The day that inspired it all

I have thought numerous times before about starting a blog and it just hasn't happened until now. The day the made that all change was my goat cheese and strawberry day last Sunday. 

I had been talking with a coworker about wanting to try my hand at making cheese. Well she not only had a great recipe but she had some goat's milk for me to use! 

MG's Goat Milk Cheese Recipe:

1 gallon goats milk

1/4 cup cider vinegar 

Salt 

Herbs if you want

1. Heat milk in a non reactive pan to 200 degrees

2. Remove from heat and pour in vinegar, mix with a spoon

3. Pour mixture into a colander lined with cheese cloth

4. Place in a glass bowl and add salt to taste and herbs if you like

(As a side note she said that you could run the finished cheese through a food process real quick to get a creamier consistency. I did this in our little mini food processor and it worked like a charm!)

With this batch I made half just plain goat cheese and added fresh garlic, chives and cracked pepper to the other half. The herbed cheese did not stand a chance in our house! 

                                                                 

My kitchen time wasn't done for the day though! 

        

   

Next on my plate was Spring Strawberry Jam. I am lucky enough to live less then a half mile from some of the best strawberry fields in the world! Okui's Strawberry Stand opened at the beginning of March and I have been twice already. Once I got three pints which quickly became icecream and snacks and once for a full flat of their Jam Berries. 

Jam Berries are like pure gold to anyone who likes to do anything in the kitchen with strawberries! A flat costs less then a third of the price of the normal flats and the only difference is the berries aren't perfect! They may have a yellow patch or not be the prettiest shape but that's not a problem when you plan on mashing them up! 

     

This flat of strawberries became 28 half pint jars of Spring Strawberry Jam. The recipe I used was based off the one from the Ball Canning & Recipe site (I'm going to have to learn how to do links!). 

I made two batches with the following in each:

8 cups hulled and smooshed strawberries (I learned the best way to get them mashed was good old fashioned clean hands!)

1 cup and 2 tbsp Ball RealFruit Low or No Sugar Needed Pectin

Juice of one lemon

2 cups sugar 

Into a large pan went the strawberries, pectin, and lemon juice. I brought it to a boil over medium heat and then added the sugar. Stirring continually it needs to return to a full rolling boil for 1 minute in order for the pectin to do its pectin thing. According to the Ball website the batches I made were too large and could potentially have issues setting up but luckily they both did! It was a little sporty fitting all that jam into the pot I used, so next time I will do 3 smaller batches.

       

 

 

      

    

I will do an entire post on water bath canning soon! I am going to be making more strawberry jam with my sister and teaching her how to can in the process. Warning to all who try canning, it is addicting! I have been accused of wanting to can the kitchen sink and it's a fair accusation! 

Two batches of jam and 28 half pint later I was happily listening to the little *plinks* of canning success!

Few things make me happier then a day in the kitchen! The cheese was gone within 4 days but the jam will be around for a while. I turned around and added garlic, chives, and cracked pepper to most of the plain cheese as well which was perfect on wheat crackers. The small amount of cheese I did leave plain was topped with strawberry jam! 

Now that's the day that took this blog from my thoughts and put it into action. There will be a lot more kitchen talk as well as running talk and yoga talk!