Cottage Cheese Flagels (flat bagels)

Well now. . .I'm NOT a bagel person, but the picture of these I saw looked really good, and I'm still trying to create a couple go-to quick, savory bread, biscuit or cornbread type recipes. These look softer than a traditional bagels, browned tops and have chopped green stuff in 'em, so I had to try making them.

The ingredients were not all listed, nor were there any instructions. I Googled cottage cheese flagels, I found what I needed, but of course I made changes. . .

1c + a little more flour

~ I used about 2/3c all purpose and 1/2c rye flour

~ next time I might try corn flour in place of the rye

1t Italian seasoning

1t granulated garlic

1T baking powder

1/2t garlic salt

1c cottage cheese

2T single source EVOO

3/4c grated Dubliner cheese

2oz. finely chopped baby arugula

1 beaten egg for egg wash

Preheat your oven to 375°

In a big glass bowl combine all the ingredients. A recipe I found said to blend the cottage cheese in a blender or food processor, but I skipped that step and the cottage cheese stirred in just fine. Ideally, whisk together all the dry first, then add the rest. In putting all this into the bowl, I forgot to do the dry whisk, but after stirring with a wooden spoon and then mixing well with a little water on my hands, it all came together nicely. The recipe said 2oz. fresh spinach, but I had arugula that needed to be used, which gives these a more peppery flavor.

When well combined, form this into a fat cylinder about 6-8" long. Slice into 6 or 8 pieces, poke your finger through the middle of each one. Flatten each piece on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with a little Everything Bagel Seasoning. Bake about 22 minutes or until golden brown. These turned out well, the bottoms were also nicely browned and crispy.

Cool completely on a wire rack before serving. Great with soup or a big salad. . .Lin

Cheese Cloud Bread

4 large pasture-raised eggs

4oz. cream cheese

salt, pepper, pasta seasoning, garlic powder

1-1/3c grated Dubliner cheese

Preheat your oven to 300° Separate the eggs: egg whites in one bowl and yolks in a bigger bowl.

Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.

Add the cream cheese and seasonings to the egg yolks and beat until smooth

Fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture. Drop enough to make 3" circles on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. 

Bake 25 minutes, or until the tops turn golden and firm up. Makes 12-15 bread rounds. . .Lin

Pesto Pasta

I didn't need all the cooked pasta for my soup, so I chopped up some walnuts, and made a quick pesto to stir into it. I also added some shaved Dubliner cheese, which is a sharp, dry Irish cheese that seems like a fusion of Parmesan and cheddar. Mmmm! It was so good!

I'll remember this next time I make angel hair pasta and make extra for another bowl of this! If you're not a fan of basil, this brand also makes a really great tomato pesto! Both are sold at Aldi Grocery Stores. . .Lin

An Amazing Salad. . .

This post will be more story than recipe. . .

I wasn't planning on posting today. 'Today' began at 5 am.

I woke early to open the garage for the plumber working on my basement bathroom creation. I went back, for a short nap then hit the ground running, to Home Depot to replace the nasty-awful utility sink in my laundry room. It had to be disconnected and moved, to hack through the cement floor to fix a section of the underground drainage system. Perfect opportunity to replace that horrid thing.

Then I stopped at my daughter's garden to grab a few end of season cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, cabbage, and some of her gorgeous flowers.

The teeny-tiny flowers above almost got mashed. I barely missed stepping on them, they're so small.

Here's another bouquet I made. . .

The cabbages however, are a mystery to me. I was pretty sure we planted only one variety, but we ended up with 2 distinct types. 

These two are both the same size, yet the one on the left weighs 28oz. and the lighter one on the right is only 8oz!! The heavy one is perfect for Kimchi, coleslaw and soup, while the lighter one works well as part of a lettuce mix. 

Perfect segue to —> this Amazing Salad!

I didn't measure or weigh anything, so I'll just tell you the ingredients if you'd like to try one of your own.

I started with a big handful of this Josie's Organics mix, and some of the cabbage pictured above. To that I added a Campari tomato, a cucumber, a big brown radish, onion, avocado, pecans, mushrooms, Dubliner cheese which, to me, tastes like the best Gruyere+Parmesan blend ever.

I drizzled this with EVOO and apple cider vinegar then sprinkled it well with Penzeys (smoky) Seasoned Salt and pepper. The healthy purple chips...are just the best things ever with a salad.

Ahhhh, Salads. . .Be Bold - Be Creative! . .Lin

Grilled Cheese w/ Tomato, Bacon and Onion

I'm not a huge 'sandwich' person, and I almost never put lettuce on them. One possible exception might be if it was a cross section slice of a really tight, crispy Romaine.

I LOVE a good grilled cheese, with raw onion and tomato. This is a variation with a twist or two.

I'm not crazy about bread, so I only make them a few different ways. Either with good, healthy, sprouted grain bread, pita bread, sandwich rounds -or- what my family used to call 'crud bread.' Pure white garbage bread, with no redeeming nutritive value. If you're not concerned about nutrition, I will say, crud bread makes delicious PB&J's, day-after-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches-slathered with mayonnaise, and perfect grilled cheese, made with butter and American cheese.

This time, I started with a multi-grain Sandwich Skinny, basically a round pita, sliced horizontally, all the way across. Mayo on the inside of both pieces, a big 1/4" slice of raw onion and beefsteak tomato, a sprinkle of crumbled bacon, sliced Dubliner cheese (which is sort of a Parmesan-Gruyere cheese)

Now this is where things take a turn. . .

Instead of spreading the outside with butter, try using MAYONNAISE! Heat a non-stick pan, place one mayo-ed side down. Cover and let it toast and heat through for a minute or two. Spread mayo on the top, flip it, cover it and turn off the heat. Leave it on the hot burner for another 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Mmmmm. . .Crispy-Grilled-Perfection! 😊 . . Lin