Salted Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake

As promised, I have returned with a recipe from the Philadelphia recipe booklet I got in the mail the other day.

 

I've had such a craving for this ever since I saw it.

Perhaps when I'm done with this crazy string of nights I'll make a date with my kitchen and get to work.

I did make banana bread (with wheat germ which was such a good decision) yesterday night and it was nice to bake again.

 

I hope I get right back into it for the holidays.

 

Tonight at work things seem to finally have settled down.

One patient (very confused and paranoid) accused me of abusing him when I was trying to run the air out of his g-feed and then he threatened to break my neck when I told him I was going to start running the feed again.

(The man weighs maybe 75 lbs so the threat is kind of an empty one but it still hurt my feelings. I had just sat with him for a long time and listened to his concerns about being given medication that he thinks people are using to control him...so I felt betrayed that he claimed I was abusing him!)

 

Anywhoooo he let me flush his g-tube and reposition him so I guess we're friends again.

 

And without further ado - here's the recipe!

 

 

 

{Recipe taken from the Philadelphia website found here}

• 1-1/4 cups Oreo Baking Crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 3 pkg. (250 g each) Philadelphia Brick Cream Cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 4 oz. Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted
• 3/4 cup thick caramel sauce (not sundae syrup)
• 1/2 tsp.coarse sea salt

1. Mix baking crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
2. Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Stir in chocolate; pour over crust.
3. Bake 40 min. or until centre is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours.
4. Spread caramel sauce over cheesecake just before serving; sprinkle with salt.

Late night/early morning ramblings

It's 0322 hrs.

I'm at work.

Enjoying some peace and quiet (I've definitely just jinxed it).

I'm in the middle of a very long string of night shifts and while I'm thankful for the pay cheque that will be coming my way, I really miss my bed.

 

I've been trying to sneak in naps, including on my breaks, but I find I can't fall asleep for such short periods and if I do I wake up feeling much worse than if I just hadn't slept in the first place.

 

I have been enjoying my breaks though with this book:

 

 

I'm about half way through it and really enjoying it.

 

I've also been sticking (more or less) to a gym routine.

This week I've been sneaking off to the gym before I even go upstairs to my apartment.

It makes crawling into bed afterward that much more satisfying.

Preparation for this:

 

 

I've been trying to eat better too. I made a raspberry pomegranate chicken thingy for dinner which turned out quite good. I'd post the recipe but it's as easy as this:

1. Cook chicken

2. Cut into peices and put into frying pan. Add 1/4 cup raspberry vinegrette and pomegranate seeds (called arils, strangely enough) and cook on med-high until the chicken looks nicely coated.

 

I need to start posting more regularly (and more about more interesting things) but don't expect me to make good on that until Monday at the earliest.

 

Although if tomorrow night is quiet I might post some recipes for cheesecake (I got some in the mail today and proceeded to salivate for several minutes).

 

I was google searching nursing for a funny night shift picture but instead I found these bad boys.

All of which made me laugh.

Fellow RNs/RPNs enjoy - everyone else take note (haha)

 

Yuuuup. Or sleep-deprived the morning after the last night shift so that I'll sleep on a regular schedule again.

 

Haha this reminds me of one of my first night's on the unit when a nurse told me to give a patient haldol even though they weren't agitated and I didn't feel right just dosing them up with sedatives to make MY life easier.... a decision, while morally/ethically right, I regretted several hours later. 

But also I'd be chasing this Doc down to get him to complete the order. PO? SC?

My clinical instructor in second year more or less told me this was how she got her revenge on A-holes while working in the ER.

Terrifying.

But seriously. We can pick the biggest ones.

 

Midazolam. Sleep, dear patient. Sleeeeeeeep.

 

I might be this mother.

But probably not because I'm an RN AND a hypochondriac.

 

Dear God my hands have never been so dry as they are at the end of an 8 or 12 hour shift, having washed my hands an estimated 100+ times.

 

On a palliative unit.... this rings very true.

 

"Please don't get up. Sit back down. Use the call bell for assistance. WHEEEEOOOO WHEEEEOOO WHEEEOOO" - the bed alarms.

Most annoying when people readjust themselves juuuuuust off of the sensor so it's going crazy for no reason.

