ArcaMax

Editor's Note: Please enjoy this previously published Zola classic.

Small Town 4th of July

Flashback, if you can, to 1965.

John Glenn had circled the Earth in Friendship 7 but we had not yet made it to the moon. The Beatles were in full swing and had appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show the year before. Vietnam was being mentioned in the newspaper but we were not yet subjected to a daily listing of the casualties from the carnage in the jungles.

I’m living in small-town America, Appleton, Wisconsin, and I am 8 years old. My brother, Paul, 15 months younger than me is 7. My mother is taking us to the fireworks on the 4th of July...

Read the full column at PlanZDiet.com

Fluffy, No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake

I came up with this recipe as a tribute to Dieter Ron and his wife Jean. This darling couple drove from Wisconsin to Chicago just to meet me and my team. They wanted to thank us for developing and supporting Plan Z. Ron lost 69 pounds, feels great and looks fantastic. Thanks Ron!

Servings: Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 packages of cream cheese (1 lb)
2 lemons, juiced (about ¼ cup)
3 tsp of vanilla extract
1/8 – 1/4 cup of Truvia
1 – 2 tsp of lemon zest (plus more for garnish)
Berries for garnish

Instructions:

Let your cream cheese come to room temperature or zap it (opened) in your microwave for 15 seconds on high to bring it to temp.

Put the cream cheese in a bowl. Add the lemon juice, Truvia, vanilla and the zest. (If you don’t know how… in order to zest a lemon you use a tool called a microplaner or rasp. Just gently glide it over the lemon peel so you get shavings of the yellow part and not the bitter pith underneath. Just tap the microplaner on the counter to release the shavings. You can buy a fine microplaner at any housewares store).

With an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese mixture until light and fluffy. This will take 1 – 2 minutes to get it nice and fluffy. Make sure the sides are scraped down so it all gets mixed.

Divide mixture among serving dishes. Then garnish.

Serving Suggestions

If you are going to serve it right away, great. If you want, you can cover it and keep it in the fridge for a few hours before serving. Just be sure to take it out of the refrigerator about 15 – 30 minutes before you want to eat it or it will taste refrigerator cold.

Leftovers store well in the refrigerator, covered in plastic. Just like any other cheesecake, they will become a bit stiffer over time. You can remedy this buy just stirring it up.

Another idea. Blueberries, traditionally, go great with lemon. If you like the blueberry idea a lot you can stud your cheesecake by stirring some extras in before you put it in your serving dish.

I also garnish with a bit more zest for a bit of yellow color.

The amount of Truvia and zest you put in are up to your tastes. I’d start with the smaller amount, mix and taste and then judge.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola