A cheesy makeover

I feel that I must first apologise for the title. But it really does fit the bill. :)

Bedtime, with Nigella Kitchen and a big fat furry purring bundle of contentment next to me. Yes I read cookbooks in bed. One of my many simple pleasures in life, and Nigella's books make for particularly dreamy bedtime reading.

I am especially inspired by one of the chapters in Kitchen, entitled "Cook It Better", where she describes her inability to throw anything away. There are recipes here for stale bread (Panzanella, bread pudding), vegetable odds and ends (throw them into a green curry), subpar strawberries (make crumble). I especially enjoyed her describing "making a banoffee cheesecake rise out of the sad ashes of a blackening bunch of bananas." You just can't fault the woman, outrageous as the stuff she says.

So of course I was inspired. And good thing too.

I had, in a spate of bad judgement, bought myself a pack of processed cheese slices thinking that hey, I could make a solo meal by slapping a conveniently pre-sliced, calcium-fortified piece on a tortilla, pop it in the oven and hey, dinner.

Not so. I had to force myself to finish my first attempt. And then I vowed to buy those blocks next time.

So what to do with the rest of the vile-tasting cheese? I fretted about it and resigned myself to conveniently forgetting about the rest of those horrid slices. Until I read this. I am a big fan of the blog - a lot of the posts are about buying, cooking and showcasing local Filipino produce. Plus I love breakfast. I read this post, and yes my friends, this I would do. I would pay homage to Nigella and throw more ingredients at my unwanted one and crackers will emerge. How glorious.

I set to work. Since the flavour of my cheese was quite horrid, I threw in curry powder (4 teaspoons), turmeric powder (2 teaspoons), Maggie seasoning (about 1/2 a teaspoon), and garlic powder (2 teaspoons). And I also subbed a combination of all purpose flour and ground oat bran for whole wheat flour. To top the crackers, I sprinkled some with chilli flakes, others I cracked black pepper over.

Lo and behold, they came out more than edible. Addictive almost, with the curry and garlic and chilli all contributing to a complex, deeply savoury flavour. I am rather pleased, I must say. I'm sure Nigella would approve.