before I continue, I'd like to wish a belated happy birthday to my friend Maggie in NY.  Would've loved to join in the celebration at the Cheesecake Factory and check out the 80s band.

I'm feeling rather well-rested, having dodged the bullet of hosting an endless new year gathering.  All I was asked to bring was some kind of namasu and a dessert to CAE's house.  The namasu was easy. . .cucumber & chicken namasu.  The dessert was a no-brainer. . .lemon cake, fruit cake, and confetti jello.  I was going to make lemon bars, my "signature" dessert, but I made lemonade with the last of the lemon juice.  My favorite uncle has a huge dose of a citrus beverage daily to combat the formation of kidney stones.  And really, I think I OD'd on lemon bars anyway.

I've been making lemon bars for nearly two decades, and for most of that time, my lemon bars were just another item on the dessert table.  My late uncle would ask me to bring it as a dessert to family parties.  But a year or two ago, things changed.  After bringing the bars to an office potluck, my buddy SF asked me to make some for the dessert table for her daughter's wedding.  I once made a 40-piece tray of it for a "feed-the-hungry" service project for D1 (she got yelled at by her club advisor---"thats not the kind of dessert for a soup kitchen!").  This past summer, I brought it to a gathering at the HHS pool when the students from Sumoto came for a visit.  The club advisor and some of the kids went crazy.  D1 said that she saw a student eat 5.  That was the first time D1 and D2 had ever eaten lemon bars (yup, I know what you're thinking).  D1 wanted to know what all the fuss was about, and D2 decided to get in on some of the action too.  Since this school year began in August, D1 has come home and told me on more than one occasion:  "___ asked if you could make lemon bars" and "I want to give lemon bars to ___".

About a month ago, one of my bosses told me, "My mom said you're known for your lemon bars."  This was after he thanked me for the tray of lemon bars I brought to the office and the separate tray D1 gave his wife.  That same boss called me during the vacation and asked me for the recipe (claims his wife lost the paper copy I gave).  Of course I obliged. . .I like the guy!  D1's friend brought me a plastic bag filled with lemons from her tree so "you can make lemon bars or something".  Unbeknownst to me, she told her club advisor "D1's mom makes the best lemon bars."  This resulted in the club advisor asking me if he could independently verify this claim.  All this lemon attention just has me laughing.

And I don't mind.  I have the recipe memorized.  I have multiple pans (exactly the same) which allow me to make several pans at a time (no point in making just 1 pan).  Experience has taught me a lot about making and serving lemon bars. 

Kitchen mess is a huge issue for me.  I hate to look at a pile of dirty dishes.  It pisses me off and irritates me when dishes sit unwashed, and that is why I use the food processor to make lemon bars.  The crust and filling can be mixed in the food processor bowl, and the washing is done when the filling is made...no need to wash and dry the bowl between crust and filling.   And if you line the baking pans with foil, the pans will stay clean.  Another huge plus to lining the pan with foil---you will have a nice apron when you dust the bars with powdered sugar.

If I make lemon bars for myself, my preferred shape is the "finger", where the pan is cut into 3 long pieces, then each piece is cut into 10-12 pieces.  But if I am making the bars for an event or to give away, I will cut them into squares.  A 9 x 13-inch pan will yield 35 (5 x 7) squares which are perfect for the medium size baking cups.

I am now staring down the barrel at the 2nd half of the school year.  Over vacation, it occurred to me that perhaps I'm often asked to make lemon bars because people think that's the only thing I can make!  I may need to think of a game changer soon.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Lemon Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust:  2 c flour
            2 tbsp sugar
            2 tbsp powdered sugar
            3/4 c butter

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until tiny crumbs form.  Press into a 9 x 13" pan.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Make filling while crust is baking.

Filling:  2 c sugar
              1/2 c flour
              1/4 tsp salt
              1/4 tsp vanilla
              1 tsp baking powder
              4 eggs
              5 tbsp lemon juice (may use up to 8 tbsp if you like it tart; adjust baking time accordingly)

Combine all filling ingredients in the same food processor bowl used for crust.  Process until smooth.  Pour over hot crust and bake 25 minutes.  Cool completely.  Dust with powdered sugar.  Cut into desired pieces.

One pan will make 35 squares or 30-36 "fingers".

Congratulations to LA & SN, who announced their engagement to the family on Monday evening.  We will definitely "save the date" (and buy SN a new shirt. . .gotta admit, the boy would look much better in purple & gold).  WOOF!!!

ten.twelve.fourteen

I overcame my frustration with knitting and have been going great guns.  I joined Ravelry and now have access to all sorts of patterns.  I am most delighted with the Noro Silk Garden Darkside Cowl and Beanie.  I started the cowl 3 times (dropped stitches).  The beanie was less annoying, although it is slightly too large for me.  I'm thinking this set will make a nice gift for someone.

Inspired by the Noro Silk Garden Beanie (and dissatisfied with a simple chunky hat pattern I'd been using), I developed my own beanie pattern to use with some chunky yarns, Feza Bogeta and Plymout Yarns Grandiosa.  I love the way the Feza Bogeta yarn worked out, but I'm sure the more economical Lion Brand yarns would work fine too.  Wal-Mart has them in all sorts of colors.  Click here for the printable beanie pattern, which is also available in free .pdf on the Ravelry site.

Note:  These are actually human hats, but I couldn't find a willing model.  Panda and Fat Dawggie had to sign a model release!

Panda in Feza Bogeta beanie

Fat Dawggie in Plymouth Grandiosa beanie

Flexible Fruity Nutty Bars

I'm feeling a little melancholy today.  D1 left for Japan this morning with the Key Club, and D2 is still under the weather with a lingering virus (low fever, listless, grouchy).  I'm still stuck at an assessment workshop.  With 45 minutes for lunch, we pretty much have no choice but to eat lunch at Sky Garden.  I like the Chinese food at Sky Garden, but lunch gets a little tiresome day after day.  Sky Garden offers a buffet lunch also, but the price is steep, and 45 minutes would not allow me nearly enough time to consume my share.  With the vacation looming, I'm going to make a pan of these bars to help lift my spirits.

This is one of those recipes which began as an innocent date bar recipe but has morphed into many other things.  Lets start at the beginning.  When I was pregnant with D2, my ob-gyn visits entailed a detour to Jilly's, a snack shop on the ground floor of the medical building.  Without fail, I'd buy a 2-pack of date bars.  The bars had a buttery shortbread crust and a heavy, cakey, nutty, sweet topping.  I know I didn't taste dates, but it didn't matter because it was good, satisfied my sweet tooth, and sent me down the path towards gestational diabetes.  Imua!

Mom would often buy fresh dates from Costco and tell me to make date bars.  I was happy to oblige, but eventually the dates disappeared.  Left only with a partial tin of glaceed apricots from Williams-Sonoma, I decided to take a risk and experiment with them by replacing the dates with glaceed apricots.  The result was fabulous.  This led me to try other fruits:  dried mango, dried apricots (not the expensive glaceed type), dried peaches.  All were good.  Then I tried substituting macadamia nuts for pecans (I don't eat walnuts).  All good again.

But now I had an even bigger problem on my hands.  The 7"x11" pan I was using provided hardly enough bars to take anywhere.  It barely fed me!  I knew I had to somehow develop a recipe that could be made in a 9"x13" pan, which would definitely be enough for me to eat my fill AND take some to an event.  The crust was easy, but I had to do some tinkering with the brown sugar amount before I got the filling right.  The first few results were sickingly sweet, but I think its perfect now.

Some great fruit-nut combinations are:  apricot-pecan, mango-macadamia, dates-pecan, peach/pineapple-pecan.  The pics on this blog happen to be peach/pineapple-pecan.  Those are tried and true, but feel free to experiment with your own combos.  As a caution to anyone who makes this . . . be prepared to give out the recipe.  Everytime I've taken this somewhere (work potluck) or served it at home (Colleen & Flo), someone ALWAYS asks for the recipe.

click on recipe title for printable recipe
Flexible Fruity Nutty Bars

Crust:  1 c butter

           1/2 c sugar

           2 c flour

Mix butter, sugar and flour until crumbly.  Press evenly into a 9 x 13" pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.  While crust is baking, make filling.

Filling:  2/3 c flour

            1 tsp baking powder

            1/2 tsp salt

            4 eggs

            1 1/2 c brown sugar

            1 c chopped dried fruit

            2 tsp vanilla

            1 c chopped nuts

Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.  Beat eggs and add brown sugar and dried fruit.  Add flour mixture, vanilla, and nuts.  Spread evenly over hot crust.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares or bars.  When completely cool, dust generously with powdered sugar and remove cut pieces from pan.