Cooking By The Book


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SWEET & SOUR APPLE STRUSSEL CHEESECAKE  
Setting the Scene:  
Food is one of the few essentials we need. Everything else is a bonus to be  
appreciated. That’s one of the important messages of CLIMB YOUR STAIRWAY TO  
HEAVEN. But in the case of cheesecake, food can also be a bonus to appreciate. Here is  
an excerpt from Chapter 8 – Great Expectations, which demonstrates how important it is  
to appreciate cheesecake – among other things. By the way, in this excerpt you will read  
about my forty-third slice of cheesecake. In fact, there are just over 43 slices of apple in  
this cake, but why quibble over details when something tastes this good?  
Excerpt from Climb your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness  
(ISBN 0-595-17826-X):  
There is a difference between desire and expectation. We can desire to be healthy,  
for instance, or we can expect to be healthy. If we desire to be healthy, each day we wake  
up pleased to have what we desire. If we expect to be healthy, it’s just not that exciting.  
Worse, if we fall sick, we feel cheated out of an entitlement.  
Hunger makes us appreciate food, which I believe, in part, explains the Christian  
tradition of fasting for Lent and the Muslim tradition of fasting for Ramadan. Thirst  
teaches us to appreciate water. Fatigue helps us appreciate sleep.  
On the other hand, we seldom appreciate what we have in abundance. Even I,  
who love cheesecake, stop appreciating it after the forty-third slice. But when it’s been  
months since I’ve had a slice, there’s little I appreciate more. Our own expectations  
determine our appreciation, and we control our expectations.  
OK, time to appreciate another cheesecake.  
SWEET & SOUR APPLE STRUSSEL CHEESECAKE  
Ingredients:  
CRUST:  
1
cup all-purpose flour  
cup canola or olive oil  
½
1/3 cup granulated sugar  
FILLING:  
5
3
2
1
1
1
2
apples (I like McIntosh apples for this.)  
T lemon juice  
T granulated sugar  
T canola or olive oil  
-½ T cinnamon  
brick cream cheese (softened)  
large eggs  
7
9


Page
78 79 80 81 82

Quick Jump
1 28 56 83 111