Ricotta
Cheesecake
| 6 | large eggs |
| 2/3 c | sugar |
| 2 t | vanilla extract |
| 30 oz | whole milk ricotta cheese |
| 2 t | grated lemon zest (I used Meyers) |
| Confectioners' sugar for dusting |
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (I used 300). Spray the springform pan with cooking spray. Separate the eggs, placing the whites into the mixer bowl and the yolks in the work bowl of a food processor.
Add the sugar and vanilla to the work bowl of the food processor and process until thick and light yellow, about 1 minute. Add the ricotta and zest and process until smooth, another 30 seconds. Scrape the mixture into the other large bowl. I'd misread the recipe and thought it said 2 tablespoons of zest, so I'd zested two of my Meyers, which gave it a very lemony flavor!
Beat the whites on high speed with the mixer until they hold stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the ricotta mixture and scrape into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula.
Bake until the cake is deep golden brown and the sides begin to pull away from the pan, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Transfer to the rack to let cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving, at least 6 hours and up to 1 day. To serve, release the sides of the springform pan, dust with confectioners' sugar using the strainer, and cut into wedges/slices (I got 12 slices).
This cake puffs up greatly while baking, but don't be afraid of it spilling when you look into the oven and see it rise above the springform pan. As I told Peter, like a soufflé, it sank into itself, like the ego of a spurned lover...
I used the zest from one large and one small Meyer lemons, and the flavor was distinctive and good. I also did not ignore the vanilla extract, which added a balance to the flavor of the cake that I really enjoyed.
Other than that, I've been enjoying Peter, whom I fetched from the airport late in the afternoon on Friday (rush hour!). Tonight, he flies north for meetings in the Bay Area, returning tomorrow night. He returns to London this Saturday and will be gone for another week.
On Saturday, we attended a lunch Meetup at a restaurant called Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot and Grill. We got the "yin-yang" bowl of broth, which was divided into two parts. One portion of the broth had chilis and other pungent spices in it. The other included more mild herbs and spices. We ordered the vegetable platter and the mushroom basket, and everything came out deliciously. We also ordered some lamb and beef slices, beef tripe, and cuttlefish balls (like meat balls, but made with cuttlefish and no breadcrumbs). Later that afternoon, I was going to take Kat to the Anatolian Turkish Cooking Classes Meetup, but had gotten on the computer and became so engrossed that by the time Kat came to get me, it was already too late to go, so I decided to forego the cooking class, which was too bad, really, for I really enjoy the classes and like the organizer, Sue (though I'm fairly sure that is not how she spells it).
Yesterday morning, Peter and I decided, while having our morning tea, to practice hitting a racquetball at the gym on Balboa Avenue. I mentioned, after we were already underway, that we'd had our morning tea, "but no coffee," so we stopped en route to pick up a couple cups.
Fooling around in the racquetball court was fun; I was surprised at how quickly the ball returns from the rear wall. Also, because the rear wall is glass, it's hard to differentiate the ball from the background, which is larger room where the gym equipment is located. The time passed quickly.
Afterwards, we went to Souplantation for lunch. Upon returning to Poway, I commenced making the ricotta-orange cookies, using one of the blood oranges from our share for the zest and juice, while Peter investigated recipes for making samosas, which he intended to bring to the social hour for the San Diego Association for Rational Inquiry. By the time I'd gotten about a dozen cookies iced and chocolate-drizzled, it was past 6, so we hurried down to Hillcrest to catch the presentation. Turned out fine, for I think I was the only person who brought a snack. People tried the cookies on their way out into the cool (but not cold) evening.
The president of SDARI, Tom, made a few announcements prior to the presentation, mentioning next month's symposium that is part of an ongoing series sponsored by CARTA, the Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny. He also mentioned having attended the presentation by Alan Alda at UCSD, announcing the establishment of a center for the communication of science to the public. He told the story of how, when he was in a South American Country (I don't remember which), he suffered from intestinal anastomosis. When the doctor came to tell him the operation he (the surgeon) was to perform (on Alda), Alda referred to it by name (which the surgeon had not used). The surgeon was quite surprised that Alda knew the term for it, and Alda replied that he'd done many of them as "Hawkeye Pierce" on "M*A*S*H," the television program, which lasted about three times as long as the Korean War itself.
Unfortunately, last evening's presenter was not only not as entertaining as Alda, but he gave a rather dry presentation on social anxiety and depression that nearly put me to sleep. I had trouble paying much attention after he initially misidentified a physical condition related to the TMJ, or Temporomandibular Joint, as a byproduct of stress and emotional ill-being. I spoke up and corrected him, saying that TMJ, which is correctable with surgery, is different from lockjaw (which is caused by the disease known as tetanus).
Peter roused me before I fell out of my chair...
