Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe

I have been asked by several people for my pumpkin cheesecake recipe because it is very moist and delicious. So here is my secret, not so secret any more recipe. (Makes 2 pies)

Crust:
I used the graham cracker box because my graham crackers had been thrown away by mistake. I just followed the recipe on the box for the butter. I also added a pinch of cinnamon and sugar to the mix

Filling:
1 can of pureed pumpkin (I prefer Libby's)
1 can of evaporated milk
2 large eggs
1 box of Philadelphia cream cheese
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of almond extract
1 cup of sugar
1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. And once it hits the 425 I reduced it to 400, and then reduced it again to 375 once the pie was in the oven.

Mix the sugar, cinnamon, and salt together.

Mix the pumpkin, evaporated milk and cream cheese together

Beat the eggs and the add both the sugar, cinnamon, and salt mixture with the pumpkin, milk and cheese mixture. Blend well. Towards the end add the vanilla and almond extract.

During the time that the everything is mixing you should make the crust (in a deep dish pie pan).

Once your crust is made then you should pour your mixture into the pan and then bake! This recipe makes 2 pies!



When you're about ready to put it in the oven, you should put tinfoil around the crust only (I forgot to and it burned the upper portion of the crust :( )

Bake for about 30 mins with the tinfoil on the crust and then remove and bake for another 15 minutes. The pie normally takes about 40-50 minutes to bake, so plan accordingly. Have a knife ready to check if it fully cooked, if it comes out clean after you inserted in pie then it is fully baked!

Let it cool for about 20 minutes and it is ready to eat!

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10 things I am thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (I'll need to find pictures for these)
Here is what I am thankful for:

1. Most importantly my family!
2. My family from my honour society
3. The food I get to eat every day and clean water
4. My friends who support me.
5. The fact I live in a country where there is a holiday specific for being thankful.
6. I have had the opportunity for a post-secondary education
7. I have been able to view a portion of this beautiful world
8. I was born into a loving family.
9. All of my animals, who have become my babies. I do really refer to them as my babies, some people look at me weird.
10. Coffee, I am very thankful for coffee especially since it has gotten me through college.

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Charleston, SC: Food edition

Charleston is known for their food quality which is great in case you were wondering. I didn't take any pictures of food but I will let you know where I ate.

1. S.N.O.B- slightly north of broad. In downtown Charleston. I had an amazing fruit and cheese plate with a bruschetta. Absolutely would go again. WOOT WOOT

2. Tsunami- It's an Asian restaurant. In downtown Charleston. I can get better sushi in my town but this one  had hibachi (made in the kitchen). My friends adore this place and is one of their favourite spots. The sushi was delicious but I prefer to visit places where I cannot find similar in my town.

3. Gilligans- This was actually outside of North Charleston, in a small town. It sat out on the river and was a seafood joint. My friends also love this place, I found it to alright. I wasn't too impressed. I got the shrimp po'boy, but I can make a better one and get a better one where I live.

4.The Sesame Burger- some of the best burgers I have ever had, they had the option of choosing 3 different slider burgers to try. I chose this option. This restaurant uses hormone free and free range meat, they also cater to vegetarian and vegan diets. I am neither so I went for the meat and it was delicious. The burgers I chose were 'down south (american cheese, caramelized onion and bacon)', 'gourmet (goat cheese spread and portobello mushroom)', and the 'southwestern (guacamole and chipotle sour cream). I would recommend then restaurant and would visit again.

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How to know you're a College senior

*Disclaimer* This is based on my own personal realizations and some that I have heard in passing.

1. You realize that you have to be a responsible adult now, you may have pushed your graduation date because you're not ready to pay for everything. Now you have to find a real job! A waitress is no longer good enough for you college grad. Better find a desk job.

2. Everyone and their mother is asking you 'What are you going to do after you graduate?' The proper answer is not cry yourself to sleep every night, even though that's what you're going to be doing.

3. On top of your course load you make plans to study for the GRE because why fool yourself, as if you're going to find an adult job right after graduation. Might as well go back to school.

