So A few things up front:
1. I love buttermilk.
It’s tangy
deliciousness and it’s ability to do an uncountable amount of good things for
food and beyond, the fact that it is low fat and quite good for you despite
it’s -not so good for you- sounding name.
Oh!!! I could wax and wane over the beauty of buttermilk all day and I
thought I knew just about all of its tricks until last week.
I said a few
things…
2. I love cottage cheese.
I have been on a
constant quest to find the best cottage cheese. I have tried every brand from
the average store brands to the organic and all natural to the artisan brands
only found in specialty stores and really only one did I feel was the right
texture, creaminess, and sodium content.
It came from a store that I don’t frequent; in fact, I would just go
there to get the cottage cheese. So I decided to start some research on making
my own at the beginning of this year. I pulled a bunch of recipes off line and
started studying. Needless to say I
never followed through with it and can’t even find the folder of all the things
I printed off to learn about it. Part of it I believe was a little intimidation
and even though I love a challenge, I really hate failure.
Fast forward
several months later and to a book signing for The Short Stack Editions* that I
attended with some crazy talented authors and friends of mine (Angie Mosier and
Virginia Willis) at The Preserving Place** in Atlanta.
Although another
good friend of mine, Tamie Cook, had given me their books as a gift and I had
looked through them previously I decided before the event to revisit them. What
did I discover in Angie’s book about Buttermilk you ask????
A RECIPE FOR
COTTAGE CHEESE USING BUTTERMILK!!!!
WHAT, who knew?
It couldn’t be
easier. Heat buttermilk until the whey separates from the curd, drain it, add
some cream and salt if desired and chill. But don’t throw out the whey…there
are many things you can do with it…put it in your smoothie…no more protein
powder, use it in replacement of liquids in baking, throw it in your stock or
soup, I think you can even use it in your garden to improve the soil. Oh, and
it freezes well too.
WHAT---WHAT???
Ok, I know I am a nerd. It’s the little things that get me excited but now my cottage cheese
quest is over. I have found the one I love and I now take great pleasure in
knowing that it is one that I can make myself!!!
Thank you Angie!
Now go buy the
book, or better yet all of them…I can’t wait to try the Tomato Pie!
*a collection of
small format cookbooks on a single subject written by top culinarians from
around the U.S.
Happy Curds and Whey!
V
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