Labne (Yogurt Cheese)

Cutting back on my budget has, inevitably, meant cutting back on cheese. Cheese really ought to be an expensive product. To get a little perspective on food costs, I'll often think of all of the steps it takes to produce a particular food product. Cheese gets very involved: first feed must be grown to nourish the animals, the animals themselves must be cared for and milked, then that milk is condensed to produce the cheese curds, and finally the cheese has to be carefully aged. It makes sense that such a labor intensive product like cheese should be relatively expensive. But it is lovely isn’t it?

Lately I’ve been making a lot of labne to fill my cheese cravings. I can buy a quart of yogurt for just over three dollars, even though the finished volume will be about half of what you started with-- for a good quality soft cheese, that’s still a steal of a deal. All that is required to make labne is yogurt, a strainer and a piece of clean cloth. (A double layer of cheesecloth would do fine, I have a small square of linen reserved for this purpose.) Simply line your strainer with fabric, pour in your yogurt and let it stand in your refrigerator to strain for 1-2 days. The longer you strain the yogurt the more dense your yogurt cheese will be. I typically let mine sit for 2 days. This leaves you with a soft, spreadable, delicious cheese. Remember, though, that the finished cheese is only going to be as good as the yogurt you buy-- I like yogurts with a distinct lactose tang. You can also make different tasting yogurt cheeses with different yogurts (I’m looking forward to experimenting with goat labne). Labne can be used for either sweet or savory applications, so I’ll post a recipe for each. But I don't want to give the impression that you need to fuss too much to make labne palatable. It is also wonderful served very simply, either dressed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt or drizzled with a little honey.

Seeded Granola

I have done a lot of fussing with granola recipes. I wasn't able to find one that I liked (crunchy, clumps that don't dissolve at the sight of milk, not too sweet). So I was forced to fiddle until I found a method that I liked. The procedure I've arrived at is, admittedly, not the most direct. First the oats and seeds are toasted, then the whole mix is baked a second time at a lower temperature. Yes, it's a little bit fussy, but the end product is well worth the bother. I was inspired to make this particular granola after baking some wonderful seeded German ryes. I thought that the hearty seeds and spices would translate perfectly into granola. The seeds also make this granola a perfect exemplar of a home-made, cost conscious product (nuts are really the only expensive ingredient in granola; seeds are a fraction of the cost). To really save money, look for a store that sells grains and seeds in bulk; they are almost always cheaper. While I have worked out several tasty granola flavors, this is the one that I can eat every day and never get sick of. It tastes like what those packages of whole-grain-oat-honey-seed-nut bread should taste like but never do.

The barley malt in this recipe gives it a hearty, bread-like quality. Look for barley malt on the counters of your health food store near the molasses. I like my granola with fresh fruit, but if you like dried fruit, go ahead and mix it in after the granola has cooled.



4c. oats
4T. butter, melted
1c. wheat germ
1 1/4 c. seeds (any mixture of sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, flax and poppy seeds.)

2/3c. sugar
1/3c. water
1T barley malt
1tsp whole coriander seeds
1/2tsp fennel seeds
zest of 1 orange (or 3/4t. powdered orange peel)

1/2tsp Kosher salt
1/4c. All Purpose Flour
1egg

Yield: 2 quarts

Toast Ingredients: Preheat oven to 350 F. Toss the rolled oats with the melted butter. Spread oats on a sheet tray and bake for 10-12 minutes. On a separate sheet toast sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds for 8-10 minutes. Stir each sheet once to achieve even toasting. Reduce oven heat to 300 F.

Prepare Seasoning and Sugar Solution: Finely grind coriander and fennel in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestel. Bring the sugar, water, spices, orange zest and barley malt just to a boil and turn off the heat. Set aside.

Mix: Place oats, seeds, wheat germ, salt and flour in the processor*. (This recipe will fit into an 11 cup food processor). Process in batches if you have a smaller processor or are making a double batch. Pulse five or six times for a few seconds. Add sugar mixture and egg. Pulse the food processor until the liquid is evenly distributed.

Second Baking: Grab handfuls of the granola, squeezing and breaking the mixture into walnut sized clumps onto your sheet tray. Bake at 300 F for 30 min, stirring once -- the granola might get a slight golden hue, but do not wait for it to turn visibly brown. Let cool. Store in airtight container for up to a month.

*If you don't have a food processor, you can still make this recipe. The clumps will not be quite as solid, but you'll still have a lovely granola. Just stir the sugar mixture and egg into the oats by hand.

