Macaroni and cheese

This is an all-time favorite – with a twist: macaroni with the best, creamiest Feta cheese in town.

Macaroni and cheese, oven-ready.

Baked Zucchini with Feta

I don’t know how you usually cook zucchinis, but this can be a tasty alternative. It’s a bit more time-consuming, as it requires that the zucchinis are first grated, then boiled and then tossed in the oven. Although you could use any type of cheese, I would strongly recommend you stick with feta for this recipe.

You’ll need: 5-6 zucchinis, 200-300 gr. feta, 1 tbsp white flour, 1/2 cup milk, 1 tbsp butter.

Zucchini by maesejose

Instructions:

1. Peel the zucchini and coarsely grate them.
2. Bring water to boil, then add the zucchini and continue boiling for 10 -15 minutes.
3. In a small frying pan, melt the butter and add the flour. Incorporate the milk, little by little, stirring continuously.
4. Drain the zucchini and put them in an oven-proof dish.
5. Add the white sauce and crumble the feta on top. Mix and put in the oven for 30 minutes or until done (350F).

Finding cheese in Calgary: Springbank Cheese Company

Springbank Cheese Company is a favorite destination for locals when they’re looking for cheese. There’s a store in NW (2015 14 Street NW, Calgary) and one in SW (Willow Park). The store in SW is definitely fancier… I visited the NW store today and the first thing I noticed was a very stringent smell (almost like sour cabbage). Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try, since the place came highly recommended.

The store has a wide variety of cheese. But most of the stuff is available in Superstore or Safeway (like spreadable soft cheese, brie, cheddar, feta). A very small piece of bulgarian feta cheese was $6.09 (personally, I’d go for the Macedonian feta cheese from Kalamata, $30/ 3kg). A few French bries – disappointingly, all expiring by December this year or January next year. In spite of being asured by the shop assistant that they’ll taste just as good after the expiring date, I didn’t want to take a chance.

I got a few varieties of goat cheese with various fruits inside (cranberries, mango). I was also very tempted by a white cheese covered in raisins, but decided to wait until my next trip there. All in all, a neat little store – I just hope the smell will soon be gone!

Quiche

Making a quiche is easy – that’s it, if you already have the crust for it. You can either buy a pie shell or you can make your own pastry (pretty easy, just follow the instructions on any lard package) and freeze it. In the end, if you’re not too fussy about it, you can just make the quiche without the crust.

I baked my quiche in a 9×5 loaf pan, using the following ingredients: 3 eggs, 2 Tbsp margarine, 2 Tbsp tomato sauce, 1 red pepper, 2 green onions, grated cheese, milk, white flour, salt, pepper, paprika.

Instructions

If using pastry, coat the pan with it first and set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add the tomato sauce, the margarine, some milk and white flour (you want the batter to be slightly consistent, but still fluid). Mix thoroughly. Add chopped green onion and bell peppers. You can add all sorts of goodies that are left in your fridge, like ham, bacon, salami, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, olives, etc. Add salt, pepper and paprika. If using pastry, sprinkle it with cheese and then pour the egg mixture on top. If you’re not using pastry, simply incorporate the cheese into the egg mixture. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes or until done.

Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce

This recipe is quite easy to make: you boil the cauliflower, then you toss it with the sauce in the oven for some 30-40 minutes, and you’re done! You’ll need: 1 big cauliflower (or 2 small ones), feta cheese (hard to say how much, you’ll probably need some 300 gr), breadcrumbs, 1 tsp white flour, 150 ml milk, 2 tbsp butter, 2 eggs, 2 tbsp sour cream, salt and pepper.

Instructions:

1. Wash cauliflower under cold water. With a knife, remove stem and leaves, then separate the florets by cutting the stems.
2. Boil in a big pot until cauliflower is tender.
3. Grease an oven dish some of the butter, save the rest for the sauce. Arrange the cauliflower florets in the dish, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.
4. Prepare the sauce: melt the rest of the butter, then mix with the eggs and the sour cream. Add the flour. In a separate dish, crumble the cheese using a fork. Incorporate in the sauce.  Add the milk, mix thoroughly.
5. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower and bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes, or until golden.

Photo credits: Muffet

Another quick snack: Bocconcini and Tomatoes Salad

This one’s another easy snack: a simple tomatoes salad with Bocconcini cheese. Got a small container of Bocconcini cheese from Linda’s Market for around $3, which was good for a 4 portions salad.

Ingredients: 200 gr. Bocconcini cheese, 4 tomatoes, 2 green onions, fresh basil, salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar. Optional, 2-4 Kalamata olives, 1 boiled egg, 4-5 lettuce leaves.

Instructions:

1. In a small container, mix 1-2 tbsp olive oil with 2 tsp balsamic vinegar. Finely cut 2-3 leaves of fresh basil, add salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.
2. In a salad box, mix sliced tomatoes with the green onion (finely chopped). If using lettuce, toss that in as well.
3. Add oil and vinegar mixture and mix well.
4. Add Bocconcini cheese (cut in halves), Kalamat olives and the sliced egg.

Quick Snacks: Bell Peppers with Ricotta Cheese and Dill

For a quick bite, cut a bell pepper into four slices and fill it with Ricotta cheese.

Ingredients: 1 bell pepper, 4-5 tbsp Ricotta cheese, 1 tbsp sour cream, fresh dill finely chopped, salt, pepper. Optional: green onion on side.

Instructions:

1. Mix Ricotta cheese with sour cream, fresh dill, salt and pepper.
2. Fill each quarter of the Bell pepper with the mixture. Serve with green onion on side.