At any rate, it’s a delicious salad.

I used a type of rice called “forbidden rice”. It’s an heirloom variety I found at a little shop in the city. It’s very black and surprisingly keeps that color even after cooked. I think it’s beautiful. It tastes like wild rice so you could use that instead. Or really, any rice. My recipe card here says long grain brown rice. Use what you’ve got!

Oh, one more note. Do not substitute any type of vinegar for the white stuff called for here. It gives the salad a special tang. Well, you could substitute, I suppose, but it wouldn’t be the same and me thinks just not quite as yummalicious.

Festive Rice Salad

Adapted from Taste of Home

3/4 cup uncooked rice

10 oz (about 2 cups) frozen peas, thawed

1 small red pepper, diced (I used frozen)

3 T minced onion

1/2 cup craisins

1/3 cup peanut oil

1/3 cup white vinegar

2 T maple syrup

1/2 t dried dill weed

1/4 t salt

1/4 t ground mustard

1/8 t black pepper

Cook the rice. Cool. Mix it with the peas, peppers, onion, and craisins.

In a small bowl, whisk  the oil, vinegar, maple syrup, dill, salt, mustard, and pepper. Drizzle over the salad and toss to coat. Serve at room temperature or refrigerated.

Yield: 5 – 6 cups

In other news, the garden is coming along nicely. We had a late frost which set back some corn and green beans but other than that, things are growing. We’ve been eating lettuce and spinach for a few weeks now, which is probably obvious with all of the salads that have been on the menu. Asparagus, too. It’s been a chilly spring but whenever we have a few warm days in a row, the asparagus practically jumps out of the ground.

I have a pint of ranch dressing that needs used up. It was leftover from that birthday party we attended last week. The hostess accidentally made way too much and I offered to take some off of her hands. Woohoo…I love me some ranch dressing!

Hmm, what else is in the fridge. Not much besides gallons of milk and whey. More cheese will be made this week and then I’m going to stop for a while. I want to make sure this cheese gets good before I make a whole fridge full of it and realize that it tastes terrible!

Monday: Spaghetti Pie, Salad, Green Beans

Tuesday: Red Rice, Asparagus, Sauteed Spinach

Wednesday: Hamburgers on Homemade Buns, Salad, Corn

Thursday: Chicken Ranch Casserole, Green Beans, Sugar Peas

Friday: Baked Lentils with Cheese, Salad, Dill Beans

Saturday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Sunday: Leftovers from Saturday night, Salad

Desserts: Ricotta Cheesecake, Apricot Pie, Peach Banana Smoothies

Odds and Ends: Colby Cheese, Dill Cheddar Cheese, Bread, Mayonnaise

I have yet to try it on a sandwich but Brad did. He said, “It’s different but good.” That usually means, “I don’t love it but I’ll eat it.” I guess that’s not too bad coming from a guy who doesn’t particularly like changing his food habits! And even if I end up keeping a small jar of the bought stuff for Brad’s sandwiches, I am going to try to have this homemade version around for salads and such, especially during the summer when we eat cucumber salad all of the time.

Mayonnaise

This recipe is a conglomeration of a whole slew that I’ve read in the last few weeks. Really, though, how different can basic mayo recipes be?

1 whole fresh egg, room temperature

1/2 t salt

1 t dry mustard

black pepper, to taste

1 cup plus 2 T neutral flavored oil (I used peanut), room temperature

2 T white wine vinegar or lemon juice

In a food processor, place the egg, salt, mustard, and pepper. Whirl to mix and then with the machine still running, VERY slowly (I mean, super slow, hair-thickness thread) pour in the oil. Stop a time or two and scrape down the bowl of the processor to make sure all of the ingredients are being incorporated evenly. Once the oil is completely blended in, slowly add the vinegar and then you are finished.

If your mayonnaise “breaks”, beat a fresh egg yolk in a clean bowl and gradually beat in the curdled mayonnaise.

Yield: about 1 1/4 cups

There is leftover roast beef and mashed potatoes in the fridge which are headed for a shepherd’s pie. The remaining “ricotta” that I have will be used in lasagna.

