I saw this recipe in the latest issue of Everyday Food magazine. Well, it's not even a recipe, just an idea, but what a wonderful and easy idea. One ingredient, a little bit of patience and you get a perfect homemade cream cheese. Mix it with fresh chopped thyme, spread on a soft slice of dark rye bread, sprinkle with lots of flaky fleur de sel, freshly ground coarse black pepper and arrange a few spicy arugula leaves on top - it's a piece of heaven, better than any dessert or chocolate. It's light, tangy and refreshing from the use of yogurt, perfect for easy summer snack. Give it a try, mix it with garlic and fresh herbs, sun dried tomatoes and olive oil, chives and roasted red peppers - the possibilities are endless!!!

recipe from Everyday Food by Martha Stewart (june 2009)

• Greek or Balcan style yogurt - 1 big tub

- Place 2 layers of cheesecloth in a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl.
- Add the Greek yogurt and loosely cover with plastic wrap.
- Top with a plate that is at least 1 inch smaller than the inside of sieve and weight with a heavy can.
- Refrigirate for 24 hours for Yogurt Spread or 48 hours for Yogurt Cheese.

Comments

- After 48 hours there was still a lot of liquid left in the yogurt, so I let i drain for another 24 hours and then I actually squeezed quite a lot of liquid by hands.
- I think the better way to do it, would be to wrap the yogurt in the cheesecloth and not put it inside the sieve, but actually hang it somewhere. It'll drain from its own weight. That's the way we do cottage cheese in Russia and it only takes a few hours instead of a few days.
- However, no matter which method you choose, the result is absolutely amazing!!!!