Farmers cheese - How to?

Cheese. Yummy delicious cheese. I'm on a cheese making kick. Blessed lovely cheese!

Farmers cheese is the EASTEST cheese to make. No need for fancy ingredients or complicated recipes....

How to make Farmers cheese...

Ingredient List



1/2 gallon whole milk (pasteurized is fine, but NOT ultra-pasteurized)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

Cheese Cloth
Thermometer
Strainer

The How To...


Pour the milk and salt into pot and heat SLoWLY on Med-low to approx 185-190 degrees. Stir frequently to avoid burning the milk. Once desired temperature is reach add vinegar and stir. This would also be the time to add any desired herbs or spices. Turn off heat and let rest for 15 minutes.
In the meantime drape your cheese cloth over the strainer. If you wish to save the whey, place strainer over bowl. Whey is very beneficial and can be used as a water substitute in many recipes.


Once 15 minutes have passed the curds and whey will have separated.



Carefully strain the curds and whey through the cheese cloth.



You'll have some beautiful curds filling your cheese cloth.



Now grab up the corners of the cheese clothe and twist, squeezing out the whey. Now you can take a few minutes to squeeze out the remaining whey Or you can tie your cheese cloth ball to a wooden spoon and rest it across the top of the strainer.



You now have beautiful yummy cheese! Unwrap your cheese...


Now you can enjoy your cheese warm or place it in a container and chill in the fridge.
Farmers cheese is a soft cheese that reminds me o something between a cream cheese and a stiff crumbly cheese. It really depends on how much whey you squeeze out. The drier your curds , the drier your cheese. After chilling I was able to slice it nicely for crackers and sandwiches. It's nothing like store bought cheese! Play with herbs, salt, and spices to make your perfect cheese!!




Yummo!

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Yard Sailing for Crazies!

Move outa the way mall shopping divas, I'm a crazy yard sailing momma!
I've always loved great deals and have a twisted fascination w what the neighbors put to the curb.
I mean let's face it some people put out perfectly good items for the trash! Antiques to garden equipment to perfectly usable furniture. So it's only natural to have a love affair w yard sales.

So how do you yard sale with a four, two, and one year old? Oh come on don't give up so easy!

Step one: Line up shoes so your not hunting for them in your mad rush to early bird the yard sales.



Step two: Pack snack, drinks, and some occupying toys along with the normal going out bag.



Step Three: Find your gear... Stroller or wagon, baby sling, potty seat stashed in the vehicle for tot potty breaks, and my life saver Mommy Hook...
This little sucker can clip on the stroller and carry all the bags!!



Now wake those kids up, throw clothes and shoes on, don't forget the sunscreen! Say a little prayer before you head out... Ask for guidance, wisdom, and safety! (and pray those kiddos don't drive you insane!) lol!


Load up and you're off! Now die hard "modern" yard sailors don't just rely solely on hardly readable signs posted on telephone poles. They are handy but now days ya break out your smartphone! There's yard sales posted on online classifieds, craigslist, and specific yard sale sites. I'm nutty enough to map out our trip the night before, allowing for those few wind torn sign detours. Best yard sales with kids are community ones like we hit today. If you can handle the walk. Park and load everyone into the double stroller and stick the baby in the sling. Make offers and get great deals! Chat up the sellers and keep a positive attitude, even when ya get funny looks! Told ya I was crazy!



.....After a few hours of walking, take you finds back to the truck, load the kids back in, crank up the a/c, and then bribe w smoothies to keep the day rolling. While the kids get brain freezes drive around to those individual yard sales that you can pull right up too and jump out to check out. When the kids have had enough of hearing, "just one more yard sale!" Then it's time to head home with only one more detour! Muwaahhaaa!



Score! Tons of puzzles, games, and preschool goodies! See this is precisely why I need a school room! I'm stocking a freaking preschool with stuff! Gotta love being a homeschooler! But seriously I do pick some stuff up to put on eBay and things here and there for other little ones in the family.



I have no clue what possessed me to buy these but you really cant pass up bins!
Any ideas what to use them for?


I even picked up some name brand jeans for myself but they might go to a sister cause my momma hips might hinder a nice fit. But when you can find $50 jeans for $2, duh!!!

Okay so now you know I'm a crazy nut! By the way once you get home, feed the kids and let em play with some goodies, drop them in front of a movie until everyone passes out and take a nap! You've had an exhausting day!

