Cheese Attempt



Heatin' the milk while the bread dough rises (the bread was wonderful).

I've made cheese a few times. Once I made a wonderful feta. Once I made...I don't know what it was, but it was edible enough to save by hiding it in a casserole. Once I made a mediocre attempt at feta which I used in lasagna. This time the cheese, or whatever you can call it, was a complete flop. Tasted like icky sour milk. Not good. On the bright side, The Boy and I had tons of fun TRYING to make mozzarella cheese.

Squishin' the cheese. (Have I ever mentioned that I HATE pictures of me?)



The Boy squishing the cheese.

 
I wish I would have written down what The Boy was saying. I can tell by the expression on his face that he was making a "funny". Probably comparing the cheese texture to brains or something equally gross and disgusting. I think it's a boy trait. It's MY boy's trait anyway. Anything to get a reaction. This reminds me of the time he woke his sister by placing his 5 toads on her pillow. He thought it would be funny. He never imagined the tears of horror that he would induce. I've never seen him so apologetic. Ah, but back to cheese...



The Boy adds obnoxiousness (and funny faces) to EVERYTHING. Always a comedian.



Yep. This is NOT what it's suppose to look like.

At this point we were to be "stretching" the cheese but for some reason the cheese was curding. It looked like cottage cheese...sort of. So irritating. I ended up hanging the cheese and left it to drain over night, hoping that it would form into a ball, lose a little moisture....or maybe the cheese fairy would come while we slept and turn my cheese mess into a beautiful ball of mozzarella. But alas, I woke to nothing beautiful. I had to face the fact that this was just another failure. I put the cheese into the frig, thinking I could salvage it by baking it in a lasagna. Unfortunately the lasagna was never made and the cheese eventually made it's way to the garbage can. I will try, try again. Someday.

Anyone out there want to come over and show me the secrets to successful cheese-making? I'll put on a pot of coffee or tea. I always like adult company in the midst of my child-filled day.