Gingersnap Pumpkin Cheesecake Shake

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These days, I am consistently amazed by the kindness of so-called strangers.

Particularly, strangers of the food blogging-kind.

United together over the commonality of whirring food processors, natural light, clicking keyboards and all things food, we solitarily create away, often unawares that there’s a whole brother and sisterhood of people out there just like us.

The word “community” gets tossed around a lot in the blog and foodie-spheres and as much as I consider myself an eternal realistic optimist, I’ve also managed to rub up against some cynicism that’s stuck to me like a barnacle on the tail of a whale.

Image from TheMarineDetective.Com

But the more I blog, the more I realize that “community” is not just a term but an actual thing here.

In the foodie-sphere, fellow food bloggers help out.  They talk and blog about each other.  They help with ideas, stop by, encourage and that’s pretty special.

So I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised earlier this month when I found out that I was nominated for not one but two separate awards, by two lovely ladies from this very community:

Anne of Uni Homemaker, who nominated Small Kitchen Chronicles for the One Lovely Blog Award …

… and Miss Noodle21 of Tuesday Night Boyfriend who nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.

For that I want to say thank you so much, ladies, I am touched and extremely honored.

The rules for accepting these lovely awards are these:

  • Link back to the person(s) who nominated you
  • Nominate 15 bloggers
  • + share 7 facts about yourself

So I would like to pay it forward and nominate the following 15 blogs for the One Lovely Blog & Very Inspiring Blogger Award, created by Cristi of Bent On Better Lunches who also designed the lovely badge.

Blogs and bloggers who are truly lovely and inspiring in my eyes (in no particular order):

honey & jam  Miss Hannah Queen is like a 22 year-old wunderkind to me.  I stumbled upon her food blog a few weeks ago and she makes me want to time-travel to a bygone era and make homemade biscuits all day.

spoon fork bacon  As if the word “bacon” isn’t enough, this blog is all sunlit goodness.  If it gets too dreary and gray out here in the Seattle area, I know I can always head over to SFB for a little food sunshine.

Tartelette  Helene knows her stuff, stuff, stuff.  Her work pushes me to keep learning and growing and be the best food photographer and stylist I can be, be, be.

Jelly Toast  Emily’s blog is also all lovely food sunshine.  She’s like a friend you’ve never met but feel like you’ve known forever.

Happyokes  Seven words: Kelsey and Shaun’s process shots are amazing.  Kelsey’s motto is kind of an inspiration too.

Desserts for Breakfast  Stephanie’s food imagery = inspiration.  Timeless and so creative.

Eggton  Katherine never fails to crack me up, her pooches are adorable and her shots, awesome.

Taylor Takes a Taste  Taylor has the best food photography tips, tricks and tutorials.  If you’ve ever shot food, you know how incredibly helpful this kind of stuff can be.

Image from LearnFoodPhotography.Com

The First Mess  Honestly, folks, there is nothing messy about this blog.  Nothing but glorious, gorgeous, moody food.  Yep … moody.  Go check it out and you’ll totally see what I mean.

Top with Cinnamon  Two words: Izy and 16.  As in this lovely blog is by a 16 year-old little lady and her name is Izy.  It’s equal parts inspiring and impressive.

Look. Listen. Smell. Eat.  So creative and such a super-unique take on food.  Love, love, love this blog.  The food photos rock my socks off too.

Like This, Try That  Rebekah is just the bees knees.  Her weekly Monday Coffee Break post alone is worth waiting in the rain for.

Spontaneous Tomato  How can one not love a blog called Spontaneous Tomato?  Just saying it out loud makes me smile.

The Pancake Princess & the Protein Prince  Erika craves pancakes all day, every day and has just been really impressing me with her food photography lately.  Not only is her food delightful, but so is she.

JDT Photography  Totally non food-related, James is simply put, a wonderful photographer.  Based out of East Sussex, UK, his work is just lovely and pure black and white awesome-ness.

And …

Image from VilasZoo.Org

7 Facts You May Not Know About Me

I kind of have a particular way about arranging the fridge.  The cupboards too.  Now, I wouldn’t say it’s Sleeping with the Enemy-bad but it is a tad bit anal.

I love salt.  In unhealthy, unseemly, ungodly amounts.  Let’s just say that if my blood pressure weren’t so naturally low, I’d probably be pushing daisies.

I have a ridiculous sense of smell.  This can be both good and bad.  Wine tasting?  Good.  The number 7 train to Flushing in July?  Very, very bad.

I am the (self-professed) Queen of Miscellaneous Information.  Call me 411.  Wanna know about the exoskeleton of bees?  I’m so your girl.

I’m easily excitable.  Free artisan cheese samples?  I’m beside myself.  Show me some miniature horse babies and I’ll need a ride to the hospital.

I blow my nose using two hands.  I sound like a baby elephant and look ridiculous but it works.

I am my mother’s daughter.  And much like my mother, food is a big way I show my love.

My love for you all this week is this pumpkin shake.

And yes, that is whipped cream and those are gingersnaps.

Part cheesecake and all ginger-y pumpkin-y goodness, it’s so redoncu-licious, I was willing to risk repeating myself just to bring it to you.

So here’s to you, dear friends, for your loveliness, inspiration and for never really being strangers at all.  Happy, safe Halloween!

