“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.”
Unknown Quotes
Grilled Cottage Cheese…for LiveSTRONG Day 2008
This is a really healthy & delicious dish marinated in an olive oil dressing, & then grilled to yummy heights…served with a salad on the side. Makes for an appetizing first course, or even for a main course with a soup & freshly baked bread. It’s kid friendly too…& wholesome all the way. The original recipe was possibly with halloumi , a cheese indigenous to Cyprus. I have been making this with cottage cheese for ages & we all love it.
LiveSTRONG Day2008 is on May 13th. My entry is specially put together for a foodie event at Barbara’s blog @ Winos & Foodies. In her words, “Here in the food and wine blogging community we will be supporting LiveSTRONG Daywith our A Taste of Yellow event. Please join me again as we remember those loved ones who are no longer with us, support those still fighting and celebrate with those who have won the fight.”
The orange LiveSTRONG band is one my daughter picked up from the UK a few years ago. Sorry I couldn’t find a yellow LiveSTRONGband Barbara…but the event has been on my mind every single time I see yellow. You have left many a footprint on hearts around the world!! Thanks for the huge effort.
Whisk olive oil + lime juice + zest + honey + salt + pepper. Marinade the cottage cheese slices in this for at least an hour; 2-3 hours would be good.
Gently lift out the the slices of cottage cheese & reserve the marinade. Place the slices on a heated the grill pan, turning once to ensure both sides are done. The honey in the marinade gets a little caramelised adding to the flavour.
Meanwhile, toss the bell peppers & cherry tomatoes into the remaining marinade. Adjust the seasonings & chill.
Make individual platters. Place the grilled cottage cheese slices on a platter, drizzle the salad on top & garnish with fresh basil leaves. Add some corn salad if you like. Alternatively, you can spoon a chilled yogurt salad on the side instead. Serve immediately.
“Cheese – milk’s leap toward immortality.”
Clifton Fadiman
LiveSTRONG…
Many in the food and wine blogging community will be supporting LiveSTRONG Day with the A Taste of Yellow event. Last year 149 bloggers made yellow food to show their support for LiveSTRONG Day 2007 . Some chose to share their own cancer experiences and some told stories of their support for their friends or family experiencing cancer.LiveSTRONG with A Taste Of Yellow has been accepted by the Lance Armstrong Foundation as an official LiveSTRONG Day event on Tuesday May 13.
This is my entry for an extraordinary effort by Barbara…come & show your support too!
“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.” John Gunther
O the perils of months’ coming to an end & blog events piling up sky high. I’m huffing & puffing to catch up…for Mansi @ Fun and Food has chosen “Balanced Breakfast Meals” as this month’s theme for WBB#20.WBB, short for Weekend Breakfast Blogging, was started by Nandita of Saffron Trail almost a year ago with the aim of collecting interesting recipes for a weekend breakfast. Preparing balanced meals is not as difficult as you think. Its just mixing up all the good stuff and packaging in a way that’s visually appealing and good for your body too!
I agree totally…but time, deadlines & camera batteries doing the number are the big issues in my little corner of the world! Mansi says…A balanced and wholesome breakfast is something that combines 2 or more of the food groups below to fulfill nutrition needs.
Fruits or vegetables (dried fruits are fine too)
Grains and Cereals (whole grains, oats, high-fiber foods)
Proteins (eggs/egg whites, peanut butter, beans, nuts, sprouts, protein isolates)
…& her rules are…”Your breakfast should contain at least one item from the above list. But I’m really expecting all you fabulous foodies to come up with entrees that have more than 2 items from the list!” O boy…can’t believe I actually achieved 3!! How wholesome is this – veggies + grains + dairy…BINGO!!!
This is something I put together with bits & stuff that I had in the fridge. Nothing exotic, but quite tasty. It’s grilled toast with olive oil & garlic, topped with tomatoes…& then a burst of colour with bell peppers, crumbled cottage cheese & basil!! Sorry the pictures aren’t good because the battery really misbehaved that particular day & with tummies rumbling I couldn’t do much! But this was yummy stuff!! Would have been better if I had laid my hands on some GREAT garlic flavoured olive oil at Amy’s @ FamiliaBencomo. Check that out guys & you’ll be sold on it!!
