December 5, 2014 ~ Say Cheese!

Say Cheese!

Today, I finally used one of the more awesome Christmas presents I’ve ever received and made cheese. Yes, cheese.  Fresh Mozzarella, even!  I’m not sure why I hadn’t tried before.  Maybe it was because I had one or both girls whenever I was mostly awake, or the fact that the package came with rubber gloves.  I don’t really know.  And I’m kicking myself about it.

The cheese was fantastic.

Small curd

And not very difficult to do, maybe an hour for the first batch.  And yes, I said first batch, because, oh yes, there will be more.  I’m sure that when I make the Mozzarella again it will only take about half the time. I will need to get a better thermometer – a digital one, that goes below 100°F.

It seemed crazy to start with one full gallon of milk, but that was the recipe. After adding in the citric acid and heating it up, small curds formed. Once the rennet and calcium chloride were added it changed pretty quickly to much larger curds with clear whey.

Curds and Whey

Straining the whey and getting the curds quickly into a separate bowl was a bit tricky, but eventually I got them all separated. I was amazed at how little cheese curd there was.  Almost all the volume of the gallon was whey.

A quick run through the microwave and it was ready to mix and form into balls.

Warm mozzarella. Omnomnom

I tried some when it was still warm and gooey.  Oh.  It was lovely. Yum.  I haven’t had mozzarella like that before.  Stu also got to try some still warm and thought it was very good.

 

I decided to make just three balls from the batch, I didn’t have much time before needing to go get Ashlin.  They got nice and shiny as they cooled and I dropped them into the brine just before I left.

Ashlin didn’t believe me when I told her I made cheese while she was in school.  I let her try some after it was brined and she approved.  She may have been impressed I actually made cheese.  (It’s not marshmallow fluff or cookies!  LOL!)  She was sad she didn’t get to help though.  I told her that she could help next batch.

Balls brining

We may be making home-made pizza tomorrow.

I have two thirds of it in the fridge, in brine, and the last third is wrapped in plastic in the freezer.  It may not last the weekend.

 

PS.  The cheese making kit came from Standing Stone Farms, and their recipe is similar to this one.

August 5, 2012

Dinner

Tonight was one of my favorite dinners. Cheese and pâté.  Stu found one of my favorite cheeses, a goats milk bucheron, as well as a very lovely goats milk Brie.  Our grocery store doesn’t seem to carry the bucheron at all, whereas our former store did, as well as the one in the town over.

The piece of goat cheese that Stu picked was thick, with a nice creamy ring around the outside.  The middle was solid, but not crumbly.  It was a strong, but rich taste, but not overpowering.  Definitely one to eat after the brie.

And oh, the brie!  It was very creamy and rich.  Mild, but more along the lines of a Camembert than a Brie, but still, a very lovely cheese.  Both went nicely with the Champagne pâté, a mild  yet satisfying pâté.  I paired my dinner with a hard cider, Stu with a beer.  I had a quick thought about maybe some wine, but it is Sunday night, and we didn’t get to sit down for dinner until late.

One reason Teagan was up so late, I figured out how to get some of the Olympic events on the iPad.  I showed her the Synchronized Swimming, and she was in love.  She started doing the leg lifts on the floor, some of then hand motions, asking why they do that? What’s their name?  She was very impressed with how long they could hold their breath.  To be fair, I am too, and I did my fair share of synchronized swimming (water ballet!) when I was younger.  Nothing along these lines, but we had shows with all the groups doing a routine.

Maybe she has a bit of Olympic spirit after all.

Creamy Brie

Goat’s Milk Brie

 

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• August 1, 2012 ~ Dinner (lisasff.wordpress.com)

August 1, 2012 ~ Dinner

Tonight I made a recipe I saw on Rachael Ray’s show the other day.  I had all the ingredients, except for one, which is a bonus.  We picked it up last night on the way home from day care.  And well, it had cheese, which is always a winning ingredient for me.

The Taco Cake was very easy.  I did a few slight changes and a substitution.  I used a blend of cheddar and Swiss cheeses, as that’s what was in the fridge just waiting to be used up.  Also, I swapped out the refried beans for the  mashed black bean soup I usually make.  The bean puree, I made a bit thicker than normal, to more closely resemble refried bean consistency.

I was able to get the two main parts done over the course of the day, five minutes here, 10 minutes there, so all the parts were ready to put together after the working day was done, before I had to leave to get the girls. A quick 10 minute bake and then I pulled it from the oven to let it set while I picked the girls up.

I removed the spring form to serve, and it oozed out.  For some reason, it hadn’t set enough, it was too wet.  It may also have been a bit too warm still.  After sitting on the counter, waiting for Stu to get home, it seemed to firm up and I was able to cut two nice slices for us for dinner.

One of the girls loved it, the other, not so much.  Ashlin ate her portion as well as most of Teagan’s.  Teagan had a few of the corn chips I served hers with, for dipping and scooping, but barely even tasted the cake.

I had also made a Date and Honey smoothie, and that both girls loved.  Teagan kept calling it soda.   Ashlin did an awesome job drinking hers from an open cup!

March 23, 2012

Ashlin said her first word today.  Well, tried to.  Stu was feeding her pieces of string cheese, and swears she said “cheese.”  When I got there, Stu asked her to repeat it, and she did.  It sounded pretty close to “cheese,” though I’m not sure if anyone else would understand it.

Her first word is cheese.

My baby!  I’m so proud.