Time for Chedder

OK getting setup you need to make sure you are ready pre-prep is always the best way

oh yes when it come to cheese stainless and keeping everything clean is a must

 four gallons of milk I bought whole organic milk and remember it can not be super pasteurized  milk it will not separate the curds from the whey 

Lets not forget to have your sexy sidekick standing by even if she is downing lemon drops :) OK I had a few myself 

 lemon drops in action if you can't have fun doing this then stay out of the kitchen 

this is my press not sure I like it but it is simple my brain is working overtime to come up with a new design 

target temp is 86 and 100 degrees 

Yes it is good to read the directions this process of making cheddar is long.  I think it has lots of room for improvement to shorten the process 

press is prepped with cheese cloth for the Curds 

    

time to cut the curds in to 1/2 cubes don't get in a hurry you still have a long way to go at this point 

used sink for raising the temp to 100 degrees this should not be rushed you are going from 86 to 100 degrees at 2 degree increments every five minutes 

don't forget to stir to keep the curd cubes separated 

  

and stir

and stir

and stir 

time to let it rest

almost there 

I am excited time to separate the curd from the whey

the curd is at the bottom 

this helps to have four hands hum where is my sassy side kick maybe she is having another lemon drop

Ok time to let the whey drain for 15 min.

remember cheddar is a hard cheese that means you have to get most of the moisture out 

Time to get ready to start cheddarring 

my little dome of cheddar

have to cut it in to 3 inch blocks

this is where the cheddaring begins back is the pot at a 100 degree temp  this is done to remove more whey

OK after adding salt time for the press 15 min then turn and 12 hours at around 40lb of pressure 

I did not have enough holes to help the whey drain out had to do some quick modifications 

another row of hole much better drainage going on at 1:30 pm I will flip the cheese then another 24 hrs in the press

this is the area I will use for final drying in about 3 days 

Started make the cheese at 5pm and went to bed at 1:30 am make sure you have enough time to do this task

South Beach eating for life

Ok just a short intro before we get into this yummy dish.  Kim and I have lost combined 95lbs and we  are learning to cook and eat differently.  This is really the driving force for the blog besides my daughter telling me to do it and was kind enough to setup the blog for me.  We have just finished 12 weeks of diet and 8 days of detox.  So whats next? You got it, eating right and smaller portions.  So we decided to break back in slowly with South beach eating plan.  I will be using most of their recipes with a little Allen and Kim Flair.  Oh by the way, remember the ricotta that I made last week, well we will be using  a lot of ricotta in the South Beach deserts recipes, so it did not got to waste.  The first dish is for lunch tomorrow it is a bean chili.    

That Sassy side kick was kind enough to prep all the veggies that are going in to the chili, lets see onions, bell peppers, celery, mushrooms. all ready for the pot

speaking of pots this dutch oven is great for making sauces and soups 

little extra virgin olive oil heating up 

sautéing the veggies remember don't let them burn, fast is not always better 

veggies are ready for the next step adding the pinto beans and diced tomatoes.  Just a side note South Beach called for canned beans and tomatoes, I cooked my own beans less sodium that way and I used organic canned dice tomatoes 

 added the spice first, oh yes! the chile is from Korea some of the best I have ever used 

ok now it is ready for the beans and diced tomatoes 

in goes the beans 

now the tomatoes this smells great! 

This taste great and I can  hardly wait for lunch tomorrow.  I will be eating chili and a small green salad, this is really plenty of food.   I cooked the beans in spice and then added spice to the chili.  It has a little bite just like I like it, might be a little spicy for some folks but that is ok because it tickles my buds just fine.  Well maybe one of my trusty old work companions can have a little taste and commit on what he thinks?

Mozzarella Pizza anyone

Ok, as promised the pizza party from Ketchikan Alaska.  This was the main reason for making the mozzarella in the first place.  Why Ketchikan Alaska? because  three years ago my son Jorden and his family were stationed there and if you ever get the chance to visit GO it is beautiful, but the food prices are outrageous, so pizza is to expensive to buy. So what to do? but make your own. We did not have pizza pans but flatbread style pizza is great.  This Pizza is called a Margarita Pizza  and no there is no alcohol on the pizza only the beer being consumed buy the maker. Margarita Pizza got its name from Queen Margarita I will let you look the story up yourself. 

Jorden trying his hand at tossing the dough

    

ok I could of least caught a shot of the dough in the air but as you can see my sassy side kick is washing dishes not taking pictures, yes that leaves me and I am not a very good photographer 

Pizza laid out on a cookie sheet this works 

Yes!!! ready for the taste test 

second one in the oven 

quick give me a plate 

wow beer a pizza what a reward for the cook

Sassy would of gave the thumbs up but her hands were full of pizza,  remember pizza has not been on our diet what a treat !  

second pizza out of the oven 

Great Job son, you can cook for me anytime.  Mozzarella was good, little moist for shredding but melted good. Definitely fresh Mozzarella when making pizza will add to the flavor of your creation.