Goat's Milk Kefir Cheese

A customer of mine introduced me to kefir last year.  Though I am not a big fan of drinking it straight, I did find many different uses for it.  One of my favorite uses is to make kefir cheese.  Of course, the only available milk I have available to me (and it is free!) is goat's milk.   Pictured above are kefir grains.

For those of you who are not familiar with making kefir.   It is pretty simple.  I put the grains in a quart size mason jar, pour fresh milk (in my case) goat's milk over the top of the grains and let the milk "ferment" for a day or so at room temperature (not in the refrigerator.  When the grains come floating to the top, it is time to pour off the milk into a large container, straining off the grains. to start the process over again.

To make the cheese, I found this "nifty" greek yogurt maker on Amazon and it works great for making the kefir cheese.  I use a half gallon of milk.  Unfortunately, it only makes about 4 ounces of cheese :-(

I store this in the refrigerator while the whey is draining from the kefir.  

The cheese tastes very similar to sour cream.

I used it last night on a baked potato and it was really good!  I imagine on a bagel it would be great!

There are several good places you can find kefir grains - Culture for Health, the Cheesemaker, Amazon and you can't forget eBay!

ENJOY!!

Eggplant, Zucchini and Mushroom Lasagna

You know how you get in "ruts" with making dinner - same old, same old, but a different day or a different week.  What I have been doing lately is opening my cookbooks and whatever page I open to, goes onto the menu for my grocery shopping.  We have had some really interesting (and good) dinners lately!! (and some that the chickens and dogs have enjoyed - LOL!!)

I found this recipe in the Weight Watcher's cookbook Weight Watcher's All Time Favorites cookbook - I LOVE this cookbook!!!  This is so easy to make!! And it makes your kitchen smell wonderful!!! And, yes, it does require a run to the grocery store for eggplant, zucchini,  mushrooms (I forgot those, so I just used canned mushrooms) and no-boil lasagna noodles.

Eggplant, Zucchini and Mushroom Lasagna by Weight Watchers

1 lb eggplant, peeled and cut in 1/4 inch slices
1 or 2 zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 t pepper
1 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 10 oz. package of mushrooms (or a small can of mushrooms drained)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 T dried basil leaves
1/4 t crushed red pepper
6 sheets of no-boil lasagna noodles
grated Parmesan Cheese (I used the package shredded Parmesan cheese)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400

Spray a baking sheet and an 8 inch baking dish with Pam or something similar

Place the eggplant and zucchini slices on baking sheet, spray the vegetables with Pam and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake until tender, about 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet.  Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes with their juice, mushrooms, bell pepper, basil, crushed red pepper and pepper.

Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is bubbly but no thickened - about 10 minutes.

Spread 1/2 cup of sauce in the baking dish and cover with 2 lasagna noodles.

Top with a combination of eggplant and zucchini.  Cover that with 1/2 cup of sauce.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Repeat this ending with a layer of noodles and sauce (I did put a final layer of cheese).

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

Uncover and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes longer.

Let stand for 5 minutes,  then cut into four portions.

Entire Recipe:

Eggplant, Zucchini and Mushroom Lasagna by Weight Watchers

1 lb eggplant, peeled and cut in 1/4 inch slices
1 or 2 zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 t pepper
1 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 10 oz. package of mushrooms (or a small can of mushrooms drained)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 T dried basil leaves
1/4 t crushed red pepper
6 sheets of no-boil lasagna noodles
grated Parmesan Cheese (I used the package shredded Parmesan cheese)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400

Spray a baking sheet and an 8 inch baking dish with Pam or something similar

Place the eggplant and zucchini slices on baking sheet, spray the vegetables with Pam and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake until tender, about 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet.  Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes with their juice, mushrooms, bell pepper, basil, crushed red pepper and pepper.

Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is bubbly but no thickened - about 10 minutes.

Spread 1/2 cup of sauce in the baking dish and cover with 2 lasagna noodles.

Top with a combination of eggplant and zucchini.  Cover that with 1/2 cup of sauce.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Repeat this ending with a layer of noodles and sauce (I did put a final layer of cheese).

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

Uncover and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes longer.

Let stand for 5 minutes,  then cut into four portions.

ENJOY!

Verdict:

I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe.  Wasn't sure how this would taste because eggplant can be rather tasteless.  But I thought this was pretty good.  Opinion of my two "resident" experts - my husband thought it was really good.  My other "expert," my son thought it was OK.   So 2 out of 3 is not a bad rating.  Chances are I would probably make this again.