The Pig and I

This is kind of a weird thing to say, but I usually can't stand mac'n'cheese. Occasionally I'll like a baked one, if it's lacking bechamel, but otherwise I'm a firm pass on this dish. My kid, however, really seems to like it. For a while, the Pig had gotten really into boxed MNC, and away from homemade of any type. One day, she really wanted MNC, and I was like, "I'm hungry too. If you let me make it homemade, I'll make it." She agreed, so I grabbed a bag of spätzle (b/c lazy) and made kasnocken for her. Since then, she's refused the box stuff. The other day, I didn't really feel like making that, when she asked for MNC, so I made this instead. The principle is basically the same, though. This takes about 20 minutes to make, which makes it perfect for a fast lunch. We split it, and she was happy because, she told me, it's fairly similar to the boxed without being quite the same. Hope you enjoy! 1 8-ounce package pasta (I use...

This is basically like cottage cheese (except strained), and not like ricotta. I like to use it for pizzas, for lasagna, and also for eating (if I remember to salt it. If I don't, I like to cook with it). Hope you enjoy! 1 quart of milk (you can use more and not change the amount of lemon juice, up to around a gallon of milk) 1/4 cup lemon juice (or less for a batch this small - up to you) Heat milk to 185F. Remove from heat and stir in about 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Let sit for a few minutes to separate well into curds (it will look like curdled milk, because that's basically what it is). Line a strainer with cheesecloth then put the strainer over a bowl. Pour the curds and whey into the strainer, then tie the ends of the cheesecloth tightly around the curds. Tie the cheese to the knob of a kitchen cabinet or something similar, with the bowl (you can wash and put away the strainer now) under the cheese to catch the drippings. Come back in the morning and untie the c...

I finally had the baby, so we're leaning strongly toward meals that can be eaten for a few days at a time. I'm giving extra preference to things that can just be made from odds and ends I find in the fridge too, since I'm still working out the logistics of running errands with an infant. After I'd attempted to make some yogurt for Ross, and overheated it, I wound up with some really lovely farmer's cheese. So, I hung it to drain overnight, and salted it in the morning. We decided that lasagna would be the result of this mistake. Adding to that a tomato sauce made from canned products and random veggies in the fridge, this turned out to be significantly more delicious than either Ross or I expected it to be. And because it actually worked out really well, here it is. Hope you enjoy! 1 box no boil lasagna noodles (unless you just like boiling your own) 1 14-ounce can each: crushed tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, diced tomatoes 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce juice of two l...

We go through a pretty shocking amount of yogurt in this house. I eat it sometimes with honey (and occasionally a sprinkle of black pepper), or sometimes with jam. Of course, I also use it for baking and mashed potatoes and lots of other things. We also make a lot of labneh, because Ross will eat about a pound a week of that while he's at work. And since a good quality yogurt (for a pound or so) is around $4, I've tired of spending the money on it and have chosen to just make my yogurt. Consequently, I'm sharing the method I use with you, so you can do this as well if you like. This is more methodology based than recipe based, so just be aware of that since my writing format will be more prose than standard recipe. Hope you enjoy! Making yogurt is pretty easy. It's easier if you use a crock pot, but it's easy even if you use a pot/double boiler. Basically, however much milk you use is how much American-style yogurt you'll get (you have to drain the whey for...

I had a serious hankering for a cheese souffle yesterday (sorry no picture was taken), so I had to make one. Now, I know a lot about eating souffles, but I'd never actually baked one before. I knew they were easy to make, but not exactly how. So I read about 50 recipes and from them I worked out a ratio system, so you never have to worry about "oh, this recipe is for a 2-qt dish and I only have a 1-qt," or whatever. I really do like to put my cooking into math sometimes! This worked out really well for me, and the souffle turned into a beautiful cloud of egg and cheese happiness. We nearly died from ecstasy. I served it with a very simple salad: romaine, cucumber, celery, carrot and grape tomatoes, so we would have some crunchy food to eat with our cheese pillow. For the dressing was a heavily peppered lemon and vegetable oil dressing. So, although I made a four-egg souffle last night, I'm going to give you the "recipe" for a one-egg souffle, and you may sca...

I don't know why I wake up so early sometimes, but I do. And this time I woke up thinking about apples. But what to do with these apples? Crepes seemed like a pleasant way to enjoy them, and to start off our day (interestingly enough, Ross generally eats something for breakfast while I sometimes forget to eat until well into the afternoon). Crepes are so easy, even though it seems like they're not. You just blend some stuff, let it sit, then cook it. No special pans, no nothing. The syrup I already had made, since I enjoy it in my coffee and in my tea (mostly tea, but whatever). So here's a simple, easy breakfast (or dessert; it's an easy dessert too) that's good for enjoying but not bad on your morning routine or time usage. Hope you enjoy! Vanilla-Cardamom Syrup: 1/2 cup each: sugar (vanilla sugar optional), water 5 cardamom pods, smashed enough to open 1/4 vanilla bean, split and scraped Put all ingredients in a saucepan, and simmer for 10-20 minutes. Let...

This is one of my favourite dips. It's very, very easy to make and tastes great. I prefer to eat it at room temperature, but you can eat it cold as well. Generally, I take some pita or other flat bread, get a good glob of this on it, then top it with some sabzi (I use a mix of mint, scallion and parsley, usually) and sometimes with a little chunk of feta as well. It's wonderfully delicious and simple. Hope you enjoy! 1 cup yogurt (I either use Greek or Arabic yogurt, depending on where I was shopping that week) 1 large shallot, minced finely (you may use more if you're into heavy shallot flavour) 2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional) salt and pepper to taste Mix together and let sit at least one hour so the flavours can meld. Serves 2-8. I still can't find my camera, as an aside. It's somewhere in my car, and hopefully sometime soon I'll figure out exactly where.