Rustic Lemon Cheese Mashed Potatoes

On April 9, 2026April 9, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry storedLeave a comment

After I started this month by explaining how to make an easy cheese at home, I wanted to offer plenty of ideas for using it. The recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon is both straightforward and versatile. It mixes fresh, homemade Lemon Cheese into basic mashed potatoes for a simple and flavorful side dish.

As I explain in my column, I intentionally leave these mashed potatoes relatively dry so that they work well as a filling for pierogi, a recipe I’ll share in next week’s column. Even though you could mix other cheeses, store-bought or homemade, into a side dish of mashers, my lemony version of farmer’s cheese doesn’t completely melt when heated and won’t become oily and ooze from a pierogi wrapper. This ability to retain its shape, hot or cold, makes this cheese my favorite addition on and in many other dishes.
Learn to make Rustic Lemon Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Lemon Cheese

On April 7, 2026April 9, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn cheese, ColumnLeave a comment

For the first time, I’m sharing my homemade cheese recipes in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. I’ve been making these recipes at home and teaching them in cheese-making workshops for years, and they’re tasty enough that they should be on your table too.

Cheeses run the gamut from easy and quick to complex and well aged, but the one in this week’s column is about the easiest to create. I call it lemon cheese because I use lemon juice to set the cheese curd, but it’s also known as farmer’s cheese, queso blanco, and paneer. You only need three ingredients and 20 minutes of hands-on time to make this cheese, and just a few specific tools and ingredients: a large kettle, finely woven cheesecloth, an instant-read thermometer, and ideally nonhomogenized milk.

Learn to make Lemon Cheese

How To Make Cheese, Step by Step

On April 25, 2023November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn cheese, FermentingLeave a comment

I’m excited to share my first pieces for The Old Farmer’s Almanac website—all about cheese! I created a basic cheese making guide to help beginners make their first cheese and experienced cheese makers learn some of the history and details about the process. It includes a recipe for a classic cheese from pioneer days: Farmer’s Cheese. You’ll also find that recipe in a separate post that includes step-by-step photos of the process.

I’m just as excited that by creating these pieces for Almanac.com, the editors have added more recipes to their website for making cheese and other dairy products. The website’s collection now includes recipes for homemade ricotta, yogurt, and butter. I have another piece in the works for their website, too.
Learn how to make cheese, step-by-step