Happy día de hump, mis foodies!
Thank you so much for all of your supportive comments in response to yesterday’s back to escuela announcement. I was grinning from oreja a oreja (ear to ear) all day as I read through your enthusiastic words. I’m so excited to be taking this "next step" en mi vida, and I’m even more excited that I get to share my journey with all my favorite foodies.
Before I write another essay, let us resume regularly scheduled Foodie Diaries programming. By that, I of course mean más food, menos philosophizing.
Martes morning, while characteristically cold, was uncharacteristically sunny. Since I was working from mi cama, beneath a wonderfully warm down comforter, I wasn’t so concerned with the frigid outside world’s temperature. I was just elated to have sun beaming through my windows.
En serio, yo amo el sol. You know how everyone swears by the exercise-endorphins correlation? I’m a more emphatic proponent of the sun-endorphins correlation. Sun, even more so than warmth, makes me ridiculously feliz. This may have something to do with the fact that I often embrace the presence of sol as a sign that I should be drinking iced coffee.
Such was the case ayer. 40° outside? Ain’t no thang when the sun is shining.
Icy Godiva Hazelnut Creme Café. This was increible. In addition to my sun –> endorphin hypothesis, I’m also a huge proponent of the iced coffee-endorphins correlation.
That said, I should explain that the above mug-bowl hybrid held over three cups of café (and could’ve held cuatro!). So post-gulpage sippage, I felt like one of those drugged up, happy eggs from the Zoloft commercials.
Apparently good moods create delicious desayunos.
En el bol: 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1 cup water, with 1/3 cup egg whites whisked in. Topped with a tasty triad of: 1/2 container Chobani, a sinfully grande scoop of Barney Butter and a “let’s see how much I can squeeze into my fist” serving of trail mix.
I have midget manos, so it took a lot to successfully transfer that much goodness from the trail mix container into the bowl. You gotta do what you gotta do.
In le mix de trail: pepitas, sliced almonds, walnuts and dried cranberries. All good things.
The other two components of my tasty toppings triad were, I suspect, the culprits behind the unwavering fullness that followed this glorious bowl.
Perhaps it wasn’t the toppings themselves—but rather my heavy handedness with the Barney Butter scoopage.
No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. My Barney Butter “scoop” is definitely the same size as my yogurt mound. Woops.
‘Twas a delicious “mistake” that, come lunchtime, left me too full for “real lunch.”
What’s a foodie to do? Eat fake lunch.
Otherwise known as a snack.
Here’s where we get to the title of this post.
Yesterday, I popped my CCCherry (Cottage Cheese Cherry)! Lo siento for the vulgarity—but I couldn’t resist the alliteration, acronym and pun potential of cottage cheese cherry.
I know, I know. I’m the last person en el mundo to try cottage cheese, but, for some reason, I’ve always convinced myself that I wouldn’t like it. (Actually, I know the exact reason. At sleep away camp, during a sex ed talk, the counselor referred to cottage cheese when explaining a yeast infection. TMI? Maybe. But I’m sure you understand why I fomented a negative association with that chunky wonder.)
Moving along, I knew that my lunchtime snack was going to feature cottage cheese. But, CC novice that I was, I didn’t know the best way to eat it.
Wanting to ensure that my first time was both special and pleasurable, I sought out C.C.concoction suggestions from la princesa de CC.
She graced me with muchos options via tweetvice, so I just went with the one I’ve seen grace the pages of her blog most frequently.
1/2 cup cottage cheese and cinnamon on an English muffin.
Be advised that the remainder of the cinnamon bottle was added post-photo op.
¡AY, DIOS MIO! I had no idea that cottage cheese was so ridiculously thick and cheesy (go figure). I’ve always pictured it far more watered-down. This was so rich and sort of reminded me of ricotta.
Just a forewarning. I’m pretty sure I’m in love with cottage cheese. As in, I sort of want to eat it for every single meal. I’m doing my best not do this. But lo siento if I can’t fight the urge.
I couldn’t have imagined a more delectable first time.
Since my plate was all cinnamon-coated, I decided to get double use out of it before throwing it in the dishwasher.
