Yo-cheese

[Guest guest]

....as opposed to MY cheese? no, this is YOgurt cheese, and

I'm " addicted " to it now. If you enjoy yogurt (without sugar), you

will love Yo-cheese. It tastes (and spreads) like Cream Cheese. And

it is so easy to make!

These are not 'official' recipes, because mostly I was doing little

Test Batches. But here is basically how you do it:

BASIC YO-CHEESE

First, get your supplies ready:

Some yogurt with live cultures (either fresh storebought -check the

date!- or homemade)

Bowl

Sea Salt ** the salt can be omitted, but I think it tastes much

better with some salt

Large man's handkerchief (clean ) OR some cheesecloth 6-8 layers

thick (I don't have handkerchief, but thinking a piece of clean sheet

might work)

Fat rubberband (like the kind that comes on fresh broccoli)

Paper clip, bent into an " S " form

Small bowl or container to catch the whey

Mix 6-8 oz of the yogurt with a little sea salt (to taste). It will

be a little runny - that's normal

Line the first bowl with the handkerchief or cheesecloth

Plop in the yogurt

Bring the four corners of the cloth together

LOOP the rubberband around the gathered cloth (one end of the

rubberband slipped through the other, so it is doubled-up and you

have a little loop to hang the cheese with)

Now the idea here is to find a place to hang the cloth " bag " for 24

hours. I used the paperclip as a hanger, and hung the bag from a

shelf in my refridgerator. It doesn't HAVE to be in the fridge, but

well, with my cats 'n all, hairs flying around, etc... thought it was

the safest place.

If you like, and can handle, the whey, then make sure there is a

container underneath the bag. For those of you who do not know what

whey (the liquid) tastes like... think " buttermilk " . Another one of

my favorites...mmmm!

That's it. You mix up the yogurt, plop it in a cloth, hang it for 24

hrs and voila... YoCheese

***************some of my experiments******

PARSLEY 'N GARLIC CHEESE

Mix in 1 tsp of dried parsley, 1 finely minced clove of garlic, and

sea salt to taste, to about 3 oz of yo-cheese. Let sit overnight in a

covered container in the fridge to develop flavor. Spread on celery

or on rye cracker. It might taste good on hamburger patty? or chicken.

LEMON 'N MINT CHEESE

Mix about 1/2 tsp of fresh lemon zest (grated peeling) into 3-4 oz of

yo-cheese. Add 1/2 tsp ground up mint (I used peppermint from my tea

bag, pulverized with morter/pestal. I want to try spearmint next)

Add salt to taste. This is very good on brown rice, and on broccoli.

I think it might taste good with meat, but haven't tried that yet.

HICKORY SMOKE CHEESE

This one I did differently. I added the hickory smoke salt (no MSG!)

BEFORE hanging the cheese. MMMmmmm!... try it on raw zuccini sticks!

******

I was getting kind of 'bored' with the diet. Felt like I was doing

the same things, eating the same foods over and over, " missing "

something. Someone else mentioned this... and kind of got

berated/spanked for expressing herself. I totally related to what she

was saying. Well, both ladies actually. I *now* eat for nourishment

and my health; however, being bored with the SameO-SameO led me

to 'discover' the pleasures of yo-cheese. Eating is once again FUN

and ENJOYABLE ... as it should be.

Yo-cheese travels well also, so for those looking for Snacks during

travel... try some veggies sticks with some yo-cheese.

COMING SOON! (hopefully?) Going to see how yo-cheese holds up to

being covered with ground almonds.

Best regards,

Lara

[Guest guest]

Hi Lara,

I liked the recipes and *can* enjoy them! Thanks, they look great, though I

haven't tried them yet!

Janine

In a message dated 3/24/2005 10:53:07 PM Pacific Standard Time,

writes:

Sorry, Bee. I didn't realize most people couldn't eat yogurt. My

misunderstanding here. I thought when you asked me, " Would you have

any recipes you'd want to share - I'll post them in our files " that

you meant the yo-cheese experiments. I get a bad reaction to regular

cheese and to milk, but not to yogurt or to buttermilk... I'm not

sure whey. <--pun

oops,

Lara