Christina's Lemony Cheescake

 
This recipe is from Christina, an Irish lass, some say she used to be a mermaid, she has an awesome sweet tooth, who one day took over our kitchen and created this springtime cheesecake to the delight of the first 8 people who walked across it's path after it was finished.

Christina's Lemony Cheesecake (serves 8)
 

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 (8 ounce) packages light cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can low-fat sweetened condensed milk
4 egg whites
1 egg
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup flour

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease bottom of spring form pan and sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on bottom of pan. In bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy, then beat in condensed milk until smooth. Add egg whites, egg, lemon juice, and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 50-55 minutes until center is set. Cool and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

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Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

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Alison Swan, Poet

Blue and Green: What it Smells and Sounds Like 

You can see that the sun was shining on my head, hot but not too. Here's what you can't see: the clean coppery aroma* of last summer's leaves, pale brown and beginning to curl up from their flattened spots under the gone snow.

As for the soundtrack, it was peaceful without being silent, another kind of antidote. In the background, like some sort of sonic under-painting, the roar of Lake Michigan's surf penetrated the whole scene even though the freshwater sea itself was hidden behind the hills of wooded dunes that make up the shoreline where I live.

Here's what floated up, in the way of noise, from those hills. Amid the spring dazzle of birdsong were the chamber music-like trills and buzzes of song sparrows, and a pileated woodpecker's drumming and cacophony. Pileateds were the inspiration for Woody the Woodpecker, both his look and his laugh. They're large loud birds, but decidedly less gregarious than the Warner Brothers cartoon character, heard far more often than seen. The haunting, prehistoric chortling of a few sandhill cranes  floated down through the young leaves from far far overhead.

A mile or so in one direction someone ran a leaf blower, a mile or so in another, roofers' nail guns popped again and again as an old cottage got a new roof. And a jon boat motored down the lagoon at the base of the dune on which I happened to be standing photographing the trees. The old lighthouse, accessible best by water, is getting a substantial makeover and the sounds of the project have punctuated these woods since last fall.

It would be too easy to call the sounds of the human-built world intrusions. Instead, call them reminders that I belong to a human community. I'm glad I do and anyway I must. Around here, for the most part, our shelters are modest. In a place people have made their living for centuries without displacing most of the wild things that call this home,  modest shelter seems just about perfect—and, interestingly enough in these crowded times: modern. I'm glad we've left room for these mayapples.

*As far as I can tell there are three nouns in the English language to name something that just generally smells good: fragrance, aroma, and perfume. Couple this with the fact that we're racing headlong into lives that are mostly visual and auditory and I see a great opportunity for writers. We need some new words to help us hang onto olfactory knowledge. Borrowing from other languages would be a good place to start. Ideas? (I've long thought the same thing about love, but that's another post.)

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Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

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Walk on Water, Saugatuck-Michigan

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Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

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800-838-1246
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Massage Package at Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

Melt Your Stress Away
Upon arrival, you'll find a beautiful wine and cheese basket with a bouquet of fresh flowers. During your visit, you'll each experience a soothing massage in a style suited just for you and you'll receive a $30 voucher good toward a romantic dinner at a fine restaurant. Upon your departure (which we're sure you'll want to delay as long as possible before returning to the real world), a gift from us: a compact disc of relaxing music and an illustrated guide to massage. The cost for this R&R is $165 with one massage; $235 with two massages (does not include room).

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Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

Saugatuck/Douglas, Michigan 49406
800-838-1246
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Tranquility Carol's Asparagus Soup

Tranquility Carol's Asparagus Soup

This recipe is from Tranquility Carol, a wispy siren who sings the songs of the deep woods. She brings us this springtime recipe just as the days are warming up. This soup has a wonderful, delicate flavor, and is best made with young asparagus, which are tender and blend well.

Ingredients:

1-pound young asparagus
3 tablespoons butter
6 shallots, sliced
1-tablespoon all-purpose flour
2.5 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1-cup milk
One-half cup light cream
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chervil
Salt and pepper to tast

Instructions:
Cut 1 and half inches off the tops of half the asparagus and set aside for a garnish. 

Slice the remaining asparagus.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan and sauté the sliced shallots until soft.
Add the asparagus and sauté over low heat for 1 minute.
Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the stock and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, slightly cover the pan, and simmer for 15 minutes until asparagus is tender.
Cool slightly and then process in a blender/processor until smooth. Press the pureed asparagus through a sieve into a new saucepan. Add the milk by pouring it though the sieve with the asparagus to extract the maximum amount of asparagus puree.
Melt the remaining butter and sauté the remaining asparagus tips gently until they soften.
Heat the soup gently, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the cream and the asparagus tips, continue to heat gently, serve sprinkled with chopped fresh chervil.

 

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Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

Saugatuck/Douglas, Michigan 49406
800-838-1246
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Mothers Day

Mothers Day!!!!!

Happy Mother's Day! Our gift to you: a fresh bouquet of flowers awaiting your arrival--good on Mother's Day only. (PSST-we need 24-hours advance notice for this freebie.) To book a room or for more info, give call us a call at 800-838-1246.

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Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

Saugatuck/Douglas, Michigan 49406
800-838-1246
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DETROPIA

Join us at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts as they debut the movie DETROPIA.

Detroit's story has encapsulated the iconic narrative of America over the last century— the Great Migration of African Americans escaping Jim Crow; the rise of manufacturing and the middle class; the love affair with automobiles; the flowering of the American dream; and now . . . the collapse of the economy and the fading American mythos. With its vivid, painterly palette and haunting score, DETROPIA sculpts a dreamlike collage of a grand city teetering on the brink of dissolution.

These soulful pragmatists and stalwart philosophers strive to make ends meet and make sense of it all, refusing to abandon hope or resistance. Their grit and pluck embody the spirit of the Motor City as it struggles to survive postindustrial America and begins to envision a radically different future.  

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Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast

Saugatuck/Douglas, Michigan 49406
800-838-1246
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