Black-Bottom Raspberry Cheesecake

I found this fantastic recipe in Family Circle magazine a few years ago and have since made it 3 different times :) It's always a big hit, and there's seldom a piece left at the end of the day.

Black-Bottom Raspberry Cheesecake

1 box (22 1/2 ounces) brownie mix
1/3 C water
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
6 eggs
1 C chopped walnuts
1 package (10 oz) frozen raspberries, thawed and drained
3/4 C seedless raspberry jam
3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 C granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar
Fresh raspberries, for garnish (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350*. Grease bottom of 10-inch springform pan with removable bottom.
2. In large bowl, combine brownie mix, water, oil and 3 of the eggs. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350* for 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes.
3. In small bowl, combine raspberries and 1/2 C of the jam.
4. In large bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, beat together cream cheese and granulated sugar until smooth. Beat in remaining 3 eggs and vanilla until well blended.
5. Spoon raspberry mixture over brownie in pan. Pour cream cheese mixture on top. Bake at 350* about 55 minutes or until cheesecake is slightly set in center. Remove to wire rack to cool. Refrigerate the cooled cheesecake overnight.
6. To serve, in small saucepan, heat the remaining 1/4 C raspberry jam over low heat. Let cool for 10 minutes. Spoon confectioner's sugar into small seive; sprinkle over each serving of cheesecake. Drizzle top of each serving with melted raspberry jam. Makes 16 servings.

Nutrition Facts per serving: 490 calories, 24 g fat (10 g sat.), 126 mg cholesterol, 286 mg sodium, 63 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 10 g protein.

Corn for Everyone!

The Inspiration

Two Thanksgivings ago, we gathered with my family in Humboldt, Iowa to celebrate. Of course, the plethora of delicious spread usually includes about 3 different vegetables, but this year it was even more wonderful. It included the most phenomenal sweet corn my sister got from her in-laws, straight off the farm, frozen and rejuvenated for Thanksgiving dinner.

We experienced the same delightful treat the year after, when Mark's Aunt Christine brought a large quantity (which all went quickly, by the way) to the Johnson Family Thanksgiving.

For some reason, after almost 4 years of marriage, I decided this year that I wanted to try my hand at canning. I believe it all started with following through with our plan to plant a garden this year at Mark's Mom's house. With cucumbers and tomatoes growing like wildfire, these will be my future victims. But unfortunately, we don't think the corn will make it this year. I was bummed, because one of the things I was most excited about was the delectable freezer corn this winter.

Fortunately, the farmers down in Brewster, Minnesota didn't have bad luck, so I found a large bin of the most delicious sweet corn at our local Sunshine Foods grocery store. I picked about 6 ears one day, just to test it out, and it was scrumptious! So last evening, I went back and picked out 12 more ears. I decided that this morning would be THE morning: This morning would be the morning I set the standard for corn at my house.

Step 1: Shucking the Corn

Well, I started shucking the corn (i.e. removing the husks and silk) and got them all ready to go in a large pot of water when Mark, ever so kindly asked if I'd consider making it the way his Grandma Vi used to, which included removing the kernels from the cob. So Mark called up Grandma Vi to get the recipe (which also resulted in the recipe for pickled beets!), and I got to work on it!

Step 2: De-Kerneling

After I had all the husks removed, I cut all the kernels off the cobs and placed 8 cups of kernels in a large stockpot. (Grandma's recipe actually calls for 16 cups, but we didn't have that much, so we halved the recipe.)

Step 3: Making it Irresistable

This is the best part - second only to the part where you eat it! I added 1/2 C sugar, 1 quart water, and 2 tsp salt to the pot, and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

It's still cooling right now, but once cool, I'll fill some freezer bags with it, getting as much of the air out as I can, and placing it in the freezer for this winter. Well...that is if it makes it to the bags...

Peaches Galore!

The Pies

Last weekend while at the grocery store, I picked up a large box of peaches, since I thought that canning some peaches would be a great idea! I figured I could get a few pies out of the box, and then can the rest! That was on Friday.

This past Wednesday, I was beginning to worry about the peaches going bad, since I hadn't gotten around to actually doing anything with the peaches, so when I had the afternoon off work yesterday (Thursday), I decided I had better get to work!

I started out with the pies, and spent the next hour peeling, pitting and slicing peaches.



After slicing the peaches (6C per pie), I combined them in a bowl with 3/4C sugar, 2Tbsp quick-cooking tapioca, and 1/4 tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg and let them combine for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.



What I failed to mention earlier is that I've begun making my own crusts as well, starting with the boxed mix (for pie #1) and moving onto a TRUE homemade crust (for pie #2). And not only have I gotten pretty decent at making my own crusts, I've also learned the ways of the lattice crust!



I started by putting my pie guard over the top of the finished pie and sticking it in the oven at 375 for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, I took off the pie guard and continued baking for another 25 minutes.

But in the meanwhile....I started work on the pecan glaze to top the first pie. (I ran out of pecans for a glaze on the second pie) This included 3/4 C chopped pecans mixed into a caramelized 2 Tbsp butter and 1/4 C brown sugar in a saucepan, then spread on top of a hot peach pie, and back in the oven for 5 additional minutes.

The finished pie products:



I cannot WAIT to sink my teeth into a piece tonight! :)

The Canning!

After cleaning up a bit from the messy, messy pie preparation, I moved on to canning! I started by filling up 3 large pots of water - 1 to boil, 1 to cool, and 1 with a water/vinegar/salt mixture to dip the peaches in to prevent discoloration.

After the 1st large pot began boiling, I started placing the whole peaches into the pot for 1 minute (which sometimes was a bit longer) to loosen the skins. I then moved the peaches to the cold water and removed the skins. Then, I cut them in half, pitted them, and dipped them in the water/vinegar/salt mixture before putting them in a bowl, awaiting the next step! I did this for the remaining peaches - approximately 25 peaches!

After I finished the first step with all the peaches, I began dicing them boiling them in a saucepan with a 4C peaches to 1/2C sugar ratio. I boiled them for a minute or so before filling the jars with them and placing the lids securely on top.

I then placed the jars into a large stockpot filled with boiling water and boiled them for 20 minutes.



After the 20 minutes was up, I removed the jars from the stockpot and placed them on the counter to cool!

My first experience canning was a good one, but whoa doggies were my feet tired from all the standing! Can't wait to try out my canned peaches this fall and winter :) YUM!!!