Friday, January 8, 2010

My First Cheese


Lookit what I made last night!  OK, OK, it looks more like wontons than cheese balls, but it tastes like mozzarella cheese.  I know I said I wasn't going to do this until the weekend, but I had to stop at Stewarts for gas last night and thought, "since I'm here, I may as well buy milk."  Then I got home and thought, "since the milk is here, I may as well see if I have everything I need to make cheese."  It snowballed from there, and you see what happened.

As far as evenings go, this one was moderately interesting.  This cheese is supposed to be 1/2 hour cheese.  Never believe it when they say things like that!  They don't count getting everything together or cleaning up afterward, or half of what happens in the middle.   But that's not what made the evening interesting!  The cats flushed a mouse from somewhere, and following our previously mentioned "all-the-animals-get-involved-in-killing-a-mouse" plan, Maggie took it from the cats and almost killed it.  Then it used it's last gasp of life to run under the stove.  While I was warming milk, stirring and holding a thermometer in the pot.

I pulled out the lower drawer, with rusty pieces of the stove fallen in it, and it was all of us clustered around the stove except Desmond, who was asleep.  The cats going in and out, looking for the mouse, Maggie waiting for someone to bring it to her, and me, leaning waay forward, stirring milk.  I sincerely hope the mouse made it all the way outside before it died!

My stove scares me.  It's the only appliance left from the previous owner, and it's so old and gross that I refuse to use the oven.  (I cooked a Thanksgiving turkey breast in the toaster oven.)  How many more excuses do I need before I can buy a new stove!!

But the cheese - the cheese was very, very good! I may make pizza for dinner tonight (in the toaster oven), and use fresh mozzarella cheese. Mmmm.

8 comments:

  1. Good for you! I like the calm, presence of mind you show. I can imagine the scene you described would create a lot of stress/anxiety for many people. Enjoy your cheese! I hope your pizza turns out well.

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  2. Looks good! And what fun with the mouse!

    I was going to place an order at the cheese making store but they don't take Discover, which is the only card I use. So, I sent an e-mail and asked if I could order by mail and send a check, or order on the phone with Discover.

    Cheese making would make February fun!

    By the way, Sears had a very good sale on Kenmore stoves. I got too busy. I don't know if the sale is still on.

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  3. P.S. Just discovered that Amazon sells it, through the same store, so I can use Discover. Same price.

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  4. You sure impress the heck out of me! (I need to clear out all the thoughts that have been rattling around in my head, bumping into each other and keeping me stagnant and do something productive . . . like making cheese! I've always maintained thinking is over-rated.)

    Wish someone had been there last night to capture the picture of you, the two cats and one dog at the stove . . . must have been a sight to see!

    Go buy a new stove. Full-sized ovens are handy things. Besides, you'll probably be into bread making before you know it.

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  5. Thanks dp! - I'm not much of an "eeek" person, especially when there's sensitive food in play.

    Kate - I'd love to find a local cheesemaking supply store, so we can walk right in and get the stuff.

    As a matter of fact, Mama Pea, I saved the whey and was planning on making bread this weekend, one loaf at a time!

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  6. Good job on the cheese! It looks great and will be so good on that pizza!

    Regarding the mouse ... At least your critters were trying to kill it. My old kitty would play with one then release it so they could frolic another day.

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  7. Looks good!! That will be good bread with the lefte over whey. yummy!

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  8. Jordan-
    Do a bit of research before you buy the stove. My smooth cooktop says DO NOT USE A CANNER on it. How disappointing was that when I was just getting started with it. I went to my mom's this year to can, but i've read about others with a portable burner doing canning outside because it is too hot inside. I bought a new stove and double oven when the repair guy couldn't get me parts 'cuz mine was too old. I need to have ALL of it work. Good job on the cheese. Until recently, that was not something I had considered wanting to try. I'm still waiting on bar soap until I find everything I need. slow and steady, one bite at a time....

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