We are heading home to Portland tomorrow for a week-long extended vacation. This is the longest period we have been home since we arrived in San Francisco and I can't WAIT. Notice how I said we were heading "home". Our house is in San Francisco, but home will always be Portland. Or somewhere in the PacNW!
Festivities will include two weddings, a visit with Neil's family with a beach-day outing, lounging in the hammock, grilling steak, eating farm-fresh eggs, lounging down at the lake, possibly some canoeing, hiking, camping at Swift Reservoir, feeling warm grass on my bare feet, bocce ball, horseshoes, a night at the Kennedy School, dinner at Screen Door, Portland favorites (Lucky Lab, Powell's books, 23rd st.), Craft Brewfest, Blue Hour happy hour, visits with friends, hanging with my nephew, and most of all - BASKING IN SUMMERTIME.
It will have to last me for awhile. Or until August, when my niece will finally be here!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tea time!
I got a coupon for 1/2 off High Tea at the Laurel Court in the Fairmont Hotel (big, old, fancy hotel on Nob Hill) so Neil and I ascended the hill to rub elbows with the fancy types on Sunday. Unfortunately, we didn't get the memo that you are supposed to dress for high tea. We both showed up in nice enough shirts, and then jeans. Eveyone else had a dress on (because everyone else there was a woman). Once we sat down, we looked okay, but I'm pretty sure the maître d' thought we were lost when we first wandered in.
I've done the whole tea thing with my mom and sister a few times. There is a little farm out in the middle of nowhere up by my parents house called the Pomeroy House that does a traditional afternoon English tea and I just love it. The little tea sandwiches are adorable (and tasty) and the scones are buttery deliciousness and there are always good selections of teas.
This tea was even more of a treat, because it was in the Laurel Court, which is super-beautiful and fancy and every now and then - shhh, don't tell - I like to pretend that I'm fancy. Fancy without a dress, though, of course. Neil was actually very keen on the idea as well - he likes things like little finger sandwiches and I think - shh, don't tell - that he likes to feel fancy every now and then, too.
We forgot to bring a camera, so I stole some images from the interwebs. Here is the Laurel Court, right off the beautiful lobby of the hotel:
We actually sat at the table right in front of that big mirror.
I chose the Fairmont Blend tea, so I'm not really sure what was in it, or what kind of tea it was, but it ended up being really fabulous, with cream and honey. Neil chose the Earl Gray which neither of us really liked that much - it was very flowery and the floral scent before I took a sip just almost made me a little bit nauseous. Interestingly, every other table around us had really pretty little silver teapots. We got some dumpy old ceramic teapots. Perhaps it was the jeans? I'm sure the tea tastes the same no matter what it is served in. The tea leaves are loose in the pot, and so they had this little silver strainer that sat on top of the teacup, and you pour the tea through it to catch any stray leaves. Then there was a precious little silver cup that the strainer sat in after you were finished with it.
After our server brought our teapots, he brought out our little tray of teatime treats. Isn't it beautiful?
There were five different types of tea sandwiches. Here was the menu:
Smoked Salmon and Chive Cream Cheese Pinwheel on Rye Bread
Five-Spice Beef Tenderloin and Lady Apple Slaw on Black Olive Baguette
Dungeness Crab and Mango Salad on a Corn Muffin
Coconut Curry Chicken on a Mini Herb Roll
Cucumber and Sonoma Goat Cheese with Sun Dried Tomato Tapenade on Black Walnut Bread
My favorite was the Beef Tenderloin and Neil's was the Crab Salad on the corn muffin. But they were all super-delicious. I didn't try one that I didn't like.
On the next tier were our scones, accompanied by pots of Devonshire Cream (like delicious, richer, whipped cream), lemon curd and pear compote. Just heavenly. I'm not usually a huge fan of lemon curd, but this stuff was magnificent. I did a combination of cream and lemon curd on one bit of scone and I will just say, wow...
