Growing up, cottage cheese was a staple at the dinner table.  My mom served it as a side dish and she topped it with lots of black pepper.  Both her and my dad loved it but I on the other hand found it vile.  I do not like cottage cheese.  The taste is a little off but the texture does me in.  I really cannot handle that sort of chunky type texture.

However cottage cheese can be a great source of vitamins and protein making it a lovely addition to other things.  My favorite way to eat cottage cheese is actually mixed in with some oatmeal.  It gets warm and takes on the sweetness of the oats.  There’s no more chunky texture but instead a nice lovely smooth and creamy texture to the oats.

I also make another warm dish with cottage cheese but you’ll have to wait on that recipe!

Since I’ve cooked with cottage cheese it then occurred to me that I could most likely bake with it as well.  I had some cottage cheese that needed used up before it went past its prime and I figured this would be a good time to test out baking with it.

Andrea’s Blueberry Cottage Cheese Bread

• 1 1/2C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (or regular WW flour)
• 1C Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2tsp Baking Soda
• 1tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4C Sugar
• 1/2tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1C Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 1/4C Soymilk (can use Vanilla if you like)
• 1 Overripe banana
• 1C 2% Cottage Cheese (small curd)
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray (or oil of your choice).  In a large mixing bowl combine: Flours, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and cinnamon.  Combine with a whisk, and whisk for at least a minute or two.  In a smaller bowl combine the banana and soymilk.  Mash the banana and stir till it combines with the soymilk.  Then add in the cottage cheese and vanilla extract, combine again.  Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and gently stir until everything is well mixed.  Add in the blueberries and also gently combine.

The dough will be a bit heavy but should be moist.  If it seems a bit dry, add in more soymilk, a tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together.  It will be sticky.  Place dough in the greased loaf pan and bake until cooked through.  About 30 minutes or so.  Insert a toothpick, if it comes out clean, the bread is done.  If it comes out with dough, keep cooking.

Allow bread to cool for about 10 minutes before slicing.  Serve and enjoy!

I love when cooking experiments come out fabulous and that’s exactly what happened with this bread.  It is delicious!  It is a moist soft bread with a slight crumble which means it’s perfect for just about everything.  I normally have it as a dessert with some wine but this paired with coffee or tea would be a great combo as well!  Because this dough is thick, it’s sort of lumpy in the loaf pan creating a nice rustic look to it when it finishes baking.

The blueberries give it a nice color and is a great way to use up some of the summer berries that are now plentiful.  You cannot taste the cottage cheese at all, it just melts into the bread leaving behind a few sprinkles of white here and there.

This bread has it all, whole grains, fruit, and protein which means you can feel good about eating that third slice.

This could probably be made into muffins as well for a brunch that you’re hosting or if you’re looking for something festive to take to the 4th of July party you are headed to.  We’re currently out of the bread but I do have some blueberries and cottage cheese on hand so I might need to make another loaf!

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food!  Enjoy!