Memorial Day Weekend and New Flavors

We're having a Yard and Bake Sale this weekend (Sat. - Mon.).  In honor of our veterans, we have 2 new flavors - Red, White and Blue and Sea Salted Caramel.  We have slices ($3) and wholes ($30) - limited quantities so stop by and get one for the weekend.

Over The River And Through The Woods ...

as the song goes - "to grandmother's house we go".  Christmas is the time I think of and cherish for getting together with family and sharing many happy memories.  It is a time of we celebrate a season of love and joy and remembering what we are thankful for as well as looking for "unexpected miracles" - big and small.  May your home be filled with love and joy this Christmas season and carry you into and through the New Year.

There is still time to place an order for Christmas as well as for your New Year's celebrations.  Try something new for this year or go for your old favorite.  Below are some of our featured flavors as well as a very special New flavor:

Sea Salted Caramel Over Maple - NEW and Seasonal

(topped with our homemade caramel sprinkled with sea salt over a

 maple cheesecake made with our own 2013 harvested maple syrup)

Caramel Gingerbread

Chocolate Covered Cherry

Chocolate Decadence

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie

Chocolate Peppermint Twist

Four Temptations

White Chocolate Raspberry

Caramel Gingerbread - $30

Chocolate Covered Cherry - $30

Chocolate Decadence - $30

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie - $30

The Four Temptations - $30

White Chocolate Raspberry- $30

Our phone number has changed so don't be alarmed if you call the old one and get a recorded message. Our new number is 440.858.7581

as well as a new e-mail - simplycheesecakesandmore@gmail.com.

From  our home to yours, may you have a wonderful Christmas and may God bless you in the New Year.

Merry wishes sent your way from Diane and the rest of the Frantz clan

Fall Translates Into Covered Bridge Festival Time

It's hard to believe that we are experiencing the typical signs of Fall - cooler temperatures, our leaves changing to crimson reds, bright yellows and brilliant oranges.  It won't be long before the Fall rains and winds bring the leaves down.  But in the meantime, we are enjoying them while they last.  The girls and I have been out walking daily down our road and through the covered bridge - taking in all that Fall has to offer.  It is our favorite time of the year.

And as Fall will have it, our family has been in discussion as to what we are going to do for this year's Covered Bridge Festival - the weekend of October 12-13.  We are excited to offer two different cheesecake flavors we've not had at the Festival before as well as our mainstay signature flavor.  They are going to be:

Salted Caramel Spiced Pumpkin

South Denmark Bridge Mud

Vanilla Bean

Slices are still $3 a slice and I will have a few whole cheesecakes available also. We will be selling cups of our famous Stuffed Pepper Soup (made with our grass-fed beef and homegrown peppers) - back by popular demand.  As well as adding a few different items to our farm stand - these items will highlight our talents in crocheting, counted cross stitch and quilting - o.k., the talents of the girls and I.  (I haven't gotten Eric or the boys to sit down and do any of that just yet but there is still hope that we might be able to get them to try sometime.)

We will also be set up in our driveway instead of being down by our fence on the Bridge Road.  This just makes it easier on everyone in regards to set-up, re-stocking and safety.

Come on out and see us and enjoy a "Piece of Something Extraordinary".

All proceeds are being placed into a medical savings account for our youngest son, Stuart (age 15).  Once our funding goal has been attained, it will be used to purchase a bed that will support his ever increasing musculoskeletal needs.

Happy Passover and Easter

It’s hard to believe that Passover is only 2 days from today with Easter following close behind on the 31st of March this year—probably because of 6 inches of snow we got yesterday and I see outside my window as I write this article.

We are endeavoring on a new wintertime activity. We’ve been busy tapping our maple trees to gather sap and cooking it down to make our very own maple syrup. It’s been a fun adventure and yet tiring at the same time. But … there is nothing better than the wholesome taste of “real” maple syrup.

So where there is maple syrup, new ideas and a flavor is crafted - Maple Chocolate Bacon Cheesecake. Watch soon for this new flavor to be added to our flavor list. We also have a few other “irons in the fire” or “beaters in the mixer” so to speak —an appetizer list (smaller size). A little glimpse at the new flavors—Spinach Artichoke, Jalapeno Popper, Buffalo Chicken. I hope to have this new line “up and running” within the next month.

As for Passover and Easter cheesecakes, below are the featured flavors:

Seasonal Favorites

Mom's Luscious Lemon - $30

Raspberry Lemonade - $30

Shawn's Key Lime - $30

Very Berry - $30

White Chocolate Raspberry - $30

The Four Temptations - $30

Special Feature



Easter Basket Special - $45.00

Order our Easter Basket Cheesecake to compliment your meal and grace your table. The basket is filled (or as I like to put it "piled high") with scrumptious holiday treats on top of our extraordinary cheesecake.

Not sure which one you would like, order The Four Temptations—one cheesecake with 4 different toppings, sliced into 16 pieces.  Possible flavors—Blackberry, Mom’s Luscious Lemon, White Chocolate Raspberry, Chocolate Caramel.

Thank you for your continued support. May you have a wonderful and grace-filled Holiday.