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Recycled Wool Sleep Sack Tutorial

It's sewing season for me again! Round the clock burning the midnight oil building stock for Palmerton Festival. So I thought I'd share how to make a sleep sack or sleep shirt for wee ones. Most wool sweaters will make a sack to fit anywhere from newborn to 9 months. If you want to make it for an older child just adjust according and add some length.

So here you go... Please pardon the Low light pics, it's stormy outside and the sun is hiding!



Find a soft wool sweater. It's not necessary to felt it but if it is a loose weave I would. You don't want toes and fingers getting caught.



Measure 3 to 4 inches from armpit and cut off the sleeves.



Since the average neck hole will be too large for a wee one... Cut a one inch wide strip from the end of your now short sleeve all the way into the neck.


Next cut the lower side of the arm into the armpit. You want it to measure about 11/2 inches wide. Then continue your cut down to the hem of the sweater. The sweater I'm using here is XL so I had a considerable bit to take off.


Fold sweater in half and make sure everything is matchy matchy as well as trim if you want it a bit slimmer. Also curve the cut the last few inches at the hem so when the sack is done it more or less hugs around the bottom of their feet. If your making a larger one for an older child just leave it straight like a night shirt.



Cut the cuffs off your previously removed sleeves.



Optional: grab some wool scraps and design a cute appliqué.



This also comes in handy if you need to disguise a flaw like I had in the neck... Ta da! Bubbles!



Sew your cute little design to your sweater.



Now with right sides together line up the neck and sew a straight line starting at the NECK to the wrist. Not the other way around or else you'll have an uneven neck seam.



Then sew a seam from the HEM to the wrist. Again not the other way around or your hem will be uneven. Then you can even up both sleeves trimming if necessary.



Now remember those cuffs you cut? Too big for the little wrist now so cut the cuff and sew a new seam to make them the right size.



See much better!



Now place your cuff inside the inside out sleeve. RAW edges up and right sides together. You'll know you did it wrong when you finish and turn it right side out and your cuffs are backwards! Lol. I did it a dozen times making wool diaper covers.



Sew the cuff to the sleeve.


Ta da! Now do it again on the other side. Then trim any bulky seams and snip stray thread. Turn right side out and lookie lookie what you made!!


Wool is the number one best thing for your child to sleep in. Keeps them an even body temp. The don't sweat or freeze. It's not flammable! It's antibacterial and antimicrobial. Means less washing for mom too! Just let air out and it's ready for bedtime again! Not all wools are itchy folks! You can find buttery soft cashmere, merino, lambswool etc.
Sew away ladies! And Don't forget to check out my favorite wool recycling gal! www.resweater.blogspot.com
Don't forget to tell her I sent you!

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Bananas and more bananas!

Again blessings come when you lest expect them and this week was a fine example. We received 40 lbs of bananas ready and ripe! Now what on earth do you do with such a large number of bananas, you say? We shared 6 lbs right away, delivered 3 lbs to my momma who was under the weather, and we ate 3 lbs on our own. Then we made enough banana chips to fill two dehydrators. The girls peeled tons of bananas and had a blast...









Then I realized we peeled to many for the dehydrators and they'd go brown before the first batch was finished so we saved those for the freezer. Reality hit when I discovered I didn't have near enough freezer bags because we never use them. We always use containers, not enough of those either. So the huge bowl overflowing w bananas went in the fridge. The following day the girls and I went yard sailing and among our great finds was....


Yea! Freezer containers!!!!! God bless the old man who was delighted to be rid of them.
All things work together for good and now we have enough banana for bread, smoothies and whatever else we can come up with!
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Procrastination & Napkins

Yes it's true I'm the queen of procrastination! Unless it's something I absolutely want to do it's just gonna sit until I either HAVE to do it or finally get the motivation to get it done.
This time of year I'm the worst. I want to play in my garden and play with the kids not sit inside working. I participate in our town festival every year selling crafts. It's the second weekend of September. I swear every year I'll work a little here and there to build stock but every year around this time, I'm panicking to get it all done. It'll never change, I work well under pressure and apparently enjoy torturing myself year after year. So again today I glared at the pile of work that must be done and turned away looking for something else to do. Yep I admit it! But in my defense I only blew a half hour and taught myself how to thread my serger. Funny I should mention the serger was a gift for my birthday back in February and I'm just now breaking it in, despite it being on my want list since i drooled over my moms as a kid. The fabric for the napkins I made today was purchased 11 years ago, it wasn't cut into napkin squares until 6 years ago and today I finally serged the edges. So sad, yes so very very sad. Okay you can stop laughing now!!!! These napkins had a long journey and will have a story to tell, especially after my gremlins get their sticky fingers on them.

