Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Cheesy

At the ripe old age of 7 and 3/4, Matthew is reading a lot. He reads everything from signs to encyclopedias and everything in between.
And on a trip to the bookstore we discovered the Geronimo Stilton books. They are actually a little below Matt's reading level, but he loves them, and they are long, and the combo of pictures and stories and jokes has him laughing and giggling well past his bedtime. In fact, we've often seen him put down his DS in favour of reading, and I love this.
So, when he asked me this week if we could try out a recipe in his book, I was intrigued.
And, since Geronimo Stilton is a mouse (or a rat, I dunno) cheesecake makes sense. Cheesecake, though, is not something I've ever really made, with the exception of "fake" cheesecake Mike and I once attempted years ago with very little success. So, we had to start from scratch buying ingredients we don't tend to have on hand (cream cheese, sour cream, graham crackers), not to mention borrowing a spring form pan to put all of this in.
And, it's been a three-day project. Shopping one day. Baking one day. More baking and chocolate melting the third day (tonight). I'm not even sure if my kids will enjoy the cheesecake. And, since i'm trying to avoid this stuff ... it may be a giant sugary treat that sits in our fridge.
But the process has been worth it. Last night I watched as Matt masterminded the baking while Chloe assisted and we did the oven stuff. It was a family affair. And, I think by the time we get to sample this it will be well worth it.
But, more important than the cake is seeing the joy and pleasure my monkeys had doing something pretty much all by themselves. No fighting. As Chloe said "this is called teamwork, Mama!" Yes, love. Teamwork. With cheesecake at the end.
Life should always be this sweet.

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