Estoy Soy

The Spanish language has several handy elements that English lacks -- Second person plural. The conditional tense. And two different forms of "to be," one indicating a temporary state (I am happy) and the other with more permanence (I am American).

With yesterday's writing prompt, I deliberately chose not to read anyone else's response before writing mine. I instinctively went with "estoy"--where am I at this moment? Others went with "soy"--what am I in essence? "Soy" probably makes for a better read, but "estoy" is often who I am, even in essence.

I am fundamentally a language nerd.

Another thing I fundamentally am is a cook. Soy una cocinera.  I am also an inveterate recipe clipper. It's taken me a long time to deal with internet recipes, but I have binders and binders of clipped recipes. (Neatly organized  and tabbed, because that's also who I am in essence).

I've come to rely more on internet recipes, however, not for cooking but for sharing. I'm able to find copies of nearly all of my clipped recipes when anyone asks. I started assuming that all of my clippings would be on the web, but it turns out not to be the case.  This one isn't ... until now.

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Mother's Cottage Cheese Casserole (clipped from some magazine at some point)

1/2 to 1 lb. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 qt. cottage cheese
4 eggs, gently whipped
1/2 t seasoned salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/8 t paprika

Preheat oven to 325. Place top rack in the center of the oven. Mix anywhere from 1/2 to 1 lb. of the shredded cheese, cottage cheese, and eggs. Add seasonings to taste. Put mixture in a lightly greased casserole dish (about a 2 or 2.5 quart). Sprinkle seasoned salt and paprika over the top for both taste and color. Place the casserole in a water bath (a pan filled with warm water that will surround the casserole with gentle heat). Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until set as a custard.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Serves: 4-6