Basic Cheesecake

Contrary to popular belief, cheesecake really is not that complicated to make. It just takes a few specific steps to make it easy. I like to use my Cuisinart Food Processor to make it. I had a dear friend who made cheesecake his specialty and game me many pointers. The #1 pointer I took as my own, is to wrap the cheesecake pan in heavy duty foil before placing it into a large baking pan. Then pour the batter into the cheesecake pan. Place in the oven and then add about 1/2" of water into the pan to create a water bath. My cheesecake almost never crack when I do this...

Basic Cheesecake

3 pkgs cream cheese

1 cup cottage cheese

1 cup sour cream

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

Mix everything except the eggs in the food processor until very smooth. Then add eggs and pulse until just incorporated. (Do not over process once the eggs are added)

Pour into a springform pan, with or without a crust on the bottom. Bake in a water bath at 300 degrees, for 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes. You want the center to no longer be jiggly when you remove it from the oven. Remove immediately from the water bath and foil, and set on a rack to cool. refrigerate overnight before serving. Enjoy!

Cake Topping (not frosting!)

Even as a little girl, I never cared for frosting on cakes. I always scraped it off. But when I was in 5th grade, a friend of Mom's gave her this recipe for an oatmeal cake topping. I absolutely love it. My daughter, who like me, is not much for sweets, will polish off a third of this cake, when I send it home to her family! It is great on any cake...try it today!

Broiled Cake Topping

1 cup coconut

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cube butter

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup canned milk

Mix butter, sugar and canned milk together in a 2 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add coconut and walnuts, mixing well. Spread over a warm cake and stick under the broiler for about 5 minutes, watching closely, as it burns very easily. Remove from the oven and cool. Enjoy!

Air Plants

I found this lovely glass disc at an estate sale. After cleaning it up, I hung it in the window and realized that it would make a great air plant holder. My daughter has been wanting some air plants for her first-grade classroom as a learning opportunity, and this would make the perfect setting for that.

So I bought some Spanish moss for filler and found some little air plants at the local flower shop. And this is what it looks like now that it is put together.

I purchased two tiny air plants in 2022, while visiting our kids in Tri-Cities. I had no idea how to care for them, but my brother, Rick, has an orchid room in his house, and grows all sorts of plants (not to mention reptiles) in it.

Asking him for direction, he advised that I soak my air plants thoroughly in tepid water. I have found that an hour with their bases in water, every 10 days or so, is a good time base. Then I turn them out, upside down, onto a paper towel, to allow the water to completely drain away from

the plant base. And they are good to go for 10 - 14 days, depending on the atmospheric moisture in your area.

These are my sweet little air plants on display in my garden window, today.