the latest exploration

as you may have guessed by now, i'm kind of a hands-on, crafty gal, and i love a project. so when i read about making cheese, i had to try it. i've made yogurt cheese before (with dill, sooo delicious) but this was real cheese. like sold-in-stores cheese. it is called paneer (panir) and it's a very mild, middle eastern/indian cheese, and it was so insanely easy to make. i think it would be fun to make with kids (if i ever get around to getting one or two) because it's neat to watch the curds separate when you add the vinegar. here is the finished product:


i want to try this again with herbs mixed in, and possibly salted (which makes queso blanco!). and i want to try making chevre, which is also supposed to be easy but i don't have a recipe as yet. this afternoon i will be trying my hand at making ricotta, which is made with the leftover whey and is supposed to be insanely easy also. also insanely better than store-bought ricotta, which i have no doubts about, since imho homemade stuff in general and my homemade stuff in particular is insanely better than store-bought.

on a slightly different note, i received my [belated] birthday gift the other day from alice and isn't it spectacular?


it's venetian glass (she brought it back from her italy trip this summer) and i am so in love with all the colors in it. fabulous.