Adventures in Cheesemaking

I have been reading the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  In the book she mentions making her own cheese and I thought why haven't I thought about this?  So in keeping with curiosity I decided to try it.  We followed the recipe 30-minute Mozzarella which coincidentally come from the book Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll.  Here is how our process goes:

First, we pour the milk into a stainless steel pot.  

Doesn't our new pot look pretty?

Second, at 55F we add in citric acid.

It slowly starts to curdle.

Third, at 88F we add in the rennet (my arm was in the way for Dustin to get a good picture)

The curds really start to separate from the whey.

Fourth,  we separate the curds and the whey.

Fifth, there is a series of microwaving and kneading.  Isn't Dustin doing a great job with the kneading?

We also form it into balls, however for some reason we didn't take a picture of this part and it's already been used on our pizza.

After getting the mozzarella competed I wondered: what do I do with all the whey that is left?  Well, let me tell you.

First, I watered the plants.

Second, I reheated to whey and waited for the solids to precipitate out:  we have - Ricotta cheese.  From two gallons of milk I was able to make two batches of mozzarella cheese and about 1/2 cup ricotta cheese.

Third, in my search to find ways to use whey I found out about a Norwegian cheese called Gjetost.  This is what I know about gjetost courtesy of the website Beecher's Cheese:

Gjetost: Norwegian cheese made by boiling the leftover whey of cow's and/or goat's milk until the lactose caramelises (which gives it it's light brown appearance). The cheese is then poured into rectangular moulds and left to cool. The outer surface is similar to that of a decorated cake. The taste resembles a slightly sour but sweet caramel with a smooth texture similar to fudge. It can be shaven into thin slices and eaten with coffee for breakfast. At Christmas it is a favourite with spiced fruit cake. It is also considered ideal as a sweet fondue or a sauce for game. Mariners traditionally took this cheese with them on long voyages.

We're still waiting on the results.

Summer Fun

Today, David has his friend Maren over to play.  We started our afternoon together with a nice picnic lunch.  The kids sat outside under the umbrella while Ashley and I got all the food and drinks together.  We also played with trains but mostly with bubbles.  It was such a fun couple of hours which ended with the kids in the tub washing their feet.  (David thought he was taking a real bath).

Maren & David under the umbrella with their lunch

Reconnaissance

Yesterday we went to Pagosa Springs for business and pleasure.  We went to get our tire fixed to stop at the bank and to check out a cabin.  During our mission we also decided to check out the town and see what there was to do there.  We had a great time walking around, we even got to experience our first forest fire.  Don't worry it wasn't big and the fire department got it under control pretty quickly.  We did the river walk and were able to see the hot springs, turned resort.  It was lots of fun to see the hot springs and how the mineral deposits change the rock.  We were also able to see Treasure Falls on our way home, some day we will hike it.

Wild Friends at the Library

Wednesdays are special story times during the summer.  This past Wednesday we had some special guests from the Alligator Farm.  It was cool and the kids were captivated as soon as the tortoise was let out of her box.  After the presentation the kids were able to pet the special visitors that came.

Now, I must tell you that I did take my camera.  I did run into a little problem.....how does a mom hold on to her child, pet the animals, help her child pet the animals AND take a picture of it all?  The answer....get a surprise email from a friend that saw you and your child petting one of the critters and sent it to you.  Thanks Julie, I wouldn't have been able to post a picture without you!

This is me and David petting the Leopard Gecko.  We were also able to pet the Bearded Dragon, Ball Python, Box Turtle, Tortoise and of course an Alligator.  I must tell you though is that by the time it was our turn to pet the alligator he was a little cranky, needed to be calmed down and we were only allowed to pet his tail.  We had fun though.

Day Out with Thomas

Friday, June 13th we (Dustin, David, Sharon and I) went out to Durango to spend a Day Out with Thomas.  David loved it!  We were able to ride the train, see train models running, take our picture with Thomas and shop at the gift shop.  David and I both got temporary tatoos on our hands; I got James and David got Thomas.  It was a great day and a good way to spend one last day with Sharon.  We had such a good time and really enjoyed spending the day together.  I was really glad that Dustin was able to come with us so that we could have some really super cool family time.

State Capitol

The next stop on our first day of driving home was Austin, the state capitol of Texas.  I learned all about the six flags that flew over Texas and we were able to see the inside of the capitol building.  The floor has a picture of the flags and if you look directly up dome as a star.  When we got in some girls were laying on the floor to get a picture of the star, David thought that was pretty cool and decided to try it out.

Brenham, Texas

Wednesday, June 4th we began our trip back to Alamosa.  The first stop on the way home was Brenham.  Now if you know anything about Texas you must know about Brenham and what is there.  That's right we toured the creamery....Blue Bell Creamery that is.  We had a great time and really enjoyed our free ice cream sample at the end of the tour.

Now if you don't know anything about Blue Bell this is was my travel guide to Texas says:

Founded in 1907 as the Brenham Creamery Co.  Name changed to Blue Bell in 1930 after a wildflower that grows in the area and blooms in the summer.  Beginning with ice cream production of only two gallons a day 1911, the popular creamery is now home of what many believe to be the "best tasting ice cream in the country".  In 1994, Susan Ruland of Dairy Field magazine captured the Blue Bell mystique when she said.  "Like a magical box with a huge kingdom tucked within its miniature walls.  Blue Bell has managed to keep its growth tucked within the spirit of a small dairy.  When employees tell you it's really still 'The Little creamery in Brenham', you believe them."

