There is a right whey to do things...

Then there is the wrong whey.

This is what happens when you don't get the ricotta and whey you are trying to pour into a colander to drain all the "whey" on the counter before you let go of it. I thought it was more than half whey on the counter and turned it out it wasn't even a 1/4 of the whey on the counter. sigh.

I am VERY thankful that I wheyt for it to cool down before I pour it. The recipe says I only need to wheyt 5 minutes. It is 200 degrees F when I turn off the heat. I have been splashed with this hot whey when a clump of ricotta splashes into the colander. So, I wait at least a 1/2 hour. This batch I waited more like 10 hours, seriously. So, it was fully cooled down when it splashed on my foot. Sorry no pics of the foot with cooled ricotta on it. Haven't had a pedicure since March when the hubby and I went together for our anniversary for one. HA.

Our dog Sandy ate of the feast while I cleaned it up, too. She abandoned me before it was fully cleaned. Can't say I blame her. It is over 1 gallon of whey and ricotta mixed.

I hope you laugh as much as I will, Someday.

Making My Marriage Magnificent in May - Forgiveness

Guest post by Joy Erskine....

 

I  am 37 years old, committed (though not institutionalized, yet) to my husband and our 3 preschool boys and 9 year old daughter, all 4 of whom have been adopted; but most of all to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I homeschool, raise chickens, try to garden and sell Stampin' Up! products. You can find my Stampin' Up! webpage here.

Joy Erskine on Forgiveness

Hebrews 12
1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

What hinders you today? What holds you back from being the kind of person God calls you to be in your marriage? Could it be that there is unresolved anger in your life? It may be something your spouse said or did (or neglected to say or do,) or, could it be that you are mentally beating yourself up over something you did so long ago?

Matthew 18
“21 Then Peter came and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’22 Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’”

Notice what he didn’t say… He did not say, “when he makes it up to you.” He did not say, “when you can figure out why he did it so that you can justify it in your mind.” He did not say, “wait until enough time has passed.” He simply wants us to forgive.
Sin against God, or offenses committed against us do not need to be justified to be forgiven. We need to call it what it is and remember that Christ died for our sin the same as he did for the offending person.
Now that doesn’t mean you can’t talk to him about it or tell him how you feel when this or that happens, but if we come to the other person with a spirit of forgiveness, I believe we will get a lot further than if we come hurling insults and spewing anger all over our spouse.

Matthew 18
15 “ If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.”

Galatians 6
1 “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.

  God doesn’t want us holding on to that anger – even if it is anger against ourselves. By holding on to that it’s like saying, “Jesus, I know you died for that sin, but that’s not good enough. I know they ripped out your beard and whipped you with shards of glass and spat in your face and nailed you to that cross and left you to hang there, but there has to be something more for this one.” We make light of what he did when we won’t forgive.

   I found this as I perused Pinterest, “Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” Doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?

   So, forgive!

  Forgive your spouse. Say this phrase often, “My mate is not my enemy!”

  Who is our enemy? Satan! He does not want your marriage to last! Do not let him win! Forgive yourself! When you cling to that sin, you are denying the grace and mercy God has given you! You are denying Christ’s blood that was shed for you to wash away that sin. That does not mean that we can do what we want and just ask for forgiveness later – check out Romans 6-8 for more on that one! But God wants us – AS SOON AS WE REALIZE that we’ve done something wrong to RUN - first to the person we’ve offended and do whatever is in our power to make it up to them and then to accept His forgiveness for ourselves. He’s waiting, just as the father in Luke 15 was waiting and watching for his prodigal son to return. You’ll find Him running to you with open arms!

Ricotta Tutorial

So, you've made cheese and want to know what to do with all that FRESH whey? 

I make Ricotta cheese with my whey, as well as other things. This post will tell you how I make my Ricotta from Mozzarella whey. One of my previous tutorials was on how I make my Mozzarella. This tutorial picks up from there.

I already have my 12 quart stainless steel pot, my stirring spoon, and my thermometer. So, all I need to gather is my larger colander, my "whey" pot (a 14 ish quart pot I use to drain whey into for cheese making adventures), and a piece of unbleached muslin big enough to line the colander.

