Buttermilk, whaaa?

Occasionally when I'm browsing baking recipes I come across the need for buttermilk.  And every time, my mind wanders in the direction of, why the heck do you have to buy SO MUCH buttermilk when you buy it?  I so rarely use it, yet it comes in quarts, or, maybe if you're lucky, the one that's half a quart (I can never remember what is what when it comes to measurements...a pint? Who knows...). But I normally need a cup or less.  WHY do I have to spend multiple dollars on something I will use only part of and then let sit in my fridge until I finally decide "Ok, it's been about a month now, the buttermilk has officially gone bad and I can throw it out", and then it's lumpy and disgusting and I have to deal with it.  Why can't they just sell half a cup's worth of buttermilk?  I will never understand this logic, or the lack thereof.  After throwing out so much unused buttermilk, I finally searched the internet to find what I could use to substitute. And it's super simple. Basically just mixing regular milk and an acid. I have tried using both lemon juice and vinegar, and while I would use either in a pinch, I prefer lemon juice, especially for baking, since it has a slightly less pungency to it than vinegar does. I have also tried using regular milk, soy milk, and coconut milk, and find that they have all worked just fine for me.

Buttermilk Substitute
1 Tbs lemon juice
Almost 1 cup of milk (any kind)

In a measuring cup, add 1 Tbs of lemon juice.  Fill the remainder of the cup with milk. Let sit for 5+ minutes. Use like buttermilk.
Seriously. Easiest recipe I've ever put on here. :)
But it works.  And it saves me the hassle of pouring lumpy month-old buttermilk down the drain..again. Hopefully it will save you from the same.
Enjoi!

A Tiny Tahini (dressing) Post

I like saying the work "tahini".  It makes me smile. It also makes a fantastic and very easy dressing, when combined with just a few other basic ingredients. It can be put on mutliple types of salad, or roasted veggies, or on falafel, or mixed in with veggies and rice or quinoa, or....well, you see where I am going with this.  It's quite versatile, which makes it a good staple in our house. The dressing also requires only a few ingredients.

Tahini Dressing

2-3 cloves of garlic (depending on how much you like garlic and how big your cloves are)

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbs olive oil

2-3 Tbs hot water

1/2 tsp salt (more to taste)

Migarlic, tahini, lemon juice and zest together. Add the olive oil.  Slowly mix in the hot water, a little at a time, until the dressing reaches your desired consistency.  Add in the salt, and you are done!

I like to put the dressing in the refrigerator for a while (30 mins or more) so that the flavors can meld together a little better before using, but this is not necessary.

Enjoi!

Another Oldie But Goodie - Russian Carrot Pie

Yes, I just titled this post as that.  Sorry. :P

But this one IS an old recipe - one I grew up with. And it IS good - delicious, in fact - and I consider it one of my favorites.  On top of that, it sounds complicated but isn't, which in my opinion, makes it a fantastic recipe.  It's also somewhat unique - it's not your basic down home recipe that you'll find a million slight variations of (though, of course I've put my own variations on it). Oh, and it's originally from the Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen, which by now, you should know is my favorite cookbook of all time. 

Russian Carrot Pie

   1 pie crust(yup, yet again I cheat and buy a frozen pre-made one)
   3 Tbs. butter
   1 cup minced onions
   1/2 tsp salt
   1 lb.carrots, thinly sliced
   1 Tbs.flour
   1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
   1/2 cup grated mozzarella
   1 egg, beaten
   1-2 Tbs dill weed (to taste)
   3 Tbs. wheat germ

   paprika

   ground black pepper

Melt butter in a large skillet (and yes, it needs to actually be large to fit all those carrots). Saute onions and salt over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft (about 5-8 minutes).  Mix in the carrots and the flour.  Cook and stir until the carrots are tender but not mushy. Remove from heat.  In a large bowl, mix together the cheese and the egg.  Add the cooked carrot mixture (it's ok if it's still hot) and mix well.  Stir in the wheat germ, black pepper and dill.  Spread into the pie crust.  Sprinkle the top of the pie with a generous amount of paprika (it looks pretty).  Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees then turn the oven down to 350F and bake it another 30 minutes.  Let it cool for 5 minutes before cutting it so it can set.

I like to serve this with some sort of green vegetable (my go-to's are asparagus or broccoli), and a baked potato. 

Enjoi!