COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • FEBRUARY 6, 2019 •
Cook’s Corner —
Pet tips
‘N’ tales
Secretly cooking with cottage cheese
By Betty Kaiser
C
ottage cheese is one of
those foods that you
either like or you don’t. My
family loved the creamy
white blob, but my husband’s
family couldn’t tolerate it.
I didn’t know that. So, as a
very young newlywed, my
fi rst dinner dish was a disas-
ter.
Read on...
One of the fi rst dinners
that I prepared as a new
bride was all the rage. It was
called “California Casserole.”
Everyone I knew loved it and
so did my husband. Th e fi rst
time I prepared the dish, he
scarfed it down and asked
me about the ingredients.
I innocently recited the
ground beef, noodles, toma-
to sauce, etc.
Everything was fi ne until
I said, “cottage cheese and
sour cream.” Well, you would
have thought I had declared
WWIII. Turns out his father
was a very picky eater and
despised most things dairy.
Cottage cheese and sour
cream were banned from the
Kaiser table and now ours.
Chuck and his brothers had
grown up hating food that
they had never tasted.
Well, aft er I dried my
tears, I towed the line for a
while and removed them
from my menu list. Th at se-
verely crimped my style. So,
slowly but surely, I found
ways to incorporate the
banned foods into our diet.
I just didn’t tell Chuck
what he was eating! Now,
he even happily eats cottage
cheese on fruit and a sour
cream onion dip suits him
fi ne.
Cottage cheese is one of
the most versatile things
in my frig. I buy the 2 per-
cent low fat carton that has
fewer carbs (1 percent) but
13 grams of protein. It still
tastes rich and creamy and
is great in casseroles, scones,
pancakes, waffl es, a fi lling
for crepes or eaten alone.
Th e California Casserole
is now very popular and I
have previously printed it
so I won’t repeat myself. Re-
cently I was hungry for mac-
aroni and cheese and came
upon the following recipe. I
think it’s one of the best mac
and cheese dishes ever.
Give it a try. Th e scones
recipe calls for cutting them
like biscuits. I prefer the usu-
al pie sliced way.
It’s your choice. Enjoy!
Creamy Macaroni
and Cheese
(Serves 6)
• 3 cups uncooked elbow
macaroni
• 6 tablespoons butter di-
vided
• 1/4 cup fl our
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 8 ounces of Velveeta
cheese, cubed
• 1-1/3 cups cottage
cheese
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2 cups shredded sharp
cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
divided
• 1-1/2 cups soft bread
crumbs
Pet Cremation
Dignifi ed Options for Our Faithful Friends
At Smith Lund Mills we believe that pets
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When a pet dies it can be very diffi cult
time for everybody involved. We
understand the feelings of losing a pet and
our professional, caring staff will be ready
to assist you during this time of loss.
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123 S. 7th St., Cottage Grove
Visit smithlundmills.com for more information.
6
-day
weather forecast
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
44° | 31°
41° | 32°
Cloudy
Rain
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
39° | 26°
41° | 29°
Rain/Snow
Rain/Snow
MONDAY
TUESDAY
41° | 29°
41° | 28°
Rain/Snow
Rain
Preheat the oven to 350
degrees.
Cook macaroni accord-
ing to package directions.
Drain the macaroni and
place it in a greased 9x13
baking pan.
In a medium saucepan,
melt 4 tablespoons butter.
Add the fl our, salt and sugar,
then stir until smooth.
Gradually add in the
milk, stirring constantly.
Bring to a boil. Cook and
stir for 2 minutes or until the
mixture has thickened. Re-
duce the heat to low.
Stir in the Velveeta cheese
until melted.
Stir in cottage cheese,
sour cream and 1 cup ched-
dar cheese until melted.
Pour the cheese mixture
over macaroni. Sprinkle
with the remaining cheddar
cheese.
Melt remaining butter
and toss with bread crumbs;
sprinkle over top the casse-
role.
Bake, uncovered, at 350°
for 30 minutes or until gold-
en brown.
Savory Scallion and
Cheese Scones
(Makes 8-19 scones)
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 4 tablespoons milk, plus
more for brushing on top
• 2½ cups all-purpose
fl our
• 1 tablespoon baking
powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon black pep-
per
• 6 tablespoons unsalted
butter, chilled and diced
• 3 scallions (or green on-
ions) thinly sliced; about ½
cup
Preheat oven to 450F
and line a baking sheet with
parchment paper.
Puree the cottage cheese
and milk together until
smooth in a blender or food
processor; set aside. Whisk
together the fl our, baking
powder, salt, and black pep-
per in a large bowl.
Cut in the butter with
a fork or using two but-
ter knives until it looks like
coarse meal. Add the scal-
lions and stir in the cottage
cheese puree. (Th e dough
should come together, but
not be too wet; if the dough
is still too crumbly, you can
add milk a little at a time un-
til it comes together.)
Shape the dough into a
ball, then fl atten it into a
disk; wrap it in plastic wrap
and chill 10 minutes in the
freezer.
Turn the dough out onto
a lightly fl oured surface. Roll
or press the dough out to a
circle about 7 to 8 inches in
diameter and ¾ inch thick.
Use a fl oured 2½ inch
round cookie cutter to
stamp out the scones, then
gather up the dough scraps
and repeat as necessary (you
should get about 8 to 10
scones).