I just finished making the mozz. My whey is in the pot heated to about 175 degrees F still from using it in the Mozz recipe. As soon as I take the last piece of mozz out of the pot I turn the heat up on high and wash my dishes from making the mozz or go check my facebook and email. It will take about 10 minutes for the whey to heat up to the temp I need -200 degrees F. The whey needs very little stirring or tending to.

When the whey looks like this picture don't be tempted to turn off the heat and quit. It's still not ready yet. The proteins need to cook more to come together better. So be patient.

Here you will see what it looks like after you reach 200 degrees F.It boils and gets frothy. You can see the whey "chunks" They are small, but noticeable.

The whey and remaining curd is now separated out.

This is where I walk away and do whatever I want. Shower, milk goats, eat, facebook, play a computer game...my possibilities are endless! It needs to cool down for  awhile before I dare handle it to dump it into the muslin lined colander to drain over a very large pot. The recipe says let it sit for 5 minutes. I wait more like 30 minutes. Then dump into this colander where it drains rather quickly, but as the curd comes out it sometimes splashes. So, I dump slowly and carefully. Probably more like pouring than dumping.

The draining will take about 1 hour, give or take 30 minutes. Where you will than have freshly made ricotta to put into lasagna, waffles, pancakes or any other recipe that calls for ricotta.

The above picture was taken after I had already scooped out about 3/4 of the ricotta that was made. I scrap it out and put in a covered bowl in the refrigerator. I do not add any salt to it, but you could if you like it that "whey". I should stay fresh for about a week or two, I'm guessing. If it's moldy toss it out. grin.

I put 1 cup of ricotta and 2 cups of the whey that was left over in these waffles. I will blog that recipe another time. :) But they are yummy and higher in protein than just plain waffles.

Just in case you missed it here is the Mozzarella Tutorial I put up yesterday.

Mozzarella Tutorial

I make mozzarella with our goats milk. Lots of people have asked me how I do this. I am always happy to have people over to show them how I make mozzarella. Tonight I decided to bring you my "whey" through blogging, pictures, and videos. I hope you find this informative and fun!

I put  two gallons of raw goats milk in the stainless steel pot and turn it on low, while I gather all my supplies.

I will need....

1. Large stainless steel or porcelain coated pot with lid. Mine is a 12 quart stainless steel.
2. Long "knife" to cut the curd. I use a frosting spatula for frosting cakes.
3. Thermometer that will register at least from 50 degrees F to 200 degrees F.
4. Slotted spoon for stirring and scooping the curds.
5. Two small cups or bowls with 1/4 cup of cool non-chlorinated water in each.
6. 1/2 tsp and 1 tsp measuring spoons
7. Medium bowl 3/4 full of ice water.
8. Strainer/colander with small holes.
9. Small bowl that the colander will rest comfortably on top to drain the curds.
10. Rennet (1/2tsp) Dissolved in one of 1/4 cups of water.  You can use animal or vegetable rennet. If you use double strength use 1/4 tsp.
11. Citric acid (2- 2 1/2 tsp) dissolved in the other 1/4 cup of water. Got mine at my local health food store. I am currently using 1 tsp per gallong of raw goats milk. It is spring time, in the fall I may need to use more.
12. Two gallons of milk. Fresh raw milk is best. I used Raw goats milk from my own Saanens. You can half this recipe and use 1 gallon of milk. I prefer to work in larger quantities.
13. Kosher salt to taste, about 1/2 tsp is what I used. (not pictured here)
14. Kitchen latex gloves. They are usually yellow, though mine are green. You will be able to see my cool gloves in the video. I forgot to get them out of the draw for the picture. They are sold in the cleaning aisle. You want a brand new pair that you use only for making cheese. You will be holding the mozz and stretching it while wearing these. It helps so you don't burn your hands.
15. For Ricotta you will need a large colander and a very large bowl or pot. Big enough to hold about 1.5 gallons of whey. I will cover that in my next blog as this one got "whey" long "whey" fast! And now I am "whey" tired!!!

