Category Archives: Western

Cheese Pie with Peaches

A simple dessert that will satisfy your cheese cake cravings without going overboard with the calories. And making it is as easy as, well, pie!

Cheese Pie with Peaches

cheese pie with peaches
This isn’t a savory cheese pie like a spinach or a tomato cheese pie. It’s a dessert recipe I got from my Third Aunt a long time ago. It’s really very similar to a cheese cake except that the base is made using crushed Marie biscuits. You also don’t use as much cream cheese (only one 250g block) as most cheese cake recipes. And I would say it’s not as rich as a New York-style cheese cake.
Unlike some previous cheese cake attempts, I have never had any cracking issues when baking this cheese pie. I’ve even over-baked it a few times and it still comes out pretty good. So for those who don’t like the hassle of a bain marie (water bath) or if you like cheese cakes but would rather have a lighter version, this is the recipe for you.

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Bread Pudding Recipe

This recipe for bread pudding is so easy and can be used for just about any stale bread you have lying around.

bread pudding baked with apples

Sometimes, when I’m making sandwiches, I save all the crust pieces in the freezer. If I have end pieces of bread, I save those too. When I’ve got a lot stashed up, I just break them all up and make this delicious bread pudding.

Of course, if you happen to have day old brioche bread, you could use that and have a really rich bread pudding but I think it’s just fine with regular bread. Matter of fact, when my friend’s mom gave me this recipe, she told me that you could use pretty much anything you have leftover that is going stale—bagels, doughnuts, sweet breads, french loaves, or any other bready thing.

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Dutch Apple Bread

Dutch Apple Bread

dutch apple cake sliced

Several Thanksgivings ago, a friend, Andrew, made this fabulous Dutch Apple Bread and shared it at a church dinner. It was so simple looking but on that cold evening, with the bread still warm from the oven, it was a total hit. The bread was moist, hearty and infused with apple flavor. It was comfort dessert at its best.

I ate a slice and it stayed in my memory for days. I love homey cakes and quick breads without the frills of adornment especially when the flavors satisfy every craving I have. And it’s not just the flavor, it’s the texture and the simplicity of good ingredients that make it so memorable for me.

So I talked to Andrew about the bread (it is really more like a cake) and in our conversation he mentioned that he had gotten this recipe from a cookbook called “More With Less” by Doris Janzen Longacre. Our conversation left me intrigued about the cookbook and even though I had asked him to email the recipe to me, I had to look the cookbook up in my local library. Lo and behold, they actually had a copy and I ended up getting the book before he had sent me the recipe!

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Banana Cream Pie Recipe

Banana Cream Pie

banana cream pie slice

I love, love, love pies! There’s something about crust filled with yummy things that just appeal to me (to the cost of my hips). When I first came to the US, I was amazed by the variety of pies and I just couldn’t get enough of them.

I discovered banana cream pie when an acquaintance who attended the Hawaii Writing Project with me brought them one day to share. They were so delightful that I had to get the recipe. She generously shared it with me.

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