RECIPES - Yogurt Cheese - Day 8

HOW TO MAKE YOGURT CHEESE

Today isn't about metaphysics or the cosmic implications of anything. Today is about good food, specifically, yogurt cheese. Yogurt cheese is a miraculous concoction that can be made into many other miraculous concoctions.

Why eat yogurt cheese? Because it tastes great and because of the nutrition boost when the whey has been removed: more calcium per ounce than other dairy products, no fat, low in calories, sodium, cholesterol, and lactose and has a wonderful smooth texture with a flavor somewhere between cream cheese and sour cream, and that's just for starters. Add flavorings and you will wonder how you ever got by without it.

To begin, use natural regular, nonfat yogurt, which contains no gelatin. Gelatin prevents the whey from draining off. Extra-creamy may not separate so avoid it also. Plain yogurt is best.

Start with a 32 ounce carton of plain yogurt. Line a large strainer or colander with a thick layer of paper towels, or clean dish towels, or clean muslin and place it into a deep bowl. You need room for the whey to drain into the bowl. Empty the 32 ounce carton of yogurt into the container. Cover the yogurt with another thick layer of whatever type toweling you are using. To expedite the draining process, place something clean and heavy on top of the toweling. I use a heavy marble globe, which shortens the draining time to about 4 hours. Otherwise, refrigerate and allow the yogurt to drain overnight or longer, pouring off whey as necessary.

After the yogurt has drained to the consistency of room temperature cream cheese, discard the whey and add your choice of ingredients and flavorings (suggestions follow), cover and refrigerate yogurt cheese until ready to use. Generally, 32 ounces of yogurt will yield approximately 1 3/4 to 2 cups yogurt cheese and an equal amount of whey. The quantities will vary slightly depending on the brand.

Flavorings for baked potato toppings:
(Add any or all of the following)
Garlic powder to taste
Dried onion to taste
Black pepper or Lemon pepper to taste
Molly McButter to taste
Red or Green hot sauce to taste
Liquid smoke to taste
Bacon or soy bits if desired
Pimentos, chopped
Green or black olives, with or without pimentos

This combination of ingredients also makes a good sandwich spread, vegetable dip, or topping for crackers and toast. You can add anything to yogurt cheese that you would add to cream cheese or sour cream and enjoy without worrying about animal fats.

Be smart. Eat yogurt cheese at every opportunity instead of mayonnaise or any of the margerines. Mayo weighs in at 100 calories per tablespoon. It is healthier to enjoy those fat calories as olive oil, and nuts.

Sweet additions for desserts:
(Add any combination according to taste)
Sugar or artificial sweetener
Vanilla, almond, lemon, butternut and butter liquid flavorings
Crushed pineapple, drained
Chopped almonds, pecans or walnuts
Molly McButter

Use your desired combination of ingredients as a base for dessert recipes which call for cream cheese and sour cream.

As a fruit dip:
Flavor up yogurt cheese any way you would like and scoop it up with sliced apples. Splenda (or generic brand), Molly McButter, and almond flavoring is one of my favorites.

Cheesecake
http://www.myrecipes.com/ has a good cheesecake recipe using yogurt cheese.

Tomorrow I'll introduce you to Bruce Lipton, a cellular consciousness researcher whose work blows my mind. This guy is not about metaphysics, but rather quantum physics. And, yep, it applies to spirituality, weight control and fat cell consciousness.

See you tomorrow.