Homemade Ricotta and Whey

I'm not a cheese maker but have decided to add it to my skills list this year as I make as much of our food from scratch as possible. I've started off with ricotta as it doesn't require any special equipment or rennet. Our milk comes in 3 litre bottles, so these quantities are for one bottle of milk as I buy it. Here is how I make it.

For a print friendly version of the recipe (without pictures), click here

In a large pot, bring 3 litres of milk to the simmer.

Add 45ml lemon juice and 1.5 teaspoons of salt.
Simmer very gently, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.
While the milk is simmering, line a colander with fine cotton/muslin/cheesecloth.

Remove from the heat and strain until it is the consistency you like. The longer you strain it, the firmer it gets.

Collect the liquid that strains off - this is the whey.

I pour it into glass bottles and keep it in the fridge to use in my bread. It is also fantastic for making scones (I think you guys call them biscuits??) and biscuits (you guys call them cookies). I really like it in the bread because it isn't as sweet as milk and has a slight tang which gives the loaf an almost sourdough taste. I'm in the process of starting up a new blog on my new frugal ways of living, so I will post step by step photos there and post a link here once I get it done.

So, for $3 (which is what I pay for a 3 litre bottle of milk), I get about three 750ml bottles of whey and I'm guessing about 300g ricotta. (I'll weigh it this arvo when I make some more). Considering ricotta is $8kg and buttermilk is almost $4 for a 600ml carton over here (Australia), I reckon it is a bargain and well worth 10 minutes of my time!

For other ideas of what to use they whey for, check out my Honey & Oat Bread, Scones and Pikelets.

What cheeses do you make? What's your favourite recipe to make it?

My new frugal life...

As you can imagine, being a one income family in this day and age is not easy.  I have now decided that I want to do away with our Credit Card - pay it off completely and then cut it up.  I want to reduce our household spending as far as possible while giving my family the best life I can.  If I can't earn money, I am to save it as best I can.  I've recently signed up to do the Total Money Makeover (TMMO) where I have found forums dedicated to living frugally.  Here I aim to share how we do it while maintaining an awesome family way of life.  I'm lucky in that I love to cook, and being an at home Mum, I also have the time to indulge in making lots of things from scratch, so here I am going to share with you lots of our favourite recipes and tips along the way.
The biggest shift has been in how I handle the family's finances.  I am now using the good old "envelope system" to portion out pays as they come in.  I didn't like the plain white ones because they look like they all have bills in them, so my first job as Cindy 2.0 was to make some new ones out of some scrap fabric I had lying around. What do you think?

Well, the finishing touches are now being applied to my very first E-Book - Ocean Theme Party Food! Those of you who have been following the blog for a while might remember the post on my daughter's birthday party back in April. I've had so many remarks on the food that I decided to compile all of the photos and recipes together in one spot in an easy to follow step by step fashion. There are heaps of photos, lots of cute pictures, and I'm also working on a coordinating game pack and stationery set to boot! Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks as I start to roll it all out. As a little teaser though, here is a preview of the cover....

[caption id="attachment_1561" align="aligncenter" width="481" caption="Cover of my first E-Book "Ocean Theme Party Food""][/caption]

Hi all,
I know there has been all sorts of confusion and lots of stories flying around as to what, when and where you can find me. First up, I'd like to send out a big "Thank You" to Kim Towner of Happy Frog Coffs Harbour who also runs the Harbourside Markets. Aside from being an Awesome Business Woman, and a Mentor of Mine, I would first of all like to say "Thank You" for the opportunities and wisdom you have imparted on me. I follow in your footsteps, and one day aspire to be even half the businesswoman you are. Next is a big Thank You to all of my friends and totally awesome customers who have really come to the fore this week and shown your support. You are ALL AMAZING PEOPLE and it is because of you I am here. Ange, Bettina, Amanda, Elayne, Kristy, Ashleigh, Dena and everyone else, thank you so much for your support. You can't even begin to imagine the strength you give me.
For everyone else who is wondering where I have disappeared to on a Thursday, here is the story.
I turned up last week to set up my market stall at the Grower's Market to be told by the Council Representative that other Stall Holders had been complaining that their sales were down and therefore I could no longer participate. My only redress is that I am the only person selling cupcakes, friands and macarons, and am certainly the only business (as far as I know) in the Coffs Harbour Region offering exclusively Gluten Free goods. As my clientele are either Coeliac or Gluten Intolerant, they cannot purchase from the other sellers of baked goods, therefore, I do not see that I am any kind of competition. In addition to this, I am from Nana Glen, within the Coffs Harbour Shire. To my knowledge, the other sellers of Baked Goods at the Coffs Grower's Markets are from Grafton and Bowraville, both outside of the the Shire, which makes me the only "local" business. I have no desire to oust them, I wish only to sell in addition to them. I truly believe the marketplace to be big enough for us all. However, the Coffs Harbour Council has decided (in spite of it's written rules) to give preference to out of town businesses over their local businesses. As such, I am now only available at the Sunday Harbourside Markets.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of my awesome customers for not only your business, but your friendship and the joy you bring to my day.
Good luck, and I will see you on Sunday under the trees by the Yacht Club!
Best Wishes,
Cindy

