Back again.....with 2 'accidental' recipes

Peace be with you,

I hope the recipes I've posted so far have been keeping everyone busy, as I haven't posted any new ones to the group in a long time, due to the fact that  there has just been too much to do lately, and not enough time. (and there are just so many hours a day that I can devote to my 'cyber-reality'! Got to get back to actual reality, now and then!)

However, while I'm here, thought I'd share with you 2 new original recipes, which I discovered in my kitchen, somewhat 'accidentally', and which I am personally pretty excited about.

The first recipe is for 'Yogurt Feta Cheese' 

I've been experimenting with making yogurt cheese, for a few years now, with not very encouraging results, until just recently, and with one quite unexpected result - and that is, a version of yogurt cheese, which resembles feta cheese to a remarkable degree!

Since I am, of course, concerned about the 'halal' status of most cheeses sold on the typical American grocery store shelf, (since many of them are made with rennet, which has been derived from animals, and which has not been prepared in a way that is acceptable to Islamic standards) , I have lately had to take into serious consideration the prospect of making my own cheese. While the standard cheese-making process for most 'hard' cheeses seems a bit intimidating to me, (and I also don't happen to have a cow or goat handy, in my backyard. I would, if I could, but the city won't allow it. Apparently they feel such critters within the city limits pose some kind of 'nuisance' to nearby neighbors??),it was a fairly logical leap to begin exploring the possiblity of making yogurt cheese, since this is one of the easier cheeses to make. (albeit it is a soft cheese, which most resembles cream cheese)  And I always have yogurt around anyhow, due to a chronic case of 'irritable bowel syndrome', (which I've been struggling with, for a couple of decades now, which gets so severe at times, the only thing I can eat, is plain yogurt, with a little bit of honey. Hence, it's become a standard staple in my household), so why not put it to some alternative uses?

The first problem I had with making yogurt cheese, is that I had a culturally-produced aversion to leaving any milk product out at room temperature, for any length of time. Pretty funny, considering most cheeses are made, by doing just that! But, I had my own ideas, so I tried wrapping the yogurt up in a cheesecloth, and hanging it to drain, in the refrigerator! That did not work out so well...Despite wringing and draining the cheesecloth thoroughly and frequently, the most I was able to get out of that 'experiment', was a mushy substance, which was only slightly thicker than the original yogurt, and which did not, by any stretch of the imagination, resemble 'cheese'. Frustrated with the poor results of my first attempt, I didn't attempt to make yogurt cheese again, for a very long time. (at least a year) The recipe I had used, was a middle-eastern recipe, which specified that the yogurt cheese be hung in cheesecloth to drain, for about 24 hours. (it did not however, specify that the yogurt be hung to drain in the refrigerator, which I think is where I messed up, though I can't really prove it) However, when I tried again, about a year later, (this time getting a little braver, and leaving it out of the refrigerator for the entire 24 hours), I still just ended up with a mushy product, which I was not at all satisfied with, so I began to think there really were not any useable recipes around for yogurt cheese...at least not any that were in my possession! Asking around didn't seem to produce any better recipes, so I gave up on it for awhile...

It was about another year before I decided to try it again...(when I get frustrated with something, I often stay that way, for a long time, before I feel like trying again!) But this time I came up with a totally new idea, which I thought was rather brilliant! While laying awake one night, mulling over the problem of how to make a proper yogurt cheese, I decided the secret might be to simply cook it! I got this idea after experimenting with using yogurt in a number of cooked dishes. I noticed, for instance, that when I used yogurt in place of cheese, to make scalloped potatoes, (the idea occurred to me one evening, when I had an unquenchable craving for scalloped potatoes, but was totally out of cheese and money, but did have a lot of yogurt and potatoes on hand) the yogurt curdled up during the cooking process, enough to resemble cheese quite a bit, in both taste and texture. I then decided, since that worked, to use yogurt in place of cheese, for a homemade pizza, with relatively tasty results! (but you'd really have to like yogurt a lot, I think, to consider that one 'tasty')

