Cheesepalooza: Homemade Whole Milk Ricotta

I set some foodie goals back at the beginning of this year. It was a great way to focus my culinary efforts, learn some new things, and explore more of the food that I love. Well... one of those goals was to bake more bread and to learn to make cheese. 

Could the invitation to participate in Cheesepalooza have come at a better time!?!?

Well, Valerie of A Canadian Foodie, Deb the Locavore, Ian of Much Ado About Cheese, and Addie of The Big Cheese Project concepted and launched Cheesepalooza, a cheesy journey into the world of homemade cheese making. They invited and put an open call out to food bloggers from anywhere and everywhere to embark upon this cheesy journey together. With monthly challenges, optional extra creations and -of course- encouraged camaraderie and community learning, many signed up for Cheesepalooza. 

Our "curriculum" would follow through our guide book, Artisan Cheesemaking at Home by Mary Karlin - a beautiful book that seems to make the world of cheese-making infinitely more accessible than it was before I found this sort of structure for learning. Our first challenge for Cheesepalooza was issued at the beginning of August - to make a whole milk ricotta (check out the other challenges here). 

Camp-foodie

A few weekends ago (and ambitiously early in terms of my tolerance for outdoorsy activities), we packed up our world and trekked it out to Spray Lakes. For someone with a near-complete disinterest in the discomfort of the outdoors, I needed a beautiful setting, good company, and really good food in order to get to the point of suspended disbelief and settle into enjoying the escape. 

Our first trip to Spray Lakes was last year and while there was a general state of preparedness, there was one tremendous misstep, which led to one tremendous meltdown. We each thought that the other had put the bag full of blankets in the car..... it was cold..... there was one sleeping bag between the two of us..... there was ugly crying..... need I say more?

Well, we made it through (without driving back home in the middle of the night) and in true Christine fashion, we laid everything out upon arriving home and now have itemized Excel packing lists, prepacked tubs of gear, and dedicated camping blankets whose sole purpose is to get us through the camping cold snaps. 

So, obviously, the first thing that made it to the car this year was a tub full of blankets (haha!) and we got on the road and out to our little hideout in Spray Lakes. We even managed to procure our same campsite, which just made everything so familiar and lovely. It really is the perfect site. And because I was packed up and felt prepared (basically since last summer), I had the time and energy to focus on the part that I really love... the food!

Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes

Today's post is brought to you by duck fat. Need I say more??

Duck fat is amazing. And tasty. And amazing. And a healthy fat. And amazing. And inexpensive. And amazing. Another thing on my top 2359235273 list. hahah.

In planning our Easter dinner, we decided to go completely different from our usual turkey or ham proteins and opted to concoct an entirely different menu featuring duck. In preparation for Easter dinner, I sourced some beautiful duck breasts through the wonder of twitter. To the rescue was Ocean Odyssey Inland (Edmonton), Jessie Radies of the Blue Pear (Edmonton), and Kingsland Farmers Market (Calgary) all enthusiastically recommending Greens Eggs and Ham. The funny part is that they would have been my go-to stop for duck (amongst other fantastic sustainable grown produce and protein) in Edmonton but I had no idea that I could find them in Calgary. Enter: The corner booth in the Kingsland Farmers Market... at 5 minutes to close... Mary Ellen of Green Eggs and Ham.

Mary Ellen was a happy market-goer's dream. She was welcoming and enthusiastic, despite it being moments to closing. She stopped closing up shop for the day to not only help us purchase our duck breast but provide us many product recommendations, cooking tips, and overwhelming enthusiasm for her product. While we came for duck breast, we also left with duck fat (why not?) and some pretty little white almond potatoes. We probably could have bought up half the store but restrained ourselves with plans of returning on Thursday or Friday for a few more Easter dinner party items... and maybe some more cooking tips.

