Whey To Go! More Adventures in Cheese Making

This week I am making cheese…..I have some cows milk and goat’s milk so I wanted to try my hand at more of my favourite cheese in the world – Feta. It is just the absolute best as far as I am concerned both for it’s taste and versatility.

I find I can use feta in nearly anything – and it improves the texture, taste, and overall appeal of any dish. From salads in the summer (doesn’t feta remind you of summer!) to warm vegetable pie bakes in the winter. Lovely.

So, with this in mind I wanted to make a sizable amount of cheese for us to enjoy in the coming week. (For me here, that means a bowl full LOL) Of course, getting a bowlful of cheese means using several liters of milk…..

And this means lots of whey left over at the end of the process of cheese making…..I never throw out something good – it just gets made into more food and fed to everyone.

To make feta, for those who are interested - it's quite straight forward. Using clean pots, thermometer and utensils - I gently heat the milk (this time 6 liters) to about 86 F. Then add in the starter culture (tiny quantities) - as much as possible I keep the temp around this mark for the next hour or so.

Then, I add a tiny amount of rennet (I use raw milk for cheese so a little goes a long way) stir and let this sit for another 30 to 40 minutes (with some warmth if I can) until curds are starting to form. Once the curds are forming and I get a clean break with a knife - I start cutting, slicing and otherwise gently lifting the curds to encourage more whey to come out.

This might take a little while....then the curds are moved to a muslin cloth to be strained for several hours or overnight (up to 24 hours depending on your tastes). Once out of the cloth the cheese is cut further into cubes, salted (and herbed in my case) and placed in the fridge for a couple of days. 

This entire endeavour produces a large amount of whey......

With this large pot of leftover whey, this week I made a few loaves of sourdough bread – one batch with cinnamon and one plain. I also decided to cook a large pot of basmati rice in whey (it is very tasty) as well as do a little spicy carrot & lentil stew….

Some of the whey went into animal feeds as well. Whey is a great source of protein, I would consider it similar to a tonic and a strengthening food. When it is used in cooking (such as the lentil stew) it adds a tangy flavour like nothing else – as if your stew had melted cheese in it.

Yum!

Finding uses for byproducts of making our food from scratch is part of the fun (and challenge) of using innovation and resourcefulness to it’s maximum. Yet….it’s all been done before!

Enjoy your day out there,

April

Curds and Whey

Broccoli & Goat's Cheese Soup

Yesterday was an interesting day, I wanted to clear out any food left hanging around that was still useful - a general cleanup before I get back to eating again at the end of the week. With only one person (and 2 dogs, cat, turtle) eating in the house at the moment, I don't want things to go off.

With this in mind, I am cooking with the foods most likely to not last too long, early in the week while the other hardier vegetables will keep. And anything that needs to be used up - well, I have had to be creative and find ways to get them into meals.

I had a piece of very nice goat's cheese that I thought would make a lovely pot of soup - along with a large piece of broccoli. The soup started with these two ingredients - and took off from there! LOL

Making soup is something I enjoy doing, I start with sautéing leeks, onions, garlic and then place a few lentils and seaweed in the soup pot. I get all of this cooking and just add to it from there. With this particular soup, I wanted it to be mainly broccoli, but even this needs help.

To the pot I put in some sweet potato, pumpkin, a carrot and lots of fresh herbs from the garden for extra flavour. There was a very large amount of broccoli, so I wasn't overly concerned with losing the focus of the dish.

Once it was all cooked and pureed I added 1 cup of goat's milk and then some of the goat's cheese (grated up) as the soup cooled down for about an hour or so. When I gave it a stir it was nice and creamy and had thickened up.

Broccoli & Goat's Cheese Soup

And, the one thing I love about mixing some of these flavours, it didn't have an overly heavy smell from the broccoli, the milk and cheese had softened it quite a bit. I was pleased with it and will make it again at the weekend, so the rest of us can try it too - perhaps this time with a stronger cheese.

April 

Return to Living

Today we went to a goat farm to learn about the care and milking of goats as well as spending some time making soft goat's cheese. It was fun and something I had wanted to do for a very long time. So, yes now I am hoping some day soon to move into the venture of producing our own milk!

I am laughing as I write this for a few reasons, one is because this has long been a dream of mine. I remember doing a course back in 1996 on sheep and goat farming - wishing then I could just stay home on the farm and raise little lambs amidst field of herbs. LOL

Another reason I am delighted to be doing this is because I can't wait to have our own milk, fresh from a goat (we don't need much) for my baking, cooking and perhaps making a little bit of cheese for us to enjoy.

To me, at this point with each of the changes we have undertaken in our lives to live sustainably, grow our own food, make everything home made as well as use organic foods and wild harvested herbs - milking our own goat would be the ultimate adventure along this path.

And I am not even certain why. We have had bees for several years now, we have ducks, geese and turkeys and we do our own thing when it comes to food. Perhaps getting a goat drives home the reality of living this way or else it means we have finally arrived in the land of milk and honey! 

Looking after goats with all you have to do seemed to be a little intimidating to me at first this morning, but by the time I came home after the whole day talking goat, milk and cheese - I was feeling a little better about it.

Right now, I am not so much concerned about this next venture as I am wondering where does it end? LOL Perhaps to become completely sustainable - self supporting in every way, finally living the life of your dreams. 

Maybe a little goat's cheese will go a long way....

Have a healthy day,

April