Even a little bit self sufficient feels good.

[the simple life]

I have to say it feels good to be self sufficient even to a small degree. Sometimes you don't really think you are until it just hits you. Yesterday we had some family friends over. I had a busy week and was dog tired. I thought what am I suppose to feed these people when I don't want to leave my house to shop.
So, I looked around the kitchen.
I had canned some bruschetta this week. So I decided to bake some homemade bread and use that to serve the bruschetta.
Also had a gallon of milk and the ingredients on hand to make my own mozzarella cheese. It takes only a half hour to make.
Sliced it up, topped it with tomatoes and went out to the garden and picked some lettuce to go underneath it and cut some basil to go on top. Had olive oil on hand to drizzle on it.
There were the appetizers.
Looked in the freezer and had some meat in there so I pulled that out.
Had also canned some roasted red pepper/tomato spread this week so there was sauce for the meat or you could use it on the bread.
There was dinner.
Also had some icecream so I pulled out a jar of spiced blueberry preserves from the cupboard that I had just canned.There was the topping and that makes dessert.
This is not huge self sufficient living by any means, but it sure beats having to completely rely on the commercial outlets and it made my life easier.
Everyone loved all of the food and the best part is it was so easy. You know how you run yourself ragged shopping, prepping and cooking for dinner guests (at least I do) and it takes some of the enjoyment out of it. This made me feel good to know that I can grow and can my own food to contribute towards feeding my family.
I look forward to being able to do even more, I got the chickens, and hoping to get honey bees next year.

 

[heatherv]

Well done!!!

So how do you make mozzarella? Esp. if it only takes a half hour to make!

 

[the simple life]

http://www.cheesemaking.com/Default.aspx?z=7/14/2008+8:11:08+PMvnMmSn6B7g+Fsv1DCVgXsw==

This link will bring you to the cheesemaking supply company I use.They have superfast delivery. I ordered the mozzarella kit along with some other kinds. I have enough ingredients on hand to make like 30 pounds of cheese. You only use a little bit of the citric acid and rennet to set the milk. So if you have a gallon of milk in the frig you can make cheese. Its so fun to be able to do that. If you have kids its fun for them to be able to make cream cheese and some of the other easy soft ones.
I want to start learning how to make some of the hard cheeses that are more involved, there is a book that you can buy from that site with all of the recipes and step by step directions.

 

[the simple life]

Meant to say, it only takes 30 minutes because you bring the milk to a certain temp. add the citric acid. Bring it to a higher temp and add the rennet. within 5 minutes you are scooping out the curds into a bowl and leaving the liquid whey in the pan.
Then you microwave it for 35 seconds and work the cheese. Microwave it for another 35 seconds and work it some more, until you have an elastic, shiny ball of cheese.
I have only ever had sliced mozzarella cold or room temp. But to have it warm as soon as you make it is delicious.
If you roll it into tiny little balls instead of the bigger one you can soak it in flavored olive oil and serve it with an antipasto platter, or if you are like me ...just eat.
Thats how it only takes 30 minutes.

 

[Beekissed]

TSL, you are amazing! And we sound like soul-mates. You and me&thegals have alot in common also.

I agree, it does feel good to be more independent than most. It feels good to have things on hand in your home that you can whip up in a minute.

I also am getting bees next year, so maybe we can learn together! Your meal sounded utterly delicious, BTW!

I read an article in MEN about the making of the mozzarella and other cheeses, and how easy it is. That's why I want to get a sheep and milk it occasionally for making things like that. I don't have the space for a cow and we don't do much dairy around here, as one of the boys is allergic.

 

[BrookValley]

I hear ya!! I've been remiss on my garden the last several years. Mostly, it's been a miserable failure. This year I did plant a few things, albeit late. Tomatoes, black-eyed peas, acorn squash, onions, zucchini, peppers, potatoes, cukes, chard, and a few herbs. Tonight we had a salad (ok, I had to buy the lettuce, but it's too hot right now to grow that, anyway) with my very first cucumber from the garden! Who would have thought that a little cucumber could be SO exciting? My husband thinks I'm a total nutjob, the way I've been fussing over that cucumber bush the last few days, talking to it, preening it, just waiting to twist that first one off the vine!

We've had chickens for a few years now, but it never fails, I am positively giddy every time I collect eggs from my own chickens!

TSL, I saw that recipe for your bruschetta....oh yummy. That sounds wonderful! And I never realized that mozzarella was so quick to make. I've got to try that. I've made paneer, which I'll also use as a ricotta substitute, before (embarrassingly simple; I get such a kick out of how amazed people are that I made cheese. Hehe. If they only knew it took just as long to boil pasta). But I've never branched out into other cheeses. How long does your mozzarella keep, and do you keep it? In water, or just wrapped up?

Beekissed, I'm so envious that you are going to keep bees. I would myself in a heartbeat, except I'm literally deathly allergic. I ought not push my luck...

ETA: Beekissed, why not a goat?? I have Nigerians, I love 'em. Great little dairy goats, and you don't need a lot of space. If my little floozie does ever quit flirting and actually get pregnant, maybe I'll be able to pass a little more first-hand experience on the dairy part of it.

