Thursday, September 08, 2011

Perfect days

We are indeed having a run of perfect days.  After having highs of over 100 for so long, and an almost-month-long drought, we now have snuggling weather at night and daytime highs in the seventies.  
The hard cheese I'm making is in the cheese-press.  Who knows what it will turn out to be?  Last time I followed the instructions for hard cheese, I ended up with feta cheese.  Later I looked at the feta cheese recipe and it was nothing like what I had done, so I guess the cheese fairy switched it somewhere along the line.  I really wish I could repeat that episode, because we have been loving the crumbly feta-type cheese in salads.  
How do you like my cheese press?  I'm using a wine bottle (from a local winery) full of water for the weight.  Tonight the cheese comes out of the press, gets wrapped in cloth, and will be stowed away in the refrigerator.  Cliff made the press for me out of a piece of PVC pipe.  
I'm pretty sure my experiment with making cottage cheese in the crock pot is a failure.  Oh, I have some curds to work with, but they are funny-colored and rather chewy.  Back to the drawing board.  
I went out in the pasture a while ago to see what the cows are doing with their time.


On the way back there, I noticed that some coyote, fox, or other varmint had feasted on bird recently.  
Bonnie was off grazing by herself.


The kids were in a nice, brushy place where it was cool.  Jody has a thing in her nose to discourage her from trying to nurse Bonnie.  


It might look uncomfortable, but it doesn't slow down her grazing at all.  
Also, while I was in the pasture I took a couple of shots of Adam's horses for possible future header photos.  Bonnie has been featured there so long, she is liable to think she's a movie star or something.

8 comments:

  1. Our weather has been just about perfect too, but will get a bit too hot on the weekend. (88 and 90) I LOVE feta cheese! I also adore cottage cheese but am not brave enough to try to make it.

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  2. Each time you make the cheese you learn something. Sounds like you're doing fine.I love feta for my salads. I also sprinkle it on corn with sun dried tomatoes. Yummy. I recently saw a TV program on how to make paneer. (Indian Cheese)It's like ricotta only drier. It looked so easy. And now with you talking about all kinds of cheese, I've vowed to try to make some. My biggest problem around here is to find somewhere to buy the cheesecloth.

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  3. I got my last cheesecloth from one of the larger Walmarts. Also, cheesemaking supply houses online have it.

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  4. great idea..I bet your cheese taste good. You are a very smart woman to do all that you do.

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  5. Thanks for the tip about the cheesecloth. I'll see what I can find at my local walmart, then will look online. My husband just went from a 40 hour a week job down to a 10 hour a week job, involuntarily... so I'll be looking for ways to cut corners. He wasn't ready to retire just yet. This came as a surprise.

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  6. I have never made cheese but would like to. The only thing is I would be eating it constantly and my cholesterol would go sky high again! ha! I think I may have asked you this already at some point but do you make butter? My grandmother used to make what we as kids called 'cows butter' and it was so pretty and really yellow. Can find it at some of the farmers markets but not too often. :o(

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  7. We've got cooler weather too-and its wonderful!! Can't wait to see how the cheese turns out-I so want to learn how to make some.

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  8. I love your home made cheese press!

    It has been too cool here this week, but starting tomorrow we'll have at least a whole week of cool mornings and evenings and 70s and 80s during the day. I hope we have several weeks of that!

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