Lovely Chèvre

Pretty little Deruta dish, with the creamy goat cheese, from Jewels and Fauna

This beautiful chevre has a unique texture – neither creamy nor overly dry. I milk into a pail or cup and then empty the milk into a ½ gallon jar that already has a minute bit of culture in it (about 1/16 tsp for a ½ gallon jar). The temprature of the milk (directly from the goat) is in the 80s, beautifully warm. The action of the cultures is immediate – in the digestion of sugars and the raising of the acidity. It will take the rennet to coagulate the solids and the cheesemaker to then separate the curds from the whey, producing the moist, chunky chevre in this image. The tiny cup is from Deruta in central Italy’s Umbria – the “real” home of such pottery.

Enchanted Broccoli (Thanks to Moosewood)

ENCHANTED BROCCOLI CASSEROLE OR MEXIAN GREEN PEPPER CASSEROLE

Whole (broccoli, onion, garlic, spices, eggs)

Inexpensive (buy cheddar in bulk, and grate yourself)

Slow (sauté, bake)

Equitable)

Sensible

Tasty (as long as you don’t smother with cheese)

The Mexican Green Pepper Casserole is one of my favorite Moosewood recipes – I’ve used my own wan green peppers, and it’s really not as flavorful. But with luscious ones, and in the one oval ceramic casserole dish I use for baking, it is divine. Still of the Moosewood era of loads of cream, cheese, and butter.

1 lb. broccoli – tops and stems, steam until firm.  Rinse in cold water.

2 C noodles whole wheat and spinach, cook past ala dente (firm)

1 T butter

1 C chopped onion

1 Large clove crushed garlic

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. Dill weed

Black pepper

Cayenne to taste

Sauté all of these together over medium heat stirring until the onions are translucent.  Combine with noodles.

3 Large eggs beat together well

¼ minced fresh parsley

1 ½ packed cups of mild cheddar

Mix in the above and broccoli.

Combine everything in a casserole dish, sprinkle with juice from 1 lemon and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Cover gently with foil.

Bake 30 minutes. Serves 4.

Recipe--salmon and cheese pate

SALMON AND CHEESE PATE

Whole (garlic and lemon)

Inexpensive (heck yes, with the canned pink – the way in which most people used to eat salmon in the lower 48)

Slow (actually, this is pretty darned fast)

Equitable (use family-fished salmon, if possible)

1 (7 oz.) can pink salmon (of course you could substitute fresh, see the difference in fat content below)

6 oz. full fat soft cream cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

Juice of ½ lemon

2 oz. melted butter

1tsp. powdered gelatin (substitution: stiff-beaten egg whites)

1 Tbsp. hot water

oiled molds – I use Northern California Chaffin Farm olive oil (I organize a buying co-op so as to get this oil as fresh as possible; this mid-season is the moist flavorful and the oil itself is lovely with saturated and polyunsaturated fats, but mostly monounsaturated)

I use a lovely glass heart-shaped mold – I save especially for this delicious pate.

            Put canned fish, undrained, into a bowl with the cheese, salt, pepper, garlic, and lemon juice. Pound together until quite smooth. Stir in the melted butter. Dissolve the gelatin in the water and stir into salmon mixture. Once mixture starts to stiffen, spoon into 6 oiled heart-shaped molds or into small soufflé dishes or 1 large mold.  Chill 2 to 3 hours until set. Unmold. Serve with toast or hot bread or crackers.

Popular Types of Salmon Trans(g) Mono(g) Poly(g) Sat(g) Total Fat(g) Salmon Varieties (1/2 fillet serving) Pink - 1.49 2.15 0.89 5.49 Wild Atlantic - 4.16 5.03 1.94 12.55 Farmed Atlantic - 7.66 7.78 4.32 21.48 Wild Coho - 4.23 3.94 2.50 11.74 Sockeye - 8.17 3.72 2.96 16.95 Chinook - 8.71 5.54 6.14 20.65 Chum - 3.05 1.78 1.66 7.46 Canned Salmon 1 small can (3.25 oz) - 1.71 1.86 1.42 5.78 1 regular can (7.75 oz) - 3.29 3.58 2.72 11.12 1 large can (16 oz) - 6.85 7.47 5.68 23.17 Smoked Salmon 1 piece - 0.41 0.20 0.19 0.86 1 oz - 0.57 0.28 0.26 1.22 1/4 cup flaked - 0.69 0.34 0.32 1.47

http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/food/salmon/fat