Farmer Boy Recipe - Cherry Almond Cheesecake

To celebrate "National Cheesecake Day" (Mondy 7-30-12), I'm posting here, my recipe for a cheesecake made in an 8 inch springform pan.  You can also make it in a deep dish pie tin, if you don't have the springform pan. *Note: If you use a pie tin, you'll need to press the crust up the sides a bit.

Crust Ingredients:

• 2/3 Cup of graham cracker crumbs (about 14 squares)
• 1/4 Cup of butter, melted
• 1/2 Cup of slivered almonds, broken or ground in a food processor
• 1/4 Cup of sugar

Directions for crust: Mix the crumbs with the butter, sugar and almonds.  Press into the bottom of the springform pan, while it is closed.  Bake in oven at 325 degrees F. for about 10 minutes, to firm up the crust.  Move on to the filling.

Filling Ingredients:

• 2 - 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 Cup of sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 Cup of cherries, (I prefer canned, Dark Cherries, drained - reserve the juice to use on topping)  (you can also use regular pie cherries)

Directions for filling: Whip the cream cheese with an electric mixer, adding in the sugar, till fluffy. Mix in the eggs, till creamy and smooth.  Cut the cherries in half or quarters and stir them into the mixture.
Pour mixture into the pan, on top of the crust.  Increase the heat and bake at 375 degrees F. for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven, but not the pan, to cool for about 10 minutes. Prepare the topping.

Topping Ingredients:

• 1 pint of sour cream
• 5 Tablespoons of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
• 1/3 Cup of Cherries, mixed with 1 Tablespoon of sugar & 1 Tablespoon of reserved, drained cherry juice
• Slivered almonds, for garnish

Directions: Mix thoroughly: the sour cream, sugar and extract in a small bowl.  Pour this over the cheesecake and spread evenly.  Return it to the oven and bake for 5 minutes at 375 degrees F.  While this is baking, mix the cherries, sugar and juice in a small pan and heat over low heat, stirring, to dissolve the sugar.  Remove the pan from the oven and immediately pour the cherries with juice over the top.  Add the garnish of slivered almonds.
Cool the cheesecake in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.  When ready to serve, remove the springform ring.  Cut into wedges & enjoy!

Of course you could make this anytime the urge strikes!  And it could remain frozen in your freezer (if you could resist not eating it all in one sitting!).  But what a great way to celebrate "National Cheesecake Day"!

If you make this recipe, please let us all know, by leaving a comment here.  Thanks.  The Old Man in the Bib Overalls

More drawings available at my shop!

This project has kept me busy!  I have made more sketches of the cast members of "Little House on the Prairie".  And I've made copies of them available for purchase at my shop.  They are all 8 x 10 inches, ready to frame - priced at $4.95 ea. plus tax (while supplies last!)  Sorry, they will not be available for online purchase or mail order.  If you come in to my shop, they will be there waiting for you while supplies last.
Hope to see you soon.

The Old Man in the Bib Overalls

Farmer Boy Recipe - Vanilla Buttermilk Ice Cream

To celebrate today's "National Vanilla Ice Cream Day" I am posting this "Re-do" of my recipe, (in my archives under "Ozarks Blackberry Ice Cream" recipe).  *NOTE: you'll need an ice cream freezer to make this recipe.
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cups of whole milk
• 1 1/2 Cups of buttermilk
• 6 Cups of heavy cream (whipping cream)
• 2 large eggs +
• 1 1/2 Cups of sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons of pure vanilla extract

Directions: Pour the milks into a sauce pan and scald.  Let this cool to room temperature.  Lightly beat the eggs (you may wish to add an extra egg yolk also).  Temper the eggs, by adding a little of the warm milk to them, then add the eggs back into the milk.  Add the sugar and slowly warm the mixture over low heat to dissolve the sugar. (Stir constantly!)  Add the cream and salt.  Simmer for about 2 minutes.  Cool this in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.  Then add this to your ice cream freezer and crank away!  When finished, remove the ice cream to containers and freeze till it is hardened off.  This recipe should make close to a whole gallon.

To celebrate "National Vanilla Ice Cream Day" I served this up my favorite way: topped with peanut butter and chocolate syrup!  Now, all I have to do is keep from eating the whole gallon!