By this time, we'd drunk about 6 cups of tea a piece, but we forged ahead onto the last tier, the dessert platter with an assortment of pastries. I don't remember exactly what was presented, but there was a madeline, which was okay, a fruit tart (mine had a blackberry on it that was severely underripe, dampening my experience a bit), a cheesecake tart thing that was excellent, a coffee/tiramisu/bar thingy that I could have eaten a boatload of, and finally, we ended with chocolate mousse in a chocolate cup which was so amazing that I almost cried when it was gone. It melted in your mouth to a luscious, rich chocolate heaven that just slid effortlessly down your throat. Mmm, I'm starting to salivate just thinking about it right now.
It ended up really being a lot of food, and a lot of tea, and they practically had to roll us out of the Laurel Court when we were finished. We browsed around the hotel for awhile afterwards - it has amazing views of the rest of San Francisco, because it sits right up on the crest of Nob Hill - and then we headed back down the hill to return to the commoners. Because neither of us had cash for a bus fare for Neil, we walked all the way home. It was an unceremonious, fitting return to our regular life.
But for a couple of hours, we were fancy...
I've done the whole tea thing with my mom and sister a few times. There is a little farm out in the middle of nowhere up by my parents house called the Pomeroy House that does a traditional afternoon English tea and I just love it. The little tea sandwiches are adorable (and tasty) and the scones are buttery deliciousness and there are always good selections of teas.
This tea was even more of a treat, because it was in the Laurel Court, which is super-beautiful and fancy and every now and then - shhh, don't tell - I like to pretend that I'm fancy. Fancy without a dress, though, of course. Neil was actually very keen on the idea as well - he likes things like little finger sandwiches and I think - shh, don't tell - that he likes to feel fancy every now and then, too.
We forgot to bring a camera, so I stole some images from the interwebs. Here is the Laurel Court, right off the beautiful lobby of the hotel:
I chose the Fairmont Blend tea, so I'm not really sure what was in it, or what kind of tea it was, but it ended up being really fabulous, with cream and honey. Neil chose the Earl Gray which neither of us really liked that much - it was very flowery and the floral scent before I took a sip just almost made me a little bit nauseous. Interestingly, every other table around us had really pretty little silver teapots. We got some dumpy old ceramic teapots. Perhaps it was the jeans? I'm sure the tea tastes the same no matter what it is served in. The tea leaves are loose in the pot, and so they had this little silver strainer that sat on top of the teacup, and you pour the tea through it to catch any stray leaves. Then there was a precious little silver cup that the strainer sat in after you were finished with it.
After our server brought our teapots, he brought out our little tray of teatime treats. Isn't it beautiful?
There were five different types of tea sandwiches. Here was the menu:
Smoked Salmon and Chive Cream Cheese Pinwheel on Rye Bread
Five-Spice Beef Tenderloin and Lady Apple Slaw on Black Olive Baguette
Dungeness Crab and Mango Salad on a Corn Muffin
Coconut Curry Chicken on a Mini Herb Roll
Cucumber and Sonoma Goat Cheese with Sun Dried Tomato Tapenade on Black Walnut Bread
My favorite was the Beef Tenderloin and Neil's was the Crab Salad on the corn muffin. But they were all super-delicious. I didn't try one that I didn't like.
On the next tier were our scones, accompanied by pots of Devonshire Cream (like delicious, richer, whipped cream), lemon curd and pear compote. Just heavenly. I'm not usually a huge fan of lemon curd, but this stuff was magnificent. I did a combination of cream and lemon curd on one bit of scone and I will just say, wow...
By this time, we'd drunk about 6 cups of tea a piece, but we forged ahead onto the last tier, the dessert platter with an assortment of pastries. I don't remember exactly what was presented, but there was a madeline, which was okay, a fruit tart (mine had a blackberry on it that was severely underripe, dampening my experience a bit), a cheesecake tart thing that was excellent, a coffee/tiramisu/bar thingy that I could have eaten a boatload of, and finally, we ended with chocolate mousse in a chocolate cup which was so amazing that I almost cried when it was gone. It melted in your mouth to a luscious, rich chocolate heaven that just slid effortlessly down your throat. Mmm, I'm starting to salivate just thinking about it right now.
