First Aid Kits

There is an excellent post over at Paratus Familia on First Aid preparedness.  Even the comments are filled with good information.  I have started on our supplies but after reading that post I knew I was missing some important pieces.  So off I went to the store to pick up the things I needed and was feeling pretty proud of myself. 

Then I came home and decided to try out my new mandolin slicer because I had 5 pounds of carrots I wanted to slice and dehydrate.  Next thing you know I'm daydreaming about something and sliced my knuckle clean off!  No skin left, just a gaping wound.  My husband was out of town so I was home alone.  Of course I instantly thought of my first aid kit.  Luckily I had a good supply of sterile gauze and tape.  It was not a "fun" adventure, but it definitely was an adventure! 

So, even if you think you have your first aid supply all set, I encourage you to jump on over to Paratus Familia and read that post!  You never know when you will need some first aid in a hurry.

Thanks for stopping by and stay safe!

A New Skill

We found a cheese making class close to home that was affordable, so we both decided to go.  The cheese we made was Queso Fresco and it turned out delicious.

We started with 4 cups of whole milk and 2 cups of Buttermilk in a stainless steel sauce pan which we heated slowly up to the right temperature.  To that we added a small amount of distilled water and a few drops of calcium chloride.  We dissolved a rennet tablet in another container of water and stirred that into the warm milk.  At this point we covered the pot and set it aside, off the heat, for the curd to form.   

This class was held in the instructors own kitchen. There were 6 of us, including the teacher.

While we waited our instructor fed us lunch. There was a really good soup - homemade of course - and french bread with freshly made butter with a hint of lemon. I wanted to pig out SO BAD.  It was hard to act like a lady and just have two slices of bread. :)

After about thirty minutes we had curds to cut. Here the teacher is demonstrating for us.

She had us cut them three different ways.

Again we had to let it rest, so in the meantime our instructor brought out an assortment of cheeses that she had made.  In all honesty her Feta cheese was the best I have ever tasted. Wow.  I was close to speechless. :)  In the center of the cheese in the above photo is a "cheese button". It was made of glass and the purpose of it is so people have something to hold on to while cutting off a piece of cheese instead of putting their finger on the cheese!  I have never heard of such a thing so I had to take a picture to share with you.

After the rest period was up we ladled our curds and whey into a cloth lined colander to drain.

Eventually the whey was squeezed out and all we had left was the curd!

We put our curds in a little plastic mold and then turned it out onto some plastic wrap and a paper plate.

We each had a nice round cheese to take home.

I, of course, bought a good supply of things I will need to try this at home.

I shared one of the rounds with my co-workers and Tim and I ate the other one.  It was quite yummy!

I don't know when I will try this again, but I suppose I'd better do it soon or I'll forget everything I learned. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Bob's Red Mill Store and New Grain Mill

We took another trip into town to get supplies.  This time we got wheat berries and oat groats.  Both of which we can grind in our new grain mill.  We decided to buy the Family Grain Mill from Pleasant Hill Grain Co. We ordered the combo which includes a base motor and a hand crank.  The motor is on back order so we have been trying out the hand crank and it works great.

This is the grain mill.

We decided to also purchase the flaker attachment.  We have oatmeal almost everyday and with the flaker we can flake or roll our own oats.  They taste so much better when they are freshly rolled.

I had an empty instant oatmeal carton so I filled it with oat groats and used a rubber band to attach the label.

Whole Oat groats

First flakes.

I was quite impressed with the ease of use.  I was able to flake this bowl of oats with no problem and I'm kind of a wimp :)  I'm looking forward to trying the wheat berries next!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sour Dough Surprise

After my last try at making "hard rolls" that ended up soft and sweet, I found another recipe on the internet.  This one took three days to make and it wasn't until the rolls came out of the oven that I realized they were sourdough!  I'm not kidding.  But, being a sourdough lover, I thought they were fabulous.  Tim and I practically fought over them :)

Aren't they gorgeous?  I was so proud :)

However, this is not what I was trying to make.  Evidently, the rolls I am wanting to make are called Crusty Rolls.  So, I found another recipe and plan on trying again on Sunday :)  It's a good thing we love all kinds of bread!  (My bathroom scales do not agree though).  I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Thanks for stopping by!