"We eat too much! Everyone says so! But we keep right on eating.  Every good becomes evil when carried to excess." Laura Ingalls Wilder

I hope you'll make this recipe and then share that experience with us here, by making a comment.  Thanks.
And I also hope that you'll become a follower of my blog - go ahead, sign up today, you'll be glad you did!
The Old Man in the Bib Overalls

National Lollipop Day!

Before I opened a candy shop, I didn't know there were such controversies - But it seems there is a question as to what constitutes a "Sucker" as opposed to a "Lollipop"!  Do you know the difference? (If there really is one!)

All I ever knew about "Lollipops" was what I heard in the famous song, sung by cute, little Shirley Temple!

When I looked to the internet to answer that question, I found differing opinions.   One would tell you that both are "suckers".  Yet another would give you their opinion that one is spherical and the other is flat and circular.  While both of these answers are logical, I'm not sure that anyone really knows for certain.  I believe the terms are commonly interchangeable.

But one thing I do know for sure: they are still very popular after all these many decades of production!

In my shop I have some large and some small, and some which are somewhere in between those sizes.  They come in all flavors; from "Wild Cherry", "Root Beer", "Sour Apple", to a mixture called, "Bluberries and Cream"! (only to mention a few!)

When I asked my houseguest, Freda, what she knew about the subject from her 90 years of experience, this is what she related to me:
"When I was but a young girl, we went into town to the local general store.  While the folks did their shopping, I would look around the store at all the different things.  The store owner, a very kind and considerate man, would ask my folks if he could give "the little girl" an "All-Day Sucker".  They would agree that it would be alright to do that."
But, when I asked Freda what that "All-Day Sucker" looked like, she told me that it was a globe-shaped piece of candy, about an inch in diameter, on a stick!  All through her life she thought that was an "All-Day Sucker"!  She was shocked when I described an "All-Day Sucker" as being a flat sucker of considerable size! (at least 3 or 4 inches!)  It seems that the "kind and considerate" store owner had a different definition for "sucker"!  :)

When I was a young fellow, I had someone give me an "All-Day Sucker" that was probably about 6 inches in diameter!  It didn't last all-day - it lasted for days!

Sadly, the popularity of "All-Day Suckers" has dwindled and I don't even carry them in my shop.  And, I'd dare say, that not many even remember them anymore!
At least lollipops are still popular and are made on a large scale, so I can offer those in my shop.

So whatever you call them, I hope you'll join with me in celebrating "National Lollipop Day"!

I hope you'll stop by Laura's "Sweet Memories" and purchase a sucker or some other of my "Old-Fashioned" candies.  The prices start at 10 cents a piece! So you don't have to buy a whole big bag of candy unless you want to; and even then, you can get a nice variety. (unlike those big bags of candy at the super stores!)

Thanks. The Old Man in the Bib Overalls

A Farewell to DeSmet, SD

On July 17, 1894 Laura, seven year old Rose, and Manly bid a farewell to family and friends in DeSmet and headed for the Land of the Big Red Apple.
They packed their belongings (including a $100 bill, to be used to help purchase land) into the back of the shiny black painted, covered, two seated hack and by 8:40 in the morning they were gone.

You can read the account of their journey in, "On the Way Home".  Rose brings the reader up to speed with painting the picture of the circumstances regarding their move.  Then you can read the words from Laura's own diary, kept on the trip.

A trip from DeSmet to Mansfield, MO today takes about a full day, if you drive through without stopping.  Their trip took a little longer - they arrived on August 30th.

If you'll visit Mansfield today, looking at their "Rocky Ridge Farm" which they purchased with the help of that $100 bill, you may be able to see why they chose to live here.  But it may be difficult for you to see the Mansfield, once called, "The Gem City of the Ozarks".  The town has felt the throws of the economy, as most small towns has of recent.  But, if you'll stop by my shop while in town, I can introduce you to that memory that still lingers.  I try to keep all that nostalgia alive in my shop. 

I invite you to visit with us, in the town where Laura lived for about 63 years.  If you purchase some of my handmade souvenirs, you can bring some of Laura's "Sweet Memories" home with you.  Hope to see you soon!
The Old Man in the Bib Overalls

Something for "Little House on the Prairie TV" fans!

I have been busy with my drawing pencils!  It took me a while, but I've come up with some drawings based on the cast members of the "Little House on the Prairie" TV show.

