So what am I doing the night before David leaves? Making cheese. I should say that we got a babysitter and went to dinner earlier in the evening. But I have a clamshell of spinach languishing in the fridge that I was supposed to use for dip. But in order to make the dip I had to make the ricotta. But I forgot I was out of cheesecloth. Welcome to my life. David picked some cheesecloth up right before we left for dinner, so now I can rescue the spinach.
I love making ricotta or paneer. It's like... rediculously easy... and I feel so accomplished. I feel like I belong in a Laura Ingalls Wilder book, lugging heavy buckets of milk from the barn before hand churning it for hours... I guess that's butter. Oh well. It's also not important that I bought my milk, and I'm writing and watching Law & Order while my stove does most of the work.
You should make ricotta too, so you can share my pioneer girl feeling of accomplishment.
Homemade Ricotta
Adapted from My New Roots and Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef
Makes about 1 cup cheese
4 C Milk (non-homogenized, pasture fed is best; I used raw cows milk this time, but I've made it with store-bought whole milk before as well)
1 t salt
3 T fresh lemon juice
Heat milk and salt in nonreactive pot until just before boiling. Remove from heat. Add lemon juice. Stir. You should see the milk separate into solids (curds) and a greenish liquid (whey) almost immediately. If you don't, add small amounts of lemon juice until you do. Stir gently in a way that gathers the curds. Let sit for 5 minutes. Then pour the mixture through a strainer lined with a cheesecloth. If you like, put a bowl underneath to gather the whey. Use it in place of water when baking or cooking. Rinse the curds to get rid of any lemon flavor, then tie the cheesecloth to your faucet and let the cheese drain for 45 min-1 hr or until it reaches your desired consistency.
You have just made cheese. And so have I. Now I'm off to see if there's something I'm supposed to have been doing for the last thirty minutes.
-L