Afterward, we shared a snack/dinner at one of the restaurants in the same development as the Joyce Beers Community Center (to which references made irritate me by introducing an apostrophe into its name, as if the Community Center belonged to someone named Joyce Beer, as opposed to being named after someone named Joyce Beers).
This morning, Peter and I discussed the problem that activists (including many in San Diego 350.org, an organization with which I take part in some political actions) have in trying to address Climate Change by changing people's diets (into a vegan one). Even if the entire human population were to become vegan, it is still unlikely that there will be enough food produced to feed the billions and billions. The real problem is overpopulation of the human race. I've discussed this issue before so I won't go into it again. You know where I stand on the burgeoning human population already.
BTW, I have asked Dr Charles Kimmel if I could post the lecture slides he'd used in a series of informational lectures on Climate Change at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. If he responds in the positive, I will post them on the SD350.org website as long as I clear it with the organizers at SD350.org.
On Saturday, we attended a lunch Meetup at a restaurant called Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot and Grill. We got the "yin-yang" bowl of broth, which was divided into two parts. One portion of the broth had chilis and other pungent spices in it. The other included more mild herbs and spices. We ordered the vegetable platter and the mushroom basket, and everything came out deliciously. We also ordered some lamb and beef slices, beef tripe, and cuttlefish balls (like meat balls, but made with cuttlefish and no breadcrumbs). Later that afternoon, I was going to take Kat to the Anatolian Turkish Cooking Classes Meetup, but had gotten on the computer and became so engrossed that by the time Kat came to get me, it was already too late to go, so I decided to forego the cooking class, which was too bad, really, for I really enjoy the classes and like the organizer, Sue (though I'm fairly sure that is not how she spells it).
Yesterday morning, Peter and I decided, while having our morning tea, to practice hitting a racquetball at the gym on Balboa Avenue. I mentioned, after we were already underway, that we'd had our morning tea, "but no coffee," so we stopped en route to pick up a couple cups.
Fooling around in the racquetball court was fun; I was surprised at how quickly the ball returns from the rear wall. Also, because the rear wall is glass, it's hard to differentiate the ball from the background, which is larger room where the gym equipment is located. The time passed quickly.
Afterwards, we went to Souplantation for lunch. Upon returning to Poway, I commenced making the ricotta-orange cookies, using one of the blood oranges from our share for the zest and juice, while Peter investigated recipes for making samosas, which he intended to bring to the social hour for the San Diego Association for Rational Inquiry. By the time I'd gotten about a dozen cookies iced and chocolate-drizzled, it was past 6, so we hurried down to Hillcrest to catch the presentation. Turned out fine, for I think I was the only person who brought a snack. People tried the cookies on their way out into the cool (but not cold) evening.
The president of SDARI, Tom, made a few announcements prior to the presentation, mentioning next month's symposium that is part of an ongoing series sponsored by CARTA, the Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny. He also mentioned having attended the presentation by Alan Alda at UCSD, announcing the establishment of a center for the communication of science to the public. He told the story of how, when he was in a South American Country (I don't remember which), he suffered from intestinal anastomosis. When the doctor came to tell him the operation he (the surgeon) was to perform (on Alda), Alda referred to it by name (which the surgeon had not used). The surgeon was quite surprised that Alda knew the term for it, and Alda replied that he'd done many of them as "Hawkeye Pierce" on "M*A*S*H," the television program, which lasted about three times as long as the Korean War itself.
Unfortunately, last evening's presenter was not only not as entertaining as Alda, but he gave a rather dry presentation on social anxiety and depression that nearly put me to sleep. I had trouble paying much attention after he initially misidentified a physical condition related to the TMJ, or Temporomandibular Joint, as a byproduct of stress and emotional ill-being. I spoke up and corrected him, saying that TMJ, which is correctable with surgery, is different from lockjaw (which is caused by the disease known as tetanus).
Peter roused me before I fell out of my chair...
Afterward, we shared a snack/dinner at one of the restaurants in the same development as the Joyce Beers Community Center (to which references made irritate me by introducing an apostrophe into its name, as if the Community Center belonged to someone named Joyce Beer, as opposed to being named after someone named Joyce Beers).
This morning, Peter and I discussed the problem that activists (including many in San Diego 350.org, an organization with which I take part in some political actions) have in trying to address Climate Change by changing people's diets (into a vegan one). Even if the entire human population were to become vegan, it is still unlikely that there will be enough food produced to feed the billions and billions. The real problem is overpopulation of the human race. I've discussed this issue before so I won't go into it again. You know where I stand on the burgeoning human population already.
BTW, I have asked Dr Charles Kimmel if I could post the lecture slides he'd used in a series of informational lectures on Climate Change at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. If he responds in the positive, I will post them on the SD350.org website as long as I clear it with the organizers at SD350.org.
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