Monday: Beef Shepherd’s Pie, Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Tuesday: Pork and Sauerkraut, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Wednesday: Lasagna, Salad with Blender Salad Dressing

Thursday: Sausage Egg McMuffins, Cooked Sugar Peas, Sauteed Spinach

Friday: Baked Salmon, Festive Rice Salad, Salad, Dill Pickles

Saturday: Friend’s Birthday Party

Sunday: Beef Veggie Soup, Bread, Dill Beans

Desserts: Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Peach Cobbler

Odds and Ends: Parmesan Cheese, Jalapeno Cheddar, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt, English Muffins (maybe), Baked Beans (for lunches)

And it was destined for this lovely cake.

I never thought I’d like ricotta cheesecake. I’m not a huge fan of the cheese itself. This cake, though, was perfect – very lightly sweet and decadent enough to feel like a big indulgance. I love a good, rich cheesecake now and then but I can never eat more than one or two slices of a cake so I don’t make it very often. But I could eat a lot of this cake. Maybe that’s a bad thing!

Oh, and I got some new rennet and my cheese making is going splendidly. I’m pressing my third wheel at the moment while the other two air-dry on the counter. They smell wonderful!

Ricotta Cheesecake

Adapted from Joy of Baking

Crust

7 whole graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs (about 1 cup)

1 T sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix the crumbs with the sugar and butter. Press into the bottom of a greased 8- or 9-inch spring form pan. Surround the bottom of the pan with a layer of tin foil. Set aside.

Filling

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

2 1/2 cups (20 oz) thick ricotta cheese*

2/3 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 t lemon zest

1 1/2 t vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese until it’s smooth. Add the ricotta and sugar and beat again. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined each time. Stir in the zest and vanilla.

Pour the filling into the crust. Set the pan into a larger pan and fill with about an inch of water. Slide the whole thing into a preheated 350F oven and bake for about 45 – 60 minutes or until just set in the middle. Remove the cake from the water bath and chill before eating. Serve plain or with a fruit sauce.

*If your cheese is on the thin side, hang it to drain for a while in cheese cloth but you’ll want a full 2 1/2 cups of thick cheese when you are finished draining it.

Serves: 8 – 12

If you don’t have whey, just use water. I really prefer the whey, though. I think it helps the bread to stay soft longer.

Everyday Bread

4 cups whey (scalded and cooled to 115F) or warm water

1/3 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)

1/2 cup instant potato flakes

2 1/2 T active dry yeast

1/2 cup peanut oil

1 T salt

3/8 cup gluten

6 cups whole wheat bread flour

2-3 cups hi-gluten white flour

In a large bowl, stir together the whey, sugar, potato flakes, and yeast. Let sit 5 minutes. Add the oil, salt, gluten, and whole wheat flour. Beat vigorously. Stir in enough of the white flour to make a knead-able dough. Knead at least 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth. Place back into the bowl (I don’t bother greasing it). Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Scrape the dough out onto the counter and divide it into 3 (for large loaves) or 4 (for smaller loaves). Shape the loaves, place into your bread pans, cover, and let rise again until doubled. I like to slash the loaves just before baking but it’s not necessary. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until nicely browned and hollow sounding when tapped on the bottom. Remove from pans immediately and cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 3 – 4 loaves

I also didn’t get around to making the Vareniky as that was an evening when Brad was chopping rye and I didn’t feel like making such an involved recipe for just the kids and I. Instead, we ate fried potatoes, boiled asparagus, sauteed spinach, and apple butter bread.

AND!!! I got a cheese press*!! It’s going to be another cheesy week around here. Anybody local need/want some gallons of whey?