It ended up really being a lot of food, and a lot of tea, and they practically had to roll us out of the Laurel Court when we were finished. We browsed around the hotel for awhile afterwards - it has amazing views of the rest of San Francisco, because it sits right up on the crest of Nob Hill - and then we headed back down the hill to return to the commoners. Because neither of us had cash for a bus fare for Neil, we walked all the way home. It was an unceremonious, fitting return to our regular life.
But for a couple of hours, we were fancy...
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Just some pics
The delicious chili that Neil whipped up.
Yummy potato chips (but a bit greasy, as you can see)
A wedding ring that I am working on for my friend Katie. All I have to do now is set the diamonds. eeek. Scary.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Beware of flying pigs
Three things this week:
1. Neil made dinner twice this week. If any of you are familiar with Neil, you'll understand the title of this post and it's relation to this phenomenon. If you aren't familiar with Neil, let's just say that, in the past, it has been much more likely that you would catch a glimpse of a flying pig than eat a dinner prepared by Neil. No more! He is taking on two meals a week from here on out and apparently has been hiding his mad cooking skills from me all these year because his food is GOOD! On Monday he made chili and boy was it yummy. I peeked into the kitchen during the prep work and noticed that he has amazing knife skills - he chops like a pro. I asked him how he learned that and he shrugged and mumbled something about the cooking shows that I watch and that it just seems like common sense. ? Who is this man?
Last night he tackled tacos and while he wasn't quite ready to make his own tortillas this time, he did whip up homemade Mexican Rice and made his own taco seasoning. Again, with all the chopping involved in this meal, I was blown away by what a good knife-handler he is. He even figured out, on his own, that the chef's knife doesn't work with tomatoes and you need to whip out the serrated knife to cut them properly. ? Who is this man? Next time, he plans on doing the tortillas as well. And I don't know if it's just because I didn't have to do the cooking, but I swear the food tasted better than when I make it. I also surmised that it could be the fact that I don't measure any more, and he followed the recipe to a T, with measuring spoons and cups in hand. Could be something to this whole "following the recipe" thing.
He's already making plans for next week's meals - pulled pork sandwiches, tortilla soup, orange chicken - the ideas are starting to whirl. I think he's going to find that he really enjoys cooking. He actually thanked me last night for forcing him to do it!
2. I made potato chips last night. Well, actually, the real story here is that I bought a mandoline and I now love it with all of my heart. The potato chips were more of a result of my wanting to slice something, anything, with my new toy. Now that I've sliced, I am dying to julienne so tomorrow we are having french fries. And then maybe some summer rolls, so I can finely julienne some vegetables. Such FUN! But the potato chips were also a lot of fun. I soaked the sliced potatoes for 30-40 minutes, then drained and dried them thoroughly. Then I heated up a tiny pot of oil, about an inch deep because I was running low on oil, and fried like 10 tiny little batches of potatoes. It took forever and after this I would just go to the corner store and buy a huge container of oil because it took SO long. So they turned out super-crispy and nice and tasty, but a little bit oily. I read somewhere that it's better to fry stuff like this in lard, or another fat that is firm at room-temperature, because then when they cool, the fat firms back up. So I'm on the lookout for lard now at the grocery store.