The milk needs to reach 50 degrees F and then I will add the Citric acid that has been dissovled in 1/4 cup of cool non-chlorinated water. I often get side tracked.  I have found that I usually end up adding the citric acid as late as 80 degrees F and it turns out fine as well.

I can't help but multi-task. These are the dishes I am washing while the milk heats. I'm not good at "whey"ting.

After I got the temp to 70 degrees F I added the citric acid and stirred the milk a bit, maybe a minute. I continue heating the milk to 90 degrees. I should stop multi - tasking and pay attention at this point. I want to add the rennet and turn off the heat when the milk hits 90 degrees F.

I was successful at adding rennet at the correct time. BUT I forgot to turn off the heat and the milk did get to 96 degrees F before I screeched in horror. Really, you can ask Lindsey, my husband. He thought I was burning the place down or had left the gas running with the fire off. This might be the reason I didn't get as good of stretch as I would of liked in the video.

UPDATE: I added the rennett at 85 degrees F this morning, turned the heat off and put the lid on for 5 minutes. It turned out MUCH better than last nights Mozz. I have uploaded a new video at the end to show how the stretch looks shinier and smoother.

After I added the rennet I stirred about 20 seconds. I would then turn off the heat, ahem, put the lid on, and set the timer for 5 minutes.

When the timer goes off I check the curd for a "clean break". It almost always has a clean break. If it does not let it sit another minute and check again. Let it sit too long and you are making rubber tire cheese.

It looks like this.... See how when I put the cake frosting knife thingy in the curd and lift sightly the curd cleaning breaks? Yeah, I know its hard to see it in this picture.

Now I cut the curd.

 I cut it with the knife straight down into the pot, like pictured. I cut the curd vertical and then cut across those cuts, like pictured. To make tall 1/2 inch cubes. The curd goes down into the pot, deep.

I then put the knife in at an angle and cut the deep part of the curd. Like so...

I turn the knife 4 different direction while cutting the curd at an angle.

Even with all this cutting I still have long curds when I began cooking the curd in the next step. I just cut through them with my slotted stirring spoon.  Like so...

See the large curds in the middle of the pot? Those I cut up more with my slotted spoons edge. Also note the white curd residue on all around the edge of the pot. It looks like lots of bubbles, but it's curd. I scrap this off with the edge of the slotted spoon. I find that if I leave it there it cooks on and becomes difficult to clean the pot.  *I will cover cleaning the pot in the next tutorial on making Ricotta.*

Now that it's all cut up I turn the heat back on low and slowly heat the curd up to 103 degrees F, while SLOWLY and gently stirring the curd. I stir it to prevent it from matting up into one mass. I will continue to break up large pieces.

Now you get to see the first of several awesome videos I made for this blog. I'll let it speak for its self. I mean I'll speak in it for me.

Once the temperature reaches 103, I turn off the heat and set my timer for 3 minutes. As stated in the video. After the timer goes off I begin fishing out the curd with my slotted spoon.

When finished fishing, my strainer will be full to the brim. Like so...

UPDATE: I've made this more than a few times and I've noticed I get a lot more curds when something has gone wrong. My finished product it usually a bit rubbery then, but still edible by my kids standards. After it sits in the fridge over night and soaks in the salt, it is usually less rubbery. UNLESS, I have done something massively wrong and then I end up with tire rubber cheese. That I then feed to our chickens. No one around here will eat tires.

When all the curd is fished out I turn the stove on high to heat the whey up as fast as possible. I don't like "whey"ting, remember? Don't worry I will have more whey jokes for your enjoyment.

It's draining whey off into the bowl below...

UPDATE: paid attention and this is "whey" too much whey draining off in this step. IF I get the temp, acid and timing right the curd leaks out about half this amount of whey in this first draining.

I pour this whey into the big pot on the stove to be heated. When the curds dripping slows down I turn it over. I flip it upside down in my hand and pry it out with my fingers. Then it looks like this....

I'm weird so this of course if "whey" cool to me! I like the "whey" the curd mats all together and gets the mesh boxy texture. The curd will then drain some more and get all textured on the now turned down sound.

