The first time I made Tofu Cheesecake, I was trying to create good recipes that were healthy. Having made my own Tofu out of soybeans years before, I knew that it was low in calories and rich in vitamins. So I decided to create a cheesecake with bean curd. At first, my family cringed at the site of eating bean curd as a dessert. I told them that my cheesecake was 1/2 the calories of regular cheesecake and no eggs or additives. Their looks were ones of shock and fear. I tried to tell them it was eatable, but they didn't believe me. So I sadly put it back in the refrigerator, thinking I would be the only one who was going to eat it. The next morning, half of the cheesecake had been mysterious consumed! Darn those kitchen gremlins . . .

1/4 cup Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 Tablespoon Canola Oil
6 Tablespoon Low fat Butter, softened
1 dash Sea Salt
1 Cup Cane Sugar
1 Package Soft Tofu, unflavored
1 Package dry gelatin
8 oz Cream Cheese
Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Prepare Pie crust and set aside. Blend Gelatin,Vanilla, Oil, Butter, and Sugar in Food Processor until smooth. Add Tofu and Cream Cheese and blend well. Should be very smooth. Add Lemon Juice and blend again. Salt to taste. Pour into prepared crust and refrigerate until chilled. Top with fresh fruit such as strawberries or blueberries, Serves 6 people or 2 kitchen gremlins.

2 Cups unsalted Mixed Nuts (Walnuts, Pecans and Cashews)
1 Cup of Raisins
2 Eggs, beaten well
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon of Cane Sugar
1 Pkg of Egg Roll Wrappers (20 wrappers)
3 Cups of Canola Oil (enough to fill frying pan to 1½" deep)

Chop nuts and raisins coursely. Add cinnamon and sugar, and mix well. Beat eggs and add vanilla. Pour egg mixture over nuts and raisin mixture and blend well. Will be sticky and sweet tasting. Put 2 heaping Tablespoons on the corner of 1 Egg Roll Wrapper. Brush opposite corner with water or beaten egg. Wrap mixture tightly and fold ends as you roll. The end will stick to surface. Fry in medium hot oil, turning to insure all sides are golden brown. Drain well and chill over night uncovered overnight. Dust with Powdered Sugar and serve. Serves 8-10 people.

IDEA: Use WonTon wrappers to create smaller versions and serve with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Some morally-conscious people might be compelled say the real word I should use is "stolen" instead of Permanently-Borrowed. But hey, being politically-correct is in. "Stolen" means that the original owner doesn't have something anymore because it was taken, right? I know the orginal owner of this recipe still has this recipe. So, it wasn't actually "stolen." Nope, I am not a lawyer, why do you ask?

3 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Soda
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
2 Teaspoons Ginger
1 Teaspoon Cloves
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
½ Cup Butter, Softened
1 Cup Cane Sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 Cup Dark Molasses
1/3 Cup Boiling Water
1 Cup of Sour Milk (to sour the milk, add 1 Tablespoon of Vinegar or Lemon Juice to a measuring Cup and then fill with Milk upto the 1 Cup line.)

Sift Flour, Soda and spices together and set aside. Cream butter, eggs and sugar. Add molasses and boiling water and blend well. Gradually add liquid to dry mixture, adding Sour Milk 1/4 cup at a time. Pour batter into a 13x9x2" baking dish and back at 350° for 35-40 minutes. Top of cake should spring back upon touching. Cool and serve. Serves 10-12 people.

1 Pkg frozen chopped Broccoli
1/2 Can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 Cup grated Sharp Cheeze
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 Cup mayonnaise
1 Tablspoon Grated Onion
1/2 Cup Buttered Bread Crumbs
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400° Cook broccoli for 5 minutes. Drain well and combine broccoli with soup, cheese, egg, mayonnaise and onion. Season lightly and place in casserole. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 20 minutes. Makes 4 medium-sized servings.

Its a tough recipe but if you do it right, you will win awards like the creator of this recipe did. Make sure your oven has a temperature gauge and its correct. You will also need a good food processor and excellent vanilla - Madagascar is best.

