How to make Farm Cheese

This is an easy way to make cheese from locally sourced household items. Cheese is generally made with rennet, but this recipe uses plain vinegar. This recipe uses 1 gallon of milk. You can use whole, low-fat, or nonfat (dried reconstituted according to directions) milk. DO NOT use ultra-pasteurized milk.

Farm cheese (optional can be used as mozzarella cheese)

One gallon of milk

2 tablespoons of salt

½ cup of vinegar 

Boil milk, stirring constantly on low to medium heat. Use a thick pot like a Dutch oven to not scold or burn the milk. Stir until a light foam appears, and you can not stir the bubbles away. You do not want a full rolling boil. If you have a thermometer, it will be about 170 degrees. Turn off the heat. 

Stir in vinegar. Stir for about 10 minutes. You will see it separate and look like cottage cheese in greenish-blue water.  I have my colander with cheesecloth (which can be purchased locally or used cotton muslin) placed over it. I have it in another pot to catch the whey and make yogurt, but you can place it in the sink. Pour the curds and whey into the cheesecloth.

I use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom and help push the water out. Then, rinse with cold water. Pick up all sides of the cheesecloth and squeeze the water out. Rinse and repeat four times. 

Hang up and let drip for 15 minutes. You can add more salt to taste and massage. You can sprinkle the cheese on salads or use it in place of ricotta cheese in recipes. 

Optional: Place the cheesecloth ball in a bowl and microwave* for 15 minutes. Massage and repeat for one and a half minutes (be careful; the tail may be hot). Remove from cheesecloth. Massage the cheese until it's a plastic texture and stays together. 

It may now be placed in a Mason jar of salt water and canned or in a sealed plastic container. Cover in salt water in the refrigerator to keep it from drying out. The cheese is good in the refrigerator for up to one week.

*If you do not have a microwave, use a double boiler. Start when the water is boiling. 

 

How To Make Bread

 How To Make Bread

You can use a bread starter for a Sourdough flavor or make the bread directly.

Starter

Use a Bell-type Jar with a two-part lid. 

Add ½ cup of flour, 1 Tablespoon of sugar or honey, ¼ cup of hot tap water, and  1 tablespoon of dry yeast. 

Mix and put on the flat lid, then place the screw on the lid just enough to catch but not screw down. This will allow gas to leak out. Let sit for 24 hours. Then, feed each day with ¼ cup of flour. Two tablespoons of water and mix. Replace lid. On the third day, take half the contents to make bread or discard. Repeat feeding. The longer you do this process, the more sour the taste.

Bread

2 cups of water

2 Tablespoons or one package of dry yeast 

3 Tablespoons of sugar or honey 

2 Tablespoons of oil or melted butter

1 Tablespoon of salt

5 cups of flour

In a mixer with a bead hook (you can do this by hand, but it's a lot of work). Add 1 cup of hot tap water. Two tablespoons (one package) of yeast and 3 tablespoons of sugar or honey. Mix with a fork gently to break up the yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes. (Add half of the jar of starter optional) Add 2 tablespoons of oil or melted butter (any kind, but I use olive oil). Add 1 tablespoons of salt. Two cups of flour start mixing on low till creamy. Slowly add 1 cup of hot tap water and two cups of flour. When mixed in, let the mixture mix on the low for 10 minutes.  It will be mixed but sticky. Take the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and place a towel over it. I heat up the oven on low when I start and turn it off when I'm done mixing. Place in a warm place; I put mine on a warmed stove and let rise for 1 hour or more.

Turn out on a floured counter or cutting board. Sprinkle top and hands with flour. Fold in from edge to center and push down. When you have done all four sides, sprinkle with flour, flip over, sprinkle flour, and repeat for 10 minutes. Form into a ball. Wash the bowl or use another bowl and oil the entire sides. Put in a warm place for 1 hour or more.  Do the fold and flip for another 10 minutes. Make it into a ball. Please place it in an oiled Dutch oven covered or on an oiled cookie sheet. Place an oiled casserole dish over the top and place it on the stove while you let the oven preheat to 450F for about 20 minutes.*

Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes; cook uncovered for another 20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

* If you want a shiny crust, brush it with egg yoke before baking. 

Crack Pot, er Crock Pot Tips

It's nice to come home from work and have hot home cooked meal all ready to eat. Crock pots allows you to slow cook your food for many hours and not have to worry about it. There are many cuts of beef that require long slow cooking to be tender. These tend to be cheaper (in some cases much cheaper) cuts of meat because they take so long to cook to be tender enough to eat. But, who has the time nowadays to cook all day?  That's where a crock pot comes in handy.

Briskets are commonly made into corned beef. Rump roast or 7 bone roast can be made into pot roast. You can use cheap beef stew meat to make of course beef stew but you can also make it into Beef Stroganoff. You can use a large dutch oven in the oven or a large pot on the stove at a low temperature, but with either of these you need to keep checking on them to make sure the liquid does not totally evaporate and burn your food. I really can not stress enough to not leave the pot even on simmer or a stove on  and leave the house or fall asleep (I did this once smoke filled the house and the fire department was called I was taken to the hospital with smoke inhalation and totally burned the pan). You always want to take your meat and brown it on the stove before putting in the crock pot. This sears the outside so it stays moist on the inside. It also makes caramelized juices that give your dishes that really good flavor.

Beef Stroganoff
Take two pounds of beef stew meat, 1 onion diced,  1 can of mushrooms, fry in 2 tables spoons of oil. Season with a teaspoon of salt, pepper and dried mustard. when the onions are soft and carmelized and the meat is browned  add in 1/2 cup of cheap wine or cooking sherry. Add in a can of beef stock. Scrap the bottom of the pan and pour into crock pot. Let cook on low all day. Mix in a can of mushroom soup with two tablespoons of flour throughly mixed in. Cook on high for 15 minutes string constantly add in a cup of sour cream.and serve over  a package cooked egg noodles. Add some cooked frozen broccoli to the side.
Feeds 6-8 for $10.00


Pot Roast
Take a rump roast or 7 bone roast put in pot with a teaspoon of salt, pepper, garlic, paprika and diced onions. Cook until roast is browned on all sides. Add a can of beef broth and scrap the bottom of pan. Pour into crock pot. Put on low setting all day. Add diced carrots and quartered potatoes 30 minutes before serving and cook on high. When ready to serve cut up meat place back in broth serve using slotted spoon.
Feeds 6 for $8.00