Monday: Tacos, Coleslaw

Tuesday: Vareniky (More with Less p. 144), Salad (with blender salad dressing)

Wednesday: Grilled Ricotta Pizza, Grilled Asparagus, Green Beans

Thursday: Venison Steaks, Grilled Potato Packets, Sugar Peas

Friday: Beef Burritos, Salad, Cooked Carrots

Saturday: Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Sunday: Stuffed Cabbage Casserole, Salad (with Italian dressing), Jelly Bread

Desserts: Pumpkin Pie, Cracker Pudding

Odds and Ends: Farmer’s Cheddar Cheese, Stirred Curd Cheddar Cheese, probably another one or two kinds of cheese, Bread (we are eating a ridiculous amount of bread lately!)

*This is not a paid advertisement.

I used some of my homemade cottage cheese in these babies and it was so delicious. I made a double batch of the stuff the other day and got over 3 pounds of it. I’m obsessed with it, in case you couldn’t tell.

So if you are swimming in cottage cheese, or just need a delicious, meatless meal to serve, give these a shot. I think you’ll be pleased!

Veggie and Cheese Stuffed Shells

Adapted from here

20 – 24 jumbo pasta shells, cooked until 3/4 of the way done

2 T olive oil

2 carrots, peeled and grated

1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup chopped Swiss chard

1 roasted red pepper, diced

2 cups cottage cheese

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 t Italian seasoning

2 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the carrots, mushrooms, and onion. Saute until all veggies are soft, about 15 minutes. Add the chard and roasted red pepper.

In a bowl, stir together the cottage cheese, mozzarella, egg, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and Italian seasoning. Stir in the sauteed veggies.

In a 7 x 11- or a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish, pour half of the spaghetti sauce. Fill the shells with the filling and place them in the dish.* Pour the remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with the 1/4 cup Parmesan. Bake, covered, at 350 until bubbling and hot through, about 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the cover the last 5 minutes. Let shells sit at least 15 minutes before serving.

Serves: 6 – 8, depending on appetites and what else is served

*Note: I had a bit of leftover filling as I only had 19 shells to fill. Save the remaining filling for putting in omelets the next morning. Yum!

The original recipe didn’t call for potatoes and also had more meat in it. I had only thawed a 1/2 pound of meat so I added the potato to fill it out. It was delicious and I think I’ll always do it this way. The pie still felt plenty meaty to me.

I have to be honest and tell you that the kids did not like this. They were in awful moods this evening, though, so perhaps they aren’t good judges. Brad was not around (it’s rye chopping time!) so he didn’t have any. But I loved it! Very easy meal.

Colorado Pie

Adapted from More with Less

1/2 pound ground beef or venison

1/2 of an onion, chopped

1 medium potato, cut in small cubes

2 cups fresh or frozen green beans

salt

pepper

1 recipe condensed tomato soup (recipe below)

1 double whole wheat pie crust (I doubled this recipe)

Cook the potato and green beans until soft.

Brown the meat and onion. Use a little oil or butter if the meat is very lean. When brown, add the cooked veggies, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the soup.

Roll out the bottom crust and fit into the pie pan. Do not crimp. Roll out the second crust and when it’s ready, pour the filling into the pan and then top with the second crust. Cut off excess around edges, crimp, and cut a few slits in the top. Bake at 400F for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and crust is done.

Serves: 4 – 6

Condensed Tomato Soup

Adapted from More with Less

2 T fat (butter, oil, etc.)

3 T unbleached flour

1/2 cup spaghetti sauce

1/2 cup water

Melt the fat in a small pan. Whisk in the flour. Slowly pour in the sauce and water, mixing all the while. Cook, whisking constantly, until bubbly and thick. Use in any recipe that calls for condensed tomato soup.

Yield: about the same amount as a 10-oz can of condensed soup

You see, I despise getting my fingers dirty. Greasy is even worse. (Seriously, what kind of farmer’s wife am I?)

So I occasionally bought Pam to grease my baking dishes with. Sometimes I’d suck it up and stick my fingers in the butter, sometimes I’d make Jada do it (which she loved!) and then I’d also use Pam.

But now, now I get out my pastry brush, drip a few drops of oil or softened butter into the dish, and paint to my heart’s content. So there…I’m thrifty and it’s green, clean, and easy!