3. Last but not least, I got totally fed up with the bus passing me by every morning, crammed to the brim with people and causing me to be 1/2 hour late to work and bit the bullet and started riding my bike. It's been three days now and I'm feeling pretty good about it. However, there are two downsides to riding a bike in San Francisco - the hills and the wind. The morning commute is a joy because the hills aren't as big in that direction (there's some great downhills) and the wind hasn't started blowing yet. But after work - oh! It's miserable getting home. I ride home on Polk street, and there are 6 blocks with hills between 10-18% grade. Oh that doesn't sound like much, sure... TRUST ME IT'S STEEP. And of course, there's the 18% grade block that my apartment is on so I get all the way to within site of my house and have to make it up one last ridiculously steep hill. And then carry my bike up the stairs to our apartment. Needless to say, I always arrive home wheezing, breathless and sweating like a madman. It's pretty. So the hills are one thing, but it's like God thought we had it too easy, those of us biking in the city, so he added some of the nastiest winds ever to the mix. I'd say that the city averages wind speeds of around 20mph on a daily basis in the afternoons. The windows in our apartment usually rattle from 12:00 on because of the force of the wind. Riding into a headwind going East-West and feeling like you're working so hard only to look down to realize you're in your lowest gear and barely moving is so demoralizing. What's worse is when you sigh with relief as you take a left onto a North-South street and then realize that somehow there is still a headwind!!! Or almost worse, a nasty crosswind that threatens to blow your tires out from under you and pushing you into that car that's driving dangerously close anyways. And of course add to the mix those people lurking in their parked cars and waiting to open their doors into you.
But all whining aside, it's immensly more pleasurable to ride a bike than sit crammed on a hot, humid, smelly bus and I've actually been enjoying myself. Not to mention the fantastic workout I'm getting without having to use any extra time out of my schedule at all. Right now my goal is to ride to work every day but Friday, so we'll see if I can keep it up. Wish me luck and no flat tires!!
1. Neil made dinner twice this week. If any of you are familiar with Neil, you'll understand the title of this post and it's relation to this phenomenon. If you aren't familiar with Neil, let's just say that, in the past, it has been much more likely that you would catch a glimpse of a flying pig than eat a dinner prepared by Neil. No more! He is taking on two meals a week from here on out and apparently has been hiding his mad cooking skills from me all these year because his food is GOOD! On Monday he made chili and boy was it yummy. I peeked into the kitchen during the prep work and noticed that he has amazing knife skills - he chops like a pro. I asked him how he learned that and he shrugged and mumbled something about the cooking shows that I watch and that it just seems like common sense. ? Who is this man?
Last night he tackled tacos and while he wasn't quite ready to make his own tortillas this time, he did whip up homemade Mexican Rice and made his own taco seasoning. Again, with all the chopping involved in this meal, I was blown away by what a good knife-handler he is. He even figured out, on his own, that the chef's knife doesn't work with tomatoes and you need to whip out the serrated knife to cut them properly. ? Who is this man? Next time, he plans on doing the tortillas as well. And I don't know if it's just because I didn't have to do the cooking, but I swear the food tasted better than when I make it. I also surmised that it could be the fact that I don't measure any more, and he followed the recipe to a T, with measuring spoons and cups in hand. Could be something to this whole "following the recipe" thing.
He's already making plans for next week's meals - pulled pork sandwiches, tortilla soup, orange chicken - the ideas are starting to whirl. I think he's going to find that he really enjoys cooking. He actually thanked me last night for forcing him to do it!
2. I made potato chips last night. Well, actually, the real story here is that I bought a mandoline and I now love it with all of my heart. The potato chips were more of a result of my wanting to slice something, anything, with my new toy. Now that I've sliced, I am dying to julienne so tomorrow we are having french fries. And then maybe some summer rolls, so I can finely julienne some vegetables. Such FUN! But the potato chips were also a lot of fun. I soaked the sliced potatoes for 30-40 minutes, then drained and dried them thoroughly. Then I heated up a tiny pot of oil, about an inch deep because I was running low on oil, and fried like 10 tiny little batches of potatoes. It took forever and after this I would just go to the corner store and buy a huge container of oil because it took SO long. So they turned out super-crispy and nice and tasty, but a little bit oily. I read somewhere that it's better to fry stuff like this in lard, or another fat that is firm at room-temperature, because then when they cool, the fat firms back up. So I'm on the lookout for lard now at the grocery store.
