Labneh

Lebanese Yogurt Cheese

Makes approximately 2 cups

You will need:
Cheesecloth (you can find it in most grocery stores)
2 large bowls
A whisk
A cabinet handle or hook where you can hang the cheesecloth

Ingredients:
1 quart of full fat plain yogurt (I’ve used low fat and it works, but full fat is better)
2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, whisk the yogurt and the salt together. Line the other bowl with cheesecloth (I do two layers of cheesecloth), enough so that there is cheesecloth hanging over the edges of the bowl.

Pour the yogurt into the cheesecloth. Bring up two opposite corners of the cheesecloth and tie them together. Bring up the other two corners of the cheesecloth and tie them together. Now you have a sort of sling to hold the yogurt.

Hang the cheesecloth with the yogurt from a cabinet knob over the bowl. (In my last house I installed a small hook under the cabinet just for making labneh.) Let it hang for at least overnight, 24 hours is good. (It’s OK not to be refrigerated for this.)

The next day, open the cheesecloth and you have labneh! You can form it into a ball and drizzle olive oil over it and/or sprinkle it with chopped mint. DELICIOUS on pita bread, crackers, or bagels.

_{image: wikipedia.com}

I have not tried this yet, but someone gave me a subscription to Sunset Magazine as a gift, and I just came across this recipe. I LOVE LOVE LOVE coconut, and this seemed like an interesting and healthy-ish dessert…

Coconut Brown Rice Pudding

Prep and cook time: about 2 1/4 hours
Makes: 8 servings
Notes: Brown sweet rice has a very short grain and is sold at many specialty grocery stores. We like Lundberg Family Farms’ sweet rice (lundberg.com for stores). You can use short-grain brown rice in place of brown sweet rice, but the result is a thicker, less silken pudding.

3 cans light coconut milk

1 cup brown sweet rice

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup dried apricots (or fresh tropical fruit, such as mango)

In a heavy-bottomed 3-qt. saucepan over medium heat, bring coconut milk, rice, sugar, and salt to a gentle boil. Partially cover and reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender to the bite and liquid thickens, about 2 hours. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled. Garnish with fruit if you like.

_{per 1/2 cup serving: 227 calories, 33% (76 cal.) from fat, 4 grams protein, 8.4 grams fat (4.9 grams saturated fat), 28 grams carbohydrate (1 gram fiber), 184 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol}

_{From Sunset Magazine, February 2008photo by Annabelle Breakey, Randy Mon}

It might sound odd if you’re not used to it, but it is SO YUMMY! The first time I had it was when a Swedish exchange student made it for my class in high school, and then I had it again years later when I visited a friend in Sweden. When I was vegetarian, I substituted salted cured black olives for the anchovies, but really the anchovies are better…

Janssons Frestelse (Jansson’s Temptation)

INGREDIENTS
6 – 8 potatoes
2 onions
1 – 2 cans anchovy fillets
2 1/2 – 3 dl (1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups) light cream
2 – 3 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (about 200 – 225 degrees C).
Peel the potatoes and cut into thin sticks. (Note: I have also seen them sliced thinly.) Slice the onions. Sauté the onions lightly in some of the butter or margarine. Drain the anchovies and cut in pieces.

Put the potatoes, onions, and anchovies in layers in a buttered baking dish. The first and last layer should be potatoes. Dot with butter or margarine on top. (Note: If desired you can also sprinkle with about 2 Tbsp of breadcrumbs) Pour in a little of the liquid from the anchovies and about half the cream.

Bake for about 20 minutes. Pour in the remaining cream and bake for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Serve as a first course or as a supper dish.

_{from Swedish Cooking, ICA-förlaget AB, Västerås}

_{image from kryddburken.wordpress.com}

_{OK, I decided to add my first entry here, because this one I can do off the top of my head.}

Mexican Lime Custard

Ingredients:

1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 can of evaporated milk
Apprx. 12 – 20 small Mexican limes (same as Key Limes)
1 package of Maria cookies (sometimes called Marie cookies), such as those made by Gamesa, El Mexicano, or Marie Lu will also do.

In a medium-sized bowl, juice about 12 small Mexican (Key) limes. (These limes have the best flavor for this.) If you have more limes, you can save them off to the side in case you feel you need more.

In another bowl, whisk together the two milks. Begin adding the lime juice a little at a time, whisking it into the milk each time. The custard will start to get thicker as you add more lime juice, as the acid causes the custard to set. After using all of the juice, check for flavor. If necessary, juice more limes to add..

Pour 1/3 of the mixture into the bottom of a serving dish (about 10” diameter, round). Place a layer of the Maria cookies on top. Pour another third of the mixture over the cookies. Add a second layer of cookies over this custard. Finally, pour the remaining 1/3 of the custard as the top layer. If desired, garnish with lime zest.

Refrigerate until chilled and set, about 1-2 hours.

This is SO EASY to make, easy to increase the quantity if necessary, and so delicious – it tastes similar to key lime pie. Yum!