FOOD & DRINK

Unprocessed approach to Mexican cheese dip

Kristen Michaelis is a real food activist. Through her blog Food Renegade (www.foodrenegade.com), the Leander resident shares her passion for traditional foods — organic produce, fermented foods and beverages, raw milk and grass-fed and pastured meats and dairy products — and educates readers about the ills of a food system that relies on corn, antibiotics, pesticides and animal confinement.

Michaelis, who also owns a copywriting business and is a nutrition and wellness coach, says one of her goals is to help readers learn how to change what they eat in order to improve their health and prevent illnesses such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease. "I want to give people the tools and confidence they need to radically change their diet, to rebel against the dominant food culture," she writes.

Michaelis challenged herself earlier this year to create a recipe for queso that only used real cheese, rather than the processed kind that nearly every cheese dip in town relies on. She says that the results were even better than she imagined: smooth, creamy and rich. Home cooks won't have to rely on cheese that comes in a box ever again.

If you write a blog about food, e-mail abroyles@statesman.com and tell me about it. Maybe your recipe will make it into print.

— Addie Broyles

Creamy Mexican Cheese Dip

1 egg yolk (from pastured hens)

1 Tbsp. arrowroot powder (or organic corn starch)

1 Tbsp. milk (from grass-fed cows)

1 cup cream

1 cup milk

8 oz. grated cheddar cheese

4 oz. cream cheese (optional)

14-oz. can diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained

salt and chipotle chile powder to taste

To create a thickener that will bind the cheese together and keep it from turning into a nasty, oily mess when it melts, mix egg yolk, arrowroot powder and milk until smooth. Next, pour cream and milk into a saucepan and warm over medium heat. Gently stir in the thickener and continue stirring until the cream starts to thicken. Once your sauce begins to thicken, add in the grated cheddar cheese and small spoonfuls of the cream cheese (homemade from grass-fed cream is best). Lower heat to medium low, then continue stirring until the cheese melts and you have a deliciously creamy sauce.

Remove the sauce from heat, and stir in the tomatoes and diced green chiles. Then add salt and chipotle chili powder to taste, being sure to stir everything until evenly distributed.

— Kristen Michaelis, Food Renegade (www.foodrenegade.com)