Say Cheese! Its Week 15

Mamma and Baby Make Cheese

 My Dad and Karen got us a cheese making kit for Christmas.  You can make a pound of mozzarella or ricotta from a gallon of milk.  I love this because I can control what goes in my body using lower fat cheese and organic milk.  Baby has me craving cheese all the time!  Tonight I am going to make some bruschetta to go with our cheese.  So here it how you make an easy cheesy treat!

1. First take one gallon of pasteurized milk and add 1/4c dissolved rennet and 1/4c citric acid.  
2. Place the pot on the burner and bring it up to 90 degrees stirring constantly.  
3. After it reaches 90 take it off the burner and cover for 5 minutes.  This is when the whey and curd form.  
4. As you can see in the picture below, you then can cut the curds into blocks.

5.  Place the pot with the cubed curds back on the burner and bring up to 120 degrees stirring gently.

Next comes the fun part!

6.  Here I placed the curds in a microwave safe bowl and strained off as much whey as possible.  

 7.  Microwave the bowl for 1 minute and strain off more whey.  Then press the curds together into a ball.

8.  Next stretch the cheese into long strands until it looks shiny!

9.  Form the cheese into whatever shape you would like.  I chose to do a twist, but next time I will do a braid.  

 10.  Place it in an ice bath for 15 minutes to hold the shape.

Finished product!  Yummy!   Enjoy mozzarella in dishes like lasagna or serve with fresh tomatoes and basil.

Baby Update

How Far Along: 15 weeks, 3 days
Baby's Size: Apple
How am I Feeling: I have been sick for about a week with a sinus cold.  I finally broke down and decided to take approved medicine because I am not getting better.  Morgan has been taking great care of me.
Things I Miss: Wearing my skinny jeans buttoned (right now I have to wear them unbuttoned with an elastic band).  I am going to go get maternity pants before work starts back.
Next Appointment: January 2nd