Gratitude Friday: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake

We got some amazing news this week: The results from my dad’s first bone marrow biopsy post-transplant shows NO remaining cancer!!!  Apart from the birth of my child, this is the closest I’ve ever been to a real live miracle.

Also, my little monkey had her first ballet class this week. I swear—is there anything cuter than a toddler in a ballet outfit? I’m not sure there is! 😉

What I’m reading:

Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipes.

It’s Bittman’s “vegan ’til 6pm” plan, in which the veteran food writer didn’t give up his foodie lifestyle of eating out, testing recipes, and reviewing restaurants, but rather made it a rule that he eats mostly vegan (a little milk in coffee or butter in a recipe is OK) during the day, and then eats “normally” at night.

I’m trying it out for a while!  So far I’m really liking it.

What I’m cooking:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Chocolate Glaze — I made this beauty as a Valentine’s gift for my hubby.  It went over pretty well. Super grateful for this! 😉 Not hard, but lots of steps! The key to a cheesecake that doesn’t crack: have all your ingredients at room temperature when you start.

Eggplant Couscous Salad — Eggplant’s on sale this week in my neck of the woods, and I wanted something different from my traditional ratatouille or Chinese eggplant.

Chicken and Spinach Casserole — This was our Valentine’s Day supper (had to save room for that cheesecake!).  It was very creamy—and you could easily substitute fat-free half and half to cut the calories—but I agree with one of the comments on the recipe that was a tiny bit bland. I might add red pepper flakes next time.

So what’s up in your world? What are you eating or reading or doing? What are you grateful for? I’d love to hear about it!!