After it stops draining on this side, I remove the curd from the colander and cut it in half with my "whey" big frosting knife thingy... then I realize that I didn't list this platter on my things I get out to use to make mozz cheese list...oops!

I then return it to the colander cut sides down to drain some more whey out.

I call this butt curd.

Anyway...I let drain...yup you guessed it, till the dripping whey slows down. I dump the whey into the pot that is taking "whey" too long to heat up to 175 degrees F. You can speed up the heating by dumping 1/2 the whey out, but I keep it all in the pot because I need the why to make the ricotta from the next tutorial.

After the dripping slows, I cut it yet one more time.

These are curd mountains draining cut side down. With no more cutting left to be done, they will remain this "whey" until the whey is hot enough to start warming the curd in it.

It takes about 10 minutes for the whey to reach 175 degrees F. Once it does, I turn the heat to low to try to keep it at that temperature.

Now that the "whey"ting is over...the "ball" of mozz goes into the very hot whey!

Now I will let me speak for myself, video style...

Yes, each video may look very much the same, before clicking play...they are indeed 3 very different videos.

'WHEY' cool right!!!??? I love the stretching part. It is not as pliable as it should be. Like I said before it either got to hot when I forgot to turn off the stove when the curd was coagulating or I need to start adding more citric acid. OR another option would be I need to cut the curd sooner. Cheese making is an ever changing ART.

The now stretched CHEESE (it's not curd anymore) is cooled down in the ice water bath. I remove it and place it on the forgotten platter to be sprinkled with kosher salt. For cheese making you must use non-iodized salt that is larger in texture than table salt, but not as big as rock salt. I choose to use Kosher salt, but there are cheese salt flake thingy's you can buy from a cheese making supply company. I'm cheap and Kosher salt is cheaper.

Here is the salt I use. I just sprinkle some on both sides. OR I try to take a picture while shaking the salt on and I dump a bunch on one piece than quickly set camera down and begin rubbing the other pieces of cheese in the pile of salt on both sides. My family likes salt, so a coat on both sides is not too much salt. Though I usually just have a sprinkle on both sides.

I then stack them up in a piece of plastic storage stuff with a lid on it and put it in the fridge. Though as you can see, my kids are "whey" inpatient and we of course have to taste test it. The upper left piece seems a bit to straight on one side and smaller than the other pieces. That's the "whey" the cheese is cut to be eaten in strips. :)

If you have any questions about what I was doing or why, feel free to ask. I will do my best to answer your questions.
I bet you can't wait to read the next tutorial on making ricotta? I use the whey from making Mozzarella, even though everything I read says, "it can't be done." I, my dear friends, do it! And you will be able to, too!

UPDATE: I made a new video of the final stretching process. You will see that the cheese is much shinier and smoother.

Here is the Ricotta Tutorial I promised.

Making Marriage Magnificent: Pray for Your Spouse

Do you have about 5 minutes a day to spend praying for your spouse? Did you know that doing so each day over the course of 31 days can improve your marriage?!?

Every marriage has room for growth - some more than others - and one of the best ways to grow your marriage is pray Scripture for your spouse.

Not only will you see your prayers answered and your marriage improved {because when you pray the Scriptures in their proper context, you are praying the will of God}, but you will grow in your own faith!

Join the 31 Days to Pray for Your Spouse Challenge as we access the power of prayer together to build up our spouses and change our marriages for the glory of God.

Based on the ebook, 31 Days to Build a Better Spouse, the Challenge begins on June 4th and will focus on praying for a different aspect of your spouse’s life each day. Each day’s prayer focus is founded on the Word of God and the prompts will have you praying Scripture over your spouse.

Won’t you join us??
For more details, visit LIFE by Ashley Pichea.
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Bio:

Ashley Pichea invites her blog readers to join her in “doing LIFE together – living intentionally by faith everyday” at LIFE by Ashley Pichea where she shares faith, family, and the adventures of homeschooling. Ashley invites you to connect with her on Twitter {@apichea} and Facebook {fb.com/ashleypichea}.