So here's my Serger getting a workout... It's idiot proof threading too!



Now I have thirteen simple cloth napkins! Why an odd number? I have no clue probably just what I could get out of the fabric.

For the "how'd ya make 'em?" crowd.... Easy! Cut fabric to the size you want and zip thru the serger. No rolled edges needed.




See are they not the easiest little napkins to make? And I even have the perfect basket to house them in. The basket was given to me by a friend who has a beautiful collection of baskets. Thank you again!



So that's the story of the 11 year napkins! Lol! Now I need to stop playing around and get back to real work...

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Cake tutorial... My first try at Marshmallow fondant

So it's been a productive week thus far and I'm hoping it continues! We had a birthday in the family and I volunteered or perhaps begged and insisted I made the cake. So I set out to provide the birthday girl with a cake. The following shows my first attempt at making a cake with marshmallow fondant.
The fondant recipe itself is simply marshmallows, powered sugar, water and vanilla.
This is the recipe I used
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/marshmallow-fondant/Detail.aspx

So she wanted a '69 mustang cake. Mind you I've never made a car cake, in fact the castle for my Sugar Bean was about as adventurous as I've been.




You'll need to bake two 9 x 13 cakes. I did a chocolate and vanilla.



Cut out a sturdy base for your car. Leaving notches for the wheels. Keep in mind the type of vehicle and it can't be any larger than your cake sliced in half.



Cut one of the cakes in half lenghth wise, frost in between layers. Oh be sure to level your cake as well. Stack as shown on top of your cardboard base.



Now carve away! Keep in mind the basic shape of the car. Use a pic as reference if need be. Or just wing it! Lol!



Frost the entire car, this will act as the glue to keep the fondant from falling off later. Now go ahead and roll out your Marshmallow fondant.



Drape your base cake. Be sure you frosted it prior to laying the MMF on. Trim carefully!



Repeat with the car. Be gentle! No pulling or tugging just let it fall naturally then you can manipulate it.


Now the fun begins! Get as creative and crazy as you want, decorate as you wish! Trim, cut, and design. When your ready make a cardboard riser for the car base to sit on. If you choose not to your wheels won't sit right and you'll have to have them sunk in the base. Transfer car onto the cake base. Viola! Add your wheels and finishing touches and you're finished!






It may not be a perfect replica but I think ya get the idea.

It was certainly fun to make!

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Digging dirt & a cherry!

Okay go ahead and yell! I've been slacking in the blog dept but yall must forgive me because we've been playing outside...
So just a gardening update and I promise I'll push for some curriculum reviews and such asap!

So as I've said before we have horrible soil that has been contaminated from the years pollution from the local zinc company. We've spent the past few years fiddling and experimenting with options... Today we planted some straw bales!



I had some bales laying around that had started decomposing beautifully. Sugar Bean and I planted them with some cucumbers that needed rescuing and corn and lazy housewife beans. Three Sisters in a straw bale? Worth a shot, right!?




I had rescued some pumpkin seedlings that turned up in the road ditch most likely from our pumpkins we had during the holidays last year. They've been transplanted along with some more three sister planting. We will see what makes it!

As far as the buckwheat I planted...



It LOVES fresh chicken compost!
Honestly the prettiest patch of green on the whole hillside. Lol!

We also discovered this week we have a cherry tree. Woohoo! And on this said cherry tree one beautiful cherry begging to be picked. A good 12 ft up so I grabbed a garden hoe and pulled the branch down and snatched that cherry! It's was either me or a bird! Sugar Bean and Wiggles wanted it just as much as I did with their eager hands high in the air begging me to hand it over. After a short discussion of one cherry and the mouths wanting it we opted on sharing this lone beauty and we each got a tiny taste. Oh me oh my! That was the most delicious cherry ever! Sugar Bean insisted on planting the pit so we did. It's now in a little pot in her garden, no promises kid! ;-p
Yes it was a long day outside gardening and exploring. The inside chores were neglected but we can fuss with that on a rainy day! Now the children are all soundly sleeping and I need to retire for I have a feeling tomorrow we will be exploring our kitchen floor and the laundry basket!
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