Enter manzana con canela y azúcar.
I was going to slice it in a photogenic manner. But then I got lazy.
Eventually, the fullness afflicted by breakfast and fake lunch subsided, and I was ready for a real savory lunch.
En el plato: 3 egg whites, queso americano, a flatulently grande serving of black beans and salsa.
I didn’t intend for this to be an open-faced omelet, but it was necessitated due to a heavy hand with the bean scoopage. Apparently I really like my beans and Barney Butter. There are worst vices.
Cena was a bowl duo of blogger staples that can be had sweet or savory.
I opted for savory on both fronts.
First up, a veteran concoction here on The Foodie Diaries: savory oats.
In the mix: 1/2 cup oat bran cooked in 1 cup water, with 1/3 cup egg whites whisked in. Topped with a heap of sautéed spinach and grilled onion. Dressed in soy sauce.
As always, the grilled cebolla was the star.
And, as always, things got gloriously messy post-photo op.
Parte dos was on my mind all día.
After falling in love with my first taste of sweet cottage cheese, and perhaps having a few small scoops throughout the day…
…just to be absolutely positive I liked loved it, I wanted to try a savory cottage cheese concoction.
This one was inspired by Miss Janetha.
In the mix: 1 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup garbanzos, red bell pepper, celery, taco seasoning, chili powder and seasoned salt.
CC obsession confirmed. I’ll take it sweet, savory, any (legal) way I can get it.
Much like my veteran savory oats, newbie savory cottage cheese had a star: garbanzos.
No, wait. The beans were bueno. But the cottage cheese was definitely the star. I think I just said that because the garbanzos were the most prominent part of the photo. Fibbery.
In truthery, much like savory oats, savory CC gets gloriously messy post-photo op.
Nada new about dessert.
Kettle corn with a side of Twitter in a sea of down=life is good.
So, por favor, tell me: What are your favorite ways to eat cottage cheese? Do you have a favorite brand? Also, there are so many different types (fat content, salted, unsalted). Which do you like best? I just grabbed a random brand and chose 2 percent because I didn’t know if fat free was gross/if 4 percent was too thick. Any CCadvice is greatly appreciated!
Amor,
Sarah
THE FOODIE DIARIES 
As amazing as your eats are, I just can’t get past the oatmeal/bran + onion/asparagus! lol! I just don’t think I could ever even attempt it. You are one brave chica. 😉
And as for cottage cheese, not really a fan, but used to eat it with berries, or in protein pancakes!!
LOVE cottage cheese, I eat it every single day and never get sick of it! you can do AMILLION things with it! I love it mostly sweet style. I mix some jam and PB, frozen berries and any cereal for some crunch! its also great atop a salad with some seasonings. I love mixing it with beans like you did above for a protein packed snack. Its also great on toasted bread or english muffin, which again you didsooo basically youstole my ideas!
Oh I love it in eggs with some cinnamon and vanilla extract!! 🙂
Everything looks amazing! I LOVE cottage cheese- unsalted is nasty, IMO. Even if you are eating it sweet, it needs to be the salted kind. Go to 4% and it’s a point of no return…so dand good. I love it layered in a parfait with banana and granola (try this now!) and another favourite is a sweet/savory that everyone thinks is gross but falls in love with. Don’t gag- cottage cheese, thousand island dressin, chopped red onion and raisins. OMG. Out of this world, as weird and gross as it may sound!
I’m with ya, I didn’t realize how much I loved cottage cheese til a month ago! Here’s my favorite way to eat it so far- mix in red pepper hummus and put it on toast. Tastes like an egg salad sandwich!
You’re right fat free cottage cheese is nast-o. I usually go with 2%. Fat free is INTENSE, but 2% gets the job done for me. Use cottage cheese instead of salad dressing! It’s good for those times when you have loads of veggies and beans on your salad with the creamy cc goodness. Mmm.
YAY!!!! I’m so happy I could convert you! I know so many people are kind of afraid of CC but there’s nothing to fear – it’s delish!
HEY SUGA!!!