Or when you actually run like a maniac because the bed alarm you hear is the guy who's fallen out of bed 3 times already that week.

 

 

That's enough for now but there are so many other funny and oh-so true ones that I came across.

 

Better posts soon!

Gotta go draw up some morphine & dilaudid injections.

 

(smallest needle size)

 

Tanzania Training

Holding myself accountable -

Went to the gym today for the first time in a looong time.

Ran 3.5 miles in roughly 30 mins, walked at an incline of 6 (and a speed of 3.5 - 4.0) for an additional 20 mins, then did some ab/core stuff.

Then hiked up the stairs from the basement to the 15th floor where my apartment is.

 

 

Also: booked an appt with my doctor for a 'travel consultation' for Monday - or, as I'm calling it, a "$35 quick meeting to discuss what vaccines I will need that OHIP doesn't cover".

For $35 I could google what vaccines/meds I'll need (my guess: Hep A, anti-malaria pills, possible yellow fever but it's 50/50) and spend the money on food and wine.

 

Speaking of which, my darling husband has just finished dinner so I'm off to enjoy a hard-earned meal!

 

Then it's off to work for a 4-night slew of nights at the hospital.

 

 

I'm Back! Adventure Planning

Sorry it's been awhile.

I've been working like crazy and really (really) enjoying my free time.

Mainly by doing a whole lot of nothing and watching a heck of a lot of TV.

I did start to feel guilty about being so lazy so I registered myself in a free online Intro to Oncology Nursing course.

Also in the exciting news department: John and I bought a car!

We got a 2008 Mazdan 3 sedan.

I love it so very very much.

It's so wonderful to no longer have to ask our parents to borrow a car anytime we need to get somewhere the TTC won't take us.

Look at me: married, working a real job, and now a car owner.

I feel like a real-life grown up.

I've been slacking in the baking/cooking department but with the holidays fast approaching I think that's going to change.

I picked up a ton of shifts this month so the kitchen adventures will likely be on hold until December. But that works quite well with John's imposed no-Christmas-until-December-1st rules.

I did make John a lovely salmon dinner last night so I'll post the recipe for it at the bottom of this post.

The other big news is that we are almost completely booked for our honeymoon!

We'll be heading off to Tanzania in early February for the most awesome adventure yet.

First on the docket is a 7 day climb to the highest peak in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro!

One thing (among thousands) that I love about my husband is how adventurous he is. This was his idea and I jumped right on board.

Hopefully it doesn't further fuel his desire to climb Everest.

(Note: I won't let him)

Post grueling climb and satisfied but exhausted decent, we will find ourselves on a week long Safari through Serengeti National Park.

It's something I've always always wanted to do and it'll be such a perfect way to relax after our torturous climb.

Can't wait to get up close and personal with the animals.

*Not that close.

If you're at all interested in doing a trip like this you can check out the full itinerary here (I know, it's very pricey. But if you're going to climb a mountain, best to do it before you've started saving for a house, had kids, etc. At least that's how we're rationalizing it).

I've got to get my butt back in the gym now on a regular basis to train for this trip.

Running, strength exercises... it begins again.

I need to blog about my progress because if I'm not held accountable I will continue to watch entire seasons of TV shows (Revenge!) in my pajamas while eating bags of halloween candy.

Hold me accountable.

Please. It's for my own good.

....Aaand if mountain-trekking ain't your thang, and you'd rather cook yourself a delicious (according to the fish eater in the house) and healthy dinner then look no further.

Martha Stewart's Hoisin-Lime Salmon

Recipe here

John tasted & approved.

Thanksgiving Dinner: Side Dishes

Tomorrow (I guess techinically today as it's 1 am) I cook my first ever Thanksgiving dinner.

I'm so ready. I'm approaching this like it's the most important thing I'll do this year.

I've figured out how I'm flavouring the turkey and the necessary items have been purchased.

Desert is decided.

The side dishes required a lot of thought and I wasn't sure I'd be able to narrow it down.

Traditionally, my mom makes mashed potatoes, turnips, stuffing, and peas.

All of which I load greedily onto my plate and drown in gracy.

 

I have this need to impress my parents so I wanted to make some sides that were variations on the classics.