Gingersnap Pumpkin Cheesecake Shake

Adapted from The Good Stuff Cookbook

Makes 2 – 16 ounce or 4 – 8 ounce milkshakes

1 – 15 ounce can unsweetened pumpkin
1/4 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream
1 cup whole or 2% milk
1/2 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus extra for serving
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, plus extra for serving
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 dashes of ground pepper
3 pinches sea salt
Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

In a blender, add pumpkin, cream cheese, vanilla ice cream, milk, cookie crumbs, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cardamom, ground pepper, and sea salt, and blend on low to medium speed until smooth.

Divide mixture into 2-4 glasses.

Serve with a tablespoon of whipped cream on top, if you’d like, and finish off with a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Note:  And if you really want to take it over the top, you can throw in a shot of bourbon as well.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

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30 thoughts on “Gingersnap Pumpkin Cheesecake Shake”

  1. I loved your comments on the blogs. Spontaneous Tomato? Made me smile. The way you introduced the whole thing was perfect, too. It’s exactly how I feel about people like you who have become part of this little world that I can be myself in. You are the best.

    Reply

  2. Those look SO GOOD. They sound incredibly warm and spiced and lovely and that gingersnap! Over the top. But I’m getting off on a tangent…thank you SO much for the nomination!!

    You really did an awesome job making each blog sound super enticing and I am planning to stalk all of them extensively when I have a bit more time. The ones that I did sneak a peek at were AMAZING! I’ve never been in such cool company 🙂

    Plus excitement over “free artisan cheese samples”…um I would be right next to you…beside MYself. I have been craving cheese like crazy lately, which is probably why I declared cheese biscuits my new obsession. Smitten Kitchen’s apple and cheddar scones are DI.VINE.

    Anyway. THANKS LADY! You’re the best ❤

    Reply

  4. AWWW! Thank you Christina! I’m quite new here in the food blog world and I really appreciate you mentioning me, and Like This, Try That, in this inspiring award that celebrates community. The blogs you noted sound amazing, and I can’t wait to check them all out.

    This pumpkin shake looks, well, just insanely good. Like put on your sweatpants, food coma good. Your photos are once again wonderful as well.

    Thanks again Christina, I’m really happy we ran into each other out here in the foodie-sphere (hmmm… a combination of foodie and blogosphere…maybe a new word :P) I see bright things in our future!

    Have an awesome rest of the week!
    xo,
    Rebekah

    Reply

    • Rebekah, you are so welcome! It really was my pleasure.

      Re: the shake, ha, love it! Not quite something that I would recommend having every day, but it is a pretty amazing thing. Who says fall can’t rival summer, or should I say, who says we can’t have summer in the fall? Bring it on! I can practically hear the waves lapping against the shore now …

      Thank you for being awesome, Rebekah, and likewise (can’t wait to see what’s in store) …

      Have an awesome rest of your week too, fellow food sister! Talk soon …

      =)

      Reply

  8. Congratulations on your nomination, Christina! That’s great! Also, very wise putting all of these thoughts and facts about yourself on the same post as a recipe for a Pumpkin shake! A surefire way to get people’s attention! Ha! So, while I’m not a huge cheesecake fan (I love cream cheese on its own though), this does look delicious and the picture alone is tempting me to try it out! Think I could skip the cream cheese?

    Reply

    • Thanks so much, MF! Being nominated by your fellow food bloggers is quite a wonderful honor, and it’s been very touching and encouraging.

      Re: adding those thoughts and facts about myself, that element was actually just part of the rules for accepting the award, so just doing my duty =)

      Re: the shake, I hear ya. To answer your question, if you’re not a huge cheesecake fan, you could totally skip adding the cream cheese. Just substitute ice cream for it, and it will be just as delicious.

      Lemme know how you like it!

      Reply

  9. Yay, thanks so much for nominating Spontaneous Tomato! 🙂 I love your little descriptions of each of these blogs… I am bookmarking this to check them out when I have time. Oh and that shake looks amazing!!

    Reply

  11. Hi Christina–
    Congratulations on your nomination! I’m not a food blogger, but if I were one, I absolutely would nominate you too!

    By the way, I’d love to hear your tips on how you organize your refrigerator/cupboards.

    Best of luck with your nomination!

    Reply

    • Thank you so much, Rose, I appreciate that — you are so kind!

      Ah, tips on how I organize my fridge and cupboards. That would be a great post topic, and much too involved for a comment section, but to start:

      Fridge:

      I am all about putting the short/small stuff on the “short” shelves, and the tall stuff on the “tall” shelves.

      Nothing gets put in the back, as it can easily get forgotten back there and go bad. Ditto for the crispers and drawers.

      The door is reserved for condiments and the like. No dairy, as that area tends to be one of the warmest parts of the fridge. Butter gets placed on second shelf.

      This is just for starters. You know, I think I will make it a post topic! It’s a great thing to cover more in-depth, and I’d hate to just skim the surface.

      Sound good?

      So great hearing from you, Rose! Hope you enjoyed the gift card!

      Talk soon!

      Reply

  14. That’s a great looking pumpkin shake. I could only imagine how that tastes. And I can certainly understand what you mean by building communities. Solid communities. I’m constantly online looking at the work of other bloggers. Stopping by. And leaving a note. Its a great feeling to see what others find fascinating. I blog about organizational transformation. Food is something I find super fascinating!

    Reply

    • Thanks so much, Torri, for the kind words, and I totally agree — it is a great feeling to see what others find fascinating and are passionate about … I find it’s oftentimes very inspirational too.

      Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a note — very nice to meet you and look forward to exploring your blog further too. (You have a very fascinating life’s story).

      Reply

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