Making Do

 

 

No-Bake Cheesecake

 

This past week this recipe was shared on social media.

Once I had seen the picture and read the recipe,

I could not get it out of my mind.

I was pretty sure that we needed to try it ourselves.

 

I started making the crust, which called for Nilla Wafers.

My box of cookies did not yield enough for the recipe so I

threw some graham crackers, and then some animal cookies

into the food processor.  Tiana had wondered what I would have done if

we didn't have animal cookies.  I told her that I would have used some kind of cereal.

By then, I had produced an overabundance of crumbs so with the addition of more butter

 I was able to make two pie crusts. 

 

I set out to mix the no-bake cheesecake filling.

I did not have enough cool whip and when

I searched online for a substitute I mostly found that cool whip was

an inferior form of whipped cream.  I would have been happy to whip cream if I had

actually had some in my 'fridge.

Instead, I had to wait until I could go to town and could buy some.

 

The filling was not changed too much except I put in 2 cups

of powdered sugar instead of 1.

With that all whipped up, I poured most of it into my larger pie crust. 

I added some sour cream to the rest of the filling and put that

in the smaller crumb crust.

With a few tastes here and there, I decided I really liked

the sour cream enhanced filling better than the original filling.

 

Both pies were then topped with one can of cherry pie filling.

The smaller pie got the bad end of the deal and did not

end up with as many cherries as it should have.

We then had one pie as a treat for ourselves and another one

to take to potluck on Sunday.

 

I wanted to tell my friend who had posted the recipe how yummy

the pie was but I decided I had changed so many things that it wasn't quite the

same any more and only resembled the original.

 

While semi following this recipe I had to wonder how I had arrived at this point.

In the distant past, I was one who always very carefully followed recipes

yet I admired people who cooked by throwing things together.

That's what my grandma and my mom were good at:

opening the 'fridge and throwing together a meal

or starting a recipe and modifying it to fit their available ingredients.

 

Somehow, through all my years in the kitchen, I have found

that I have become more resourceful and adventurous.

Of course, there are always those experiments that don't turn out too well

but overall my family is well fed and happy.

And I am especially happy to be relieve from the restriction of having

to run to the store for little items while something that might

do just as well is sitting in my cupboard or freezer.

 

*******************

 

Rudy loves to cook outside and more often than not

his camp stove is set up on our deck.

He usually has a bevy of feline admirers who appreciate the smell

of his cooking.

 

Due to Bethany's cold this week, we had to cancel supper company one night.

Rudy was most disappointed because he was looking forward to cooking for them.

I am sorry, but I just can't relate.

My cooking is done out of necessity not out of enjoying the process.

 

 ***********************

Tiana, singing along with a hymn:

"All other ground is stinking sand."