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Chill out with this easy no-bake cheesecake

Recipe: Fresh strawberry no-bake cheesecake just needs a fridge

Pink strawberry cheesecake on white plate with pink flowers and green leaves
No oven was turned on in the making of this fresh strawberry cheesecake. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)


It was too hot to bake this Mother's Day weekend -- and I needed to make a special dessert.

Newly vaccinated, our family was gathering for the first time in many months. I had all the ingredients for a conventional cheesecake (the original plan) topped with home-grown strawberries.

Instead of turning on the oven, I mixed the strawberries with the cream cheese for a light and delightful no-bake cheesecake.

This recipe was inspired by one featured recently in Relish magazine. (The magazine called it "Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart.")

Made in a springform pan, it looks like a baked cheesecake, but has a fluffier texture -- it has no eggs and only one package of cream cheese. It can also be made in a 9-inch pie pan.

Pile of fresh strawberries on a cutting board
Strawberries have done well this year in the garden.
Fresh strawberry no-bake cheesecake

Makes 1 cheesecake; 8 to 12 servings

Ingredients:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cube (8 ounces) butter or margarine, melted
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and halved, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons sugar
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions:
Grease 8-inch springboard pan or 8- or 9-inch pie pan.

In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press crumb mixture into pan. Put pan in freezer and chill at least 1 hour.

Put strawberries and 2 tablespoons sugar in food processor or blender and puree. Transfer strawberry puree to saucepan and bring boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until strawberry puree reduces by half. Remove from heat and cool.

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla and sugar, then beat until blended. Add cooled strawberry puree. Mix until smooth. Add whipping cream. Beat until soft peaks form.
Cheesecake on angled plate
Place the garnish just before serving.
Remove crust from freezer. Pour strawberry-cream cheese filling into crust. Cover top with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator 5 hours or overnight.

Garnish with fresh berries just before serving.

Serve chilled.

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Strawberries

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Garden checklist for week of May 31

Remember to water early. No more rain is in the immediate forecast.

* It’s not too late to transplant tomatoes, peppers, eggplant or other summer favorites. Make sure they stay hydrated.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.

* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the early hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

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Taste Winter! E-cookbook

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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening

WINTER

Is edible gardening possible indoors?

Hints for choosing tomato seeds

Starting in seed starting

Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees

When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

How to squeeze more food into less space

Potatoes from the garden

Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Win the weed war by tackling them in winter

Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables

Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

Ways to win the fight against weeds

FALL

Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden

Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it

Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air 

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest 

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down? 

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

July 1: How to grow summer salad greens

June 24:  Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

June 17: Help pollinators help your garden

June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests

June 3: Make your own compost

May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?

May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth