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). 

Returning to Roots: Sugar Cubes

While this isn't necessarily about returning to roots in terms of those basic food skills that we forget as we are further removed from the production of certain food items, this is about returning to roots in the sense of taking a moment to enjoy the little things... like pretty little sugar cubes accompanying an afternoon tea or a morning's coffee.

Food colouring and flavouring are certainly optional and infinitely customizable. You can mix white, brown or cane sugar with water... add flavour extracts... add colours. You can mix and match... you can opt for simple precision. I'm already dreaming up my next combinations.

Returning to Roots: Making Butter

Butter. Yep, butter. One of my favourite food groups. 

Well, maybe not a food group but it's right up there in my books. I don't really do the margarine thing. Just another personal preference but I love the creamy dreamy rich smoothness of butter. Salted or unsalted. For cooking or for baking. I love butter. Not to mention, it seems that everywhere I turned online, I would stumble across another blogger or site writing about how easy and satisfying it was to make your own butter. My curiousity was peaked and I too had to try. 

Does this also constitute a contribution towards my French food goal for 2012? The French also seem to love their butter. I think that counts then. hahah.

Here is a fast-forward of the process...

four spoonfuls at various stages of the "churning."
From top left/counter clockwise: Whipped cream,

beginning of separation, unrinsed butter, rinsed butter.