On the tour we learned that the slogan of the creamery is "We eat all that we can and sell the rest".  It's true, the employees are allowed to eat all the ice cream they want for free.

Battleship USS Texas

Monday, June 2nd we went to the San Jacinto Monument, the USS Texas battleship and took a ride on the ferry.  We enjoyed learning a little about Texas history.  I only got pictures of the battleship.  It was really cool to be able to walk around on and go through the ship.

Houston Zoo

Sunday, June 1st we took a trip into Houston and went to the zoo.  After some time trying to figure out where we were and how to get to where we wanted to be we made it.  The zoo was great, we had fun and enjoyed our trip.  Here are some of the best shots.

David got these diggers from the gift shop.  Do you notice how well they are being used?

Pillow Basket

Dustin's grandma owns a shop that specializes in making pillows.  We went to the shop on Saturday, May 31st and looked around the store.  We were able to get some big pillows that David can use on the floor in his room.  While we were at the store David had a great time crawling through the pillow forms.

Apparently this was also a favorite past time of Dustin & his sisters.  David was able to move around pretty quickly and get places that would take me a while to get to.

David has really enjoyed his big floor pillows.  The first few days were were home David preferred to sleep on the big pillows instead of his bed.  This didn't last too long as I don't think he was very comfortable on the floor all night long.

Armand Bayou

Pasadena has an excellent bayou and nature center.  On Friday, May 30th we went to Armand Bayou.  It was all so beautiful, educational and had so much to see.  I did get a little nervous with the swamp part because David wanted to sit right on the edge of the dock with his feet hanging over.  I was okay with that but with as much as he was moving around all I could picture was David falling in the water and being attacked by either the alligator or the cotton mouths.  Not a pretty picture to have in mind.  We did have a really good time though, and no one fell in the water.

Galveston

Thursday, May 29th we went to Galveston Island to enjoy some time at the Beach.  David had a great time and was sad to leave in the end.  All the pictures of me and David are on Sharon's camera so you just get to see Grandma and David.

A Day at the Park

Sunday, May 25th (Dustin's birthday) Sharon, David and I headed out of town.  We drove through Colorado and Kansas.  We spent the night in Garden City, Kansas.  Monday morning we got up and headed out again to drive through Kansas, Oklahoma and into Texas.  For lunch we stopped in a town (I don't remember which) and ate lunch at the city park.  David had a great time!

We arrived in Pasadena on Tuesday and spent the remainder of the day out of the car, running around and resting.  Wednesday morning Dustin's  Aunt Valarie took David and I to Pasadena Memorial Park.  We took along some bread to feed the ducks and bubbles to blow.  The play ground was awesome but David really loved chasing the ducks.  The ducks were so tame they were literally standing at my feet and eating from my hand.  David didn't really care about feeding them, just chasing them.

Dinner Party

(Just bear with me this really does have to do with the beginning and end of our trip)

Last night we were able to have a lovely congratulatory/going away/new toy dinner.  We enjoyed a wonderful meal of raclette with Thom & Laci Quist.  Thom was able to get a job in Leadville, so the Quist's will be moving away this month.  We wanted to do a nice dinner for them and with our new toy we thought it would be great.  It was so fun to sit together and cook our dinners; we were all able to have exactly what we wanted and enjoyed great conversation.  Thom and Laci have been the best neighbors ever and we are sad to see them leave and we pray that our new neighbors will be good.  Here's our dinner:

So now you are wondering what a dinner party has to do with our travels?  Well...it all started last year on our anniversary.  Dustin and I had an excellent dinner at Chalet Swiss in South Fork.  We had raclette for the first time, we loved it.  I have wanted a raclette grill ever since.  We looked for it at first and then kind of forgot about it until we were in Fort Collins.  We were shopping (really just browsing) at one of my favorite stores The Cupboard and we saw a raclette grill on sale for $100.

Dustin got on amazon to see if we could find one cheaper.  We did and we bought it.  Everyday when I would talk to Dustin on the phone I asked it we had gotten our grill yet.  When we got home on Friday there it was on the table.  I was so excited!

We celebrated and had a lovely dinner.

Summer Travels

Well, David and I have returned from Texas.  We had a great time, saw many things and visited with family members on Dustin's side of the family.  We are glad to be back and pictures will be available over the next couple of days.  I need to get the pictures organized and in order.

We left for Texas with Dustin's mom Sharon on Sunday, May 25th.  At the beginning of our trip Sharon and I decided to keep a tally on the number of Walmart stores we saw, here's the results:

Colorado = 0

Kansas = 3

Oklahoma = 0

Texas = 27 (+/- 2)

New Mexico = 2

Now just to clarify we had to actually see the building and it was usually while we were driving.  In Texas we even saw one of the Walmart distribution centers, it was HUGE! 

It took us 2 1/2 days to get to Pasadena, TX and 2 1/2 days to get back to Alamosa, CO (that included one very long driving day!)  In the course of all of our travels we were able to be in almost every part of Texas.  We were in the panhandle, the prairies and plains, the gulf coast, the hill country and maybe even a little of the west.  We really only missed the piney woods.

We had lots of fun, so tune in for the adventures of Christy and David in Texas!