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Thursday, May 26, 2011

Dairy Day

In what should be a surprise to no one, our mozzarella day has turned into a mozzarella, ricotta, butter and Greek yogurt day!  We are nothing if not overly ambitious.  And, Jewel doesn't know it yet, but I'm hoping that we'll also be make a couple of baguettes with the leftover whey from the cheese making.  I've also never made bread but our cheese making instructor said that using whey instead of water makes for very good and interesting bread.  Seems only natural that we should be serving up our homemade cheese with some homemade bread, no?

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Cheese Making Class

Jewel and I took a cheese making class last night and it was amazing!  The process is amazingly simple yet very precise.  The instructor, Debbie, had a very relaxed and down to earth personality.  She made the class both fun and informative.  In fact, I'm trying to rearrange my schedule to go to her feta class soon!

We are so inspired to make some of our own mozzerella that we will be making some this weekend.  I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post about it here so stay tuned... 

Monday, May 23, 2011

Meatless Mondays and no TV Tuesdays

Meatless Mondays and no TV Tuesdays are two ideas that I'm toying with incorporating into my life.  I don't think it would do any harm to go one a week without any meat.  And I also don't think it would do any harm to go one night a week without watching TV - although I think convincing my better half of this might be a lot of work...  if not totally impossible.  I have a stack of about three months of magazines and several books that I really should get to.  Eliminating one evening of TV in lieu of reading sounds like a really good idea.  

Anyone out there try either of these ideas?  If so, what about it worked for you?  And what were the challenges?

Sunday, May 22, 2011

CSA

Our CSA summer share started this week after a month off since the winter share.  I missed it!  This week, we got collards, leeks, green garlic, spinach, parsley, cauliflower and popcorn kernels.  We like to supplement our share with our two raised beds which I like to call my kitchen garden.  We put two types of lettuce (just don't ask me which types!) a couple of weeks ago.  We have rosemary, chives and thyme that regularly overwinters quite well so I've been regularly harvesting lettuce, chives and thyme for salads for Ty (I don't eat salad).  We've also been often using the chives, rosemary and thyme in regular meals for the last month or so.  

I planted the majority of the rest of the garden yesterday.  We put in SIX basil plants for four varieties!  I think that basil has been my best gardening success - we use it some in cooking but mostly use it to make batches and batches of pesto.  We don't always do it the same way but it's generally always a combo of basil leaves, pine nuts or walnuts, parm and EVOO.  We them but the pesto into ice cube trays in the freezer until set.  Then we pop the cubes out and into a freezer bag to use the rest of the year.  Except that we always, always run out well before the next year's basil season.  So, this year, we doubled up on the basil plants:).  

We've also put in four tomato plants, another chive, another rosemary (this one trailing), green beans and soybeans.  The soybeans are an experiment but we did get them last summer from the farm so I'm pretty sure it is at least possible to grow them here.  

I'd also like to add three tomatillo plants.  Last year, I had the most beautiful tomatillo plant you've ever seen - tall, healthy with tons and tons of flowers.  I was so proud.  And I waited and waiting for that puppy to fruit...  before I looked it up and discovered that one plant will never fruit because a solo plant does not pollinate.  SO, this year I need enough that they will pollinate so I can make a bunch of salsa verde!