Cheeeeeeese!

Guess who got her hands on a gallon of local, organic whole milk from grass-fed cows at half price? This gal! Oh yeah. I've been watching that discount shelf in the refrigerated section of our whole foods grocery store for just that sort of treasure. Never mind that it was supposed to expire that same day. It was fiiiiine.

I didn't even have to think about what to do with it- ever since reading about making cheese in Mother Earth News Magazine, I have wanted to try my hand at it. I'm seriously one click away from buying my own stash of rennet. But this time around- my first time around- I kept it simple. Ricotta it was.

I used this blog how-to for a quick reference to make sure I had my temps and milk-to-vinegar ratios right. It was as easy to make as everyone has ever said it is, I'm happy to report. It was actually really fun, as nerdy as that may sound. I'm hooked.

I pressed a small cake of my ricotta into queso fresco, too, but it was so bland that I ended up crumbling it into olive oil and seasoning it with salt, garlic powder, and a pinch of oregano. Now that was amazing.

The rest of my ricotta will end up in pancakes, no question. Love.

Now, what to do with all that whey? Good thing the possibilities look almost endless!

Next stop: mozzarella!