All Is Grace

i’m discovering that i love to do things myself.

i mean, i knew that, really. i make cakes. sew clothing. scrapbook. paint stuff on my walls (other than just all-over color). garden. knit and crochet.

but making crazy food…food that is kind of expensive if you just buy it…is kind of awesome.

yogurt, for example. whole milk, a candy thermometer, quart jars, towels, and your oven with some starter…yields yogurt (and if you have a lead on raw milk somewhere in the Corning area, you should definitely tell me about it).

pancake syrup. chocolate syrup. hot cocoa mix. coffee creamer. bagels. pizza crust. fondant. you name it, you can make it.

and i’ve already told you all about my kombucha and kefir experiments, right?

so Saturday, i went shopping and forgot ricotta cheese during my Wegmans trip. i realized they didn’t have any ricotta cheese at Aldi, making the lasagna rolls i planned for Tuesday impossible…and i did NOT dare brave Walmart on a Saturday afternoon, OR go back to Wegmans. i remembered seeing a pin for ricotta and mozzarella cheeses in my searching for a cake design (don’t ask how i wound up seeing cheese while looking for cake…it’s pinterest.)…so i picked up an extra gallon of milk and hoped i didn’t need anything else i didn’t already have at home (you always need something else…).

i got lucky.

i threw in a batch of yogurt last night and while it was straining today (we like it thick and creamy around here), i re-found the recipe i wanted to try. (it’s here. though i only did 1/4 of the actual recipe–the whole gallon of milk seemed like a little bit of overkill for a first attempt.) and actually…i modified the recipe a little bit because…well, i liked this one better, but didn’t have any lemon juice…so i used 3 cups of whole milk, and 1 cup of heavy cream with my vinegar and salt…she used lemon juice. i used vinegar. next time, i’ll try it with 3.5 c. whole milk, .5 c. heavy cream–because she said she didn’t notice a difference (but did notice the difference when not using the heavy cream)…and that would cut the price even further. sounds smart to me.

heated milk, cream and salt, with added vinegar. ready to sit for 2+ hours.

dampened cheesecloth, lining the mesh strainer over a plastic bowl,
filled with ricotta…ready to drain.

drained ricotta–i did squeeze a little more whey out, but this was mostly done.

strained and smoothed ricotta–12 oz. creamy and beautiful!

and the leftover whey…need to find a use for this–hate throwing it away.
(sauerkraut anyone??)

it took about six hours, start to finish (most of which is totally wait time–very little hands-on)…but i’m really pleased with the results. it tastes…like ricotta. it looks…like ricotta. and realistically, at a cost of about $1.75 with Wegmans prices (had i gotten these items at Aldi, i’m guessing it would have been cheaper…) for the milk and heavy cream, i figure i saved about 25 cents over the Wegmans brand ricotta. had i made the larger amount, the savings would have been even greater…and i know exactly what’s in it.

and i made it. which makes it so much yummier (even if the savings isn’t super significant).

tomorrow, i’ll make another batch. because, seriously, 12 oz. is awesome, but not enough for lasagna rolls for the whole crew…we need protein around here (we’ll add eggs).

next up…mozzarella. i’ll keep you posted.