by Linda on February 5, 2011
Brydie over at cityhippyfarmgirl posted a post just recently about chevre, or goat’s cheese. Serendipitously, I’d just finished making some – purely by accident – my sister in law had left a litre of goat’s milk in my fridge after a visit and it was in danger of being wasted. Super simple, and very yummy on sourdough with tomato and black pepper.
The Recipe:
Heat the goat’s milk until it just starts to froth, then turn it off and put the pot in a sink of cold water for a few minutes to cool back down to a temperature where you can comfortably hold your little finger in it, but only just.
Whisk in a good spoonful of plain yoghurt. I used lowfat cow’s milk yoghurt just because that was what I had. Pour into a clean glass jar with a lid.
Keep the mixture warm for about 8 hours. There are many ways to do this – put the jar on the dashboard of a car parked in the sun or in the warming oven in a wood stove or on top of the hot water system, or (my preferred method), put the jar in a wide mouthed thermos and fill around it with boiling water, wrap the lot in a towel and leave overnight.
The result should be a thick yoghurt.
Line a strainer with a loose-weave cloth like cheesecloth (where the name came from!) and put a bowl under it. Pour the yoghurt into the strainer. If it is cool you can just leave it out to drain, but in warm summer weather best to put the lot in the fridge to allow it to drain. You will be left with thick, creamy, spreadable curds. I like to add a little salt at this stage. You could also add herbs if you like. If you would like it even thicker, to the point of crumbly, put a saucer on top, weigh it down, and allow it to continue draining.
A litre of milk yielded me this nice little pot of ricotta-style cheese, about 200 grams I guess, though I’d eaten it before I thought to weigh it!
by Linda on November 15, 2010
Our blueberry bushes are bearing and the farm up the road is selling bags of blueberry seconds so this is the second in the Muesli Bar Challenge series featuring blueberries. Last week’s muffins are a hard act to follow. This recipe is just as healthy, low in fat and sugar and featuring ricotta, yoghurt, eggs and wholemeal flour along with the blueberries. It takes a little longer to make but still within the Challenge rules of being easy enough for busy parents or kids themselves to make.
The Recipe:
This recipe makes lots – around 20 squares, depending on how small you slice them. I have a shallow baking tray 33 cm by 23 cm which is perfect for it.
Before you start, turn your oven on to heat up and grease the baking tray with butter.
The Crust:
In the food processor, mix together
- 2 cups wholemeal plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 good dessertspoons of brown sugar
Add 3 good dessertspoons of butter and continue processing for a minute until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Reserve 2/3 of a cup of crust mix, and press the rest into the base of your baking tray. Press down hard.
Pop it into the oven to bake for 15 minutes, while you make the filling.
Filling:
You don’t need to wash the food processor.
Blend together:
- 250 gm ricotta
- 100 gm low fat plain yoghurt
- 3 dessertspoons of brown sugar
- Juice and zest of a large lemon
- 3 large eggs (or 4 small)
Assembling:
Pour the filling over the crust. Sprinkle in 2 cups of blueberries. They should be almost but not quite covered by filling.
Sprinkle the reserved 2/3 cup of crust over the top.
Bake in a medium oven for another 35 to 40 minutes until set. It will firm up a little more as it cools.
Cool in the tray, then slice up and remove with a cake slice.
by Linda on September 20, 2010
My strawberry patch is laden at the moment, but despite the netting many of the berries are pecked. It’s pretty hard to beat a strawberry just as is, but they don’t travel that well in a lunch box, and this recipe is a good way to use the less than perfect ones. Strawberries are one of the best sources of folate which is important for cell division, so growing kids know what’s good for them!
This recipe also has decent levels of protein and calcium in the cottage cheese and yoghurt, and of course eggs are a super-food rich in a whole range of nutrients.
If you liked the Passionfruit Cheesecake Slice back in Term One, this is the same concept.
This is the last Muesli Bar Challenge recipe for Term 3 – recipes for lunch box baking based on in-season fresh ingredients that are healthy (low in sugar and saturated fat, low GI, wholegrain), easy, and that my school age reviewers rate as preferable to the overpackaged junk food marketed as lunch box food.
The Recipe
For this recipe you need a shallow cake pan that is 21 cm diameter, or (preferably) a similar area in a square or rectangular shape, eg 18.5 cm square, or 14cm by 25 cm rectangle. Grease it with butter and line with greaseproof paper.
The base:
In the food processor, blend together:
- 60 gm of butter,
- 1 ½ dessertspoons of brown sugar,
- ½ cup wholemeal SR flour and
- ½ cup shredded coconut.
Press into the base of a pan so that it is about 1 cm thick.
The filling:
Rinse out the food processor, and blend together:
- A scant ½ cup low fat cottage cheese or ricotta
- A scant ½ cup low fat plain yoghurt
- 2 eggs
- 1 good dessertspoon cornflour (or cornstarch in US)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1½ dessertspoons brown sugar.
- 200 grams of ripe strawberries.
Pour the filling over the base and bake in a moderate over for about 45 minutes until set. It will firm up a little more as it cools. Cool before cutting into 8 squares.