3. Last but not least, I got totally fed up with the bus passing me by every morning, crammed to the brim with people and causing me to be 1/2 hour late to work and bit the bullet and started riding my bike. It's been three days now and I'm feeling pretty good about it. However, there are two downsides to riding a bike in San Francisco - the hills and the wind. The morning commute is a joy because the hills aren't as big in that direction (there's some great downhills) and the wind hasn't started blowing yet. But after work - oh! It's miserable getting home. I ride home on Polk street, and there are 6 blocks with hills between 10-18% grade. Oh that doesn't sound like much, sure... TRUST ME IT'S STEEP. And of course, there's the 18% grade block that my apartment is on so I get all the way to within site of my house and have to make it up one last ridiculously steep hill. And then carry my bike up the stairs to our apartment. Needless to say, I always arrive home wheezing, breathless and sweating like a madman. It's pretty. So the hills are one thing, but it's like God thought we had it too easy, those of us biking in the city, so he added some of the nastiest winds ever to the mix. I'd say that the city averages wind speeds of around 20mph on a daily basis in the afternoons. The windows in our apartment usually rattle from 12:00 on because of the force of the wind. Riding into a headwind going East-West and feeling like you're working so hard only to look down to realize you're in your lowest gear and barely moving is so demoralizing. What's worse is when you sigh with relief as you take a left onto a North-South street and then realize that somehow there is still a headwind!!! Or almost worse, a nasty crosswind that threatens to blow your tires out from under you and pushing you into that car that's driving dangerously close anyways. And of course add to the mix those people lurking in their parked cars and waiting to open their doors into you.
But all whining aside, it's immensly more pleasurable to ride a bike than sit crammed on a hot, humid, smelly bus and I've actually been enjoying myself. Not to mention the fantastic workout I'm getting without having to use any extra time out of my schedule at all. Right now my goal is to ride to work every day but Friday, so we'll see if I can keep it up. Wish me luck and no flat tires!!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Camping Weekend
We headed out to the coast this weekend for a camping trip with some friends. Google maps gave us ridiculously terrible directions that landed us smack in the middle of murder road at 11:00 at night. Following Google blindly (never really a good idea), we started out on Hwy 1, made turn after turn onto progressively smaller roads (the last few had no lines) and finally found ourselves saying, "Do you think it could be down this gravel road?" We finally shook ourselves into reality and realized that Google had done us wrong. Just then, I remembered that I had printed out a brochure from the state park we were headed to and that it had a map at the back of it. Which promptly took us directly to our destination. Luckily Neil, Lindsey and Alec had headed up earlier in the day and so we arrived to find the campsite already prepared, a fire roaring and wine at the ready. Ahh, that's my kind of camping.
We stayed at Salt Point State Park which is about 18 miles north of Jenner and about 2.5 hours from San Francisco. I picked it because it was one of the only parks that still had online reservations available. Californians are serious about their camping, apparently. If you want to camp somewhere any time after June 1, you better start making your reservations in December. I don't remember it being quite that cutthroat in Oregon, but maybe I just have my rose-colored glasses on, which is usually the case when it comes to the Pacific Northwest. :)
Anyway, the campground was really lovely, with big, secluded sites set into a nice, wooded area. We got a nice big spot, large enough to accomodate all three of our tents. There was also a racoon box included, to lock all your food away from the pesky little furballs. Unfortunately, there was no lock provided, so we secured ours with a stick. Neil woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of scuffling, looked out of the tent and saw a racoon with his hand up in the cabinet, just looking right back at him. The stick held, but the racoon could still get his little paw inside. Luckily, all we lost was an apple.
We started Saturday off with a fantastic breakfast of granola, yogurt and loads of fruit, then followed that up with some tidepool exploring, where Lindsey proved to be the star of interacting with the wildlife. I don't think there was an anemone left un-touched by the time we left the beach. There were tons of little crabs scurrying around. We also saw a sea star eating a crab. I didn't know they did that. It was pretty gnarly.
