Monday, February 19, 2007, 21:32
Can't Believe It
I can't believe it. I have had to look at the thermometer several times to make sure I wasn't seeing things.
It is 37 degrees on Monday afternoon.
37 degrees!
If I have trouble believing the thermometer, though, all I have to do is look down in the horse pasture. Isabelle has spent a fair amount of time today sprawled out in the sun, enjoying the warmth. Isabelle likes to take naps, but when it is below zero or only in the single digits or teens, she does not lie down during the day.
I don't blame her. I wouldn't want to lie down on the ground when it is below zero, either.
I also only need to look at the porch to know that it is warmer outside. The little bit of snow we have gotten in the past few weeks was packed down tight from people and dogs and cats walking on it. But it is warm enough now for the snow to be melted to slush so that I have been able to push it off the porch with the snow shovel.
I haven't used the snow shovel for much else this winter, so at least it's been a little useful. (I'd better be careful what I say. March can be a big snow month, and I might end up using that shovel yet. . .)
The snow is melting off the roof, too, and dripping by the back door. When I go outside, I have to dodge water dripping from the roof, otherwise I end up with a wet head.
The downstairs kitties who like to go outside have not been enjoying going outside much lately. But this afternoon, my little black kitty cat, Juliette, has been curled up by the lilacs in the sun where the ground is bare, enjoying herself immensely.
My red tom, Gilligan, and his fluffy red and white sister, MaryAnne, have been down in the barn today, too. They were born in the barn, and they like to visit the barn. They also like to terrorize the barn kitties. The weather is so nice today that the barn kitties have been out and about, so it hasn't been a problem.
The weather forecast says it is supposed to stay warm like this all week. We'd all better enjoy it. Around here, you never know when the bottom might drop out of the temperature again. I've seen 20 below zero windchills in April. . .
LeAnn R. Ralph
Monday, February 19, 2007, 03:45
Mmmmm.. .Mmmm. . .Good!
"I knew this was going to happen," I said to Randy as I contemplated the 9 x 13 inch cake pan with only a few crumbs left in the bottom.
"Yeah," Randy said, "it was pretty popular. I think everybody had a piece."
"Well," I said, "I *was* hoping there'd be a couple of pieces left for you to take to work to eat with your lunch!"
Earlier this week, as I looked through my recipes to find one that I had not put up on my Rural Route 2 website, I came across my recipe for Cheesecake Parfait. The recipe was included in Rural Route 2 News a while back, but for whatever reason, I had not yet put it up on the website.
And once I saw the recipe again, I couldn't get it out of my mind. So I decided I ought to make a pan to take for coffee after church. We go to a tiny country church, the same church that was started nearly a hundred years ago by my great-grandparents and grandparents and their neighbors. My grandmother and my great-aunt are in the old black and white picture of the early church women.
Nowadays, we are lucky if we get 20 or 25 people in church on a Sunday. But after every service, we serve coffee and goodies. We don't have a schedule for who is supposed to bring cake or bars or other tasty treats. People bring something if they want to, and usually we end up with a wide variety of sweets.
The Cheesecake Parfait, as I am fond of describing it, is not "heart healthy or any kind of healthy but it is Died-and-Gone-to-Heaven-Good."
I baked the crust Saturday evening, and then early Sunday morning, I whipped up the other three layers and put the dessert together. Then I set the pan out in my truck so it could chill while we were feeding the horses and taking care of the dogs and getting ready for church.
After all, it was only 4 degrees above zero Sunday morning, so outside was the logical place to let the dessert chill.
On any given Sunday, we usually have 10 or 15 people who stay for coffee. Some of our members are elderly widows and widowers who live alone, so I think it's especially important for us to have coffee so they get a chance to socialize.
When I took the cover off the pan after church Sunday morning, a couple of people were waiting by the counter in the church kitchen.
"Oh, that looks good!" said one.
"My yes, doesn't it," said another.
"Count me in for a piece," said the third.
I cut the first piece, and then I handed the knife to one of the other ladies.
"I have to go upstairs and teach Sunday School now," I said.
Sunday morning I had one little girl for Sunday School. Sometimes I have as many as six, but I figure if it's one child or a hundred, it's all just as important.
A half hour later when Sunday School was finished (my students are three-year-olds, so thirty minutes is about the limit), I came back downstairs -- and was greeted by an empty Cheesecake Parfait pan.
"We saved a piece for you," one of the ladies said, producing a paper plate with a small piece of Cheesecake Parfait.
I looked around the church basement at the people still sitting by the tables, laughing and chatting over their coffee.
"Must have been a hungry bunch this morning," I said.
"They were," one of the ladies agreed. "We started out with two dozen glazed donuts and there's only three left!"
The group had gone through a pile of cookies, as well, not to mention a few other goodies.
"Well, so much for that," I said to Randy as I set the pan on the counter after we arrived home.
I was still having trouble reconciling myself to the fact that a pan which had been full to within a half inch of the top an hour ago now only had a few crumbs in the bottom.
"Sure was good," Randy said.
"I'll have to make it again sometime in the not-too-distant future," I said.
The next time, though, I am going to be ready for them.
I will make two pans.
And I'm going to leave one pan at home.
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Here's the recipe for Cheesecake Parfait if anyone is interested. . .
This recipe is not especially heart-healthy -- or any kind of healthy. But, if you are looking for a sumptuous dessert (maybe to serve for a special occasion) that is "Died and Gone to Heaven" good, this is it.
Low-Fat Alternative: you can make a low-fat version of this recipe using low-fat cream cheese, low-fat topping, and use skim milk with the instant pudding.
Bottom layer:
2 sticks butter
3 cups flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
Mix the butter, flour and walnuts as you would for pie crust, pat into a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.
Second layer:
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese (softened)
2 cups of powdered sugar
2 cups of Cool Whip (or another similar topping)
Measure into a mixing bowl and whip at high speed until smooth. Spread over the first layer.
Third layer:
2 3-ounce packages of instant pudding (any flavor -- chocolate, lemon, butterscotch, vanilla, pistachio -- whatever you like)
3 cups of milk
Pour instant pudding into a mixing bowl, add the milk, and whip at high speed for several minutes until thick. Spread over the cream cheese layer.
Fourth layer:
Spread on enough Cool Whip (or another topping) to cover the pudding. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and coconut.
Chill the dessert in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.
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Winifred continues to improve very, very slowly. I am giving her pain medication every couple of days. She is still not eating much, but she is eating more than she did for a while there. She is finished with the antibiotic now, and I am hoping the cut in her mouth is healed enough so that she doesn't need more antibiotic.
LeAnn R. Ralph