Kendall at City and Dale (a great Edmonton... I want to say blog but it really has become so much more than that... site that promotes all things in and about the city that she and several other contributing writers love so much) seemed to get a similar recommendation on these potato gems (see her post on City and Dale here).

Eat Alberta 2012: Sourdough 101

This was another HUGE Eat Alberta win for me.

I have been making bread at home for a few years now but have never managed to be entirely consistent in this front. A few loaves and doughs became second nature, including the extra large batch of dough that we would make and portion into balls for pizza or bread. They would live happily in our freezer, until being thawed overnight and baked the next day. Still... I wanted more in my carb-filled world.

Sourdough was one bread that I always wanted to make but was never able to. I tried to make my own sourdough starter by following the directions in Peter Reinhardt's book, Artisan Breads Every Day, but somehow couldn't get it quite right. (If you care to give it a try, the NY Times printed it here. There are also companies that sell sourdough starters, such as Sourdoughs International.) I thought about trying to make a starter again, until I registered for the Sourdough 101 class at Eat Alberta this year.

Time for some real learning...

Kale Chips

So, I went to donate blood a few weekends ago. This is not something that I particularly look forward to. I don't like needles. I typically want to sleep and be lazy afterwards to recover from the donation, so the rest of my day is done. Despite that, I like going in a different way... It is one small thing that I can do to help another person, a person who would clearly be in great need, if they require a transfusion. There was a day in my life where I required a transfusion. Where would I have been without that donation? I  just think it is something good to do. Don't feel guilty. But if you can donate, consider going to a Canadian Blood Services donation clinic sometime and giving. If wussy me can do it, so can you. :)

Thus ends the public service message portion of this post. 

Anyway, I said I went to donate blood. Unfortunately though, I was not able to donate this time. In order to donate, your blood is tested to ensure that you have adequate iron levels to be able to recover from the donation. Well....... ummmm.... my iron levels didn't measure up. *tear* Whether it was stress and life or poor eating or forgetting vitamins or whatever else, I wasn't donating that day.

As I waited to discuss this with the RN, I was trying to think about why my iron/hemoglobin levels weren't up to snuff (we're not talking far off here... I was 2 points off!! I needed 125 to donate and I registered a 123.). 

What are normal hemoglobin levels?

Normal hemoglobin levels are different in women and in men. In non-pregnant women, normal hemoglobin ranges from 120 g/L to 160 g/L (12.0 g/dL to 16.0 g/dL). In men, normal hemoglobin levels range from 140 g/L to 180 g/L (14.0 g/dL to 18.0 g/dL).

(Source: Canadian Blood Services website)

What I figure is... I sometimes let work and life and other things get in the way of being intentional about what I eat. Sometimes laziness will show me the way to a slice of pizza (albeit good pizza) from a local shop rather than to the leafy greens on the verge of going bad in my fridge. 

Which foods have the most iron?

Iron comes in two forms:

1. Heme iron, which is easily absorbed by your body.

Foods with heme iron include beef, lamb, pork, liver, veal,

chicken, turkey (the dark meat has more iron), fish and seafood. 

2. Non-heme iron, which is absorbed less readily.

Foods with non-heme iron include breakfast cereals (fortified with iron),

breads and pasta (whole grain and enriched), lentils, dried peas and beans, tofu,

seeds and nuts (pumpkin, sesame or peanut), dried fruit (raisins or apricots),

dark green, leafy vegetables, and eggs.

(Source: Canadian Blood Services website)

At the end of the day, I decided this... I would really try to put my mind to eating a colourful and well-rounded diet that will give my body the nutrients and vitamins that it needs to do and be its best. If my iron stores weren't sufficient after that a concerted effort was made, then it may just be that I need to donate less frequently than the 56 days allowed. 

As such, I went grocery shopping and filled up that cart with all sorts of fantastic foods... then went home and whipped up a batch of kale chips to help me on my way.  If you haven't gotten on the kale chip bandwagon yet, now is the time.