Ending Upon a Note of Wishful Thinking.

As we end 2020, a year of “Who, What, Where, Why, When and How” questions that are still boggling the minds of many, consider this, “Did we learn, and did we do good?”  Personally, the meaning of life is to learn something new, and do a good deed, on a daily basis.  Learn something new?  Yes, it could be a craft, a talent, book or television series, a way to do something entirely different, etc. etc., and that includes an outlook upon something as well.  A good deed?  Yes, something as simple as smiling at a person who looks absolutely miserable, then seeing a new light in their eyes as they smile back.  Perhaps someone was stranded on the side of the road, and instead of driving by, you made that U-turn, and helped to change a flat tire.  A new learning or good deed does not have to be monumental; also, do not brag about it, as then the meaning actually becomes nothing at all.

“Do you watch Christmas themed movies?” is a question I am often asked, due to the fact that I do not believe in the main stream, religious meaning of this holiday.  Of course I do, as there is more to this holiday than the beliefs of religion.  This is the end of the calendar year, a time to reflect back on what has occurred; the good, the bad, the “what the…?”, and ticking off of items on the bucket list.  Whether you have a written, or mental, list, you know you are ticking items off; we all do it.  The month of December is a month full of numerous holidays around the world, mainly surrounding love, life, laughter, giving, receiving, and most important, togetherness.  2020, of course, is putting a huge strain on togetherness, but should that truly affect all the other aspects?  It should not, but I believe we have been conditioned to allow it to.

One of my very favorite movies is, The Bishop’s Wife, based upon the novella by Robert Nathan, and released December 1947, is a wonderful classic. The cast includes such greats as Loretta Young, David Niven, Elsa Lanchester, and Cary Grant…oh, the oh so handsome, charismatic, multi-talented Cary Grant as Dudley, the angel.  David Niven plays the Bishop Brougham, who is determined to have a cathedral built, and must beg for funding from the snobbish wealthy.  Having come from a poor district, he seems to have forgotten, not just where he came from, but what the holiday season is all about.  Praying to God, an angel is sent down to help him, not to build the cathedral, but to find his way back to himself.  Everyone that Dudley encounters has become a lost soul, lost to themselves, to others; or in the case of the members of the children’s choir, potentially losing themselves.

This movie is not full of sadness, but brings out the joy and happiness that once was, and now found again.  Watch the movie, put it up against what you have been encountering in this past year, and I believe you will get the meaning.  Not only will you learn, but those good deeds may just pop into mind.

As the New Year comes knocking upon our doors, open up, smile and say “Welcome, what do you have planned for me now?”  Now here comes the challenge of choices, do we simply live, or do we Live!  Those good deeds that popped into mind, are they forgotten or acted upon? Yes, you do not have to wake up and consciously say to yourself, “Today I will do a good dead.” just do it!  Do not think about it, just do it, keep going, and suddenly you might think about it, and that is when it will click in; what meaning life has.

Of course, being a food blog, how could I not give you a recipe which will bring joy and cheer to your stomachs!?!  Let’s try out a Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake to end 2020, and welcome in 2021.  Fresh lemon juice brings out the brightness of this cheesecake; the use of ricotta and cream cheeses, blended together, give a firm, yet smooth texture.  Really do not like the taste of lemon?  Then use orange juice, but make sure, whichever fruit is used, to use the fresh squeezed, or defrosted juice concentrate only.  Bottled juices are full of water, and will ruin the entire cake.  By the way, did you know that cheesecake is not really a cake?  Due to the lack of flour used, and the main ingredients are eggs and cheese, this is actually a custard.  There you go, you just learned something new!

 

Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake

 

Ingredients:

 

Crust

1 package (9 crackers) original flavor graham crackers

1/2 cup ground almonds

5 Tbsp. melted butter

 

Filling

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

1 and ½ cups sugar (yes, a substitute can be used, and I recommend Swerve)

2 Tbsp. lemon peel (if dried, reconstitute with warm water and pat away excess moisture)

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (squeezed or pure concentrate)

1 (16 oz.) container of whole milk ricotta cheese

3 eggs

 

Garnish

Whipped cream

Blackberries

Blueberries

Candied Lemon Slices

Fruit Flavored Marshmallows (bring out the child in us all)

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line bottom of 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper; spray paper and sides of pan with nonstick baking spray.  Wrap outside of pan, bottom and sides, with heavy-duty foil. 