 

These are the choices I narrowed it down to.

Only 2 of the 3 made the cut for tomorrow. The other side is going to be steamed asparagus, because there really should be some kind of green vegetable on that table.

 

 

1. Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing

 

*I looked everywhere in the grocery store today and could not for the life of me find cornmeal. So I'm substituting in sourdough bread. Fingers crossed it works as well!

2. Carrot Spoon Bread

 

*This was the poor recipe that didn't make the cut. I didn't want to load everyone up on stuffing AND spoon bread, on top of all of the potatoes.

3. Turnip and Sweet Potato Gratin

 

*Turnips with a twist.

Trying to locate a turnip led to a discussion about the difference (if any) between turnips and rutabagas. Result of a google search: rutabagas are a cross between turnip and cabbage.

I bought a rutabaga. Here's hoping it doesn't taste wildly different than a turnip.

 

 

Fingers crossed I don't ruin any part of dinner tomorrow.

We've got a ton of wines to pair with things including a desert wine from Stoney Ridge that I've been dying to open.

 

Pictures to follow!

I bought a new camera so that I could take pics of my food again.

 

Thanksgiving: Some decor ideas

Not one to let myself only be all-consummed with finding suitable recipes for turkey and side dishes, I've also decided that for my thanksgiving dinner I will create some cute turkey place holders.

I'm torn between two but think I'm leaning more towards the first, depending on how much time I have.

First up: Turkey Trivia

Using this template you fill out trivia questions (samples found here  - U.S. based questions though) on the turkey's tail feathers.

This works so well for my trivia-crazy family. My dad used to always read us the trivia questions from the Toronto Star's Sunday paper and it would be a race to see who could answer the most correctly.

Second option is for a less interactive but more eye-appealing turkey.

You'll need a supply of crafts and this template that will leave you with a pile that resembles this.

Following these instructions, you should hopefully end up with something that looks like this!

(All photos from marthastewart.com)

Upon closer inspection of the length of time it will take to make these and the fact that the trivia option is way more fun, I'm going with the first idea!

Let's hope it actually pans out.

Wedding Wednesdays: A gift for when you've agreed on no gifts

One week from Saturday my best friend gets married.

I didn't realize how much I was looking forward to this day until it started to get this close.

I'm so excited for her and cannot wait to be there with her to celebrate the marriage of two people I love and admire.

 

Since both of our weddings were/are this year, we decided to forgo the traditional gifts for one another, as whatever monetary gift they gave us would likely be given right back to them.

 

So we agreed: no gifts.

 

I obviously did not want to follow that agreement to the full extent and had planned on getting her some kind of bracelet charm, or a gift card for her and the new hubby to go for a romantic night out.

 

She also disregarded the rules and put together an amazing photo book of the incredible journeys we've been on during our 14 year friendship.

 

I had an idea.

I wanted to do this for her shower but we sort of combined her shower and her bachelorette into one so the idea got set aside.

 

Since I'm pretty sure she doesn't regularly read this blog (leap of faith, hope it doesn't end badly), here's what I'm trying to put together for the soon-to-be newlyweds:

 

A Book of Recipes for a Happy Marriage

 

 

 

I've started the scrapbook, now I just need participants to send me recipes that remind them of the couple as well as some words of advice for marriage, or wishes for a happy life together.

 

I'm starting the ball rolling with this recipe:

 

Gluten free Blondies

(from www.celiacteen.com)

 

 

Gluten-Free Blondies

Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar (7.40 oz / 210 g)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour (1.10 oz / 32 g)
1/4 cup sweet rice flour (1.25 oz / 35 g)
1/4 cup millet flour (1.35 oz / 37 g)
2 tbsp brown rice flour (0.70 oz / 20 g)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 slivered almonds
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup chocolate chips

 

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease an 8 by 8 inch pan.
2. Whisk together melted butter and brown sugar in a large bowl, until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flours and xanthan gum until uniform in colour. Stir the flours into the batter, a third at a time. Once combined, fold in the almonds, coconut and chocolate chips. Scrape into prepared pan and even the batter out through the pan.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with a crumb or two sticking to it. Let cool, in the pan on a cooling rack. Cut into squares and enjoy!