I haven’t had breakfast yet. Sitting here naked after burning 621 calories in 31 minutes on the elliptical trainer. Time for a shower.
I’d like to have something other than muesli for breakfast, but I can’t decide what. Maybe I should fry up some egg whites and rice. That would TOTALLY be on the program. Or maybe half a can of salmon and rice. Our salmon supply is getting down there, but I still have a few cans left from what we brought to China last summer. Good idea. Let’s skip the muesli and see if I can be strictly on the program today.
Okay, breakfast solved. A fist sized ball of pre-cooked brown rice thrown in the frypan with the white of two eggs. A bit of water to keep things from sticking. That wasn’t enough protein so I tossed in half a can of salmon. And then as an afterthought added two or three leaves of Chinese greens (pre-washed by Ruth last night) A dash or two of soy sauce, a shake of salt. Eating it now and it’s okay. Different. Not what I normally think of as breakfast, but I’m certainly feeling fed.
I want to buy some skinless chicken breasts and some tofu today. Protein seems to be my big problem with this diet. Still naked. Still haven’t had my shower. Off to do that as soon as I finish this bowl of fish and rice.
We skipped lunch. Left at noon to ride our bikes to Wanda Plaza Cinema (about forty minutes easy riding) to see “John Carter” (fun if you park your brain at the door) at the matinée. Picked up some skim milk, chicken breasts, and lean beef on the way home. Protein problem solved. Then I took the dog for a run and bought some eggs and green onions at the campus store. Now I’m hungry, have not eaten my six meals today. Ruth is in the kitchen cooking something that I’m sure will be on the program. But I would like to eat something…..
Okay, Ruth cooked a couple of thin strips of lean beef for each of us, Chinese greens, mushrooms, broccoli, with brown rice. Very tasty. There’s some left over. I may have a snack later.
After dinner I poached two of the chicken breasts in water with garlic, green onions, a tiny bit of peanut oil, soy sauce. Look and taste okay. They’re in the fridge now for tomorrow.
One of the things I’ve been missing here in China is cottage cheese. Low fat cottage cheese is a wonderful substance when I’m on this program. It goes great with anything, and replaces butter and any other lubricant you can think of. But I’ve never seen it in China. Our friend Elaine gave me a recipe for making cottage cheese, and this evening I tried it out.
###################Elaine’s Cottage Cheese Recipe#################
Recipe for Cottage Cheese
Ingredients:
2 pints (1200ml) semi-skimmed or skimmed milk
2 tablespoons (30ml) lemon juice or white vinegar
pinch of salt
Equipment:
Saucepan – stainless steel or enameled
Wooden spoon
Fine sieve
Method:
Pour milk into saucepan.
Heat on hot until it is very hot, but do not boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
Allow to cool for a couple of minutes.
Add 2 tablespoons (30ml) of lemon juice or vinegar
Stir and watch the milk separate into curds and whey.
Allow to cool further.
Pour the curds and whey through the sieve to catch the curds.
Discard the whey or use it instead of water in bread making, or for any recipe calling for sour milk or buttermilk.
Transfer the curds into a small bowl and add a pinch of salt.
You’ve got cottage cheese!
Elaine’s note: I hung the cheese in a cloth over a bowl in the fridge overnight- suspended on a chopstick – to thicken the cheese.
Optional Extras to your Cottage Cheese
Add a tablespoon of double cream to the curds for a richer consistency.
Add chopped chives, chopped spring onions, herbs.
Sprinkle with a little black pepper.
Whatever takes your fancy.
Problems with Cottage Cheese:
The milk is not currdling – may be the milk. Only use pasteurised milk, semi-skimmed or skimmed, not UHT or homogenised.
N.B. I used fresh milk (which I think IS HOMOGENISED) but not UHT milk. Add a little more acid in the form of lemon juice or vinegar to correct.
#############end Elaine’s Cottage Cheese Recipe###################
So naturally I can’t just follow instructions. I was worried about scalding the milk on our hotplate, our only means of heating milk in a pan, so I tried heating it in a bowl in the microwave. I don’t think I got it hot enough. Very little cottage cheese curded out, and the milk still looked milky. So I put the pathetic bit of cottage cheese in a container and heated the remaining milk on the hotplate. When I added the lemon to that the result was quite gratifying. The liquid remaining after the curds formed was a light yellow colour, very thin looking. The curds of white cottage cheese separated out in the sieve and I can’t see any reason to mess with cheese cloth or do anything further.
BTW, I don’t know why this recipe specifies a wooden spoon. A standard stainless spoon seemed to work just fine.
This batch has a bit of a lemon taste, not unpleasant. I think I’ll make the next batch with white vinegar and see how that works. Anyway, making cottage cheese turns out to be beyond simple, fairly quick, and very satisfying.
It’s now five to nine in the evening and I think I’ll publish this and call it a day. Got time for some fiddle and guitar practice before bed. This has been my first day with absolutely nothing eaten that isn’t on the program. Feels good.