Transfer the scones to the
prepared baking sheet, light-
ly brush the tops with a little
milk, and bake until puff ed
and light golden brown on
top and bottom, about 14
to 16 minutes. Serve warm
with butter.
Call today (541) 942-0555.
By Mary Ellen
“Angel Scribe”
Amber Alert!
A paw-fessional hat bark-ler
R
etired, Bob loves math. “I’ve been a math purr-fessor for
about 150 years. I now teach it worldwide online and also
teach counting to my dog, Gabby, and our friends’ dogs with
‘one-paw, two-paws, three-paws, four!’”
His other job is doggy-sitting Amber, Gabby’s cousin.
“It is a win-win-win,” said Bob. “Th e dog’s love each other’s
company. Amber is not alone all day, and her doctor parents
know she is in good hands.”
Th e friends met in a roundabout way. When his friend, Stan,
went to adopt a golden retriever puppy, Bob volunteered to
drive. Well, so he says! It’s more like he wanted to be immersed
in puppy love. Th at’s when things took a sudden turn, and his
and his wife, Jain, were added onto the waiting list for a future
puppy.
Months later, on the same evening, two pregnant sister gold-
en retrievers delivered 17 puppies. One of which was their an-
gel, Gabriel.
When Bob and Jain learned that another couple in town had
adopted Gabby’s cousin, Amber, they asked to be in touch with
Amber’s family. Th e rest is fur-story.
I am not sure if Gabby’s cousin, Amber, is in the best of
hands! Aft er all, Bob trained her to be a hat thief. It all started
so innocently...
“Th e dogs are a tag-team,” explained Bob. “Gabby is nuts
about balls. She retrieves a tossed one but won’t give it to me.
When I hold a second ball, she drops her fi rst ball and chases
the second. Amber learned that if she picked up the dropped
ball and gave it back to me, she would get a treat. She lives for
treats, so I always have a pocket full of treats."
Amber quickly realized that she gets extra treats when she
handed Bob anything. One day, when he leaned over to pick up
a ball, Gabby jumped up and grabbed his hat, either running
Contact Betty Kaiser’s
Cook’s Corner at 942-1317
or email her at bchatty@
bettykaiser.com
ACE Awards still accepting
applications for 2019
Each year, the Depart-
ment of Land Conservation
and Development (DLCD)
receives applications from
cities around the state for the
Achievement in Community
Engagement Awards.
Th ese awards recognize
the work of communities,
special districts, neighbor-
hood groups, and other
planning practitioners in
making superlative eff orts to
engage their community in a
land use planning exercise.
Outcomes of these proj-
ects can be as broad as coun-
ty wide, or as discrete as a
community garden.
Th e Citizen Involvement
Advisory Committee eval-
uates each application in a
manner that is mindful of
local capacity, scale, and re-
sources.
Th e community is invited
to submit applications again
this year to recognize com-
mitment to public participa-
tion.
Award applications are
due by March 27, 2019, at 5
p.m.
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DUSTIN TULLAR & RUSS OWENS
541-942-8022 • COTTAGE GROVE
PHOTO BY MARY ELLEN “ANGEL SCRIBE”
Caution! Don’t sit on this bench if you are wearing a hat!
This paw-fessional thief will ‘Retrieve-r’ it and be off and
running before you can yell, “Hey! Stop! That’s my hat!“
away with it or dropping it in the creek or ocean. She would
then let it fl oat, or carry it around awhile before retrieving it
and handing it in for a treat.
“Amber totally destroyed Bob’s fi rst hat,“ said Amber’s hu-
man. “We searched worldwide and fi nally found a leather re-
placement in Australia. Hope this one lasts longer!”
I stood watching as Amber snatched Bob’s new hat off his
head 12 times for a yummy treat. Finally, impatiently she stuck
her nose in his pocket and polished off the treats. She looked
like a dog wearing a surgical mask with only her brown eyes
showing above the pocket.
Bob, a smart cookie, always has backup treats in several other
pockets for bribing emergencies.
Annually, Amber and Gabby attend the birthday party at
Ambleside Beach in West Vancouver, Canada, for them and
their 15 birthday buddies on May 10. Many of the dogs, who
will be seven this year, have to be driven long distances to at-
tend. Not one word of complaint as they bounce out of their
vehicles onto the beach barking and reuniting with look-alike
siblings and cousins.
Aft er the beach party, the families drive to Bob and Jain’s
home to play on Gabby’s agility course.
Gabby loves Amber’s human family; and when they arrive to
pick Amber up from doggy play care, Gabby recognizes their
car’s sound. She runs to her toy box and carries a favorite toy to
the front door to welcome her guests ... and for a treat. She is a
great hostess and welcomes everyone — even repairmen — this
way. News Alert! Now Amber is copying her cousin because as
you know... she just loves treats!
TIPS:
Rewarding your pet with treats bonds you to your dog and
helps teach them.
“Th e dogs play chase exercising each other in our big back
yard,” said Bob. “One carries a toy outside, then they each hold
onto it and wrestle in a tug a war. Th en they play tag running
up the swing set's slide, then slide down it. Our grandchildren
puppy-play with the dogs. Th ey giggle, riding their electric car
with the dogs doing what dogs do, running aft er the little car.
Family memories with pets are priceless!”
Share your fun, amazing or crazing pet tips and tales at
angelscribe@msn.com or Follow Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales on Facebook
at www.facebook.com/PetTipsandTales. Adopt loving pets online
at www.PetFinder.com. For spay or neutering, call the Humane
Society at 541-942-2789.