So, my initial plan was that the next morning I would get up and cook some yogurt in a pot, on low heat, until it curdled, and maybe the resulting product would work as a cheese replacement? However, some time later in the night, just before I was about to drop off to sleep, another wild idea suddenly popped into my head. (I find some of my best ideas often come to me, while in that mysterious state of mind, between wakefulness and sleep) Maybe because I was tired, I had the thought that I really didn't relish standing over a pot on the stove, stirring and stirring that yogurt, until it curdled....but I still felt cooking the yogurt might be the solution, so I decided there was an easier way to cook it, and that was, to just plop it into some cheesecloth, and put it in the top of a steamer, and steam it! (no muss, no fuss)

Next morning, I tried it out. I did learn some things about this process, such as - you should not leave your cheesecloth hanging out of the pot, as it will soak up the condensation, and drip it all over the top of your stove! Better to tuck it in, under the steamer lid, covering the yogurt with it, as much a possible.

I don't recall how long the yogurt steamed, possibly as long as an hour...I just let it continue cooking, checking the consistency every once in awhile, until it firmed up as much as I thought was possible. While I was hoping for a 'loaf' consistency, which I could perhaps slice up, and use like a hard cheese, or even a creamier 'cream-cheese-like' consistency, that is not exactly what I got... It was not quite as dense as a hard cheese, and it had 'curdled' too much to be 'creamy'. And after I took it out of the pot, and let it cool, it crumbled all up...Which I wasn't exactly thrilled about, as it wasn't what I had been hoping for, but since I dont like to waste food, (and the Prophet, peace be upon him, does not recommend it), I stuck it in the fridge, and resolved to think of a way to use it, eventually.

I soon discovered that once the yogurt cheese is cooked like this, it is not prone to 'melt', so it did not work too well, for things like pizza....HOWEVER, I began to notice, while handling it, that it's consistency was an awful lot like feta cheese, and it tasted pretty good in salads! In fact, once I realized it could be used this way, I decided it made a very good substitute for feta cheese. In fact, I realized, it was almost exactly like feta cheese, except with a bit more of a 'sour' taste, due to being made from yogurt.... so I officially labeled this my new 'Yogurt Feta Cheese'. 

So there you have my explanation for how to make 'feta cheese' from yogurt. It's really a very simple process. Just plop your (plain) yogurt into some cheesecloth, in the top of a steamer, cover and steam it, until it becomes very firm. Cool, crumble, and store in the fridge. (it seems to keep nearly indefinitely) I imagine a person might come up with some interesting results also, if they were to add some flavorings or spices before steaming the yogurt?

The day after I 'accidentally' made the 'yogurt feta cheese' I decided to try making traditional yogurt cheese, one more time...Only this time, I put the yogurt in cheesecloth, twisted it up real tight to drain out as much moisture as possible, wrapped a rubber band around the cheesecloth, to keep it tight, and strung the whole bundle over a bowl on the baker's rack, to let it drain at room temperature for as long as necessary. I was determined to have it turn into cheese this time, so I left it to drain for 48 hours, instead of 24... And this time, I got a very nice yogurt cheese, which actually does resemble cream cheese to a large degree! (only with a much more 'sour' kick to it!) However, since I don't really know that much about how to use yogurt cheese, this first batch ended up sitting in my fridge, not getting used very much, for about a month. (in fact, I think it's still there!) I really don't know for certain, but it seems like letting it sit out an extra 24 hours has not hurt anything, no one is dying of Salmonella, as a result of eating it, so I think that the above process is probably an acceptable way to make yogurt cheese, after all...

[If you know of any good ways to use yogurt cheese, please let me know!]

