Text 39830, 87 rader
Skriven 2010-07-06 22:02:06 av Janis Kracht (1:261/38)
  Kommentar till text 39809 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
Ärende: A dinner party.. but you have to work first! :)(3)
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Hi Ruth,

>> wrong with this?? You ruined it!" because she hadn't used parsley.
>> From that day, she never used mint again in her cooking (g). I have
>> been using mint in my ricotta cheese since my mom told me the story
>> last year. I really do prefer it to parsley :)

> Steve is OK with the idea of using mint in more of my cooking.  A former
> tenant planted spearmint in the back bed so we've got a fresh source
> already.


That is definitely handy for using mint :)  Somewhere in one of my garden beds,
I have another type of mint besides the spearmint we used.. I think that one is
a peppermint.

>> ==Ricotta Cheese==
[...]
>> family, I used to buy Ricotta cheese to make various Italian dishes.
>> These days I make my own just about all the time. It's healthier, you
>> know what goes in it, it's simple to do, and you can have it at any
>> time. Additionally, generally you don't need any special equipment or
>> ingredients.  Some people use simply whole milk, some use whole milk

> We're trying to get away from a lot of processed stuff that may be more
> convenient to buy but is better made fresh at home.  It's sort of been
> our mentality over the years but hasn't always been easy to do in

Yeah, I know what you mean.  I'm always looking for 'easier and better' things
to do with my cooking (g).

> reality.  The fresher taste is so much better than what you can get,
> even in a natural foods store!  Thanks for showing me how easy it is to
> make ricotta.

I enjoyed doing it as well, your very welcome :)

> Next step is to get the mozzarella recipe for using up
> the whey; we use a lot of mozzarellla so it would probably be well worth
> trying to make our own if it's as easy as the ricotta.

It's a little more complicated, and perhaps a bit more work.  Remember the
cheese book I showed you? the little paperback with the blue cover.. it
explains the technique - that recipe requires whole milk,  a citric acid and
rennet powder IIRC.. I'll post that recipe tomorrow;  It involves pretty much
the same idea as the ricotta, but also requires kneading by hand and cutting
the curds.  Not impossible if Steve does the kneading for you :)  I'm not sure,
but I think the whey from making ricotta would not work.

> We told Steve's mom how easy it is to make the ricotta.  She has never
> made it before but mentioned that her grandmother used to.  She's not
> interested in making her own but I know she will enjoy it whenever I
> make some.

Yes, I'm sure she will :)

> Maybe next time Steve's folks visit, we'll do lasagne or
> ravioli totally from scratch.  Too bad we can't grow the tomatoes for
> the sauce. (G)

Maybe you can find a couple of dozen at farmer's markets in your area... I
didn't see Italian Tomatoes at ours, but I know Wegman's gets them locally
later in the year.  Mine should be coming around soon, we've had really good
warm weather.

>> Put the milks and salt in a large pot, and stir to mix. Heat to nearly
>> boiling, but don't let it get to a rolling boil .  Stir gently and

> I'll try to find an exact temperature.  Steve was speculating about
> heating the milk in a microwave oven--have you tried that and if so, how
> did it work?

I believe it's about 160F.. that's what I remember.  I have to buy a new
instant read thermometer.. somehow I keep killing them (laugh).

> Again, thank you for the cooking lessons and the Chinese cook book.

It was SO great to have the two of you come over - I hope that you find some
good recipes in the cookbook, as well.  The other one I have by the same author
is fantastic, so I expect the one I gave you is also good.  You could tell how
much I use that other one (g)

Take care,
Janis

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