Making Cheese

So today was a day for cheese making.


Every once in a while Jen and I decide to do something off the wall...  OK, we do it all the time, but we simply don't get to do as much cheese making as we want. We have been on the search for raw milk for some time and the stupid regulations keep getting the in way. Why they can't let all the stupid people go to destiny, I don't know.

Adding in the spices to the curd

So today, after the farmer's market, we made cheese. We had found some pasteurized milk we thought might be suitable since it did not say ULTRA pasteurized and we had plenty of powdered milk.  We also got some cultured butter milk to help out. I already had Calcium Carbonate from a previous cheese making adventure, so we had everything we needed to play for a day.

The basic recipes we followed are

Quick Soft Pressed Cheese
2 c. boiling water
1-1/2 c. dry milk powder
3 T. vegetable oil
1 c. buttermilk
3-4 T. fresh lemon juice -(we used vinegar since that is what we had available)



Soft Cottage Cheese
2 c. hot water
1-1/2 c. dry milk powder 3 T. Fresh lemon juice or white vinegar



We have made these cheeses several times before.  We mix everything up.  Calcium Carbonate (I read somewhere) helps the curds develop when using powdered milk.  So we played around and had fun.

Some recipes we used a blend of powdered non-fat milk, powdered whole milk and lightly pasteurized milk.  Some we added buttermilk; some we omitted the powdered whole milk. Some had calcium carbonate and some did not.

The plain soft cottage cheese is a small curd cottage cheese and it is fantastic in Italian dishes. The soft pressed cheeses are good for pressing into shapes, using as spreads or for a cheese tray.

So the basic way to do this, if you are only using powdered milk
Put the water on to boil and mix in the powdered milk powder. Make sure all the clumps of milk powder is broken up. Right before it boils, add in the vinegar and gently stir until it starts to form curds. When that happens, take off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then strain the curd and flavor. Sea salt, chives, thyme, rosemary....whatever flavors you want to add, add those before all the liquid is strained out of it. We find that washing the curd  in cold water helps remove the vinegar taste if you want to eat it immediately.  If the cheese is to be stored, the vinegar taste lessens after a while.

This is a small curd cottage cheese that will dry out if pressed.  It can be used as a garnish in salads, a topping to any dish and is fantastic in baked Italian dishes. If you want to use this as a dip, rinse it out with a bit of ice water, lightly drain and add all of your favorite dip fixings.  It can be used in place of or as a accompaniment to cream cheese. The only real drawback to this cheese is that it is not spreadable. it is very small curds

If you are only using liquid milk with no powdered milk just bring it all up to heat and follow the directions above, just do do not have any powder to make sure is broken up.

This cheese is a softer cheese. Before it is pressed, it is spreadable.  When it is pressed, you will be able to slice it.  Our biggest issue is not pressing it long enough to get it into a truly slice-able cheese.  This is not the cheeses fault, this is our own hunger at work.

Milk blend mix  heating on stove

Cheese curd mixing in spices

Completed Cottage Cheese

Soft Spreadable Cheese with Chive, Rosemary and Himalayan Sea Salt.

HINTS
Any light cloth will work as cheese cloth.  The issue with the fabric is that it needs to be able to DRAIN the thick whey and it needs to not have too large of holes that the small cheese curd squeezes thru the weave.
Ideally, it is a lightweight unbleached muslin. The squares need to be around 18 inches square and need to have some sort of edging on them so stray threads do not wind up in the cheese.

If the fabric is quality and has an edging - even just a zig-zag stitch will do, it can be washed and sterilized as needed.

All counter tops need to be sterilized before making cheese.  Any stray bacteria can ruin a cheese while pressed and aging.

Why I chose reusable menstrual products

A journey into reusable menstrual products

I first heard about reusable pads on Facebook. A blog post popped up about surviving without toilet paper. Having been raised on a farm, having fished and hunted, I have used many odd things during nature's call, so I was getting a good laugh out of everyone's comments.

Then the comments turned to menstrual products.  I thought, "I'm screwed" because as a tampon user, there is NOTHING I could think of in the woods that would be touching those parts.

As I continued reading, people were commenting on reusable pads. WHAAAT? In this modern age? Isn't that something that women were forced to endure in the dark ages? Before the modern miracles of disposable products? Yuck!

But ohhh, so the dangers of curiosity. I Googled and I searched. Wow! So not the products of the middle ages!

The colors and shapes and styles, Ohh My! I bought ONE to try out. You know how it goes, "I'll just try it once, it won't kill me". Oh, those fateful words! I got one...and was hooked.

I had started with tampons in high school, mainly due to discomfort of everything else. Every month was a dread, when will it hit..let the itching begin. But that is what it means to be a woman, right?

Apparently not. My allergies...stopped. I seem to be allergic to everything -except cloth! Wow, for the first time in 30+ years, I am not breaking out in rashes every month, no itching and scratching like I am a pro baseball player. Who would have thought you could be allergic to something so NECESSARY!

So began my journey into the world of reusable menstrual products. I instantly became a disciple; passing out literature to friends, sending out links to products and embarrassing husbands in public.

I researched; bought products to try, read blogs and talked to other women about their experiences and needs.  Then I began designing and sewing.

Now in my third year with RuMPs(reusable menstrual products) and CSP (cloth sanitary products), each month is a game.  Will it be the Cloth Tampons, Sea Sponge, All cotton pad, the minky one... what color should I choose? what fabric topping?

I no longer dread that week.I no longer stock up on antihistamines. I haven't been to THAT ISLE of a store in three years...except to laugh at the prices and maybe the chance to spread the word to other women.

What can I say? I am the local dealer..."just try it"..."just one won't hurt you"..."what's one gonna hurt".....

Reusable tampons

When I set out to make reusable menstrual products, I was worried about comfort and allergies. I am allergic to everything, so I knew it needed to be 100% cotton.

I chose all cotton flannel for the fabric with an all cotton string.  I use all cotton thread with an overlock stitch to prevent raveling.  They are sized similar to an OB, but may be customized in length and width as well as string length. These can be in either brown flannel or white/cream.

All materials have been pre-washed in warm water to pre-shrink

Use:
Begin rolling at the string end and roll tightly. They insert like OB.

Out and About care:
I carry a small Ziploc bag to store them in until I get home. Easy trick...turn baggie inside out...grab it and slow turn bag right side out to prevent mess and seal. This can then be tucked into a wet bag.

Care and wash:
Rinse in cold water. I soak mine in Oxyclean but that is optional. Rinse and wash. I do not stain treat, I find that the Oxiclean works well, but use what you are comfortable with.

Some short fraying is to be expected. On these, I did not roll the edges to prevent it being too bulky to use. The small frays should not become dislodged inside and can be picked off before using.

It is best to wash before first use in your own washing supplies.  If you have allergies, you might be allergic to what I have washed these in.

Thank you
Morana

This store tiny when flat. I keep one or two in my EDC at all times...just in case.