Farmer cheese recipe

I bought some farmer cheese and nobody wanted to eat it. I wouldn't be me if I didn't have an idea how to use it, though.

Here's what I made with it.
Ingredients:

• about 2 tbs of farmers cheese
• about 1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
• some powdered paprika
• some fresh thyme
• some fresh parsley
• some fresh chives

Then I mixed all the ingredients up and ate this deliciously tasting spread with home baked bread. Yummy!!! :)

This is what my masterpiece looked like:

Photo above: Farmer cheese recipe

I am not the kind of person to follow the recipes. I prefer to invent my own, and they are always different because I like to use things that I grow around the house.

Therefore, thyme, chives and parsley could be replaced with finely chopped onions or scallions and any kind of fresh herb or edible flowers you happen to have at home. Add more of the one you like best and keep playing with colors, textures and tastes.

One last thing. Chew long and well - to get the most benefits out of all of those fresh herbs. You'll feel like you're in heaven... :)

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Homemade cranberry sauce with a twist

recipe: cranberry sauce - _MG_6075
Originally uploaded by sean dreilinger

Even when using recipes - I just have to invent something that's uniquely mine, to adjust ingredients and taste to my preferences.

Here's the story about inventing a different kind of homemade cranberry sauce.

About a year or so ago I found this really great recipe how to cook cranberries into delicious sauce. I used the original recipe a few times and the sauce was great: easy to make and tasty. The only thing I have a problem with is that it calls for a lot of sugar (which I try to eliminate from my diet) and orange juice (which is acidic so it's also on my "stay-away list").

That's why I cooked my newly invented sugar free cranberry sauce by replacing sugar with agave syrup and orange juice with grapefruit juice...

... and my 2008 Thanksgiving cranberry sauce recipe is as follows:

• 12 ounces cranberries
• juice of a medium-sized grapefruit
• approximately 1/2 cup of agave syrup*

Directions:
Cook cranberries in grapefruit juice and agave syrup in a medium size pan over medium heat for about 10 minutes (cranberries need to pop). Remove from heat, place in a bowl and let the sauce cool and thicken.

If you like your cranberry sauce more jellied, mash cooked cranberries with a fork.

* The quantity of agave syrup is approximate because the taste will depend on the size and the sweetness of the grapefruit you use. However, with using agave syrup as a sweetener it's easy to add more, even after the sauce cools down.

And the most important thing about this recipe is that it's good for everyone, does not contain any alcohol or any artificial ingredients.

Enjoy!



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Best pasta with herbs recipe

A couple of days ago I received an email from one of my subscribers. Here's the partial copy:

"... I wonder if you have any nice pasta recipes with different herbs. I own a small shop and have just started selling salads and any variation on what I offer would really be appreciated.

Thanks
Patricia, New Zealand"

I am very grateful to Patricia that she contacted me and I really want to help her. I'm thinking that a shop with a nice selection of pasta dishes might become very popular if she offers some tasty varieties. But I still need your help.

• I'd like to hear from bloggers who had contests on their blogs before - maybe you can share some experiences
  
  
• I'd like to hear from everyone who has a good pasta recipe - just submit it in the "comments" area of this post
  
  
• I'd like to hear from anyone who might be interested in contributing an award for the best recipes (in addition to mine $20 paypal cash to the submitter of the recipe that Patricia herself chooses as her favorite). My idea is to create polls for the following categories: the most yummy (best tasting), simplest, the most unusual etc.

Any thoughts,

ideas,

recipes?

Let's get together, help Patricia and make this world better! :)

Thanks in advance to all who decide to participate in any way!

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Nasturtium blooms in the kitchen

Although nasturtium blooms look like they are made of parchment paper, fragile and delicate, they are surprisingly durable.

Their taste is spicy and that's where their common name comes from: "Nasus Tortus" (sounds like "tortured nose" to me... :) - means convulsed nose, referring to the faces people made when tasting this surprisingly tangy-flavored plant.

Ways to take advantage of Nasturtium's flavor and decorative color:

• as garnishes their blossoms look vibrant and last long
  
  
• whole or chopped blooms look great as decoration in creamy soups, salads, butters, cakes, platters, appetizer etc.
  
  
• blooms added to the spinach salad create quite a dramatic effect
  
  
• nasturtium, added to cheese spreads is a winning combo
  
  
• add them to tea sandwiches
  
  
• an idea for stunning look: open-faced cucumber sandwiches on white bread, decorated with orange nasturtium blossoms and violets
  
  
• recipe for a zesty herbal vinegar: use five blossoms per cup of vinegar, place them in decorative bottle, cover them with hot (not boiling!) white wine vinegar for a day, then strain the spent flowers out and add fresh one as decoration
  
  
• stuffed Nasturtium blooms make a sensational, tasty hors d'ouvere: guacamole, chicken salad, egg salad and seasoned cream cheese mixtures all work well for that purpose - as long as their ingredients are really finely chopped to fit in the tiny throat of the flower
  
  
• for tea-time or snack-time treat wrap blossom around a mixture of raisins, walnuts and orange peel in cream cheese
  
  
• Nasturtium buds and green seeds can be pickled and used in place of capers

Note that nasturtiums will grow in partial shade and produce lush foliage but not too many blooms. In full sun they produce the most blooms and their peppery flavor gets stronger and stronger as the summer sun gets hotter. For a milder taste therefore, choose flowers grown in shade or semi-shade.



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Garlic scape

garlic scape
Originally uploaded by paul goyette

Did you know?

Garlic scapes (like the one on the picture) are the false stems, found on hardneck garlic varieties.

If garlic is growing in your garden, remove them from the mother plant and enjoy their taste in salads, on potatoes, with butter, sour cream and even in a stir fry.






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