Boondock Mysteries

Yesterday evening Pa treated us to a fantastic meal, of round steak, which he had pounded, sprinkled with tenderizer, then marinated for several hours before popping it out on the BBQ. Along with that we had rice and green salad.

After that exremely satisfying meal, we waited a bit before having dessert, which was something I came up with to utilize the yogurt cheese I'd created earlier in the week, as well as a few other ingredients I wanted to use. After dessert, but before I informed the kids of the "mystery" ingredient (they'd tasted the plain yogurt earlier on and declared it "yuck!"), my family chose a name for my creation:

Boondock Bog Puddin'

*Yogurt Cheese, made from 1 quart (give or take 1/4 cup) yogurt
About 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
About 1/2 tsp. raspberry extract
About 2 tsp. sweetener
1 8 oz. tub whipped topping
1 banana
1 (14.6 oz.) can raspberries, drained, reserving a small amount of berries for garnish
Your choice of Vanilla wafers, Angel Food Cake, Pound Cake, etc.
Optional: Salamanders, frogs, and other slimy bog creatures (personally, I don't recommend this option but, Pa thinks it would be entertaining :-) )

*To make the yogurt cheese, place cheesecloth in a colander over a container large enough to hold the colander. Dump approximately 1 quart yogurt in lined colander, cover and let it drain over night.

Melt chocolate chips over low heat. Let it cool a tad bit and add to yogurt cheese, along with raspberry extract and the sweetener. Mix well. Fold in approximately 1/2 (or a little more if you desire, please see note) of the whipped topping. Set aside.

Generously cover the bottom of a good sized serving bowl with broken Vanilla wafers, or pieces of cake . The juice from the berries will find their way to the bottom, so the more generous you are with this layer, the less soggy your finished product will be.

Pour about half the chocolate mixture over the bottom layer, carefully spreading out. Slice banana over top, arranging to pretty much cover. Spread raspberries over banana slices, then top with remaining chocolate mixture. Before serving, spread more whipped topping in center of puddin', then top that with the reserved raspberries.
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Note: If I were to make this again, and I probably will, as it went over really well, I think I would add closer to 2/3s of the whipped topping to the chocolate/yogurt mixture. Also, if I had fresh raspberries I would have used them for the top for a prettier presentation. If I were to use fresh or frozen raspberries within the puddin, I think I would use a bit of raspberry preserves as well, so the bananas would be completely covered.

Note 2: Sorry about the "approximate" amounts. I've got this really horrible habit of just grabbing and dumping! ;-)
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Just as we were finishing up our dessert the kids asked, "What's that noise?" Neither Pa or I heard anything, so they tried to describe it. Still didn't hear anything. I walked into the front room and then I heard it. I followed the mysterious noise and found myself gazing into the corner where the kids keep their school books. It was an odd noise.It sounded a bit like a small motor whirring, but missing some beats, and it seemed as though it was coming from Nathan's Binder. I looked a bit closer and determined it was coming from a small jar tucked in with their books.

At that point Lindsay came rushing over and grabbed the jar. We were all amazed to discover the jar, which contained a cocoon we had given up on quite some time ago, had indeed finished it's life cycle, and there, fluttering away in the jar was yet another "beautiful" moth!

Lindsay took the moth outside, and after it had stretched it's wings a bit he flew off, with Adventure Cat, eyes wide, chasing and jumping after it, until it disappeared, far beyond her desperate reach, in the trees.

A Classical Anniversary

Today, Pa and I are celebrating our Anniversary. We were surprised to learn we share our Anniversary date with Mozart! How cool is that??