Just-Judes Cheese Spread.....

Well the time has come to deliver as promised. Actually, it has become a DO or DIE situation. If I don't deliver my cheese spread recipe as promised by tomorrow, there is a follower of my blog who just may have me taken out veeeeery soon. I am serious. This has never happened to me before!!!! But I have heard she is following a certain "other" diet plan and is a little bit testy lately, so not to add to her misery, I am not only going to deliver the recipe as promised now but I have decided to re-name it in her honour.  So here goes, and don't forget that in my new eating plan, I have to use all full creamed products, i.e. nothing low fat or trim as it is not healthy for you (yes my head is struggling with this, but I am getting there).

Just-Jude's Cheese Spread on Toasted Turkish Bread with
Sauted Mushroom and Vegetable Topping

Just-Jude's Cheese Spread

Ingredients:

200g Ricotta Cheese

100g Feta Cheese

100g Philadelphia Cheese

1/2 cup diced sweet potato

1/2 cup roughly chopped capsicum

1/2 cup chopped mixed herbs (e.g. spring onions, basil, parsley, garlic chives)

pinch chilli flakes (optional)

1/3 cup almonds

squeeze lemon juice to taste

salt and pepper

Method:

Steam sweet potato until just cooked (or microwave if you prefer).

Place all ingredients in a food processor and whiz until blended. I prefer not to vitamize the mixture but leave little chunks in it like they do in chunky peanut paste. This is your choice.

And that is basically it. If you prefer you can hand mix the lemon juice in at the end until you get the flavour you like.

N.B. This recipe's 'wetness' will depend on which cheese brands you use. I vary mine from one week to the next (hey I'm a gemini and get bored easily.... what can I say???), and sometimes add  greek yoghurt to it if it is too dry. I encourage you to experiment, but take little steps.

The other thing I was going to say is that I never go out most times and buy ingredients especially for a recipe....I am never that organised. I use what I have in my fridge/ pantry. If I don't have it, then too bad. I guess living on a farm as a child miles away from a supermarket and often with no transport taught me how to cook with what we had. Thanks mum xxx.

So I made another batch tonight with roasted pumpkin and finely diced fried bacon, and paprika instead of the sweet potato and chilli flakes. Uhmmmmmm..... so are you getting the picture.....just use what you have and you will have 200 different spreads in no time at all...... and you can name them Just-Anything-You-Like Spreads!!!!

Roasted Pumpkin, Bacon and Paprika Cheese Spread

For all my avid foodie followers who would love to know the recipe for the topping in the first photograph, here goes....and remember you can add or leave out certain vegetables if you prefer (as hard as I find this to believe, I know that brussel sprouts isn't everyones cup of tea). Ralphy and I had this for brunch on Sunday, and I hate to sound like Nigella but uhmmmmmm....... simply delicious........ (I hope you said that with a very sexy voice and a wicked look from the corner of your eyes)!!!!

Sautéed Mushroom and Vegetable Topping

Ingredients:

3 cups sliced brown flat mushrooms

2 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon butter or lard

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup diced red capsicum

6 brussel sprouts quartered and steamed 

   (can use instead asparagus/ broccolini/zucchini/french beans/ snow peas)

1/4 cup roughly chopped italian parsley

squeeze of lemon juice

salt and pepper to tast

Method:

Place butter/ lard and olive oil in a sautée pan and melt on high heat.

Add garlic, mushrooms and capsicum and stir for a minute or two until well combined.

Continue cooking for a further 5 minutes until cooked through.

Then add the remaining ingredients, seasoning with the lemon, salt and pepper to taste. Toss until well combined.

I toasted up a couple of turkish rolls on the sandwich griller, split them open, "buttered" them with some of my Just-Jude's Cheese Spread and then heaped on ladles of the mushroom mix. To finish I grated a little parmesan cheese on top.

N.B. I have also made this recipe and alas, not having Just-Jude's Cheese Spread, used soft goats cheese spread instead and it was very moorish. 

So readers, I hope this entices you to try a few of your very own ideas and create some very easy and tasty dishes. With this fructose/ sugar/ polyunsaturated oil free diet Ralphy and I are following, much of what we eat we have to make from scratch....no sauces, bottled, tinned, dried foods. Basically if it wasn't in the supermarket when my grandmother was a young girl, then forget it. So my recipes consist mainly of meats, fish, chicken, pork, lamb, eggs, fresh vegetables and fruits, whole milk and cheeses, rye and sourdough breads.... and the butters and oils as mentioned in the previous blog. It sounds difficult but isn't once you throw out all the sugared, convenient temptations from your fridge and cupboard and get imaginative. And another bonus..........Wow!!!! I now have space!!!! I really don't need any more cupboard space now as I thought I did...although a bigger fridge would be handy......(hint Ralphy).

Well that's it for this blog my cherubs.

Sleep tight and don't let the bed-bugs bite...........Noels

P.S. Hey Jude......call off the hit-men will ya'!!!!!