Stay in school kiddos

4. You start thinking of all things you haven't done in your college years and try to get them done before you graduate.

5. You make sure all of your classes are in the afternoon and no classes on Friday. Thirsty Thursdays anyone?

6. Friends? Best Friends? You stopped seeing them regularly sometime between sophomore and junior year because all of you are so busy that you make time to see each other every few weeks. After days of trying to eat lunch with friends, you deal with eating by yourself.

Table for 1, please.

7. You can pick the freshmeat (freshman) out of a lineup. Put that campus map away and don't ask me - who has headphones and sunglasses- for directions. There is an app for that.

8. Your daily outfit for campus is comfortable. You probably stopped dressing up freshman year. Today's ootd? Just rolled out of bed.

9. You apply for graduation and start thinking on how to design your cap. I'm not going to tell you what it is! It's a surprise :).

10. You've used the same backpack for years and now it's falling apart but you don't want to buy a new one because you're about to graduate.

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10 Tips for College Freshman

I will be making a video about this but I wanted to write it down first. Now this semester I have a class where the majority are freshman and I see them making some mistakes that I have learned not to make over the years. So these are my tips that I have learned from my undergraduate years.

1: Ratemyprofessors.com- It's a great resource when you're a freshman or sophomore and still have multiple sections and professors to choose from for a single class. Also helps you figure out what the class will be like.

2. Slugbooks.com - This site compares prices of textbooks. Personally I like half.ebay.com and I always buy my textbooks from them. Now because of ratemyprofessor I can look up if the professor uses the book so I can buy the book ahead of time for the cheapest price possible. Now you can watch the savings come rolling in!

Now when your dorm AC isn't working you can use your money to fan yourself!

3. Go to office hours- professors don't care about you if they don't know you, it is the simple truth. Also if your plan is to go to some sort of postgraduate school you will need some recommendation letters. Those professors who know you as a person and not just a grade are most likely to write you some awesome recommendation letters.

4. Use a planner- learn to use it for time management, you will need to use those skills when you're a Junior or Senior.

Even comes with stickers!

5. Stop wearing your high school sweaters, shirts. Everyone will know you're a freshman and you're in a new chapter of your life; you won't need to live in the past.

6. Join a club, organization or go greek- Universities are huge and it's easier to make friends in organizations because most people wear headphones and sunglasses when walking around campus or on the bus. Also this helps find future roommates, I have heard too many horror stories of kids having to resort to Craigslist or a roommate match up.

Nobody messes with my clique.

7. Learn to cook and eat somewhat healthy- Freshman 15/30/50 exists.

An example of not what to eat on the daily.

8. Do not be that one kid who gets overly drunk at parties- Learn your limits and don't go past them.

9. Break out of your shell- Try new things, even I did Army ROTC for sometime.


Last but not least

10. GO TO CLASS- All this money  is being shelled out for your education. Don't be that one kid who had no idea there was an exam. You'll need all those A's to keep your GPA up when you're in 3000 or 4000 courses. Also don't take all of your elective classes your freshman and sophomore years, you'll need those to make the course load easier when you're in your core classes.

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Labour Day! Food Appreciation post

So tomorrow is labour day, which means I am off from classes and I get to eat some delicious barbecue. I would then like to dedicate this post to the food I had eaten when I was abroad in Europe. It was delicious and I cannot wait to return to eat them again!

Ireland:

Fish and Chips

The cheaper version of Bailey's that we had nicknamed Failey's (Fake Bailey's). It was delicious! I wish I had brought a bottle with me

Corned beef with 4 different kinds of potatoes and cabbage from O'Neilly's near Trinity College

Cheesecake and Ice cream with raspberry syrup

Nando's- I want to go back, I wish I had a one near me! It was grilled chicken with mango sauce, garlic bread and coleslaw

I don't have pictures of these but other things to try when visiting the Emerald Isle: Bulmer's Cider, Galway Hooker (a light beer), Irish breakfast (black and white pudding with bacon, sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms and beans). Something else I tried was Apple Cider soda; thought it would taste similar to ginger ale. I was extremely incorrect and it was disgusting.

