Blueberry Cheesecake

Oh. My. Heavens.

Did you ever see that Friends where Rachel and Chandler discover a mail-order cheesecake in their building and accidentally eat it all and then order another and drop it on the ground and end up forking it straight off the floor because it is just that good? Did you, like me, pass the rest of the episode in a haze because you were distractedly wondering how amazing that cheesecake tasted? I mean, how unbelievable must a cake be to achieve eat-off-a-NYC-floor (however fictional) deliciousness?

Well say hello to your answer. This mini cheesecake is worth throwing your friends and family to the ground should they stand between you and it. Toss a few elbows. Wield your fork. It's pillowy soft and disappears on your tongue, except for that impossible richness that makes it cream cheese's best effort to date.

It requires a mini springform pan, which is not really part of everyone's kitchen arsenal, so if presentation is not essential to your enjoyment, you could just make it in a cake pan (with very tall sides), and dig it out one piece at a time. The blueberry topping was my addition, and could be replaced with many other fruits (just follow the same proportions) or maybe even some chocolate. Because this cheesecake is almost as tall as Rachel and Chandler's apartment building, I have a hunch that this downsized recipe could be halved to make an equally satisfying cake at a reduced height (just be sure to shorten the baking time).

Mini Blueberry Cheesecake

c/o Epicurious; makes one 6-in cake; active time about 15 minutes, plus baking and cooling

For Crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

4 Tbsp melted butter

2 Tbsp sugar

For Filling:

16 oz cream cheese; room temp (do NOT try to go low fat here)

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp flour

2 eggs

8 oz sour cream

2 Tbsp milk

2 tsp vanilla

For Topping:

2 cups blueberries

2-3 Tbsp sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375º. Wrap outside of 6-in springform pan with foil. Mix crust ingredients together in a processor or by hand and press into bottom and 2-inches up sides of prepared pan. Bake about 8 minutes, then take out and set aside to cool. Maintain oven temp.
2. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and sugar is dissolved. Add flour and blend, then egg and blend, then sour cream-milk-vanilla and blend. Pour into crust. Place springform into a larger pan and add water to said pan--enough to come 1 inch up sides. Bake until center is just set, edges begin to puff and turn a golden brown, about 50 minutes. Turn off oven and let cake sit undisturbed for another hour. Transfer springform to fridge and chill overnight. (I know it's hard, but believe me, it will be so much better if you wait it out.)
3. For topping, add berries and sugar to a saucepan over medium heat. Berries will warm and the sugar will cause berries to create juices. Stir periodically until thickened. Spread over top of cake and let dribble down the sides a little. People like that.

Buckwheat Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

What do you know about buckwheat? Well, for starters, are you aware that it's not even wheat?

Buckwheat is a plant grown mostly for its kernels (like cereal grains, plants of the grass family whose seeds are used as food grains, named for the Roman corn goddess, Ceres; think wheat, rice, barley, oats, ryel, maize, millet, etc.) and is an entirely separate entity from wheat. In fact, buckwheat is not a grass at all; the kernel that we eat is really a fruit seed. Because of the similar ways in which it is cooked, though, we tend to mentally lump it along with other cereal grains. Its name comes from the Dutch, bockweit, meaning "beechwheat," apparently earned from its seeds' resemblance to beech nuts. But I digress.

As a member of the Clique of Whole Grains, buckwheat shares all the fiber-soaring, heart-healthy, potentially cancer-fighting characteristics of that bunch. It also has some lipid lowering effects that have been shown to help prevent high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. So swap these pancakes out for your regular recipe every now and then. I admit, whole grains can be an acquired taste sometimes, but just think about all those years you're tacking on to the end of your life! And then pour on the blueberry syrup.

Buckwheat has no gluten, so it must be combined with higher protein flours to get the lift you want in most baked goods. According to those geniuses at King Arthur, you can sub up to one-third of the flour in a bread recipe with buckwheat if you so choose. (Buckwheat flour in sweeter creations was not recommended--stick to pancakes, biscuits, and other breads.)

Buckwheat Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

serves 2; total time about 10 minutes; adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bakin soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 beaten egg (scramble up the rest to go with your b'fast)

1 Tbsp molasses

1 cup buttermilk (OR a mixture of yogurt + milk OR orange juice + milk)

1/2 Tbsp veg oil

1. Stir together flours, powder, soda and salt. Make a well in the middle.
2. Whisk together egg and molasses, then add buttermilk and oil. Dump wet ingredients into dry well, then stir just until dry ingredients are good and moist (do not over mix!).
3. On a preheated skilled (preferably cast iron), scoop out 1/3-cup amounts of batter and cook 2-3 minutes, or until you start to see bubbles. Flip and cook 2-3 minutes more. Serve warm with blueberry syrup, if you like.

Blueberry Syrup

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1 Tbsp sugar

• In a small saucepan, stir together blueberries and sugar over medium heat. After a few minutes (a bit longer if they are frozen), berries will start to break down and release their juices. Boil just a minute or two, until thick. Use warm.

Blueberry Molasses Cake

It's been a while since I've poached a recipe from 101 Cookbooks, the superstar natural foods blog. If you like thoughtful, health-conscious, whole foods, you will love what's going on there. Read up.

Recently ran across a recipe there for Old-Fashioned Blueberry Cake, itself lifted from a vintage issue of Gourmet, circa 1974 I believe? I loved that the cake contains no sugar, only molasses as a sweetener, as well as a healthy dose of frozen blueberries. The natural sweetness of this cake is so satisfying and so simple. It's a great bite at the end of a meal or alongside afternoon tea. The molasses gives it a gingerbready flavor, so be prepared to taste a little autumn. Granny here is looking out for ya.

Blueberry Molasses Cake

c/o 101 Cookbooks, c/o Gourmet; takes about 45 minutes total

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1/4 tsp cider vinegar

2 1/2 Tbsp milk, divided

1/4 cup unsulphered molasses

1 egg

1 1/2 Tbsp butter, barely melted

2/3 cup frozen blueberries, tossed in a dash of flour

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a 5-inch round cake pan, or equivalent. Mix together flour, soda, powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix cider vinegar + 1 Tbsp milk. In another bowl, whisk together remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp milk and molasses. Add vinegar-milk to molasses-milk and mix well. Add egg. Pour wet over dry and stir to combine. Stir in butter, then blueberries. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Top with powdered sugar or enjoy as is.

Jammy Jam

I've been doing some jamming lately, taking advantage of delicious Massachusetts berries (thanks Carrie and Cory!) and training myself to preserve the good stuff while it's bounteous.

This post is not a recipe or an instructional, mostly just a tip that I've learned through a little practice. Ever noticed how tooth-bracingly sweet many jams are? Ever heard of agave nectar?

It's a sweetener extracted from the agave plant, mostly found in the southwest U.S. and Mexico. It resembles honey, though it's sweeter and with a much lower glycemic index--meaning it doesn't spike your blood sugar and trigger and insulin response the way sugar does.

Very roughly speaking, this is the principle that diets like Sugar Busters, Nutrisystem, and in some ways Weight Watchers operate on: good sugars (certain fruits, breads, lactose, etc.) versus less advantageous ones (refined sugars, processed foods, corn syrup, etc.). The "better" sugars don't invoke the insulin response, which, when it runs out of calories to process, simply stores fat. A lower glycemic index = lower sugar response = less fat storage.

PHEW, all that to say, I've been making jam with agave syrup instead of sugar lately. All you need is a low sugar pectin like Pomona's, and a really big pot. Check Pomona out. You'll thank me, and be proud of yourself for making your own jam!