No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Cups

No-bake pumpkin cheesecake in individual cups! They are great to please a crowd and you can prepare them beforehand to chill in the fridge until ready to serve. 

When I sat down at the dining table surrounded by family and friends in my new apartment at Domain Northside in Austin, TX, we raised our glasses to toast the special moment. I couldn’t help thinking, what brought us all together?

My memory flashed back to four years ago when I landed in San Francisco, CA on April 15, 2013.

Fresh off the boat from Shanghai, China, life was full of excitement at the time. Needless to say, I neglected to even think about what was ahead of me.

While I was waiting for the immigration paperwork to come through so I could be allowed to work legally in the States, I desperately needed something to do — starting a food blog to document my mom’s recipes came into mind.

Without knowing half of the produce in Whole Foods Market, I started writing down the names of the ingredients that I had never before seen in my life, Googling them, searching for recipes to cook them, and trying to understand the flavors and what to pair with them. I also spent hours on the phone daily with my mom to learn her recipes and practice cooking in the kitchen over and over again. The first recipe I made for the blog, which I still remember distinctly to this day, was a stupidly simple spinach recipe, but it took me five pounds of spinach to get it right. That’s a lot of spinach.

The truth is that I dived deeply into cooking. Learning it and practicing every day made me forget about all my worries and anxiety regarding my future. It was like a life-saving block of wood appeared right before I drowned. I held on tight and never let go. Quickly, I didn’t feel useless anymore, I didn’t feel lonely anymore, and I didn’t feel that the Pacific Ocean was in the way between my mother and me anymore.

Fast forward to today, even though life had taken me from San Francisco, CA, and Jacksonville, FL, and then to Austin, TX, I cook for a change. It’s a change that has presented so many opportunities that I never knew existed. Most importantly, it’s a change that will always bring family and friends together, no matter where I am.

Photo by Kaylin from Enticing Healthy Eating

So this holiday season, I had the privilege to host a small Friendsgiving party at my place. Most of the recipes I cooked for the gathering are already shared on this blog, such as Slow Cooker Beef Burgundy, Garlic Pull-Apart Bread, and Kale Salad with Oregano Lemon Vinaigrette. As for the dessert, I came up with these No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Cups that brought the entire meal to an ultimately satisfying conclusion.

I used Simply Organic cinnamon and pumpkin spice for the recipe. The individual cheesecake cups turned out amazing. The best part is that you don’t even have to turn on the oven. You can find the recipe below.

Before we wrap up, I wanted to share with you my biggest lesson from self-taught cooking in the past four years. Nothing is impossible, my friend. If I can learn to cook western food, you can learn anything that you put your mind to. Whether it’s learning a new language, learning to play an instrument, or learning to dance, as long as you put in the effort and are persistent, you can do anything.

Now, I would like to hear from you. How has cooking changed your life, in small and big ways? Leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your story.

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