Vegetable Broth

A lot of the trimmings from vegetables are removed because they have a different texture. Some of these trimmings are perfectly edible (potato and carrot peels) while others are too fibrous to eat by themselves (leek leaves and parmesan cheese rinds). Either way these scraps can be used to make a wholesome, tasty broth. Broth is made by boiling a base (vegetables, meat or bones) until the essence leaches out into the liquid, leaving only a spent fibrous carcass behind. It is really an ideal use for scraps; the pieces of the vegetable with objectionable texture can still be mined for flavor. I keep a quart sized bag in my freezer and add my vegetable scraps to it until the bag is full. Then it’s time for a new batch of broth.


To make broth:

Collect your broth ingredients: I don’t follow any particular recipe for the amount and types of vegetable scraps, I just use what I have and add other elements if I think that the flavor is lacking in some respect. Generally, I like so see a good mix of root vegetables, herbs or spices and something with a solid, earthy-savory structure (either parmesan cheese rinds or mushroom stems work well for this role). Whatever else I have, I always add in a whole onion and a few garlic cloves. If you don’t have one of these groups, you can improvise and add things to round out the flavor. Use a base of 1 part vegetables to 2 parts water. I typically make two quarts of broth at a time, but you can certainly make larger batches. I do not salt my broth, but prefer to add salt later to suit the dish.

Boil the Broth: Place all of your scraps and your water a large saucepan or stock pot. Cover. Bring to a full boil. Reduce heat and boil until all of the vegetables are limp and beginning to fall apart (about an hour) Strain.

Store: At this point you can either cool and store your stock as-is or further reduce it to concentrate the flavor. I like to reduce the stock and then freeze it in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, the broth cubes can be conveniently stored in a freezer bag, and you can defrost whatever amount you happen to need.


Scraps to Save for Making Broth:

mushroom stems
parmesan cheese rinds
stems of parsley or cilantro, or wilted, sad-looking parsley or cilantro
skins and trimmings from root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, parsnips)
the root end of onions (left over after chopping the rest of the onion)
the tough leaves of leeks
celery leaves and trimmings

Extras (amounts are based on 2qts of broth):

cumin seeds- 1T
coriander seeds- 1T
bay leaves- 3-5
black peppercorns- 2t
onion- 1
whole garlic cloves- 2-4
dried mushrooms- handful

Onion Ends & How to Cut an Onion

While I was writing a recipe for vegetable broth, I realized that it might be helpful to include instructions on cutting an onion. Cutting onions seems to cause a lot of undue strife. It's not just the tears, it's the geometry. The concentric rings don't translate obviously into an even dice. If you cut an onion properly, then you leave the root end in tact (which you use as a handle to hold the rest of the onion while cutting it). Then you have a little end of onion leftover which can be saved with the rest of your veggie trimmings for broth. So without further ado: my treatise on slicing and dicing onions.



-Before you start, it is most important to use a very sharp knife. The tear-inducing chemicals are the product of a reaction that occurs when chemicals from different parts of the cell come into contact with each other. So the more you crush your onion's cells with a dull knife, the more you will be crying.

1. Halve and skin the onion. If you are preparing a lot of onions, then it can be worthwhile to soak them in tepid water for a few minutes. This will make the brittle skin more flexible and easier to peel off. If I'm just cutting one or two onions, I don't bother. Cut the unpeeled onion in half from root to stem. Trim away the top quarter-inch of the onion, and then pull the peel away from the rest of the onion. Trim away the very edge of the onion roots; you only want to get rid of the roots that are holding dirt. Discard skin and root trimmings.

2. Make horizontal cuts. With the palm of your left hand gently pressing down on the onion, make a series of three or four (depending on how big the onion is) evenly spaced horizontal cuts (the cuts should be about 1/4"-3/8" apart). If you are right handed, that means the root end of the onion will be to the left and you will draw your knife from right to left, holding it parallel to the counter. Do not cut all the way through, though. Imagine a line about half an inch up from the root end and do not cut past that line. Keeping the root end in tact is the key to cutting onions efficiently.

3. Make vertical cuts. For these cuts, the stem end of the onion should be facing you. Make a series of (6-7) evenly spaced vertical cuts. Again, leave the root end in tact by starting all of your cuts a half inch away from the root end. Place the knife blade precisely where you want the cut to begin (see illustration) and press straight down.

4. Dice. Hold the onion with your left hand, curling the tips of your fingers in (this technique makes cutting safer -- your knuckles keep the knife edge away from the tips of your fingers.) It is a grip that feels awkward at first, but will actually allow you to cut more quickly once you have mastered it. Starting at the stem end, slice your onion in 1/4"-3/8" slices (this is the exciting part, when all of your diligent skillful cuts reveal a gorgeous dice!). When you get down to the end of your onion, you will be left just holding the last little bit attached to the root end. Toss these onion ends in a freezer bag with the rest of your veggie scraps for making broth.

