Friday, July 26, 2013

Goat Cheese with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

This is such an easy, delicious and healthy starter/appetizer, sandwich or mid-day snack.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I love cheese, so much so that when I was in sixth grade I wanted my nickname to be Cheese !  I have to admit, goat cheese is not my favorite cheese because for my palette it requires a little work .. I can't just take a dollop of goat cheese and put it on a cracker and enjoy it as much as I do a piece of cheddar or blue cheese. 

One way I do enjoy goat cheese is if I add some sun-dried tomatoes.  Sun-dried tomatoes are packed with flavor, are a good source of fiber and vitamin C and have zero calories from fat.   Sun-dried tomatoes are most readily available either packaged in self-seal plastic bags or packed in olive oil in jars.  My preference is self-seal plastic bags and made without sulfites .. which I purchase at Whole Foods.  If you do use sun-dried tomatoes in self-seal packaging, they should be reconstituted by soaking them in warm water.  I recommend that you should start with cold water and warm it in the microwave or a teakettle.  You should not use warm tap water because of contaminants from your hot water heater found in the hot water pipes.

The recipe for the goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes is approximately 5 ounces of goat cheese, 2 1/2 ounces of sun-dried tomatoes (finely chopped) and 1 1/2 teaspoons of agave.  The agave adds a little sweetness to the tartness of the goat cheese.  Then a nice addition is some fresh basil, either chopped and mixed with some olive oil (as shown on the left) or garnished with some fresh basil chiffonade (as shown on the right).

Spread the room temperature goat cheese mixture on some healthy high fiber bread .. and bingo, you have a healthy, delicious appetizer, sandwich or midday snack !  My choice of bread is Organic Flour Power Bread from German Bread Haus  (www.germanbreadhaus.com) in Fort Lauderdale, FL.  It is whole grain, high in fiber, full of flavor and only 43 calories per slice.