Goat cheese...

I can buy fresh goat's milk very near our house. I am thinking of getting some to be able to make "goat cheese".

It is only heated to 77F (you can go up to 86F but no more) and then an acidifyer culture is added. Couple of tablespoons of cultured buttermilk would do the trick. Along with it, you would need to add 2-3 drops of rennet. If you have no access to it, you can find something called 'junket tablets' in your grocery store, usually by ice cream and baking supplies. This is a weak type of rennet and would be enough to start the enzymatic activity. Cover the pot and wait between 8-12 hours until the curd pulls away from the sides of the pot as a single lump and is covered with about 1/4" whey.

Then I also found this cookie recipe in the newspaper.

GOAT CHEESE COOKIES
1 cup fresh goat cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
3 egg whites
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350*

In a bowl combine goat cheese and sugar, cream together.
Add flour and egg whites, mix.
Spread on a parchment lines baking sheet.
Season with salt and pepper.
Bake until golden brown, 10 - 12 minutes.
Cut into individual serving sizes.

Be Safe...

Bowling ball bugs...

are these not the cutest things...

guess who just got 16 FREE bowling balls.

any other ideas?

Seasons of our life...

if you are between 50- and beyond

you are in the WINTER of your life..

Not the end at all, actually a NEW beginning...

My favorite season...

Ahh you have more wrinkles to your smile,
* unfortunately this is too true...

you take longer to get up and going in the morning..
* isn't that what Aleve is for?

I think you LAUGH more in this season, at least I do...

I cherish every single moment, every little miracle

that happens to come across my path.

I count blessings each and every day.

* because, working where I do, I know how quickly your life can change.

This is the time of your life when you realize

GOD has a great sense of humor and he has blessed

you with it...
* that and grandchildren and the knowledge that I raised two wonderful adults.

Using our milk...

Devonshire Cream also known as Clotted Cream

Make the real thing by putting heavy whipping cream in a double boiler until it is reduced by half, remove it from heat and let it stand for 2 hours then refrigerate it for at least 12 hours. Stir the "crust" down into the cream--the BEST!

Alternate Recipe..
5 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
1 tablespoon heavy cream, reserved
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted

Beat softened cream cheese, sugar, and one tablespoon reserved cream with a hand mixer until smooth. With a spatula, gently fold in the whipped cream. Do not over mix. It will be a bit lumpy. This is so easy for the children to do! Enjoy!

Here's another recipe...

Place water in small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 10 minutes. Stir mixture over low heat until gelatin dissolves. Let stand just until cool but not set, about 10 minutes.

Place sour cream in medium bowl. Stir in gelatin mixture. Beat cream, sugar and vanilla in medium bowl until soft peaks form; fold into sour cream mixture in 2 additions. Cover; chill at least 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

• 1 cup chilled sour cream

• 1 cup chilled whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Makes 3 cups.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Devonshire-Cream-15350#ixzz13ZE5l34K

Another Recipe:

4 ounces mascarpone

1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 or 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar

Zest of lemon or lime (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat until the mixture holds its shape and looks like softly whipped cream. Use right away or cover and refrigerate the cream until serving time.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/DevonshireCream.html

cheese making...

SOURCES...

1. www.glengarrycheesemaking.on.ca
2. www.cheesemaking.com
3. www.dairyconnection.com
4. www.hoeggergoats.com
5. www.leeners.com
6. www.moonwiseherbs.com
7. http://fiascofarm.com
8. www.cheese.com
9. www.ilovecheese.com
10. www.slowfood.com
11. www.dairyheritage.com

Check out the above website for information...

GIVEAWAY...

Go to Room Remix...the blog today and sign up for a $60.00 Tupperware Giveaway.
Gotta love Tupperware! Sponsored by Melea.

Another update...

another piece completed...

we will need to get some more sand to raise the ground level...

18 bags to go...
and this morning I found a you tube video on making stained glass stepping stones!
I see these is our future... or mosaic, that would be pretty to.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

Yesterday I went to the store and they had some bananas bagged up for clearance...
6 pounds of bananas to be exact for just $1.00...
What would you do with that many bananas?

It turned out to be 13 bananas... I decided to dry six of them...
and Kenneth will be making banana bread with nuts this weekend.
I have homemade butter too AWESOME!

Good meal...

preheat the oven to 350*. Grease 9X9 dish with butter. whisk together 3 ingredients, add half the cheese, ham and the tator tots. Pour into dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes. Should set up and be golden brown.

update...

First we would like to send a BIG...Thank You... to Richard and Dottie for the use of the cement mixer. It just needed a little WD-40 and a twist of a wrench and it works fine.

We built a couple of forms to use for the extension for the porch area...

6 bags of 80 lb. concrete...done...

total is up to 15 bags... only 21 - 22 bags to go...

Kenneth found a pair of concrete bench legs for $15.00,
all we have to do is make a new bench seat.

Morning visitor...