Love and blessings,

Diane, aka, the "Cheesecake Lady" and The Frantz Family

OUR SEASON OF JOY

The Christmas Season is once again upon us - the stockings are hung, the tree is trimmed and the wonderful smell of cheesecakes baking has already floated through the house while Christmas carols played quietly in the background. O.k., sounds like a Currier and Ives setting but most of it is true for us this year.


Much has happened since last Christmas that we are truly enjoying the peace and serenity of our farm and appreciating the smallest of things in our lives. For the past 9 years at the beginning of Advent, I have prayed for a Christmas miracle - big or small not knowing what will happen but believing for great things to change our lives. One of my constant prayer is for our youngest son, Stuart, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 9 months old and is wheelchair and caregiver dependent. I pray that he will walk and talk like any child his age. But each Christmas has passed without that happening. Disappointed? No, because each Christmas has come and gone with a miracle - answered prayers and sometimes answers to things not prayed for but talked about - God has heard and has answered on His Time.

Last year was no different. We marked Thanksgiving with my family in North Canton and we remembered and shared the many things to be thankful for - family, love, our health, our home, our friends, etc. We then stepped into Advent - me praying for my Christmas miracle, decorating the tree and the house, each night our family reading the Advent story - Jotham's Journey, shopping and spending time together as a family, baking and sewing special gifts for the kids.

But something unexpected happened that changed our world 5 days before Christmas. While I was upstairs sewing, Trevor (age 14) collapsed in our downstairs half bathroom (at about 2:30 pm). I heard intermittent banging and thought the kids were going in and out of the back door and allowing it to slam. I even walked over to the window to see who was doing it. Then Morgan came into my room and asked me about the banging. I told him I thought it was him or the others doing it and he told me no one had gone outside. So I went downstairs looking for the source. We heard the bang and realized it was coming from the bathroom. I knocked without an answer and opened the door. There was Trevor lying in the small space of the floor.

Long story short ... Trevor was non-responsive verbally but conscious. We called 911 and ended up at the local hospital and then later transferred to the Cleveland Clinic. As I have reflected back on Trevor's journey, I am certain of several things - Trevor was my Christmas miracle I had prayed for. Even the staff at the Cleveland Clinic called him their Christmas miracle. I know also that God put key individuals (doctors, nurses, paramedics, technicians, specialists) in place that day which made everything work out for us to see Him.

After 2 different hospital stays (1 week in December and again another week in January), an ER visit on New Year's Eve, numerous ultrasounds and MRI's, 2 different angiograms, blood thinner shots for 6 months afterwards, appointment after appointment over the last year. We remembering that Christmas Eve morning at 7:00 am during doctor's rounds being told (for the second time in our life) that our son had deep brain tissue damage from the clots that let go and had traveled further into his brain. They gave us no conclusion as to why it happened, even to this day.

But I sit here today and write telling you that I know he is our miracle - will always be our miracle. Because when you see him, he talks and plays and interacts like all 15 year-olds do. Eric and I may have had to stand and be told once again that another one of our sons had had some brain damage but we know that we serve a great God who knows our pain and was already working on our behalf to take care of all of us.

So as we reflect on this Advent Season - we are claiming it to be Our Season of Joy. We are joyful for so many things including everyone who has graced our lives with their love and support and prayers. From the bottom of our heart thank you and may your Christmas be blessed and your New Year be truly graced filled.

Love and peace from The Frantz Family

Eric, Diane, Morgan, Trevor, Stuart, Makayla, Katelyn and Lydia



P.S. We are still taking orders for cheesecakes for Christmas and New Year's. They make a wonderful dessert to take to your holiday parties. Not sure which one you want, order The Four Temptations.  One cheesecake with 4 different toppings, sliced in 16 pieces.  Pictured below flavors include Blackberry, Candy Cane Kisses and Chocolate, Chocolate Caramel and Toffee Caramel Crunch.

As I like to say "Throw Out the Fruitcake and Order a Cheesecake".  Below are 2 new flavors as well our favorites for this time of year.

Seasonal Favorites

Mint Truffle

Chocolate Haystack

Caramel Gingerbread

Chocolate Covered Cherry

Stuart's Turtle

Trevor's Buckeye

White Chocolate Raspberry

White Chocolate Raspberry

Mint Truffle



Caramel Gingerbread



Trevor's Buckeye

The Four Temptations

Easter

Happy Passover and Easter to all my friends.  I was busy baking today, filling several orders for this weekend.  Ahhh, to be back in the kitchen making cheesecakes was awesome. It was made even better because of the blue, blue skies and bright sunshine that streamed through my kitchen window all day.  I am truly thankful for this season - a time of renewal and a time of reflection.  May God's blessings shine upon each and everyone of you.  Below are several favorites this time of the year:

White Chocolate Raspberry



Very Berry



Shawn's Key Lime



NY Style with Cherries



Butter Pecan

Chocolate Decadence

**Our prices have increased as of 03/15/2012 due to the rise of our costs. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Our tree is decorated, the stockings are hung and our house is filled with the smells of fresh baked bread and cookies.  We’re creating new and enjoying our old family traditions this year. May you find your home filled with love and laughter. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas.


We're looking forward to baking you a special cheesecake for your Christmas and/or your New Year’s Eve gathering this year.  Don't forget to call and place your order.

Featured Flavors

Caramel Gingerbread

Chocolate Covered Cherry

Chocolate Decadence

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie

Trevor's Buckeye

White Chocolate Raspberry