Persimmon Upside-Down Yogurt Cheesecake
“I received free samples of siggi’s yogurt mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by siggi’s yogurt and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.”
We’re less than two weeks away from Thanksgiving, and each year, this season brings up a ton of family memories for me. For whatever reason, the thought of shoveling all manner of carbs into my face whilst making dinner-table-inappropriate jokes with my cousins at the kids table (which I know I’m going to be at for ~10 more years at least, and am totally fine with) just screams NOSTALGIA… Ya know? It’s a natural human instinct. But for me, these memories can come flooding in at LITERALLY any given moment once November hits. Take for example, the other day, while I was buying a bag of persimmons.
When I was a kid and I used to go over to my grandparents’ house, my grandma and I would draw pictures together. One day we were drawing various fruits and veggies, putting faces on them, and giving them names. All the usual suspects were there: Broccoli Rob (GET IT?!), Tommy Tomato, Apple Anne, etc. But then I said to my grandma, “What about PERSIMMON PATRICK?” She looked at me surprised and slightly impressed, like, do you actually even know what a persimmon IS, seven-year-old Sarah? No, Grandma. No I did not.
In fact, I didn’t know what a persimmon was until college. I found one in the grocery store and tried it thinking it was going to be like a tomato. I was so deliciously, delightfully, beautifully wrong – persimmons are sweet, juicy, and just taste like autumn. Sorry that’s not more eloquent.
Honey Za’atar Roasted Cashews
Contrary to whatever the holiday carols say, I must insist that autumn is in fact the most wonderful time of the year. The air is fresh and sweet, your hair stops frizzing, the leaves are pretty, Halloween happens, and DID I MENTION YOUR HAIR STOPS FRIZZING?!?! It’s also a free pass to become totally basic for two months out of the year, because everyone else is being basic too. Basically.
Part of me isn’t ready to let go of summer, though. With new school years come new responsibilities, and with this specific school year comes a new degree and decisions I don’t particularly feel like making yet. I mean seriously, didn’t I just graduate college? Wasn’t I JUST an unfertilized egg? EVERYTHING IS STRESSFUL.
ISRAEL! (Part 2)
It’s that time, friends. Israel recap, part 2! I tried to keep it brief, but I’m bad at that. So, it’s actually kind of long. But there are LOTS of pictures of food, though. So, sorry, and you’re welcome?
Days 4-6: Jerusalem
Today we began our bus ride to Jerusalem, and started it off at Givat Haviva, where we attended a wonderful seminar on coexistence. When we arrived in the city of Jerusalem, we started off at Shuk Machane Yehuda, the market in the center of town. There were people EV-E-RY-WHERE, but even though my self-diagnosed claustrophobia was at an all-time high, I secretly loved it – I mean, we were literally surrounded by food. Here, I sampled different types of halva, bought an INCREDIBLE fresh mango, discovered new types of fruit I didn’t know existed, and ate a honey-soaked-donut thing that I claimed was way too sweet, but of course, finished anyway. Life is short people – eat things soaked in honey.
PB&J Donuts
Donuts are my kryptonite. There are very few things in this world that make me forget that I have self control, and donuts are pretty much all of them.
I usually avoid them for this reason, but while on Spring break earlier this month visiting my cousins in North Carolina, I decided to treat myself to a toasted amaretto donut. Yes, it was as good as it sounds. And in those few, all-too-short minutes of edible bliss, I fell head-over-heels. Of course, the honeymoon was short lived, because I came sugar-crashing back to reality almost instantly. But it was worth it.
Breakfast Pizza
I have learned to cherish leftovers in a whole new way over the past seven months. Things can get crazy over here (in the best kind of way) trying to juggle school, teaching, blogging, working, AND attempting to have some kind of a social life. As much as I love making new recipes and playing around in the kitchen, I very often have to rely on leftovers to be my meals, or to become the ingredients for new meals.
This kind of makes me feel old. I used to cook new recipes on weekdays regularly, but I think those times are dwindling. I just don’t have the same time or energy I used to… WHAT IS THIS “BEING AN ADULT” THING AND HOW DO I END IT?