For the last two mornings the dogs have gone out in the backyard and were greeted by this possum. Kenneth has gone out both mornings before he goes to work but has not seen him yet. Only the dogs and i have had that pleasure... What can we do to get him to leave?

Raw milk...

What is raw milk? Milk that comes straight from the cow... see Raw Milk Facts...

Tuesday my friend and i drove to two different dairy farms: Jersey Girls Milk and Texas Daily Harvest.

We both bought 4 gallons fresh milk from Jersey Girls Milk, this is their calving season and they had lots of calves for sale. Boys are $50.00 and girls are $250.00 each. Unfortunately I couldn't fit her in the car.

Sharon also bought seven different types of cheeses from Texas Daily Harvest. We also tasted yogurt and strawberry (made with real strawberries) drinkable yogurt. We saw them making Greek yogurt and got a mini-tour of the farm. They are a full organic farm and sale meat: beef, pork, eggs and produce.

left over butter milk on the left and whey on the right...

Over the last couple of days I took 6 cups cream off two of the four gallons of milk, leaving about an inch of cream in the jug. I froze the cream and the milk for future use. Today I took 2 cups of cream off the third gallon and let in set out on the counter for 2 hours in a quart jar before I started to shake it. After shaking for 20 minutes I had about a 1/2 cup butter and 2 cups 1% milk. Which I placed back in the refrigerator for future use. I also froze that third gallon for later.

Then I shook up the fourth gallon and poured 1/2 gallon into a pan and made some Paneer Cheese. Heating on medium/high heat heat to just before it starts to boil, turn down to medium heat and add 1 cup plain yogurt, continue stirring. You will see the curds start forming, when it separates pour into bowl lined with cheese cloth or muslin. Pull up cloth and drain off whey into bowl...DO NOT DISCARD. Rinse cheese under cold water,squeeze out excess water and place on flat surface with heavy pan on top to flatten it. Let sit 30 minutes, remove cloth and ENJOY.

I still have 1/2 gallon left in the refrigerator which I will use to make some homemade yogurt.
It's basically made like the cheese only you heat the milk to 180*, remove from stove and let cool to 120*. Then take 1 cup yogurt and scoop a little of the cooled milk into a bowl with the yogurt to temper it, mix and then add the remainder of the milk. I cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the microwave. Layer 1 bath towel in the bottom of the microwave, set in the bowel of milk and cover with another towel. Leave undisturbed for 8 hours. (I usually make this up and let setup overnight) I then spoon into 1 cup plastic containers and place in the refrigerator. When you go to eat it you can add anything/flavor you want. If you want a thicker Greek Style yogurt this can be strained though cheese cloth before putting it into containers. If you keep back 1 cup, this can be used to prepare your next batch without having to purchase anymore yogurt.

So out of the four gallons of milk I bought, (cost was $5.00 gallon) I got:

1. 6 cups heavy cream (to be made into more butter later or for recipes that call for heavy cream)
2. 1/2 cup sweet butter
3. 2 cups 1% milk
4. 5 cups whey (use for baking)
5. 8 cups yogurt
   
6. 8 oz. Paneer Cheese
7. 28 cups/2 1/4 gallons milk (frozen...to be used at a later date)
   

What are you doing...

It's 10:00 a.m. on 10/10/2010.

What are you doing right now?

This is a moment in time which won't happen again for another 100 years.

10/13/2010 P. S.
I learned after this post that actually this won't happen for another 400 years! Why? Because it happened on a Sunday.

So what were you doing? I called and spoke to Kenneth to say "it's 10:10 on 10/10/10... Love you. He said "no it's not...its 10:08... so we spoke another couple of minutes. Why can't all clocks be set the same?

I LOVE Fall...

In progress...

Six years ago we started out to redo the front landscaping... well we finally got bacl to it in September. We rented a sod cutter, worth every penny. Marked off the area and got to work.

Kenneth cutting out the grass.

All cut ready to start moving... Where are we putting all this?

There's a low spot on the north side of the driveway where Kenneth parks, we'll put it there.

going pretty quickly...

While taking a break Amanda called and said "be sure you water it well"
so after returning outside God watered.

It actually only rained about 10 minutes...so back to work.

All rolled up ready to move...

There! that step is done.

We planted the 3 Red Leaf Japanese maple trees I bought in April.

I have been stockpiling supplies all summer.
Concrete, rubber mulch, 2X4's for edging and a planter...

We filled in the low spot...

Anybody have a cement mixer we can borrow?

To be continued...

Get out and Walk...

OK, this is what everybody tells you. "All you have to do is get out and walk for exercise." Well, I have discovered that's easier said than done. So when I saw an add in the newspaper asking for volunteers at the Runnin' WJ Ranch (check out the video) I called and am now a sidewalker.

The one thing I discovered is: you have to keep moving... no excuses, because other people are depending on you... horses are taller than I remember... It work my shoulders and lower body... I have to wear real shoes, no slip ons... and I had fun. I am now signed up for 2 1/2 hrs per week.