Then we ate a ridiculously delicious lunch of grilled cheese and apple sandwiches. Yes, you heard me right - cheddar and apple slices, on the sandwich, and grilled. Talk about gourmet camping food. After that, we needed a nap. Although it was super-windy out on the beach, the campsite remained pretty well protected and it was really pleasant there - perfect for napping.
After waking refreshed, we ended the day's physical activities with a nice hike along the bluff overlooking the ocean.
The rocks around Salt Point are sandstone, and they are simply beautiful in the afternoon light. They are soft and tawny and warm.
We spotted some sea life - seals and well, that's all - but the seals were super-cute out sunning themselves on the rocks.
There was also some really beautiful flora - sea grasses waving in the wind, succulents in brilliant reds and contrasting greens.
After dinner, we had a rousing game of Apples to Apples, roasted some delicious s'mores, had a lovely chat session around the fire and then headed off to bed.
We stayed at Salt Point State Park which is about 18 miles north of Jenner and about 2.5 hours from San Francisco. I picked it because it was one of the only parks that still had online reservations available. Californians are serious about their camping, apparently. If you want to camp somewhere any time after June 1, you better start making your reservations in December. I don't remember it being quite that cutthroat in Oregon, but maybe I just have my rose-colored glasses on, which is usually the case when it comes to the Pacific Northwest. :)
Anyway, the campground was really lovely, with big, secluded sites set into a nice, wooded area. We got a nice big spot, large enough to accomodate all three of our tents. There was also a racoon box included, to lock all your food away from the pesky little furballs. Unfortunately, there was no lock provided, so we secured ours with a stick. Neil woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of scuffling, looked out of the tent and saw a racoon with his hand up in the cabinet, just looking right back at him. The stick held, but the racoon could still get his little paw inside. Luckily, all we lost was an apple.
We started Saturday off with a fantastic breakfast of granola, yogurt and loads of fruit, then followed that up with some tidepool exploring, where Lindsey proved to be the star of interacting with the wildlife. I don't think there was an anemone left un-touched by the time we left the beach. There were tons of little crabs scurrying around. We also saw a sea star eating a crab. I didn't know they did that. It was pretty gnarly.
Then we ate a ridiculously delicious lunch of grilled cheese and apple sandwiches. Yes, you heard me right - cheddar and apple slices, on the sandwich, and grilled. Talk about gourmet camping food. After that, we needed a nap. Although it was super-windy out on the beach, the campsite remained pretty well protected and it was really pleasant there - perfect for napping.
After waking refreshed, we ended the day's physical activities with a nice hike along the bluff overlooking the ocean.
The rocks around Salt Point are sandstone, and they are simply beautiful in the afternoon light. They are soft and tawny and warm.
We spotted some sea life - seals and well, that's all - but the seals were super-cute out sunning themselves on the rocks.
There was also some really beautiful flora - sea grasses waving in the wind, succulents in brilliant reds and contrasting greens.
It was really windy out on the bluffs and I kept having to drag Swarley into the wind. Every time we stopped to look at something, he would try to turn around and start walking back towards the cars. When we finally did turn around, with the wind at our backs, he picked up the pace and was trotting out front, leading the crowd.
After dinner, we had a rousing game of Apples to Apples, roasted some delicious s'mores, had a lovely chat session around the fire and then headed off to bed.
We were the last ones out of the campground on Sunday morning after a leisurely breakfast. We stopped in Healdsburg at the Bear Republic Brewery for some delicious beer and lunch and then back home to the City. Camping is not exactly the most leisurely activity, I arrived home completely exhausted - but it's worth the exhaustion for so much great scenery and exploration and good times with good friends!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Warning: graphic pictures of cheese curds
I told one of my friends that I had made cheese and that I had pictures, and she thought she would be totally grossed out by the cheese curds and whatnot, so therefore, I thought I would put a general warning out there to anyone terrified of cheese curds. Do not read any further if you have a cheese curd problem. I think they look pretty cool, actually.
