Eve & Amanda's Rustic Pawpaw Cheesecake

What a weekend it was! Great weather and plenty of delightful activities. There is a lovely bike trail along the Little Miami River and it goes through Milford. We had to work at night on Friday, so we had to whole day free and I went on a nice little bike ride. The Nature Center had a big event Friday called Preparing for Night. There was a bluegrass band and families came to picnic and then visit multiple sites on the trails to learn about different subjects like astronomy, myths & fears, raptors and other nocturnal animals, etc. It was really fun.

This next one isn't for the faint of heart!!!

Right outside our house on Friday, Amanda and I heard a loud screeching noise. We looked high and low for a baby bird or something of the sort, but lo and behold, it was actually a gray tree frog. A gray tree frog in the mouth of a snake!!! Ahhhhhhhh! This poor frog had one leg in and one leg out! I think we startled the snake, and the frog made a jump for it. They both disappeared down the log and their fates are unknown by us to this day...

Amanda and Ric got me some Dandies!! Vegan marshmallows, that is!

We went to the Hofbräuhaus in Newport, KY on Saturday night and Stephanie & Phil met us there. Lots of good German food, a band playing German music with an accordian, and they brew their own beer. Most importantly, they had delicious fried pickles! :) A good time was had by all.




Now the moment you've all been waiting for... Remember all those pawpaws we got last Thursday? Well, we had a brilliant idea! Pawpaw cheesecake. You heard right, and it turned out wonderfully! We made the crust out of crushed-up pawpaw cookies and mixed the pawpaw fruit into the cheesecake mixture. Yum yum yum. We like to call the finished piece "Eve & Amanda's Rustic Pawpaw Cheesecake," perfect for fall!

Exploring nature's bounty

Exploring Nature's Bounty- the fall theme at the Cincinnati Nature Center. And you know what I say. "Don't mind if I do." Especially not when my boss calls Amanda and I as we have almost completed our walk home to tell us to turn around and come back. Why, you may ask? Because he discovered a treasure trove of pawpaws, ripe and ready to go! So explore nature's bounty we will, just as soon as we can find a recipe worthy of such a stash! We were thinking ice cream, pudding, or jam... Updates to come.

Roll on

This week's tasty treat from Amanda's baking class: rolls! Sprinkled with sesame seeds and poppy seeds, they were a delight!

Tonight Amanda, Ric & I went and caught frogs for an upcoming "night" program at CNC. Henceforth Amanda will be known as: Amanda, Frog Catcher Extraordinaire! She is a pro. We snagged a giant bullfrog and a green frog. As a reward for all of our hard work, we had ice cream sandwiches at United Dairy Farmers. You get to choose what kind of cookie and ice cream you want. Brilliant.

Our house is a very very very fine house

My new favorite night is officially Tuesday. Why, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. Amanda made the brilliant decision to sign up for a baking class (held on Tuesday evenings) and I reap all the benefits. Last week she brought home these gourmet chocolate chip cookies. They were amazing! I will be sure to be sitting at the kitchen table tonight, waiting with a knife & fork & glass of milk!

Woowee! Finally got to try that pawpaw! I was worried that I might not like it, but it was delicious. Once it started to give off a delightful aroma, I sliced into it. It looks and feels kind of like a mango, and tastes sweet and slightly like melon, but not really. Very hard to describe. Huge seeds! I also got to try pawpaw cookies a few days later. :) Looking forward to having more of these tasty pawpaw delights in the weeks to come.

Feeding turtles in the pond at the Nature Center! Felt like a kid again. It was awesome.

Aurora came over to our house the other day and made us Rum Runners (did I mention she's also a bartender?)! Jealous?

Went to Timmy's for Labor Day weekend. We went to a place that had a bar in a pool. I'm sure I was sitting in pee water... but it was still fun. Felt like I was at Jersey Shore. Haha.

Putting up some pictures of the house finally. Behold, my room.

Hey look, it's my room some more. (Also note the "secret" door that goes between my room and Amanda's room!)






Yep, it's still my room. In this picture, note my fabulous new-to-me green chair from Goodwill! It smells a little like old people. I love it! I'm actually sitting in it right meow.

Exploring the house, found this sweet snake skin in the cellar. It looks suspiciously placed there, but I'm sure that even if someone did hang it there, they must've found it down there in the first place.

A view of the house from the outside. Isn't it lovely! Those windows right in the front are in Amanda's room. Mine is the one directly to the left! Home sweet home.