Ingredients:
Multi grain bread – 4 slices (I keep mine in the freezer for this toast) Tomatoes – 1-2 / sliced Juliennes of red, yellow & green bell peppers – of 1/4 pepper each Olive oil – 1-2 tsps Garlic pods – 1-2 Cottage cheese – roughly crumbled – 100 gms Handful of fresh basil leaves Salt & freshly ground pepper
Method:
Put on the grill ( I have a small front opening toaster for this); otherwise preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Halve a pod of garlic lengthwise & rub all over the frozen bread. Its a lovely way of adding flavour.
Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the bread; top with sliced tomatoes; season with salt & pepper.
Add the crumbled cheese & juliennes & grill for a couple of minutes till the base is crisp. keep an eye out so you don’t burn the toast.
Once done, give it another dash of freshly ground pepper, top with basil leaves & ENJOY!!!
“If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony.”
Fernand Point
Getting into the FALAFEL of things…
Quite a few blogs are buzzing with Middle Eastern food these days & I’m trying hard to catch up. By the time I get to making falafel & pita bread after getting pockets-full of inspiration from Val @ More Than Burnt Toast, she’s already hitting a new trail…’Zataar‘! O Boy… so much to do as usual, & so little time! I must admit I’ve been living under a rock. For some insane reason, each time I heard of falafel I assumed it was a sort of bread. Having had donna kebabs several times in the UK & in Canada, it never crossed my mind that there might be a vegetarian option. I always associated the Middle East with kebabs served on a bed of rice or in pita pockets!!! Can you imagine my surprise when I read at Val’s that it was chickpeas they were talking about! How embarrassing… After reading such rave reviews, I set off to try making falafel…albeit skeptically! With recipes galore, tossed a coin between cooked or uncooked chick-peas…uncooked was the call! Very simple & straightforward recipe, must admit I was sure it would fall to pieces in hot oil! Lo & behold…perfect falafel balls! Even better was the taste…crisp from the outside; bursting with flavour within & a great veggie option! YUM…the recipe for falafel came from Epicurious.
Pita bread is another story altogether, associated in my past with beastly yeastly tales. But thanks to the Daring Bakers daring french loaf challenge & the success with Susan @ Food Blogga’s pizza dough, rising with the yeast is now the norm, rather than an exception! No problem at all…sailed through the recipe! Got the recipe from Kamini’s @ Bubbling Cauldronthat took me to Jai & Bee’s @ Jugalbandi…NO FAIL pita recipe, with a 70% puff rate as they said! Mine behaved very well for a change…must have been the new electric tandoor my parents gifted us on our anniversary! It’s an interesting little box which goes up to sudden high temperatures & cooks 2-3 pitas at a time in a matter of 4-5 minutes! COOL!!
I made the cardinal error of trying to do too many new things on one single day & almost died of tension! I was sure the falafel would fail-a-fail me; the pitas would be pocketless & the meal a disaster. The verdict was a great THUMBS UP! The high point being that the son who dislikes lentils of any sort, took to the falafel beautifully. He ate a few as a snack, & for dinner had some more in his pita pocket! The only thing I didn’t achieve was the tahini sauce because I ran out of time & energy! I did however serve them with a coriander yogurt sauce from 28 Cooks blogspot, & my all time favourite yogurt/sour cream dip which is a hit with anything & everything!
This is a post longer than I intended it to be….but, the fact is that the entire meal was a collaboration of sorts. Who ever said ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth“? Amazingly, I put this together with too many cooks, & pulled it off! The chicken kebabs were a Lebanese kabob recipe from no other than my sister, our family’s acclaimed Chicken Queen! Simple & finger-licking good! The salad was a simple one with iceberg lettuce, red,yellow & green bell peppers, spring onions with greens, & tomatoes sans seeds…all tossed together in a light olive oil & lime juice dressing. To recap then:
Lebanese Chicken Kabobs…the Chicken Queen’s adaptation from her new North African and Middle Eastern Cookbook.
Make a marinade out of grated onions, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, red chilipwdr, paprika and a saffron soaked in hot water.
Marinate chicken pieces in this for as long as you like (overnight is fine) and then grill them for approx 30 mins; turning once at about 15-20minutes.
Make sure to put them on a grill tray to drain off excess juices and put something beneath to collect the juices .
Rest the kebabs for 10 minutes & use as fillers with a base of salad. Top with coriander sauce, yogurt sauce, tahini> sauce &/or a hot harissa> sauce if you like!
& MAKE IT COTTAGE-CHEESE NEXT TIME!!
Make a marinade with olive oil, grated garlic, juice of 1 lime, red chili flakes, grill seasoning & salt.
Cut cottage cheese into thin fingers, about 1 1/2 inches long, & toss gently in marinade. Leave for about 30 minutes to whenever you are ready to eat the meal.
Turn the whole thing into a pan, & saute on high heat till dry. That’s option #3 for you!
Layer with a salad, followed by cottage cheese & topped with sauces of your choice.
“Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything.” Anna Quindlen
SMOKED BUTTER PANEER CURRY…‘Paneer-e-Dhungaar’ is what I like to call it!
This recipe is the result of trying to keep the dinner table smiling with eager kids. Here’s a nice change to the regular Indian style cottage cheese/paneer curry. It combines the best of paneer tikka (which has a smoked flavor) & butter paneer.
I made this up one day when the kids were losing interest at the dinner table, and I had paneer on hand which I wanted to add to the menu! The flavour turned out very nice indeed; and the kids enjoyed it a lot. I dare say this would taste just as well with chicken too, but have yet to try it.
Ingredients:
Paneer/cottage cheese – 250gms (NOT CUT INTO PIECES) Piece of coal – 1 small Ghee – few drops Tomotao Puree – 200ml Onion – 1/ chopped fine Capsicum – 1 / chopped fine Green chili – 1-2/to taste (deseed to reduce pungency) Turmeric powder (haldi) – ½ tsp Coriander powder (dhania) – 1tsp Paprika (degi mirch) – ½ tsp (enhances the colour;has mild flavour) Salt to taste Cream – 1-2 tbsps (20-30% fat) Fresh coriander leaves (hara dhania patta) for garnishing
A piece of coal being heated on the flame. Keep the kids FAR away!
Method:
Place the paneer in a big bowl. Keep a lid handy and a weight that you can place on top. A heavy book will do fine!
Heat a piece of coal on the fire till red hot. Place the hot coal in a small cup of foil in the bowl with the paneer, pour on the ghee on, and quickly shut it with the lid so that minimum fumes escape. Place a weight over the lid, and leave unopened for at least 30 minutes. This will help get a deep, intense smoked flavour.
Heat 2 tbsps of oil. Put in chopped onions + capsicum and sauté till onions are pink.
Add the turmeric + coriander + parprika. Saute for half a minute.
Add the tomato puree + salt, mix well, simmer covered for 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, take out the paneer and cut into pieces as desired.
Once the tomato curry leaves oil, add the paneer pieces into the curry, mix gently, add the cream + chopped coriander leaves, simmering for 10-15 minutes, until heated through. Do not put on high heat, otherwise the cream might separate.
Garnish with coriander leaves, and a swirl of cream if desired.
Serve with hot chapattis, parathas, naans or rice.
“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”
Julia Child
My experiment with a cheesecake made from cottage cheese instead of cream cheese. The texture was slightly granular, but the taste was wonderful. Was wiped clean, with the son begging for more!! Didnt decorate it ‘coz was very unsure of the end result.
Ingredients:
Digestive Biscuits – 100gms
Butter – 2 Tbsps (melted)
Cottage cheese – 3 cups (Made mine from 2 ltrs full cream milk)
Eggs – 2
Yoghurt – 1/2 Cup (thick)
Cream – 1/2 Cup (20% fat)
Sugar – 1 Cup
Flour – 3 Tbsps
Lemon juice- 1/4 Cup
Lemon Rind – 1 tsp
Lemon Extract – 1 tsp
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Orange Marmalade – 2 Tbsps
Cornflour – 1 tsp
Water – 2 tbsp
Method:
Grind the digestive biscuits to crumbs. Mix in the melted butter.
Grease the bottom of a round springform cake tin (9″ ).
Make a base with the biscuit mix, pushing down firmly.
Bake in a pre-heated oven for 10mins on 160 Deg C.
Keep aside, and leave the oven on.
Blend the cottage cheese well in the blender till smooth. If you are making the cheese yourself, then its best blended warm.
Add all the remaining ingredients and process till nicely smooth.
At this point, you can take a cupful of the mix and mix in some yellow colour.
Pour the remainder into the cake tin, and drizzle the yellow portion evenly across the tin.
Marble gently with a skewer, keeping away from the base.
Bake at 160deg for approx an hour till set.
Meanwhile, put the marmalade in a pan on the fire, stir till runny.
Mix the cornflour into the water, and pour into pan, mixing constantly.
Pour this over the cheesecake while hot, and spread evenly.
Refrigerate till chilled (best left overnight, but approx 6 hrs work well too)
