INDULGING LIFE'S 100's POST and PEACH CHEESECAKE

To contact us Click HERE

It's my 100's post and I decided to celebrate it with Peach Cheesecake! Thank you all so much for all support, incouriging comments, and friendship!!!!!


Peach Cheesecake- My 100's Blog Post

PEACH CHEESECAKE(for printable recipe click here)
Ingredients for 1 9’’ sponge cake:½ cup all-purpose flour1 tsp baking powderpinch of salt3 extra large eggs, separated1/3 cup + 2 tbsp sugar3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Directions:Preheat oven to 350*F and butter 9’’ spring form. In a small bowl, mix together flour, salt, and baking powder. Beat egg whites into egg white fluff together with 2 tbsp of sugar. Beat together egg yolks and sugar until white. With hand whisk, mix in flour and melted butter. Gradually add egg whites fluff and spoon batter into baking form. Bake for no more than 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
Ingredients for cheesecake batter:2 cups frozen yellow peaches, thawed2 tbsp sugar (or more, to satisfy your taste)1 tsp lemon juice1 tbsp corn starch2 8oz. packets Neufchatel cheese, softened at room temperature1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk1 tbsp water3 eggs
Directions:In a blender or food processor, combine thawed peaches, sugar, and corn starch. Process until smooth. Pour into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil and stir for 2 minutes. Set aside 2/3 cup of peach sauce and let it cool completely. Cover and refrigerate remaining sauce for serving.

In a bowl, beat Neufchatel cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk. Add lemon juice and water, mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined.Pour half of the Neufchatel cheese mixture over the sponge cake. Drop 1/3 cup of peach sauce by ½ tsp onto the Neufchatel cheese layer. Carefully spoon remaining Neufchatel cheese mixture over sauce. Drop remaining 1/3 cup of peach sauce on the top. With a knife or toothpick swirl peach sauce dropped on the top.


Bake in 300*F preheated oven for 45 – 50 minutes or until center is almost set.Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, take out from the baking pan, and cool for another hour.


Refrigerate over night. Remove side pan and serve with peach sauce.

REFRESHING WHEAT BERRIES SALAD

To contact us Click HERE
Autumn is almost here: days are getting shorter, though still not yet any cooler! Refreshing salad is a great bite any time of the year!


This is a salad that my 7th grade geography teacher once made and I can still remember the explosion of flavors in my mouth when I ate that first bite! It is refreshing, tasty, and filling.


Ingredients:
(for printable recipe click here)2 cups cooked wheat berries½ cup pickles cut into small cubes1 large ripe tomato cut in small cubes½ cup pickled hot banana peppers ¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley½ small onion, finely chopped½ cup pitted black olives cut into circlesjuice of 1 lemon1 tbsp apple cider vinegar2-3 tbsp virgin olive oil½ tsp salt (or to taste)½ tsp black pepper¼ tsp chili powder or crushed chili pepper1 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika¼ tsp cumin
Direction:Into a big enough bowl, put cooked wheat berries, salt, pepper, all spices, lemon juice, vinegar, and oil. Mix to combine and set aside.
Cut all the vegetables and add them to wheat berries mix. Stir to combine and refrigerate for at least ½ an hour before serving.

Knitting?

To contact us Click HERE
Once upon a time, back before there even was an Itsy Bitsy Spider, I was a two-craft kind of girl. Yes, crochet has always been my first love... but on the side, I'm a knitter.

Scandalized? I should say so.

So, every once in a while, I feel the need to drop the hook and get my needles going. The sad part is that I just make the same thing over and over.

Socks.

A new pair of socks for my husband

I don't know why I always return to socks. I don't even have a copy of the pattern I once used anymore. I've made it that many times.

You know what the crazy part is? I don't even like to wear knitted socks. They all go to my husband. And he gladly wears every last zany-colored pair... to work, no less.

It takes all types, right?

So I'm wondering, how many of you are combination knitter-crocheters? Do you have a favorite of the two? And, what's your go-to project when your brain just doesn't want to deal with something new?

Meet "Sasha"

To contact us Click HERE
I made a little cotton puppy to go with my Cute Cotton Kitty, but wouldn't you know someone got to it before I could photograph, pattern, and properly primp it for the viewing public. And then she named it... there's just no taking a toy away from a little girl after it's been named.

Little Miss and "Sasha" watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse together

I guess this one has aldready gotten the kid stamp of approval. More photos coming soon... well, as soon as I have enough time to make another one!

Clem's Little Secret

To contact us Click HERE
Everyone has their dirty little secrets... some are dirtier than others.

Take Clem, for example. It started off with a long summer walk through a dusty Texas town. Clem was hungry. He stopped at a diner. The menu read ham-burger...

Isn't ham supposed to be pork?

One bite and Clem was in love. Two bites and he realized his mistake. Three bites and it was impossible to go back.

Now - when he thinks the rest of the herd isn't looking - Clem sneaks off to that diner. He is oh-so-careful in keeping his little secret... he even makes sure to bring his little bib so that he doesn't dribble on his sweater.

Oh, Clem.

The pattern (called "Clem's Little Secret") is now available for download on Ravelry ($3.00) or you can purchase from my Etsy Shop and have the pattern emailed directly to you for $5.00. As always, the pattern is loaded with step-by-step instructions and photos to help you create Clem, his little bib, and the fateful cheeseburger.

And for those of you who would rather purchase without creating a Ravelry account ($3.00 download), just click the Buy Now below!

Nesting

To contact us Click HERE
So, some of you have seen on facebook that I've been working on some finished plush for a special client. Well, I guess it's about time I fessed up... I'm finally going to do the gallery thing.

I've been contacted by a few in the past, but The Nest in Tremont, OH is somehow different. The owners (Robin and Ben) are genuinely excited about having The Itsy Bitsy Spider in their shop/boutique/coffee-pastry bar and I really felt a good vibe with them. So after a lot of thought, I decided that I'm in!

The Nest is scheduled to open on September 1, 2011 and I'll be one of 30 or so artists helping to kick things off. I don't have a lot of online information right now, but I promise to update everyone with The Nest's links, Facebook, etc. as soon as they become available.

In the mean time, I'm gonna be a little busy stocking up for the grand opening, so please be patient with me!

Getting Ready for the Grand Opening...

To contact us Click HERE

Last night, I swung by The Nest to drop off my first load of goodies for their shop grand opening. I made sure to bring my trusty camera with me so you can have a look at my newest venture!

The paint is barely dry on the walls (co-owner, Ben, told me that he was at the gallery until 1:30 the previous night painting), and the protective papers are still hung over the shop's frint windows. But that didn't stop a steady stream of folks from wandering in during a special pre-opening show...


Even though things are still in a bit of a disarray, many of my creatures had no trouble finding themselves little nooks here and there to look absolutely adorable!

In fact, The Nest is excited to have two of the very first available of my new Cotton Puppy design!


There is still much to be done before September 1, but I think this is going to be a great adventure for me. If you're in the Cleveland area, I hope you'll mark your calendar!