Place graham crackers into plastic bag and crush, by hand, by rolling a rolling pin over them.  Or use a mixer, pulse setting; add in ground almonds, melted butter and ½ cup of sugar.  Mix until crumbly; press crumb mixture in bottom and 2 inches up sides of springform pan.

Bake at 350F for 5 to 10 minutes, or until crust is light golden brown around edges. Remove crust from oven; place on wire rack, cool 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325F.

Beat cream cheese in large bowl, medium speed, until fluffy; add 1 cup sugar; beat until very soft and creamy.  Add lemon peel, lemon juice and ricotta cheese; mix thoroughly.  Add eggs one at a time, beating just until combined and scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Pour into crust-lined pan.

Bake at 325F for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until sides of cheesecake are set and puffed, but center still moves slightly when pan is tapped. Turn off oven, open door slightly and let cool down for 30 minutes.  Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours (if wanted to serve same day), or overnight before serving.  Run a sharp knife around sides of pan before fully releasing spring.  The parchment paper will allow for easily sliding the cheesecake off the metal pan bottom onto cake platter.

Cheesecake will make 16 servings; decorate with garnish, spacing out fruit used; or add dollop of whipped cream before placing fruit on top.

Mary Cokenour

 

 

 

Good Day Sunshine

“Good day sunshine.

I need to laugh, and when the sun is out.

I've got something I can laugh about.

I feel good, in a special way.

I'm in love and it's a sunny day.”

(Good Day Sunshine – The Beatles)

June, sun is shining and a cool breeze drifts down from the mountains.  Soon the summer solstice will arrive, the longest day of the year, and the official start of the season.  Prediction for June is, “Welcome to the 6^th level of Jumanji”.  Father Time is certainly giving everyone an interesting 2020 year, and personally, I am wondering if Godzilla will be making an appearance in July.

Happily, Roy and I have been, once again, adventuring.  Our latest was following trails off of Lisbon Valley Road, close to the town of La Sal, and discovering long abandoned mining facilities.  Packing a picnic lunch of tuna salad sandwiches, Amish macaroni salad and a sun-shiny dessert, we found a lovely spot, on a ridge, overlooking the valley.  It is the absolute quiet, with the occasional call of a bird, or the whooshing sound of its flapping wings.  Yes, that is how quiet it can be, and it is a wonderful lack of sound.

Taking over 200 photographs, I, of course, have a new goal to research the mining industry of La Sal.  From what I have already read, there were over 19,000 mining claims!  The remains, of the mining facilities, we found have stories to tell, and I intend on sharing them on my travel blog.  Well, depending on how I do on this new level of Jumanji.

Now to that sun-shiny dessert I mentioned, Creamy Lemon Squares.  It is a takeoff on traditional lemon bars, but with a crispy crust and thicker filling.  Besides using lemon juice, I played (did you expect I would not!?!), and used a combination of orange and vanilla to create Creamsicle bars.  Sugar was played with as well as the crust has added sugar, and it was just too sweet for our tastes.  Using graham crackers which are already sweet, the additional sugar, in our opinion, was unnecessary.  However, try this recipe yourself, and see what your taste buds think about it.  The squares cut easily and can be packed up nicely to take on a picnic, or just as a snack when riding out through the countryside.

 Creamy Lemon Squares

(Easy Recipes Blog: http://easyrecipes105.com/creamy-lemon-squares/)

Ingredients:

 

For the Crust

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled, plus more for pan

1-1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

For the Filling

2 large egg yolks

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (3 lemons)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F / 180C degrees.

Brush a square baking dish with melted butter.

Crush graham crackers

Then add in sugar and butter and blend to mix.

Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan.

Bake until lightly browned, 8 to 12 minutes.

Cool crust, 30 minutes.

To Make the Filling

*In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and condensed milk.

*Add lemon juice; whisk until smooth.

*Pour filling into cooled crust; carefully spread to edges.

*Bake until set, about 15 minutes.

*Cool in pan on rack.

PreBaked

After Baking and Cooled

*Chill at least 1 hour before serving.

Serve with whipped cream.

Makes 16 squares.

Creamy Creamsicle Squares (Orange Juice plus Pure Vanilla Extract)

Juice Options: Substitute orange, lime or pineapple; also use fresh juice or concentrated.  Combinations like lemon-lime, use ¼ cup of each juice to create ½ cup combo.  For orange, add 1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract to create old fashioned Creamsicle flavor.  Never use premixed juice from a carton or bottle, it contains water and will ruin the filling.

Garnishes: Powdered sugar and/or add fresh fruit.

Mary Cokenour