cheesemaking, part one

the reason why we were heading to beth and eric's armed with streusel and pugs is because beth and i decided to try our hands at making cheese. really, beth is more research and development and i'm supply procurement, since i work in a pharmacy and can obtain 500 grams of citric acid at a moment's notice. we decided to attempt american mozzarella, which also yields ricotta. as my friend crystal pointed out, we're going the long way around to make lasagna. true, but who could resist the lure of fankhauser's cheese page?

so we gathered our supplies and began heating milk. we tried both 2% and the diesel whole milk (kroger brand). in a scene out of muppet laboratories, three different thermometers were used to determine the temperature of said milk. 88 degrees is apparently the magic temperature at which the flux capacitor renders time travel and cheesemaking possible. beth added some dissolved junket (rennet), some citric acid, and we left the warm milk undisturbed for an hour while we played with the dogs and drank some wine. after the hour, it looked like watery cottage cheese. so we left it undisturbed for another 1/2 hour. still not producing the fabled 'clean break' necessary to proceed to step 10. we waited another 1/2 hour. the husbands were getting restless. rambo was over, they had little patience for cheese-watching. so we decided to put the lids back on and let it sit, undisturbed, over night.

to be continued....

unhappy accident

yes, this is what you think it is. a pawprint in the middle of my rhubarb streusel. one may ask, how does this happen? well, i am now an authority. i put the streusel, covered with aluminum foil, on the front car seat because we were headed to beth and eric's. i went back inside to retrieve some other things. i came back out to see my husband, WHO APPARENTLY CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO APPROPRIATELY MONITOR ANIMALS, grabbing at francie as she jumped from the back seat to the front seat, right into the streusel.

i think she was surprised to find hot streusel on her foot. luckily, most of it was salvageable and delicious. thank god i foiled.

Tacky nor Not?

so i'm finally getting around to planting the last few tomato seedlings. i apparently over estimated the space i had since i now have two more seedlings and no where in the back garden to place them. recently this spring i had to pull two bushes that had not surived last summers heat. that being said, i have just enough space in my front yard for those two tomato seedlings. so is it tacky to place vegetable plants in the front yard? i personally think that its a good use of space since i haven't replaced those bushes yet (and no great ideas for replacesments). i've asked a few people and opinions seemed to be divided. just curious to get everyone elses thought on the subject........

rhubarb rapture

when i was a kid, i always wanted the muffins with strawberries and red celery. rhubarb is really fascinating and beautiful, and has a name that is fun to say. plus, other people think it's weird, so you never have to share.

rhubarb came to the US around 1800, but records of rhubarb use date back to 2700 BC in China where it was cultivated for medicinal purposes. the name of the genus, rheum, is said to be derived from rha, the ancient name of the volga, on whose banks the plants grow. others derive the name from the greek rheo ('to flow'), in allusion to the purgative properties of the root. the greek discorides spoke of a root known as "rha" or "rheon". whatever the origin, it is an excellent addition to pies, muffins, breads, streusel, etc, etc.

saw some delicious looking rhubarb and was inspired to bake. following are some photos and a yummy recipe.

heat oven to 350. combine 1 cup flour and 1/3 cup powdered sugar. using a pastry blender, cut in 1/3 cup butter until crumbly. press in bottom of ungreased 9-inch square pan and bake for 15 minutes. while that's baking, combine 1 1/4 sups sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 eggs slightly beaten, and 3 cups sliced rhubarb. pour the filling over crust. to make topping, combine 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. cut in 1/3 cup butter until crumbly. sprinkle over the filling. bake an additional 45-55 minutes or until topping is golden brown and rhubarb is tender.

i won't tell you how much fat there is per serving. i ate mine with haagen dazs honey vanilla.

for more rhubarb lore, check out the rhubarb compendium or the rhubarbs article on botanical.com (one of my favorite websites).

more on blueberries

on a fact sheet of THE ohio state university horticulture and crop science department, i found the time frame for my blueberries - "Blueberry plants begin to produce fruit in the third season; however, they do not become fully productive for about six years." i think my twigs are a year old already. so two years to go.

apparently i am also supposed to monitor the pH of the soil, as they require acidity to be productive. soil pH should be in the range of 4 to 4.5 and have 4 to 7% organic matter or more.

i hope we don't decide to move before i get my berries!

my blueberry heaven

despite appearances, these are no mere twigs. these are my new project, raspberry and blueberry bushes. i envisioned joyful mouths stuffed with berry sweetness, fingers stained blue and red. pies, jams, compote, martinis. unfortunately, i have twigs. although they promise to one day yield 8 lbs of fruit each, i don't see any blueberry cobbler in my future. one day, they will be beautiful bushes and i will be able to enjoy a fresh berry smoothie as i hose technicolor bird poo off my car. one day.

a girl can dream, can't she?

dijon ketchup

my favorite condiment is mustard. so is beth's (unless i'm mistaken). in our refrigerators collectively, we probably have 9 to 10 types of mustard, from good old french's yellow mustard to garlic stone ground to wasabi to honey. the ketchup connoisseurs among our friends (brian included) commiserate that there are not equally extensive options for ketchup - dijon ketchup, in the words of the barenaked ladies. a chunky ketchup wouldn't work, because that's really more like salsa. garlic ketchup would be pasta sauce. while there is definite preference for heinz over hunt's, there aren't many other choices. i guess the argument could be made - why mess with perfection? would any other preparation have the diversity of applications - fries, eggs, meatloaf?

to revisit a previous topic - is ketchup a vegetable? some school systems have deemed it so. frightening.

mustard on the other hand, mustard is interesting. complex. an asset to any cook's arsenal. because of our reverence for mustard, this month's iron chef dinner featured mustard as the secret ingredient. first, let me explain iron chef dinners. basically, like on iron chef, whoever is hosting the dinner gets to choose the 'secret' ingredient. then each individual or couple prepares their own 'succulent variation' on the theme. we meet, we eat. we don't judge. it's fun to experiement. displayed are pictures of this month's mustard creations.

please note: potato salad does not photograph well. at least not in my experience. the salad contains mustard greens. and yes, that is mustard pound cake you see.