Monday, September 17, 2012

Meal Plan Monday: September 17th, 2012

Baked Ziti

Lentils and Braised Winter Greens with Lemon Ginger Vinaigrette (From The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook)


Chicken and French Fries

Cumin Laced Chickpea Soup

Rice, Roasted Red Pepper and Green Bean Casserole

Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese

Tomato Masala with Homemade Paneer

That's right! This week we are trying our hand at cheese making! This is real as simple as it gets, as far as cheese making goes, so I am excited to see how it goes. And being that paneer tends to cost close to $10 a lb, the idea that I can make it from a gallon of milk, making the cost a quarter of that, just floats my boat.

1/4 c water
1 gallon of whole milk
1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/3 c white vinegar
cheesecloth

Pour water into a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Then slowly pour in the entire gallon of milk. Stir in the sugar. Turn on the heat to medium and bring the milk to a boil for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to keel from scorching. Watch constantly, and when the surface begins to foam up, but before it over flows, pour in the vinegar and remove from the heat. The foaming will subside and solids will separate from the liquid. Wait 5 minutes, until the liquid has completely separated from the solids.

Line a colander with triple-layered cheesecloth. Place the colander in the sink and carefully pour in the entire contents of the pan. Let stand about 5 minutes to drain. Wrap the cheesecloth around the paneer in a ball shape and tie in a double knot.Place the ball of paneer, still wrapped in cheesecloth, on a large plate (on a counter or in the sink) and place in a 2-quart pan filled with water on top of the paneer. This will flatten the paneer to about 2 inches thick and press out more water, making the cheese firmer. After about 30 minutes, remove the pan of water (For firmer paneer, let it remain under the pan of water for 1 hour. This would be best for the Tomato Masala use.) Unwrap the paneer, carefully scraping off with a spoon any that adheres to the cheesecloth, and place it on another plate.

Meal Plan Monday

No comments:

Post a Comment