Days 6 & 7 - The Watched Cream Never Rises

Be good ya'll!

I've started into even more dairy adventures.  After the success I had with the mozzarella cheese and ricotta, I've decided to branch out into butter.  Apparently its just as easy to make as cheese.  The only problem is that I have to wait for the cream to rise to the top of my local raw milk.  I'm guessing it doesn't help that I open the fridge about every 5 minutes to check on it!

But... I've finally come up with a recipe that Rocks!

I found a bag of tomatoes left over from last summer's garden in the bottom of my freezer.  You would have thought I had just found a winning lottery ticket.  One hour later and I had a decent tomato sauce.

Gee...what to make with tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, local grass fed ground beef, mozzarella cheese, and a huge bunch of of local kale?

Noodleless Kale Lasagna of course!

So I chopped up the Kale and some cabbage into bite size pieces and sauteed in garlic.
Cooked the ground beef with a couple of tablespoons of Italian seasoning mix and onion (locally available this season at the Palafox Market)
Mixed 8 oz of ricotta, 4 oz mozzarella, two eggs and more Italian spices.

Layer 2 x
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 ground beef mix
1/2 ricotta cheese mix
small handful mozzarella cheese grated
1/2 of the greens

Finish with more tomato sauce and a handful of mozzarella cheese
I know - sounds great doesn't it - and it was

Day 3 redux and Day 4

Day 3 redux

So on day 3 I didn't really cook anything different.  I had Day 2 leftovers for lunch and Day 3 leftovers for dinner.  I wanted to point out my Breakfast, however,  I think this is what is meant in the Bible about a Land overflowing with milk and honey.  I found frozen blueberries from last years garden, reheated with East Hill Honey, my homemade yogurt (best in the world), and add more East Hill Honey.  Yummy

Day 4

Started with a trip to the Palafox Market.  I missed out on some greenhouse hydroponic tomatoes by about  5 minutes.  I did an initial walk through of the market to see what was available.  Saw the tomatoes and made a mental note to go and get them.. By the time I got back they were gone and I was mad!  It may not seem like much but tomatoes from the supermarket are off limits so I got pretty excited by the thought of fresh tomatoes.  Made up for it by picking up some green sweet onions.  Also stopped by the booth of Green Cedars Farm and made arrangements for some lamb. It won't be available until the third week of March (about the last week of lent) but I'm sure by then I will be desperate for some alternate protein source.

Amy Moss came over for some milk fun this afternoon.  I've sourced out some local milk but can't find any local cheeses. Apparently there is a cheese producer over near Elberta, AL but its not carried in any local grocery store.  It is served at the Pensacola Bay Brewery.  I'm hoping to stop by there soon for local brew and local cheese.

Went by our local craft wine/cheese making shoppe (The Shady Lady) and picked up a cheese making kit. Guaranteed to make mozzarella or roccotta cheese in 30 minutes.  Amy Moss came over to help.  We broke out the Paw Paw's raw milk from McDavid, FL and set to work making cheese.  The first batch of Mozzarella went OK but didn't become a string-like as anticipated.  The rocotta  cheese came out great.  We decided to try one more batch of mozzerella cheese - It came out great!!.  I am officially a cheese maker!  Luckily Amy Also showed up with a couple of bottles of Smokey Plum wine by my favorite Vitner - Joe Moss.  I don't know how Joe made this wine but it is some of the smoothest local wine you could possibly imagine.  It is light smooth and mellow with the perfect balance of fruit.  Two Thumbs Up for this Hatton House vintage!

I think Dinner tonight will be leftovers, wine and cheese.