4 8oz packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
2 ½ Cups of White Cane Sugar
3 Beaten Eggs
2 Teaspoons of Vanilla
1 Teaspoon of Almond Extract
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
4 Tablespoons of Melted Butter
1 16oz container of Sour Cream
1 Package of Graham Crackers
1 Package of fresh Strawberries

Prepare Crust. Grease Springfoam cake pan. Crumble 1 package of Graham Crackers into bowl and add ½ Cup of White Sugar, cinnamon. Add melted butter until it forms a semi-moist mixture. Press mixture into prepared pan.

Blend Cream Cheese, 2 cups of Sugar, eggs, Vanilla and Almont Extract in food processor. Not too much as too much are is not good. Add Sour Cream and blend until nicely smooth. Fill crust and bake at 305° for one hour. Turn off oven and open door to let cheesecake cool naturally. When cool and settled, refrigerate overnight.

Slice and serve with fresh sliced strawberries. Serves 8-10 people.

When I was little, it would snow in the wintertime and Mom would make Snow Ice Cream. The snow was real bad that year. School was shut down, and even Dad could not get to work because the roads were impassable. Mom decided to make snow ice cream. She gave me a pot and spoon and told me to go out and fill it with snow. I went out in the front yard and promptly forgot what I was doing and played for at least 10 minutes, before Mom opened the door and called to me.

Suddenly remembering my urgent mission, I scooped up the nearby snow next to the curb into the pot and brought it in. My mom took one look at the snow and dumped it outside. She gave me a new pot and spoon, told me to go out into backyard to get more snow and gave her cardinal rule about snow-gathering. I went out in the backyard, got fresh snow. Handing her the pot and seeing her happy face, I knew I had followed her rule to the letter:

"Always brush away the surface of the snow - and dear, snow is white not yellow."

2 Large pots of pristine, acid-rain-free, WHITE snow.
2 cans of Evaporated Milk
2 Cups of White Cane Sugar
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
1 dash of Salt

Pour Milk, sugar, Vanilla and salt into a very large bowl and blend well. Add snow gradually until the mixture because frozen. Serve immediately or freeze in small containers. Serves 2 tired adults and 3 ravenous children for two days.

This is a great simple toffee-like candy I created based on a co-worker's old family recipe. It is very quick to make and a real crowd pleaser!

1 Cup Salted Butter (NO substitutes)
1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed
2 Teaspoons Madagascar Vanilla (or regular Vanilla)
1 pinch of ground Cloves
16 ounces+ of Milk Chocolate Morsels
40 Saltine Crackers (about)
Powdered sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Candy Base: Line a cookie tray (18x12 or larger) with foil, and arrange saltines in rows, filling tray.

Caramel: Melt butter and brown sugar in sauce pan. Add vanilla and pinch of clove, and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes, stir constantly. Remove from heat, and spread mixture over crackers. Bake 5 minutes at 400 degrees.

Chocolate topping: Remove caramel/crackers from oven and sprinkle 16+ ounces of Milk Chocolate Morsels on top. Cover tray with 2nd cookie tray to trap heat and melt chocolate (2-5 minutes), then spread to cover all crackers.

Cutting: Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Lift cooled cracker candy from tray, remove foil from bottom, and break into small bite-size pieces.

Presentation: let candy sit for 1 hour at room temperature and then sift powdered sugar on top. Goes well with Expresso, Ice cream, milk and fruit. You can use Semi-Sweet Morsels instead, if you like a harder and more bitter chocolate flavor.

Total prep, cooking, and cutting time: 35 minutes. Keeps well in a sealed container, refrigerated, up to 3 weeks, and can also be frozen. Serves 12

When I lived in beautiful Colorado for a few years, I lived just below tree-line, about 3,000 feet ABOVE Denver, about hour south the BergenPark turnoff, just west of the big tree near the buffalo range, not too far outside of Evergreen. (Where?)

Whether you are moving there or just vacationing, if you want to bake cookies or something, you will have to convert your low-altitude recipe if you are above 6,000 feet. I was at 9,000. Now Coloradoans are known for their sense of humor regarding this, so don't expect them to tell you about this conversion until after you make cookies that resemble rocks, AND REMEMBER that the higher you go in altitude, the more modification and that it takes longer to boil water.

To my funny buddies back in Colorado: "Hey...Your battery thawed out yet?"

Decrease Baking Powder 1/4 teaspoon for each teaspoon used
Increase liquid 2-4 Tablespoons
Decrease Sugar 1/4 Cup for each cup used
Increase Temperature by 10-15°