Recently, while cutting up a batch of hot peppers, I had the idea that some finely grated hot pepper might be good in it, especially if it was kind of mashed up, so the juices come out a bit. [There's a word for that... 'maceration', I think it is?]  The peppers I was working with, at the time, (and which inspired the idea) were the yellow kind, which look like little bell peppers. I don't know what you call them, but they are incredibly hot, as my 2 year old granddaughter found out, when she picked up one of the tops of these peppers, (which she was watching me dice up), and licked it! At the time, I thought these were little yellow bell peppers, so I was not aware of the potential danger, till she started screaming, and saying owie, owie, hot, hot! At that point, I had to drop everything to try and handle the crisis, the matter being complicated, by the fact that the hot pepper juice was all over my hands, so touching her in any way, only made matters worse! Since I was out of milk, and water was only making things worse, and I didn't know till later that peanut butter is supposed to cool hot pepper emergencies, and the cheddar cheese I gave her didn't seem to help much, the only thing I could think to do, was to smear the newly-made yogurt cheese on her lips, which did seem to provide some relief, though she wasn't quite herself again, till I got her into a lukewarm bath, to wash all the pepper juice completely off her! (And yes, being 2, she did drink some of the bath water, too!)

Anyway, I had the idea that this might be a nice blend of flavors for a yogurt cheese spread, but the irritable bowel problem isn't letting me indulge in hot peppers currently, so I let that idea slide on by, without acting on it... I then toyed with the idea of using regular bell peppers instead, (a less hot alternative, though not nearly as exciting) but never quite got around to it... (besides, I don't currently own a mortar and pestle, for macerating things, and I couldn't think of any other way to macerate peppers... Maybe with some water, in a blender? But that idea just seemed too 'watery')

It must have been a month for 'innovations'  (the good kind, that is...) because I also discovered another absolutely delicious 'recipe' accidentally, that same month!

Fried Curried Rice Patties 

It started with a batch of 'curried rice', which I put a little too much liquid in, (I never can seem to make 'perfect rice, every time'!) and so, of course, the rice came out far more mushy than I wanted it to, and I decided I didn't want to eat it, that evening, but once again...don't like to waste anything, so I stuck the pot of mushy curried rice in the fridge, hoping to figure out what to do with it later... (the curried rice I make is basically just long grain white rice boiled in a pot, with a bit of curry powder, chicken or veggie stock, butter, and water. I really love the way it fills up the whole house with the exotic scent of curry....and I love to use it for pilafs or whatever. It just seems to go well with any meat or veggies)

The next day I got the wild idea to form the now very cold mushy rice into patties, and fry them in olive oil. (I chose to use olive oil, only because that's the only oil that was available, at the time, but I think now, it is the better choice, because it does lend a very nice flavor to the patties) However, feeling lazy, I decided to lay in bed and think about it awhile, before actually doing it. And while laying there, got another inspiration to add some Parmesan cheese and parsley to the rice, before forming it into patties, and frying it. (I wasn't so sure how Parmesan cheese and curry were going to mix together, kind of a 'clash of cultures' there, but it was the only cheese in the house, at the time, and I wanted to add some extra protein, and a little bit of greens to the mix, since that was all I was eating for dinner that night, so decided to go for it) The cold mushy rice with the cheese and parsley added, formed nicely into neat little patties, without having to add anything else for moisture, or to bind the ingredients together, so I was very happy with that part of the process. 

But, since rice is very dense and moist, these patties did have to fry for quite a long time, before developing the crunchy outer coating I wanted. About 10 minutes, on each side, as I recall...but the result was so worth it!

Of course, I love fried food, (which is probably part of the reason why I now have an 'irritated bowel'), but from my perspective, the resulting rice patties were just so good!  The curry and Parmesan actually did blend together to make a very interesting, delicate flavor, and the texture was just lovely.  Crunchy on the outside, and just oozing with flavorful moisture, on the inside! So I have now dubbed these my new original recipe - Curried Fried Rice Patties.

They were so good, in fact, I made them 2 days in a row, and even ate some cold, for lunch, the next day... (I found that they tasted even better with a curry sauce over them) When I made a second batch the next evening, I tried adding some diced veggies (green peppers and onions), but that didn't work out so well, as the veggies on the outside of the patty had a tendency to come loose during cooking, breaking up the patties a bit, and not allowing them to 'crust' as fully, on the outside. I decided the original recipe, with only rice, Parmesan, and parsley, was better. (maybe some other form of finely diced 'leafy greens' might work in them?) 

So there you have my 2  'accidental recipes', along with the story of how they came to be....