Secret Ingredient Cheesecake (Can You Guess?) and NaPoWriMo Update

I'll talk more about this new crustless cheesecake in a moment.

 First, a quick update on NaPoWriMo and other Poetry-Related events this April. Last week, I attended two poetry gatherings: one at the home of a wonderful poet in town who is just completing her MFA in the same program that I'm going into; the other, at the library. Writing poetry requires such intense, inward focus that convivial opportunities to interact with others and revel in words and what takes shape between and behind the words seem even more special for the contrast.

In addition to writing a poem a day for NaPoWriMo, I am pushing to complete a manuscript--a small book of poems all containing the theme of strangeness and sojourn. The Writers' Conference here in town (coming up in June) offers the opportunity for participants to submit manuscripts and have them critiqued by one of the conference faculty, and I decided that that would be a great opportunity. Deadline for submission? The end of April. Getting a manuscript into some kind of shape, and writing a new poem a day (and doing my work and remodeling the kitchen, etc) is a game of multi-directional pulling--but that's how you get a smooth surface in the end. In an endeavor not to have that smooth surface be my own self spread ineffectually thin, and in recognition of the fact that several of the poems in the manuscript were barely begun, I've elided the 'poem a day' and 'manuscript' projects somewhat and am grateful.

We had a lovely Easter-themed gathering up at Phil's daughter's mom and stepdad's house yesterday (I need a better term for these wonderful friends of ours. Let's just call them Leslie and Royce)...

Our friends David and Olga were also recently back from 'snowbirding:' since our truck is still off its wheels, they gave us a ride. Here's Phil with his daughter and Olga:

 Amy's mom, Leslie, has a new camera.

Otherwise, as always, she was the 'hostess with the mostest'--it didn't feel like being put to work at all when we found the table beautifully spread with eggs to dye, bunny-shaped rice krispie treats to decorate...and cupcakes to frost!

 I made up for not eating any cupcakes by hogging my share of the frosting fun: I think I did five in contrasting designs and colors.

We had great food, precious conviviality, and some wonderful giggles (here, we're looking at possible wedding dresses for Phil's daughter: fertile ground for giggles).

 I've been working on a poem about fixing food for people. I was 'stuck' on it Saturday night, and found it ironic that I spent much of Sunday morning fixing food rather than writing about it. Gave me more grist and perspective, I guess.

I was pleased with this three-layer veggie bake I'd dreamed up.

 The base is pureed yams shot with julienned beets; the middle layer is chard with (dried) chanterelles and lots of garlic...

 ...and the top layer is a white bean-based sauce with lots of nooch, onion powder, a hint of tahini.

 I baked the yam/beet base for 30 minutes before baking the whole thing, and I think the texture would have been more interesting and varied had I baked the base longer and gotten it more crusty.

But I was most excited about the crustless cheesecake (pictured above). It's a white chocolate-blueberry cheesecake (vegan, mostly raw) and I was using a whole different ingredient base for it. I couldn't wait to see whether people liked it, and who would guess what it was made from.

Actually, it was somewhat overshadowed by all those cupcakes...

 ...and although it was very well liked and got rave reviews, no one asked me "So Ela, what on earth is this made from?"

 Can you guess what I based it on? Here's a hint. And no, it's not yam!
I don't have the recipe perfect yet, but will post it when I do. This much I will say: I thought it tasted fantastic. I could taste the 'secret ingredient,' but only in the same way that I can taste cashews in cashew-based cheesecakes, quite unobtrusively. And this is so much lighter than a nut-based cheesecake but the flavor and texture remain rich. OK--I'll stop talking, or I'll give the game away.

Isn't this the oddest plant? Leslie and Royce adopted it recently, and insist that it's pure Dr Seuss.

Can you guess what that cheesecake is based on? I'd love to hear your guesses...
And do you know a better name for that plant than 'Dr Seuss plant?' I don't think it's a yucca...