It's been about 3 weeks now since I made my first ever cheese (besides ricotta which doesn't count because it uses common kitchen ingredients, not special supplies), but the glow still hasn't worn off. I don't know what it is that is so exciting about making something like cheese. There is just kind of a mystique about it - it seems like a magical, complicated procedure that a common human shouldn't be able to perform without extensive training. Or something like that. So to be able to turn it out in an afternoon and have it actually taste good, is pretty darn fun. Granted, I didn't make an aged Cheddar or a Gruyere or a Gouda. I made cream cheese. But still.
So the process went something like this: Heat up a big pot of milk and cream. Add the culture that you buy from the cheese lady (http://www.cheesemaking.com/). Stir it in. Add the rennet. I used vegetable rennet for no particular reason. I guess, originally, animal-based rennet came from the stomach of cows and the thought of using stomach in my cheese...I don't know...Plus, this way vegetarians can eat my cheese! :) So you stir the rennet in, cover the pot with a tea towel and then just let it sit for 18 hours. I got up the next morning so excited to check out the cheese! It had firmed up until it was about the consistency of greek yogurt.
I cut it up into cubes and loosened it from the edges of the pot, then I poured the whole thing into a big colander lined with cheesecloth.
The curds had separated from the whey, and so you have to give it time for all of the whey to drip out of the cheese, so I rigged up the cheesecloth to dangle from the water faucet. And I just let it dangle for 8 hours or so. It really reduced in size as the whey dripped out. The cheesecloth was probably about half as full at the end of the dripping period.
Then, to finish it off and to squeeze out the last bit of whey, I put the cheese in a pasta strainer (b/c it fits so nicely into the pot), placed it over a pot, put a plate on top of the cheese in the strainer and placed a weight on top of the cheese. The book said to use a couple of bricks. Well, there didn't happen to be any bricks laying around the house, and I couldn't really put my finger on anything that heavy. Until I spied our dominos set. It worked out perfectly. I dumped them all in a plastic bag and they were nice and flexible to fit down into the strainer on top of the plate. I put the whole contraption in the fridge and let it sit overnight.
The next morning I woke up and, voila - cream cheese!! Well, close, anyway. I put the drained cheese into a bowl and kneaded in a bunch of cheese salt, and then formed them into two little patties, wrapped them in plastic wrap and it was all good to go.
I didn't get to taste it right away, because I was already late for work (cheese-making not being part of my usual morning routine), but tried it the next morning on some homemade bagels and it was really good! It was nice and creamy, with an interesting tang to it. It didn't taste anything like the cream cheese that you get from the store, but I'm okay with that.
So cheese-making success has been achieved. Next up, Mozarella!! And then I might think about investing in a cheese cave so I can move on to the aged Cheddar, Gouda and Gruyere! And then, maybe I'll get a cow and some goats to have my own milk! And then... Oh dear, this could get out of control.
It's been about 3 weeks now since I made my first ever cheese (besides ricotta which doesn't count because it uses common kitchen ingredients, not special supplies), but the glow still hasn't worn off. I don't know what it is that is so exciting about making something like cheese. There is just kind of a mystique about it - it seems like a magical, complicated procedure that a common human shouldn't be able to perform without extensive training. Or something like that. So to be able to turn it out in an afternoon and have it actually taste good, is pretty darn fun. Granted, I didn't make an aged Cheddar or a Gruyere or a Gouda. I made cream cheese. But still.
So the process went something like this: Heat up a big pot of milk and cream. Add the culture that you buy from the cheese lady (http://www.cheesemaking.com/). Stir it in. Add the rennet. I used vegetable rennet for no particular reason. I guess, originally, animal-based rennet came from the stomach of cows and the thought of using stomach in my cheese...I don't know...Plus, this way vegetarians can eat my cheese! :) So you stir the rennet in, cover the pot with a tea towel and then just let it sit for 18 hours. I got up the next morning so excited to check out the cheese! It had firmed up until it was about the consistency of greek yogurt.
