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My Friend Vij

It's true. A cookbook can change your life.

This morning I made the most amazing paneer, using the recipe from Vij's at Home. As in the Russian proverb, "первый блин комом," my first attempt at paneer a few weeks ago was only so-so. The second was fantastic.

I found a thin cotton produce bag (given to us, I suspect, by Steve's sister Allison) and it was perfect for making the paneer. It may be that the local milk I bought made a difference as well. The recipe is as follows:

Pour 1/2 cup of water into a soup kettle. Add a half gallon of whole milk. Heat over medium high for about 15 minutes, until the milk rises about 3 inches in the pot. Then shut off the flame and add 1/4 cup white vinegar (which I used today) or lemon juice. Swirl the vinegar into the milk without using a spoon.

Wait ten minutes. Then take a bandana, a cotton bag, or cheesecloth and place over a colander. Pour the milk solids and liquids into the colander and let sit for 10 or 15 minutes. Tie up the bandana and place a weight on top -- the same pot half-full of water will begin to soak while pressing the paneer. Leave for about an hour; then remove the paneer from the cloth and refrigerate, tightly wrapped in saran.

I made the tomato-spinach-paneer dish again, along with a terrific curried lentils and vegetable recipe (using the French lentils I bought a month or so ago). Yum. Olivia missed the naan, of course, so she ate her dinner with flour tortillas.

So Vij and Betty Crocker saved my mood today. (I also made my favorite holiday cookies, Toffee Squares, so that Zachary can take them for his band party tomorrow.)



Manic cooking AND baking. Probably not the answer to everything, but it's a way to get through the day.

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