 

[the simple life]

I told you beekissed I always check your posts to see what you have to say, I think we are kindred spirits.
I have heard that goat's milk makes the most delicious of all the cheeses so go ahead and get those goats! I saw your question about this in a different thread and the first thing I thought was wow if I could have goats where I live I could make more cheeses.
You could definitely do this, especially with the room you have you could make a cheese room.
I know that you like to make bread from scratch and you can save the whey left over from the cheese to make your bread. Thats what the professionals do. Nobody wastes a drop of that milk. They mention that a couple of times in the book I got. I like the book because besides the recipes it has interviews with "regular people" who got involved in cheesemaking. Some even dug cheese caves into the side of a hill to age their cheeses. I would do that in a heartbeat if I had that kind of land. Hmmmm ...I wonder who else could have that kind of land......
I think you should get the goats and give it a whirl. Creating nurtures the soul.
Thats great that we would be getting bees around the same time. Its always fun to learn with someone.

 

[me&thegals]

TSL, you are amazing! And we sound like soul-mates. You and me&thegals have alot in common also.

I agree, it does feel good to be more independent than most. It feels good to have things on hand in your home that you can whip up in a minute.

I also am getting bees next year, so maybe we can learn together! Your meal sounded utterly delicious, BTW!

I read an article in MEN about the making of the mozzarella and other cheeses, and how easy it is. That's why I want to get a sheep and milk it occasionally for making things like that. I don't have the space for a cow and we don't do much dairy around here, as one of the boys is allergic.

No kidding about our similarities! Ditto! I wonder if we have ordered through the same company. I can't remember right now, but the company is owned by a red-headed, curly-haired female whose caricature is on the box. It reminds me that I need to get my stuff out of the freezer and get going on some mozzarella again while the basil is growing! And--would you believe???--my aunt is having a cheese party this weekend!

Beekissed-I didn't realize you didn't have bees yet. I, too, am thinking about getting some and just want to find out as much as possible before I take that leap.

TSL--that did sound so yummy! We play a game at home (more just self congratulation, really) when we're eating supper by tabulating how much was grown, raised or made by one of the family. Isn't it a blast?

Fun to meet everyone here--this is going to be seriously addictive. Plus, I just registered on the gardening site, too. I am so going to lose my job if I don't get some work done!!!

me&thegals

 

[Beekissed]

ETA: Beekissed, why not a goat?? I have Nigerians, I love 'em. Great little dairy goats, and you don't need a lot of space. If my little floozie does ever quit flirting and actually get pregnant, maybe I'll be able to pass a little more first-hand experience on the dairy part of it.

Well, the place I would be grazing this animal has my orchard in it and I've heard just how destructive goats are to trees. Can't risk that, as I am renting here and don't wish to destroy anything! The sheep will graze my lawn and orchard closer and more evenly than will the goat, also. So, I'm trying to find a whey to have my sheep and eat it too!! Plus, aren't goats pretty much escape artists? LOL I don't want be chasing some animal all over the world to milk it! My sister used to have goats and I used to milk them for her, so I'm familiar with them and all.

TSL, I have a boy who is allergic to dairy, so I can't use the whey in my bread but that sounds like a wonderful thing. We pretty much had to change our whole life when he was little, in regards to dairy, but I would like to experiment a little with the cheeses and butters just for my own curiousity and to improve on my SS skills....if ya' know what I mean.

I think we will all be spending more time on here than on BYC, don't you? Frankly, I get nervous in a crowd, now that I've been living in my silvan solitude up here....so, the BYC forum is a little crowded for my taste! Can't keep track of all the interesting posts anymore.

Oh, gals, isn't this fun? I had planned on the bees this year but my job fortunes are not evolving as I had planned, so I'm waiting until I can buy all the equipment and such. I can't wait! My folks had bees when I was growing up and the honey tasted so much better than what you can buy. Dark, thick and didn't turn to sugar, no matter how long you kept it. My mom found one of her jars from about 15 years prev. and it was still liquid! We don't use any refined sugars here and only dark brown sugar when we run out of honey. I order my honey now from Thistledew Farms but its so expensive! Can't afford it much now, but I miss making my bread and sweetening with it!

Brook Valley, welcome to the club! I think we'll all get along fine here, don't you??

 

[BrookValley]

Yes, goats are escape artists (someone over on BYC always says, "if the fence won't hold water, it won't hold goats." And sometimes I feel this is true!) and they can be destructive to trees. So that could definitely be a problem for you! I don't know much about sheep at all--but I do wonder how cooperative one would be for you to milk it, especially if, as you say, you only want to milk it occasionally? But I honestly have no idea.

me&thegals, you must be talking about Ricki the crazy cheese lady: http://www.cheesemaking.com/ I'm just dying to have fresh goat's milk so I can start making my own cheeses!!

I have a feeling that I will be spending quite a bit of time over here as well. Like you, Beekissed, I enjoy my solitude--but at the same time, it is so very nice to be able to chat with like-minded folks! I'm very much looking forward to learning and sharing here.