YAYAYAYA FOR COTTAGE CHEESE GOODNESS! isnt it the BOMB dot FREAKING com?! okay i LOVE it mixed in oats.. like cheesecake! and i tweeted you this-but SO good with frozen fruit and almond butta or PB! also, GREAT with walnuts and mixed with greek yogurt! you really cant go wrong with it!! i LURVEEEEE it! its also super yummy in wraps with turkey/cheese/whateva!
You know i’ve got foodie diaries love when my google reader’s at 130 and I go straight to your new post 🙂
Soooo I need to re-create each and every foodie thang in this post over Spring break! NEED!
Love your savory take on CC. You gotta try it as a sweet mess though! Asap! And cc + english muffins are fabby. So are your savory OATS anddd gah I get hungry over the grilled cebolla every time!! Love you!! Off to leerrrr para mi clase de espanol!!
Haha ok, so I’m going against others and saying that I really like the fat free kind! It has less flavor, but I like that so I can easily make it sweet OR savory. The curds or whatever are also smaller, which I prefer. At least, I think they’re smaller. CC is so beautiful in that it’s amazing plain, with stevia+cinnamon+cereal+peanut butter, but it’s also so bossy with hot sauce+pepper+chickpeas+celery. It’s also ridiculous stirred into oats. It’s almost buttery.
I think we should all take a note from you and eat equal parts yogurt and Barney Butter on oats. I love that!
Again, I am amazed by you. AND THANK YOU!!! for posting, that is 🙂 Love you bunches. Let’s cuddle up in that down while blog gossiping, planning our futures and eating bags of kettle corn.
Sarah! I am a little late on reading your posties, so can I give you a belated WOOHOO for you exciting decision to go back to school for the study of la comida (did I butcher that? Apologeez)?
Cottage cheese is the jank. Period. I’m eating it right now actually, with chopped apple, cinnamon, and peanut butter. Love.
I was too once afraid of the CC. Not for reasons such as them causing yeast infections (never heard that one – gross!) but just because of the smell and look of it. But once I mixed in Stevia and cinnamon my life was changed! That mix happens quite often, and sometimes I just put jam with fruit or cereal in it to sweeten it up. I’ve never tried the savory version, but maybe I’ll grow a pair and do it soon. Oh, and your fist size blob of Barney Butter in your breakfast is making me drool. So much so that I may have to go dip something in my jar asap!
First, that bowl of oats is so beautiful, and I love your method of measuring trail mix. I do the same. 🙂
Secondly, YESSSSS for cottage cheese. My favorite way to eat it is with lotsa fruit. Like the “milk” to fruit cereal. Or in place of the yogurt in a yogurt mess. It’s phenom. I’m so glad you’re in on it now.
Cottage cheese rocks mis calcetines!! Your comida is oh so very hermosa 🙂
I’ve never tried cottage cheese. I love cheese, but for some reason I’ve always thought I wouldn’t like it. The texture or something just doesnt look appetizing to me. But I’m a picky eater….
Okay so I’m going to rewind to your last post for quick segundo! OKAY! THAT FRENCH TOAST NEEDS TO GET IN MY BELLY PRONTO!!!
Okay back to this post. I am the same way about the sun. Give me sun and you’ve given me life! Cold weather doesn’t bother me that much when there’s sun out. I find it hard to complain about anything when it’s shining 😀 It’s such a motivator and I just feed off of it.
I actually bought a tub of cottage cheese this week–haven’t had it in ages. Today I mixed it with my oats (cooked in soymilk + cinnamon + coconut oil). Then I topped it off with peanut butter. It tasted amazing! I also like to eat it with preserves 😀 I’ve also been having it on toast and crackers with avocado and whatever else I’m feeling at that moment. The other day I added some kale and today I sprinkled on some nutritional yeast. YEAST!! lol just kidding 😉 Cabot makes really good cottage cheese!! And Breakstone (I believe that’s what they’re called).
Te mando muchos besos y abrazos. Mi gemela.. las delicias que escribiste en tu commentario.. oh my gosh! My friend in NYC actually found a store the other day that sells only dried foods and she said it smelled heavenly. I MUST VISIT SOON!! Serious, if I can’t make it for a weekend DURING the semester it will for damn sure be the day after my last final lol. Maybe even the day of.
