Almond Cheese Spread

We shook off the snow and tumbled into the house. We were cold and hungry. And you know what's my comfort food on a cold, snowy day? Hot, buttered toast! Nothing can make me feel as good. So aunty put the griddle on and liberally coated it with butter, placing two slices of bread to crispen to that beautiful gold. 

When she flipped it over to the other side, I thought we were almost done. But, nope! She had an ace up her sleeve. She dolloped on some cheese spread and let it just melt into the crisping toast. Dotted with ketchup. And then judging my impatience correctly, let me wolf it down straight from the pan.

I waited for the salty, slightly plastic cheesiness of store bought spread to hit my tastebuds. But instead was surprised by subtle flavours so generously complimenting the creamy goodness that could only come with homemade love!

It was so good, I wolfed down six toasts before my foodie brain could form the words, " May I have the recipe, please?"

That was 12 years ago, and I still slather this spread with the same reverent wonder. For me it has the same joy as my grandma's home made white butter. Another dairy addition to my toast I can't get enough of!

Another good thing about this cheese spread is that it sneakily incorporates the wholesome nutrients that  growing tots may screechingly run from. But ever know a kid to turn down cheese and toast? Nope! So say hello to our hidden superfood friends- Almonds and Garlic. Even Keto Hubby gave the spread a big thumbs up! It was just the thing he needed to jazz his Keto Bread :)

So I'll go steal a spoonful from the jar, while you go whip up your own batch of yummy health.

Ingredients:

Cheese           200 gm (grated)

Cream            1/2 cup

Milk               1 cup

Almonds        20

Vinegar          1 tsp

Sugar             1 tsp

Red Chillies   5

Garlic             5

Pepper           1/4 tsp

Method:

Soak the almonds and red chillies for half an hour. De-seed the red chillies. Remove the skin from the almonds and discard the water. Run the almonds, chillies and garlic in the mixie to make a coarse paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend till smooth. Refrigerate and use within a week.

Notes:

I used fresh cream (malai) skimmed off the top of our milk. You can use packaged cream as well. 

Since the chillies are soaked and de-seeded, they are not spicy and are mild enough for kids. You can however reduce the chillies if you like.

For the Keto version replace the sugar with Stevia. 

Cheese Straws

I was not a skinny child. Far from it really. The culprit though was Mum. She is an amazing cook and kept me interested in food by dishing out a wide variety of delicious home cooked food. An expert of most cuisines, her passion lay with baking. It was no coincidence then that I always had a tempting array of cakes, cookies and crackers to snack on. Even the extra miles Dad made me run weren't enough to dent the sunshine of Mum's baking! 

One of my favorite things to munch on were these twisted golden delights. Cheese straws! Aahh! The very name was enough for my tastebuds to conjure the crisp-buttery-melt-in-the-mouth-cheesiness. Every batch Mum baked would disappear in minutes, even as the melted cheese scalded my tongue. I never could wait for them to cool down! 

Its not just me, but Hubby darling as well. The first time I made them, he insisted that these Cheese Straws become a pantry staple. And they do have to make an appearance at every party I host. Served plain in bowls or with a choice of dips, these go down fabulously with kids and adults alike. And when you snuggle with a book and hot tea on those wintry afternoons, these little twists will keep you good company! And when you run out, they are easy enough to bake on demand :) 

Ingredients:
Cheese          50 gms
Butter           50 gms
Flour            1 cup
Salt              1/2 teaspoon
Milk             1/2 cup
Pepper          1/2 teaspoon
Oregano       1/2 teaspoon (optional)

Method: Sift the flour and salt together. Grate the butter and cheese into the flour and mix lightly. Adding a little milk at a time, mix it into a smooth dough. Do not knead. Divide and flatten into two halves. Cover with clingfilm and freeze for an hour. Unwrap and roll out  to a thickness of 1 cm. Like a thick roti. Sprinkle with the pepper and oregano. Cut into strips and twist. Preheat the oven to 180 C and bake for 15 minutes till crisp. You can vary the flavours by experimenting with the herbs you sprinkle on top. And do try to wait for them to cool before you take that first bite!