Week 6 accountabilty I give up

That is all.

Week 5 Accountability 5/6-5/12

Sunday- Cereal and 2 mini cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Lunch was homemade lasagna. I popped my frozen one from about a month ago in the oven before we left for church on 170* and hoped for the best. It was almost done when we got home. I turned it up to 425 and it was ready when the garlic bread was.

Dinner? What did I eat for dinner? OH yeah a piece of homemade mozzarella and a big bowl of strawberries. I think I ate another bowl of cereal, too. :/

I am not going to eat another bowl of cereal this week! I am seeing a pattern here. I made homemade whole wheat waffles on Saturday and I have real maple syrup. I will eat that, instead of cereal.

Cleaned out the baby goat pen and walked the goats around the yard to browse/eat.

Not enough water.

Monday- I think I finally drank enough water, I was soo thirsty today that it was easy to do.

Breakfast 1 homemade 100% whole wheat waffle with local pure maple syrup. YUM.
Lunch on the go - homemade mozzarella and an apple.
Snack - several mini chocolate donuts :/ sigh.
Dinner - pita pizza

Exercise - I cleaned the barn for over an hour today. My back is a bit sore, but not too bad. :) ya!
I also ran errands this afternoon. I made 1 gallon of yogurt and made 2 gallons of milk into mozzarella. I am TIRED!

Tuesday- Screwed up 2 gallons of milk trying to make into mozzarella. Tire tasting cheese anyone? Rubber. eww. Chickens ate it.

Picked up 2 way ward chillins yesterday. My most precious niece and nephew, whilst my brother and their mother are in California and Vegas on a vacation of sorts. My time is coming, just happening with my childrens. :)  The 16 month old is a crier during the day, but he sleeps through the night HERE. grin. He won't do that at his home. God knows what I can handle, and sleepless nights are not on that list. Apparently.

I had cereal for breakfast (yeah I know). Lunch was food (not sure what kind). Dinner was food as well. Water intake was at about half and I cleaned the barn whilst the baby napped.

Wednesday- bran flakes with a banana sliced over top of it. (yes that is cereal) Lunch was pita pizza. Dinner would probably be a 2 cookies from McDonald's, a handful of mixed candies, and a huge bowl of chips or was that 2 huge bowls?

Water intake was at about 3/4 and I finished cleaning the barn whilst the baby napped.

Thursday- Breakfast Homemade whole wheat waffle with real maple syrup.

Lunch- 1/2 a bag of junky chips and watermelon.

Dinner- Steak, fried potatoes, and homemade mac n cheese.

No exercise and not enough water.

Friday- Went to and was an expo-er at "The Makers Expo" at our homeschool building. (click on the link for info on what that is) I took my soaps to sell, information on herd shares and made soap and cheese! It was SO fun!

I had (you guessed it) cereal for breakfast.

Took lunch with me and it was last nights leftovers plus an apple. And the Girl scout booth had homemade cookies and some popcorn concoction that was addictive.

Dinner- left overs from last night, again! WOW I made a lot of food! HA We all ate it 3 times!

Exercise standing on my feet all day and walking around the expo. Water, eh not so much.

Saturday- Breakfast an apple and water.

Lunch waffles, candy and chips.

Dinner- salad, bread, chicken Alfredo and brownie and ice cream. Went to a "Sisters Appreciation Banquet" at my Mormon Girlfriends church. I tell you, I definitely don't agree with most of their "doctrine", but boy do they know how to pamper their women. :) The men put this dinner on. I have been the last 2 years. They go all out. Set the tables all pretty and have salad, bread and dressing on the table. They come around and take your order if you want Alfredo chicken or spaghetti meat sauce. When your done with your salad they bring your main course. When your done with your main course they bring out your desert. The whole time clearing your dirty dishes and keeping your water filled. If you want seconds on anything there is always plenty. They were kind and attentive and it was a nice time with my friend and her friends. :)

Quite a bit of water, but not enough. No exercise, though I am very very tired.

I did not weigh myself today. Scared of that.