I cut it up into cubes and loosened it from the edges of the pot, then I poured the whole thing into a big colander lined with cheesecloth.
The curds had separated from the whey, and so you have to give it time for all of the whey to drip out of the cheese, so I rigged up the cheesecloth to dangle from the water faucet. And I just let it dangle for 8 hours or so. It really reduced in size as the whey dripped out. The cheesecloth was probably about half as full at the end of the dripping period.
Then, to finish it off and to squeeze out the last bit of whey, I put the cheese in a pasta strainer (b/c it fits so nicely into the pot), placed it over a pot, put a plate on top of the cheese in the strainer and placed a weight on top of the cheese. The book said to use a couple of bricks. Well, there didn't happen to be any bricks laying around the house, and I couldn't really put my finger on anything that heavy. Until I spied our dominos set. It worked out perfectly. I dumped them all in a plastic bag and they were nice and flexible to fit down into the strainer on top of the plate. I put the whole contraption in the fridge and let it sit overnight.
The next morning I woke up and, voila - cream cheese!! Well, close, anyway. I put the drained cheese into a bowl and kneaded in a bunch of cheese salt, and then formed them into two little patties, wrapped them in plastic wrap and it was all good to go.
I didn't get to taste it right away, because I was already late for work (cheese-making not being part of my usual morning routine), but tried it the next morning on some homemade bagels and it was really good! It was nice and creamy, with an interesting tang to it. It didn't taste anything like the cream cheese that you get from the store, but I'm okay with that.
So cheese-making success has been achieved. Next up, Mozarella!! And then I might think about investing in a cheese cave so I can move on to the aged Cheddar, Gouda and Gruyere! And then, maybe I'll get a cow and some goats to have my own milk! And then... Oh dear, this could get out of control.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Neil
Katie called me a slacker the other day for not updating my blog and I guess it is about time. What's the news been? Neil graduated about three weeks ago and had his big MFA graduate exhibition. It went well, but he was exhausted when it was all over. It was a crazy week of installation, very few hours of sleep, family, graduation, eating and we basically just crashed when it was all over. The last couple weeks have been so nice, getting to see Neil before 10pm almost every night, and having him around the house on Saturdays and Sundays! He moved all of his stuff out of his studio this week, and into a storage unit and I think that really made it sink in to him that he really is done. He's been a little bit mopey the last few days, and I don't really blame him. He's had a great couple of years. And he counted his paintings as he was moving out and he said it was around 45. So, it's been a very productive couple of years, as well.
For your viewing enjoyment, here's a little visual re-counting of his time at school, in paintings:
First semester, first year:
It's been quite a journey, as you can see from the shifts in his paintings every semester. So now, Neil's preparing to enter the real world again - searching the job listings and going on interviews. It's not nearly as fun as art school, but that's life, I guess. As soon as he gets a job, he'll look for a studio and continue on with the painting, and hopefully do some research into galleries.
I made my first cheese last weekend, a cream cheese that turned out pretty tasty. I have pictures and want to show you all the fun steps, but I need to make dinner now, so that'll have to wait until another day!
For your viewing enjoyment, here's a little visual re-counting of his time at school, in paintings:
First semester, first year:
Second semester, first year:
First semester, second year:
Final semester, second year:
It's been quite a journey, as you can see from the shifts in his paintings every semester. So now, Neil's preparing to enter the real world again - searching the job listings and going on interviews. It's not nearly as fun as art school, but that's life, I guess. As soon as he gets a job, he'll look for a studio and continue on with the painting, and hopefully do some research into galleries.
I made my first cheese last weekend, a cream cheese that turned out pretty tasty. I have pictures and want to show you all the fun steps, but I need to make dinner now, so that'll have to wait until another day!
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