One of the things that turned out pretty well this past weekend: I made kotijuusto (Finnish for “home cheese”). I got the idea from my bob-sister Faboo Mama, who settled on making kotijuusto after a fruitless search for rennet. It’s a simple recipe, but it makes a lot of cheese. It has a consistency much like ricotta, which gave both Mrs. Fetched and DoubleRed the idea of making lasagna with it… which turned out pretty good (and it’s good and gone!), but there’s plenty of cheese left. DoubleRed just cooked some into her scrambled eggs and gave me a taste… dang good. We’ll have to use that stuff up soon, and hey I can always make more. Here’s the recipe I got from Faboo:
3 eggs
5 c buttermilk
1 gallon + 1-1/2 c milk
salt
Whip eggs and buttermilk until fluffy. Bring the milk to a boil, add the egg mixture, and beat well. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool slowly. (Liquid will form on top, and the cheese will settle on the bottom.) mostly… some of it floats
Line a strainer or mold with cheesecloth. Remove the cheese with a slotted spoon and put it into the strainer, sprinkling a little salt between layers. Cover with a plate as a weight, and refrigerate for 12 hours. put a bowl underneath, you’ll catch at least a cup of whey Turn out into a serving dish. Serves 4-6.
Monday, I spent the morning at the office then went to the doc and got a shot for the poison oak I contracted 10 days ago. The shot works quickly… a little pain for much gain. While I’ve decided I’m through giving 300% to the company for crappy raises (or no raises) and no promotion, I’m still pounding away at a to-do list and I’ll be working at home tomorrow taking a few pictures for a rough-out of the new wall-mount template. A word of advice: if you ever consider technical writing as a career, hit yourself in the head with a hammer until you think of something else.
The choir director settled on the Easter cantata this year: something we did… oh, 6 or 8 or 10 years ago with a few modifications. Someone said, "10 years isn’t that long ago." I pointed out: "10 years ago, my kids were 11 and 9 years old!” And I didn’t have a blog… then again, there was no soap opera to write about back then, just Chicken House Hell.
Snippet tried calling The Boy like two days after we bailed him out. Fortunately, he was smart enough to refuse the call. Like I said, he only did what all of us would like to have done, with much less provocation. If there wasn’t a potential kid involved, I’d dance for joy if the judge made the “no contact” injunction permanent. I might dance anyway.
Republicans are such hypocrites. I mean, how does a conservative these days manage to get through a week without drinking Drano or something? “The economy? Um… Oh! look! a fag in a wedding dress! Vote for us, quick!” Yes, having no imagination is almost required for a conservative, but c'mon. I could make six Republicans with a 7404 chip, a toggle switch, and some LEDs. (I told that to a right-wing engineer back in the Clinton years… he didn’t want to laugh, but he knew it was funny. And true.)
Mrs. Fetched is down in Decatur, visiting Big V at the hospital. Big V’s husband came home from his truck-driving job last night & she took him and her mom down to see her. She’ll be home late tonight, if at all. Big V got her foot put back together yesterday; she has a long recovery ahead of her and it remains to be seen if she’s willing to do her part.
Daughter Dearest wants to go to Florida for spring break. Good idea, sez I, except for the (lack of) money part. I’m thinking about going with her, but making a pact to leave the laptops at home and trying to discover (perhaps with some help from Mom and Solar-bro) some of the local attractions. It might be interesting. I know the original Hooter’s is around there, and DD has one of the more tasteful Hooter’s shirts, so we could hit that, the beach, a bird sanctuary, the beach, a park or two, the beach… you get the idea. I could cheat with my iPhone, of course, and post stuff to Twitter and TwitPic if nothing else.
DoubleRed just got a fling dot com popup, so she’s installing Spybot. And this is why I don’t like Dozeboxes in my house.
W00T! Mrs. Fetched just got home. Big V might get transferred to the long-term facility on Friday if her foot doesn’t get re-infected.
Hey FAR,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you got the poison oak resolved without much more pain!
I'd like to add to your remark about being a technical writer...AMEN! I've done extensive translation work (hard and poorly paid) and am now stuck in Market Research Analysis ... 300% plus and no appreciation, let alone raises ... can I borrow your hammer?
Good for TB on his refusal on those calls! Sounds like he's coming around ...
Good idea to escape with DD for spring break ... I wish I could run away somewhere and disappear myself for a while ... would do me good, if I could afford it and get the time off.
Ever listen to Zappa much? Your recent travails just made me think of his song, "The Torture Never Stops." Don't ask me why. It's a random thought.
Might have to try that cheese recipe... sounds delicious! Are you sure you aren't really Alton Brown? :-)
Cheers ... IVG's evil twin here.
Hey there, Evil Twin!
ReplyDeleteThe only problem with spring break is, DD wants to bring drum roll Sasquatch, her boyfriend. If we had a suite/condo like we did last year (when we walked in on The Boy & Snippet), I'd consider it because I trust her, mostly. But we got no $$$ for that, so we'll be staying with relatives… so no boyfriend. She's a bit huffy about that at the moment.
Definitely try the cheese recipe… it's pretty easy and we've used it with lasagna, eggs, sandwiches, and (tonight) a casserole. Just don't let the milk boil over.
Hey FAR,
ReplyDeleteToo bad DD is huffy about no Sasquatch, but I totally understand. We never get to travel because of our schedules and general lack of $$$ as well, though one of these days I've got to cash in all those Marriott and Starwood Hotels points I've accumulated from my travelling days... but who knows when that will be?
Besides, we've got a baby in the house now and can't go running off leaving her! HAR!
Yeah, IVG, I think Hanna might not understand why, if you took off for a week w/o her. Too soon. I've found that sometimes, you have to make time for recreation — figure out where you want to go a couple months in advance, then make sure everyone knows that's when you'll be gone. No excuses, no reschedules, no carrying work with you. ;-) Just go.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure FM would know how to make it happen.
Oh, that home cheese sounds good! I'll have to check out buttermilk soon... I've seen it in recipes recently, but have never used it. Yet.
ReplyDeleteSherm, if you lived in the south, you'd have buttermilk in the fridge at all times! I like it for making pancakes from scratch: self-rising flour, buttermilk, a tablespoon of olive oil, and either honey or table sugar. If the result is too thick, cut it with regular milk.
ReplyDelete