Super Moist Chocolate Cake

This particular cake is also known as Devil's Food - I'm guessing because it is so wickedly delicious!!!

 

Super Moist Chocolate Cake

#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews

Print

Recipe Type: Cake

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 24

Ingredients

• 2 cups Sugar


• 1 teaspoon instant coffee


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 3/4 cup Cocoa


• 2 cups Gluten Free Plain Flour


• 1 teaspoon Gluten Free Baking Powder


• 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda


• 250ml Hot Water


• 250ml Milk


• 250ml Oil


• 2 Free Range Eggs


• 5ml Vanilla Extract

Instructions

1. Place sugar, salt and coffee in a mixing bowl. Add sifted cocoa, flour, baking powder and bicarb. Add water, milk and oil. Mix on slow to wet the ingredients, then increase speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes.


2. Add eggs and vanilla, mix on medium for a further 2 minutes


3. Place into cupcake cups and bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.


4. Cool on a rack. Enjoy!

Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe

2.1.7

 

Big News!!!

Finally I can announce the exciting new news!  In addition to being at the Harbourside Markets (click here for a map, or here for directions) every Sunday with our range of Cupcakes, Friands & Macarons, we will be starting at the Coffs Harbour Grower's Markets (click here to see a map) next Thursday 25 August 2011 and will be exclusively GLUTEN FREE!  Can't wait to see you there!

[caption id="attachment_1286" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Under the trees at the Harbourside Markets"][/caption]

Harmony Day 2011

Having spent 9 years of my childhood living overseas in various countries, multiculturalism is a subject very close to my heart. I was fortunate to grow up with friends from all over the world, many of whom I still keep in touch with today. At the International Schools that I attended, United Nations Day was one of the biggest and most anticipated celebrations of the year. We all wore national costume (there were almost 70 nationalities at the schools) and the parents set up stands with traditional foods from their own countries for all us kids to try. (Funny how few people actually enjoyed our vegemite sandwiches though!) Now that I have 2 young children of my own, I work hard to instil empathy and appreciation of other cultures in them. I really think that understanding other cultures helps to prevent cultural disharmony, and I think that food is one of the best vehicles to cross the divide.

Two years ago when my youngest daughter was at the Nana Glen Preschool, I was introduced to Harmony Day when they put on a special lunch. The Mum’s were asked to bring in a plate of food from their own heritage. Not having grown up on traditional Aussie tucker, I decided to take in mini cupcakes each with a different coloured person on top, in keeping with the Harmony Day posters. Being cake, and brightly coloured, they were a big hit with the kids.

This year, I was lucky enough to be able to provide the Coffs Harbour Library with mini cupcakes for their Harmony Day Family Morning Tea and Story Time. Also, a very dear friend of mine who works at Southern Cross University invited me to be involved with their celebrations. Another big fan of cupcakes (let’s face it…who isn’t!) she thought that cupcake decorating would be a great way to bring people together. So, I baked 100 chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, made a mountain of icing and we went and bought a stack of lollies and sprinkles. We set up a couple of big tables and let the students go for it. It was fantastic! They all had a ball. It was such a hit in fact, that we made the local news with NBN reporter Clare Deligny even decorating a cupcake for the camera! Check out the video here!

I took lots of photos of all the marvelous cupcake creations and their artists, so if you were there on the day, have a look here for your photo and feel free to send a link to all of your friends! Also send me your name and I’ll tag you in the photo.

Happy Harmony Day everyone!