White Winter and Queso Blanco

Hello everyone! I’ve tried to get a post up once a month. Last month got away from me. My excuse- we were super busy at the cafe. From cookie kits to pounds and pounds of petals to be dipped. It was a couple weeks of, drive to work, work, drive home, sleep, repeat. There is a lot going on this winter and spring so to get back in a routine seems a far off, but it is toward the better. So enough with the excuses and back to cooking!

So for this month’s blog, I tried a recipe from a local magazine called Midwest Nest, it is for Caldro De Queso meaning broth of cheese. Flipping through the pages of design, cuisine, art, culture and architecture, this soup caught my eye. It stated it should be as classic as chicken noodle. Originally pulled from Ramshackle Pantry (you can find Ben on his website and instagram, to name a few). Taking a quick look at his website, I found he researched Knephla soup. Learned something new today!! Knephla or how ever you spell it, actually means little button! That just makes we love it even more!

Here’s some facts:

Queso Fresco

Means fresh cheese in Spanish

Usually made with cow’s milk or a combination of cow’s and goat’s milk

Mild, soft, and crumbly similar to feta, but milder

Brought to Mexico from Burgos, Spain

Gathering my ingredients

Fry onion in olive oil, add garlic for another minute.

Add potatoes, salt, pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes

It’s probably better to roast over a propane burner, but you do what you have to.

Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, remove cover and add peppers.

Add Cheese cook for 2 minutes, remove from heat and add milk and stir.

Ready to serve!

The recipe:

Caldro De Queso

2 Tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, chopped 3/4 cup

2 medium tomatoes, chopped (I used 3)

1 tsp dried oregano

4 medium potatoes, chopped (I had russets from my garden on hand)

1 tsp salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

6 cups chicken broth

3 roasted poblano pepper, loosely chopped (I used 2 Anaheim and 1 poblano

1 cup milk room temp to avoid curdling

10 oz Queso fresco chopped in 1 inch cubes

Fry onions in large pot with olive oil. After a few minutes add garlic for a minute more. Add tomatoes and oregano and cook for a couple of minutes. Add potatoes, salt, pepper, and cook for another 5 mins. Add broth bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender. Remove cover add peppers and cheese an cook for a couple minutes. Remove from heat, add milk and serve.

We spent sometime in Rapid City SD over the holidays the weather was beautiful, as was the scenery.

A couple weeks ago, we did some ice fishing and caught a good amount of perch.

A frosty evening along the Red River

My first Charcuterie board

Also my first time making Sopaipillas!

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven; Ecclesiastes 3:1