I have copies of my original drawings available at my shop now.  I priced them so that just about anyone can afford them.  They are $4.95 each, plus tax.  If you want, I have a full set of the Ingalls family (Ma, Pa and the girls) all for only $28.75, plus tax.  Each one is 8 X 10 inches, ready to frame.  But, the catch is: you have to come to my shop in Mansfield, MO in order to purchase them!  Sorry, I am not selling these online or by mail order.

Here is a sample of some of them.

I am working on others in the cast and will have a posting on those in the future.
I hope you will stop by and purchase your copies, before they are all gone!  Thanks.
The Old Man in the Bib Overalls

Farmer Boy Recipe - Strawberry Sundae

Today is "National Strawberry Sundae Day"! So I thought I'd share my recipe for making that.  You may use any of your favorite vanilla ice creams to make this or you may wish to look into my blog archives and find the recipe for my ice cream made with buttermilk.

First you'll need to make the topping for the sundae.  It will have to cool before you can put it on the ice cream, or else it would melt the ice cream! 

Farmer Boy Strawberry Topping

Ingredients:

• 4 Cups of fresh strawberries, gently mashed
• 5 Cups of sugar
• Liquid Pectin (using only part of the package)
• 1 Cup of water

Directions: In a sauce pan, heat the water and sugar to boiling, stirring to disolve all the sugar.  Add the pectin (as much as you'd like - this is to thicken the sauce).  Boil for one minute, stirring constantly.  Add the mashed strawberries and turn the heat down to medium low, stirring and simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and cool in the refrigerator. 

Note: you could transfer to canning jars to keep in the refrigerator, if you're not going to use it all at once.  And be advised: this is a very sweet sauce - not for those with diabetes!

Once you have your ice cream dished up, add a few whole strawberries and drizzle the topping over it all.  It's that simple!  The hard part is not eating too much at one sitting!  :)

I hope you'll try this and leave a comment here, to let us all know what you think of it.  It is a great way to celebrate "National Strawberry Sundae Day" or any day!

The Old Man in the Bib Overalls

Farmer Boy Recipe - Homemade Butter Pecan Ice Cream

July is "National Ice Cream Month"!  What better all-American treat to celebrate in the summer?
Here is my recipe:

*Note: this recipe is for use with an Ice Cream Maker & makes about 1 1/2 gallons
Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup of Butter, melted
• 1 1/2 Cups Pecans (separated, chopped)
• 1 Cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup Sweetened, Condensed Milk
• 2 large Eggs
• 4 Cups heavy Cream
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

Directions: Melt about 3 Tablespoons of butter in a small pan or in the microwave.  Add 1 cup of roughly cut Pecans and heat, stirring, till evenly coated. (They will turn darker)  Remove the nuts and drain excess butter onto paper towels and let the nuts cool in the refrigerator.  Go back to the butter (you may need to add a little more butter) and add in 1/2 cup of Pecan halves and repeat the process.  After draining these nuts, combine them with the others and keep them in the refrigerator.
In a sauce pan, combine the sugar, milk, remaining butter - heat over low heat to a simmer, stirring constantly.  Let this mixture cool.  Add about 2 Tablespoons of this to the beaten eggs to temper them.  Then add the eggs to the mixture and whip for about 4 minutes. (You may use an electric mixer with a whip attachment and whip for only about a minute.)  Next, add the cream and salt.  Whip this mixture till it begins to foam.  Add in the vanilla while whipping.  Finally, add in about half of the nuts.  Place this mixture in the refrigerator to cool for about 2 hours. 
Prepare your ice cream maker and add the cooled mixture. Follow the ice cream maker directions. 
(*Note: about half way through the process, add in the rest of the nuts.  I've found that they will spread throughout more evenly, if you do this.  And you may find that some of the mixture, which was sitting in the refrigerator, had separated while cooling.  If this has happened, you can leave it without any problem, or gently stir it before adding it to the ice cream maker.) 
Yield should be about 1 1/2 gallons of luscious Butter Pecan Ice Cream!

This is a great way to celebrate "National Ice Cream Month"!  I hope you'll try out this recipe and then leave a comment here, telling us all about it.  And if ice cream recipes are of interest, I have others in my archives, take a look!  Thanks.  Maybe you'll want to sign up to become a follower of my blog & tell others too!
The Old Man in the Bib Overalls