UK:

Fowey, Cornwall- Tea, Scone with jam and clotted cream

Fowey, Cornwall- Cornish pastry

Tintagel, Cornwall  - Coffee with a scone

Tintagel, Cornwall - Cornish crab sandwich, chips and salad

London - An Arab restuarant called Maroush. There is lamb meat on hummus, salad, rice, pitas, and a vegetarian dish that had garbanzos, tomatoes and other veggies.

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London- Part 3 - Madame Tussaud's, Eateries, Shopping

On my last day in London I had a little bit of time left on my 'Original Bus Tour' pass, since I bought it late in the day before so it would end 1 pm; 24 hours after I had originally purchased the pass. I decided to go see Madame Tussaud's, with the pass I was able to buy it at a discounted rate. I paid 28 pounds for the ticket at  the bus stop near Marble Arch. Madame Tussaud's took a large chunk out of my day and since my pass expired I took the tube 'metro or subway' back to Edgeware Rd where I was meeting my friend for lunch.

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Charlie Chaplin

Picasso (we share the same birthday)

Madame Tussaud

MLK Jr.

A portion of the tube line

Baker Street- Quite a pivotal street in the Sherlock series.

Edgeware Rd

This amazing Arab restaurant - Maroush, located on Edgeware Rd. I found it to be quite affordable. I would love to eat here again!

The famous Portobello Rd, as seen in the movie 'Bed nobs and Broomsticks'.

They have these adorable shops and also carts of people selling things. Very affordable. They sold in my opinion good souvenirs if you're looking to bring home items that aren't too touristy looking. I bought a dress for 5 pounds. Which I couldn't believe. Primark is another store in England that sells items cheaply, I bought shorts (the heat wave was nearly unbearable) and a strapless top, for 8 pounds total.

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British Scones

Now I have been craving these delicious treats and since American scones are not the same I decided to use my baking skills to make them. They turned out fantastic. I used this recipe but I did deviate from it a little bit because I like to spice things up or call it my own.
http://britishfood.about.com/od/eorecipes/r/fruitscones.htm

The only changes I made was I used golden raisins, added vanilla extract and almond extract. This is the recipe that was used and then I also made changes that I added into the original recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 cups plain all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 cup  fine sugar
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg beaten with a little milk
• 3 drops each of vanilla extract and almond extract
  
  
  

Preparation:

• Heat the oven to 400F
• Generously grease a baking sheet with butter then sprinkle with flour.

• Sieve the flour into a roomy baking bowl, add the cubed butter, the baking powder and salt. Quickly rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

• Add the sugar, the dried fruits, vanilla and almond -  mix well. 
• Make a well in the center and using a dinner knife, stir in enough milk to make a soft, pliable dough.If the dough is too sticky sprinkle with a little flour.

• Turn the mixture on to a floured board and knead very lightly until just smooth then lightly roll out to 3/4" thick.

• Cut rounds with a 2" cutter or cut into triangles with a sharp knife or use cookie cutter of your own choosing.

• Place on the baking tray and brush with the beaten egg and milk mixture. Bake near the top of the hot oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown and well risen.

• Cool on a wire rack before eating.

Serve with butter, or lashings of jam and cream. Delicious.

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Abroad Life

I have used the title of my blog in a post. I think I deserve a pint of Guinness! hahaha

So it is a good thing I began to line my sleeping schedule with it here, because otherwise I would be in terrible shape. I am exhausted mind you but it is bearable.

I can't begin to tell you how gorgeous this country is, although I expected it to be greener but it is nice. The weather has been wonderful and every citizen is walking around and enjoying the beauty. My feet are so swollen, yesterday some people from my hostel and hostels nearby when touring the city and we pretty much walked around for 12 hours. My foot that is almost healed was not too happy but I can't let this chance slip away.

 I will be editing the videos soon.

Update:* I just found out that most of the towns shops are closed on Sundays.

Update:** I can't access Pandora in this country.

Some pictures of Dublin for your enjoyment. Credit me if you want to use these pictures, please.

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