Will the real Cheese, please stand up

Despite my folks and relatives avoiding most dairy cow products, I love non-vegan cheese. Look, don't get me wrong, "cheese" product made with cashews is fine as a spreadable cheese, but sometimes, you just want to make a gooey grilled cheese sandwich (because it's now autumn and roasted tomato basil soup + grilled cheese sandwiches are delicious), add some cheddar to ramen noodles, or nibble on cheese blocks with cured slices of meat.

Here's what's in a typical plain cashew cheese recipe:

• raw cashews (1 cup cashews = 1 cup of cheese product)
• nutritional yeast (for flavor)
• fresh lemon juice
• garlic powder, black pepper, (optional flavorings)
• salt

Here's what's in a typical cow milk-based cheese recipe:

• whole cow milk (1 gal = 8 oz farmer's cheese)
• fresh lemon juice
• salt, optional

What goes into a farmhouse cheddar cheese recipe:

• whole cow's milk
• plain yogurt or active kefir with probiotics
• rennet (to make a firmer cheese)
• animal: stomach lining of young cows, sheep, or goats
• vegetarian: derived from plants such as thistle, nettle, artichokes, figs, or caper leaves
• salt
• butter (dairy milk fat) or lard (rendered pork fat) - used to coat the finished pressed cheese
• unchlorinated water

And for a vegan "spreadable" cheese product that can be used as a replacement to make "meltable" cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich (recipe ratio from the Minimalist Baker):

• raw cashews
• peeled carrots
• water
• tapioca starch
• nutritional yeast
• apple cider vinegar
• salt
• garlic powder
• ground mustard
• ground tumeric (for color)

If you're thinking that nut-based cheeses don't have saturated fat like animal products, think again because 1 ounce of cashews has 2.2 grams of saturated fat. 1 cup of raw cashews in a typical cashew cheese recipe will have 17.6 grams of saturated fat. 1 cup of whole cow milk has 8 grams of saturated fat. Contrary to how the anti-cow media has presented dairy to the public, whole milk is the healthier of the two.

Cost-wise, about the same in 2023 prices comparing raw cashews to organic whole milk.

Prep time:

• dairy cheese: assuming you didn't have to milk the cow and picked up at least a gallon of non- or low pasturized milk from the grocery store; a couple hours for farmer's cheese/ricotta/cream cheese; 3-4 weeks minimum for aged cheddar cheese; mozzarella in less than an hour
• vegan cheese: can be made in 1-2 days (raw cashews need to be pre-soaked)

The other downside to cashew "cheese" is that it has the consistency of chunky cream cheese and is used wherever a 'spread" or the look of the "cheese" in the finished cooked product doesn't matter. E.g., as a substitute for ricotta cheese in lasagna or ravioli, as a sauce or spread used with crackers.

Frozen Chicken Thighs for Dinner

This has been one of my go-to meals this year. Mostly because I'm both tired and lazy; and after work, I just want something simple without a lot of prep. Thank goodness that the Ninja Foodi still works after two years. This uses the stainless steel rack insert that the NF comes with.

In the NF, insert stainless steel rack and add 1 cup of water.

On the rack, place frozen chicken thighs.

Season to your liking. I use sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, and garlic powder.

No pre-heating needed.

NF settings: 10 minutes on HIGH. Natural release 20 minutes.

Stab with meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh. Should read at least 165 F. If not, flip the thighs over and set NF to air crisp settings (390 F) for 5 minutes.

You can use the same prep time doing other things while the chicken is cooking; such as preparing a vegetable dish stovetop or a salad or whatever.

You can cook rice at the same time; though I have not tried this because the chicken needs that water to pressure cook & steam to perfection; the rice also uses the same amount of water to cook. The remaining liquid is essentially chicken broth and can be used or consumed.

Side note: when chicken thighs (bone-in with skin) are on sale ($0.99/lb or BOGO) at my local Fred Meyer grocery store, I buy . .  a lot. Half gets baked or grilled, then eaten in meals for the week. I freeze the rest in 2 thighs per resealable quart bag.

Let's say that you did nothing at meal time with the leftover chicken broth. You could add more water and add uncooked rice to make a congee for breakfast tomorrow. Or, you could add more water to that the liquid volume is back to 1 cup and make a batch of pressure cooked steamed rice (1 minute on HIGH, 10 minutes natural release).