Tomatoes.
Oh, how I love you. Let me count the ways…
1. All pureed up with hot peppers, onions, and herbs as a fresh salsa.
2. Fresh from the vine and paired with cheese and basil!
3. On top of the pizza I will make for dinner tonight.
4. Most of all, I love you plucked straight from the vine and bitten, not sliced. I don’t even mind a little juice down my chin. 🙂
On a side note, this DIYer has met a project she just ain’t into; cheese making. I wanted so badly to excel at turning out fresh, amazing cheese made from grass-fed local milk but, umm, no. My mozzarella is turning out rubbery and I am left with quarts of whey that I can’t bare to toss. I like having whey around, but that’s way too much of a good thing!
Alas, I am the first to admit that somethings are much better left to the experts and for these items I am happy to pay a little more.
What kitchen projects have you undertaken with enthusiasm only to be met with disappointing results?
I am unable to make fresh pasta like my German Auntie. Hers always turns out perfect – mine is a mess.
Pasta is on my long-term “to do” list!
I use the whey for bread-baking but still end up tossing most of it. And it seems like such a waste to me to do it, but the alternative is to get pigs. THAT I will not do. Heh. You’re keeping the cheesemakers in business, yay for you!
I always fail at chocolate chip cookies. It is sort of pathetic, but I accept it.
I just started my first attempt at making kombucha (using your how to post, thanks!) – let’s hope that one is not a fail 🙂
Too bad about the mozza, but your little tomatoes are sure pretty 🙂
the cheese may be coming out rubbery because you are working it too much (the most typical reason). Too much kneading = rubbery mozz. Also you can make all whey ricotta with your leftover whey. A great way to use it all up! Also, really love your blog! All my housemates and I read it together
Do you think it could be the vegetarian liquid rennet I’m using? I assumed I overworked the first batch when it came out rubbery so I barely kneaded the second but still rubbery! I tried ricotta and I only got about 1/4 of a cup of cheese for 3 quarts of whey! Is that normal? I use the whey for soaking grains and beans, making dough, and overnight oats so I really like having it on hand, just not gallons at a time.
And thanks for the blog complements! I love the image of you and your housemates reading it together!
P.S I took a tour of Prescott when I was looking for colleges, it was on my (very short) list for a while!
I don’t know about the rennet, because I typically use a vegetarian one because it’s easiest to come by but it could be either the temperature that you bring your curds to and how long you keep them at that temperature (I bring them to 100 degrees and shut them off immedietly)…or it might also have to do with the amount of cream in the milk, more cream supposedly makes a smoother mozz. Also make sure you are diluting your citric acid and rennet thoroughly. Are you using raw milk? I’ve never made it with anything else but some friends have and they had similar rubbery results.
And yes…all whey ricotta has a pretty low return, I have similar results whenever I make it…perfect amount for a personal lasagna 🙂
Prescott is amazing, one of the two schools I applied to! There’s something about the landscape of the southwest that I just can’t keep away from!
I made your yogurt torte the other night for a potluck, only I added a nectarine and some bee pollen, thanks for sharing the yummy recipe, everyone loved it!