Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Nice visit with the family - until I got sick!

My parents arrived with the Shallow Sister and the Amazing Master N for lunch Sunday and stayed through Monday morning. We had such a nice visit. It was pretty hot and steamy here, so we huddled in the air conditioning, but I still got to have some good talking time with Sister, and N played with his cousins. And we ate, and ate, and ate some more, and then we ate something else. Fun!

I should have known something wasn't right when I suddenly just felt like I was going to fall over with exhaustion at about 9:30 Sunday evening. Thankfully everybody (except the kids, of course) was ready to go to bed, so we got the kids organized in a tent in the backyard, sorted out the pillows/blankets/bath towels for everybody else, and crashed. And then about 1:00 in the morning I woke up and spent the rest of the night basically on the bathroom floor, not wanting to get too far from a certain bathroom fixture, if you catch my drift. Oh yes. It was one of those deals where you lose 7 pounds of fluid weight in about 5 hours. Fun, fun, fun. Of course I kept thinking, I've GOT to be better! I have house guests! Thankfully Barry took over early Monday morning, telling me to stay put, and got up and he and Miss B made breakfast for everybody. The guests shooed themselves out earlier than planned, not surprisingly; nobody wants to stay in the house with a Flu Person! They headed out after praying over me.

I spent all of Labor Day in bed, feverish and not able to keep anything down, but I'm at about 90% now, feeling pretty decent. Not hungry yet, though. 

And I didn't take any pictures. I just realized that. 

Anyway I wanted to share one recipe I made that was a hit: A Peach Cheesecake. I started with a recipe on Cooks.com, making mine bigger, richer and peachier. As best I can recall, here is my version.

PEACHES 'N CREAM CHEESECAKE  

12 graham crackers (one of those pouches inside the box of graham crackers, I think that's about 12 crackers, right?), crumbled up
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 8-oz. packages Neufchatel cheese, softened
1-1/2 c. blended peach yoghurt
1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. orange juice
2 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. sugar
2 fresh ripe peaches, thinly sliced

Combine cracker crumbs and melted butter. Mix well and press into the bottom and about 1 1/2 inches up the side of a greased 10-inch springform pan (one with removable sides). Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

Meanwhile, combine cream cheese and yoghurt and beat at high speed of mixer for 7 minutes or until very smooth. Gradually add the 1/2 cup sugar while beating constantly. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Pour into the crust and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until firm.  Cool.

To prepare glaze, combine orange juice, cornstarch, and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until the mixture is thick and clear. Cool to room temperature. Arrange sliced peaches on the cheesecake. Pour the cooked glaze over the peaches. Chill several hours before serving.

4 comments:

Ollie said...

That cheesecake sounds amazing! I'm going to have to try that soon. Baking is my one favorite thing to do in the world, and I love new recipes. Thanks for htis one!

Maria Stahl said...

Thanks! I hope you like it. :o) The peaches are finally getting really good in the grocery stores, now: I like the fall peaches best.

Mrs. Mac said...

I haven't got peaches ... but picked a gazillion strawberries at the farm yesterday ... they'd be a good substitute most likely. I really wanted to make a fresh strawberry pie last night ... but the recipe book said it had to chill for 4 hours ... and that would put its prime eating time about 10 PM ... way too late ... maybe early this afternoon I'll try again. Sorry to read that you were green faced AND had company. Good thought that they were able to pray over you. is Mr. Well guy putting in a geo-thermal heat pump for you?

Aaron said...

Apropos of none of the previous comments, I thought you might like to know that M has suddenly decided he wants to take up the violin this year. I signed the permission slip this a.m., and his grandma has entrusted her instrument to him from when she was his age. Not sure it's still playable, but we'll let the teacher make that call.

We knew he was somewhat interested in music, but this was a complete surprise. Nevertheless, he wanted me to tell you.