No-Bake Cheesecake

I've been craving cheesecake for a few weeks now. So much so that the last several times I've been grocery shopping I have perused the bakery case looking for an individual slice. I'm sure I looked like Jaws circling a surf board. Fortunately I did not find any. Imagine my happiness when I defrosted my freezer two days ago and found a block of cream cheese! I've seen simple cheesecake recipes using sugar-free Jello, and honestly, that was my first intention. (Rosalie, I know you'd be happy for me that I didn't have the sf Jello... naughty artificial sweetener...) But darn it, I had none. I did have a box of Knox Gelatine packets, though. While the recipe on the box calls for two packages of cream cheese, I only had the one so had to halve the recipe. I would suggest that you start with less stevia, or xylitol if that's your preference, because you can always add more if desired. I had started with 20 drops of stevia, and while it was sweet, I wanted SWEETER. It turned out fantastic, in my biased opinion.

No-Bake Cheesecake
(adapted from Knox Gelatine package)
1-8 oz pkg cream cheese
30 drops liquid vanilla stevia
1/2 T unflavored gelatine
2 T xylitol
1/2 c boiling water

Beat cream cheese and stevia until smooth. Heat water while placing gelatine and xylitol in a small bowl. Add boiling water to gelatine/xylitol and stir until dissolved. Add gelatine liquid in thirds to cream cheese mixture, thoroughly beating after each addition. Place in fridge for about 30mns, stirring after about 15. Then pour into desired serving dishes or pie plate. I got 4 servings using my muffin silicone cups.

On the garden front... Sadly, I had to pull my radishes. I think I planted the seeds too densely, although I had thinned them out a bit. The ones that were transplanted seem to be okay, none look to be going to seed. I'm letting them go a few more days to see if it made any difference. It's so sad to have used the time and the space and not get any goodies out of it. Darn it. The lettuces are doing great. We've had salad a couple of times and I've been keeping a spinner of clean lettuces in the fridge for adding to sandwiches or topping with tuna or chicken salad for lunches. The cabbages look like they are just starting to form the tiny little tightened leaf balls in their centers - Go cabbage! Peas and beets still have plenty of time to grow. I'm a little concerned with the peas because the tendrils reach out and attach to other vines and tendrils... No matter how much I try to "train" them to attach to the sisal twine.

Healthwise, Ma and Pa appear to be the same. Dad's oncologist has left the hospital and he'll be seeing a new one for his next visit. So far so good. The kids, "A" and "D", are healthy and busy with jobs and summer classes. Just dropped "D" off, as a matter of fact, for the last week of the math/science program. They get to camp for a week at the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I am most grateful that it keeps my son busy so he can't sit around playing video games all day and night.  Ha ha... I'm such an evil mom. If you ask my kids. Oh. And the girls that this boy has been interacting with this summer! What a great confidence booster for him! His dad, "J", calls him a stud-muffin.

Ah, and before I forget... Do you want AWESOME BUNS? Visit Gourmet Girl Cooks (hope she doesn't mind me linking to her) for a recipe for the biscuits I recently made pictured below. Of course, I, like many of you, don't follow recipes always to the T, but that just speaks to how great a recipe is when it allows for some flexibility. I replaced the salt with garlic salt, only had colby-jack cheese instead of sharp cheddar, and used h&h in place of hwc and they still turned out super fantastic! Make these! (Note to self: I'd like to use my smaller scoop next time I make these so that I get more and am eating less at a sitting.)