*If you want slices of onion rather than diced onion, skip steps 2 & 3.

Citrus Peels

Very often I’ll need the juice of half of a lemon for something; the remaining shell need not be neglected. The peel is, in many ways, the most interesting and useful part of a citrus fruit. It contains the fragrant, flammable citrus oil, and a lot of handy pectin to boot. There are a few different uses for citrus peels, and they require different preparation. Lime peels are an exception to a lot of the rules of citrus peels... you can’t dry or candy them (a difference in the chemical composition of their skins makes them turn brown and leathery). You can, however, shave the zest off and save it in the freezer until you have another use for it. I feel compelled to mention that I have read some very alarming reports about pesticides used on citrus fruit trees seeping into the oil of citrus fruits, making the peel of conventionally grown citrus a bit questionable. For whatever its worth, I only use the peels of organic citrus.

To dry citrus peels: Use a vegetable peeler to shave off the outer layer of peel. With a needle and thread string the strips of peel onto a length of string. Hang the string of peels up in a well ventilated area, and the peels will dry in a few days. Dried peels can be stored indefinitely in spice jars. Dried strips of citrus peel can be added to stocks or soups to brighten the flavor, You can also use them to make your own flavored tea. You can turn the dried strips into powder them by whizzing them for a few seconds in an electric coffee grinder. The resulting powder can be added to baked goods or sprinkled on top of a cappuccino.

To save citrus peels for marmalade: If you only need the juice of an orange or lemon, you can use a course grater to remove the zest and some of the peel from the outside of the fruit. Then you can juice the fruit as you normally would. Again, wrap the zest well and freeze it until you have enough to make the preserves of your choice.

To save citrus peels for candying or jams: Scrape away the inside of the fruit so that all you have left is the spongy white peel. Throw it in a bag in the freezer until you have accumulated enough to make a batch of candied peels (I promise to post a recipe once we reach prime citrus fruit season).

Saving Scraps

If you are cutting your vegetables in a very formal, French manner, there is a prescribed, unvarying system. Your cutting station contains three bowls: the first bowl contains the whole, unmanipulated plant matter; the last bowl contains the finished, geometrically cut product; the middle bowl contains everything you have scraped, cut and peeled away in the process. Savvy cooks know that there is a lot of useful stuff that gets thrown in that middle bowl (and usually subsequently into the trash.) Turning those scraps into useful and delicious food is a really easy and rewarding way to stretch your food budget. It certainly gives me the feeling that I have performed some feat of wizardry- making something delightful from nothing. So this is the beginning of what will be an evolving list of useful scraps to save, accompanied with recipes and tips about how best to use them.

Pappa al Pomodoro

It is, I will admit, a little late in the season to feature a tomato and basil dish. Tomatoes are at the end of their harvest, and most of the basil has flowered and taken on the stronger anise notes of maturity. But I was still able to get a pint of beautiful local multicolored cherry tomatoes for a pretty cheap price. So why not cling to those last vestiges of summer produce while they are still available? Beside all of that, I’m nursing a nasty cold right now and I’ve found myself in need of some comfort food. And this dish is comfort food at its best. I had not heard of pappa al pomodoro before I lived in Italy. Even though most Americans have not grown up with this Tuscan classic, after eating a few bites you might feel like you’ve been eating this your whole life. It is one of those gems of northern Italian cuisine: simply prepared, economical and satisfying.

My version uses cherry tomatoes (which are not exactly traditional), but cooking them for a few minutes breaks them down and you are spared the additional tasks of chopping and seeding. I find it is much easier to obtain consistently tasty cherry tomatoes rather than, say, plum tomatoes. If you happen to have other tomatoes on hand, you can certainly use them for this dish. If you are using larger tomatoes and want to be fussy (as I often do), you can scoop out the seeds and coarsely chop the meat of the tomato.



Yield: 2 servings

olive oil
1 large clove of garlic, finely minced
1/2 red onion, diced

A small handful of basil leaves, snipped into strands
2 c. stale bread pieces
2 c. cherry tomatoes
1 1/2c. broth (vegetable or chicken)

1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper
olive oil
parmesan cheese


Cook the Vegetables: Heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, cook for a minute and then add the garlic. Cook until the onions are starting to look translucent. Add the whole tomatoes and chopped basil. Cook for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to break up the tomatoes.

Cook the Bread: Once the tomatoes have broken down, toss in the broth and return the mixture to a boil. Add the bread. Cook, stirring frequently, for another five minutes or so until the bread has broken down and the mixture has thickened.

Season & Serve : Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that the parmesan cheese is also salty). Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh black pepper, a few fresh basil leaves and parmesan cheese shavings. This dish can be eaten hot, tepid or cold.