breathe and bake.

I really like a good peach, as opposed to.... a not good peach. I have a sixth sense about picking a good fruit. I really like ripened fruit because that's when it tastes the most... fruity. And that's what I want my fruit to taste like. Fruit.

I had 2 ripe peaches, 1 unripe peach, and three very ripe plums. So I made a random crumble. I mixed about 2 or so tablespoons of orange juice with the sliced up fruit (skins still on... cause I'm dangerous like that.... lazy like that). A tablespoon of cornstarch. A couple tablespoons of sugar.

I then mixed 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and 1/2 cup oats. I then cut in 6 tablespoons of butter and spread it over the fruit (which I placed in a 9 inch pie dish). I baked it for about 40 minutes at 375.

I made this last night. Mom, dad, and myself enjoyed a piece. It's gone now.

I tried my first parsnip tonight. And it was from the ground.

.... what I mean is, it was from my neighbors garden (thank you, Candy).

I like putting cold, leftover roasted vegetables on my salads.

Like this one.

That's pretty. Of course, those are no parsnips, my friends.... those are sweet potatoes. And tomatoes. And..... I keep hearing Christmas music and it's throwing me off.

I need to write some more for English. I need to figure out what I'm making for Easter dessert. I need... a bath.

Last night I was a Ninja.

What better to accompany a Ninja than a German Chocolate Cheesecake?

Unfortunately, this ninja failed to take a picture of the whole cheesecake.... and all of it's glory. In fact, that is what remains of the entire thing. I'm lucky to have this.... scratch that. It's being eaten by a family member as I type.

In addition to the cheesecake, I baked some carrot cake cookies, slapped some cream cheese frosting on the bottom and sandwiched another against it.

They were the first to go.

Anyhow, the cheesecake was fairly simple. I never put my cheesecakes in a water bath, however, every cheesecake I have ever baked has had a crack in them. So... lesson to this story... always put your cheesecakes in a water bath if you want them sans crack.

I need to post this recipe for all the world to see, for all the world to bake, for all the world.... to eat.