XOXO my tastebud gemela
http://www.ohonemorething.wordpress.com
i am shocked – SHOCKED – that you have never had cottage cheese! as a kid i would only eat it with pineapple. but now my fave is to have it with a sliced banana and strawberries, or with a muffin crumbled in.
I am so happy you discovered the glory of cottage cheese! I heart it.
Sooo many delicious ways to consume it! With applesauce (my current fave), with jam, with hot sauce mixed it and spread over toast or pita, mixed in with marinara sauce it creates a lasagna-like texture and taste, mixed in oatmeal, subbed for yogurt in a yogurt mess, on top of sweet potato. Okay I’ll stop now.
As for brands, I used to really love Breakstone’s 2% variety because it was so incredibly thick and salty, however the last time I bought it, it tasted like dirt. It was very bizarre and so I’m now boycotting that brand. One brand I never, EVER buy is Daisy (not sure you have that in NYC). It’s terrible, gaggy, gross. Most other brands are great though.
Your savory oats are always so pretty!
I love cottage cheese but I’ve never had it on an english muffin, my next quest.
I’m a big fan of whipped cottage cheese – I’d highly recommend it. I use it like cream cheese – completely delish.
– Beth @ http://www.DiningAndDishing.com
I’m so glad you finally tried cottage cheese! I remember your email when you told me about that comment your camp counselor made – too funny! Isn’t cottage cheese el mejor? I put it on and in everything. Recently, I’ve been mixing cottage cheese with my diced apple and a scoop of hummus. Sounds weird, but tastes great! I like mixing cottage cheese with salsa, too. It’s great on salads 🙂
Barney butter/yog equivalency looks just fine to me. The nut butter is the best part! Back in my full-fledged dairy days, I’d demolish a container of that in a single class. So yummy!
I remember my first experience with cottage cheese, which was also a case of love at first bite. So much love, in fact, that even after hearing a horribly traumatizing story about a “cottage-cheese-like yeast infection” at a training I was at for work, I continue to enjoy it on a daily basis.
In the beginning, I was a low-fat girl, through and through. But, recently, I realized that 1) The caloric difference between 1% and 4% isn’t very much, 2) 4% keeps me fuller longer – all those good fats!, and 3) 4% is AMAZING. I mean, I had always loved my 1 or 2%s, but ohmygosh, 4% is just a new world of creaminess!
As for brands, I tend to go with whatever is on sale; unlike my Mama, who is VERY partial to her Organic Valley.
Regardless of which brand or fat content you choose, ENJOY your new love!
Oh! As for my favorite way to eat it.. Well, frankly, I’m perfectly happy to eat it straight out of the container! I also add it to my oatmeal, which is great – ups the protein and bulk factor without significantly changing the taste or consistency. And, my most favorite way is with shelled edamame, topped with black pepper. So simple, so good.
I am fully obsessed with cottage cheese. Like serve it as a side for every meal obsessed. It can be watery, you have to be careful what brand you buy.
Cottage cheese virginity lost: check! SO proud of you 🙂
I’m with K-slice (I hope she doesn’t mind me referring to her as such…seeing as she doesn’t bloggy “know” me very well…I digress) in saying that I PREFER FF cottage cheese. The little cheesebally curds are smaller, and I prefer the dulled-down taste. Mixed with some cereal and stevia, or some unsweetened cocoa and stevia and a crapload of cinnamon, or the latter inside a tortilla for a sweet wrap….holy lord.
Warning: do NOT mircowave cottage cheese like you would ricotta, unless you are doing so for an experiment (I’d hate for you to waste perfectly good ingredients)…it becomes watery AND (the worst) tacky, kinda like the stuff 2nd grade teachers use to hang artwork in class (or my mom always made me use on my porcelin disney figures should an earthquake strike)….I mean, you might like this, so hey, go nuke your little heart out (that sounded wrong), but know that I wasted a good blob of pumpkin this way. Pumpkin cheesecake fail. So sad.