by Michelle H. (mishnpow)

Often when I am out with my dog, people will stop us to ask what kind of dog she is.  The easy answer is she that she is a mutt.

At this point in the conversation, Dixie’s new friend starts throwing out different breeds; Lab, Greyhound, Weimaraner, Chow, Terrier, and even Pitt Bull.

She has a blue tongue; webbed feet (but no double coat); a lethal tail that some, who’ve been hit by it, argue maybe should have been docked at birth; and she has funky ears that look like they could be from different breeds just when she changes expression.

I have no idea exactly what she is, and haven’t ruled out the possibility of one day doing a DNA test. But I do know her. I know that every person is her new friend, she is great with little kids, and she loves to eat carrots.

I know that she is an excellent catcher and she hates the wind, skateboards, and when people argue. She is a great listener and, if I cry, she is right there.

After knowing all that about Dixie (and much more), I don’t really care how much Lab or Weimaraner she is. I guess there is a lesson to be learned here, one that can translate into human language as well; maybe it’s not what we are, but who we are.

Dizzy the Mutt with the Propeller Butt by Ian Punnett

Rocky & Gawenda: The Story of a Man & His Mutt by Michael Gawenda

The Mutt: A Novel by Macklin Finley

They Call Me Dixie by Captain Richard L. (“Dixie”) Alexander

Don’t Make Me Choose Between You and My Shoes by Dixie Cash

National Cheese Cake Day! 

By Jerelyn H. (I-F-Letty)

Oh yes now here is an obscure observance I can get behind!  Anyone who knows me knows I would rather eat cheese cake that breath.  I have no idea who invented cheese cake but they should be a canonized a Saint!

So let’s see what I have found out about what is affectionately called CHEESE CRACK in my house.   The historical evidence shows that 4000 years ago the ancient Greeks served it to its Olympic athletes at the first games in 776 BC, and it also says that brides and grooms were served it at the wedding feasts.    The writer Athenaeus is credited for writing the first Greek cheesecake recipe in 230 A.D. this is the oldest known surviving Greek recipe! It was also very simple, pound the cheese until it is smooth and pasty,  mix the pounded cheese in a brass pan with honey and spring wheat flour – heat the cheese cake “in one mass” – allow to cool then serve.  Simple

Of course the Romans conquered Greece and with all things the Romans acquired they kept the things that were useful and put aside those that were not. Luckily cheesecake made the cut. (sorry I couldn’t resist.) They modified it of course to including crushed cheese and eggs. These ingredients were baked under a hot brick and it was served warm. The Romans called their cheese cake “libuma” and they served it on special occasions. Marcus Cato, a Roman politician in the first century B.C., is credited as recording the oldest known Roman cheesecake recipe.  As the empire expanded, the cheesecake went along for the ride, to Europe, and Great Britain each culture began experimenting with ways to put their own unique stamp on the cheesecake, using ingredients native to each region. In 1545, the first cookbook was printed. It described the cheesecake as a flour-based sweet food.  In 18th century cheesecake started to look like the cheesecake Americans would recognize. Around this time, Europeans began to use beaten eggs instead of yeast to make their breads and cakes rise. Removing the yeast flavor made cheesecake taste more like a dessert. With immigration to America, cheesecake was on the road again.

Cream Cheese the great American food accident, (well one of them.)  In 1872, a New York dairy farmer attempted to make a French cheese called Neufchatel. Instead, he accidentally discovered a process which resulted in the creation of cream cheese. As the say the rest is history, three years later, cream cheese was packaged in foil and distributed to local stores under the Philadelphia Cream Cheese brand. In 1928 Kraft acquired the brand.

Well now we come down to it, New Yorkers own the cheese cake they claim it as their own and everyone else’s is just a weak imitation. I am not going to get into this, I love them all equally.  But I am a purest, I want the cake only the cake I don’t want chocolate, or raspberries or caramel or cookies and cream don’t come near me with white chocolate cheesecake or you might get hurt. I don’t want short-bread crust if I want a crust at all it has to be graham cracker, if I want a topping it must be strawberry, not that I have anything against raspberry, I just don’t like raspberry anything.  So if you come to my house for my birthday you will get cheesecake, toppings on the side.

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, MD

Strawberries and Blackberry Cheesecake by Leandus Poe

The Cheesecake Bible by George Geary

Olivia’s Cheesecake Chronicles by Olivia De Berardinis

For Love and Cheesecake by Misty Simon

Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke