Homemade Ricotta Cheese......Finally

Sorry for the delay in delivering the word about the ricotta cheese.I'm sure you all were waiting on the edge of your seats. Unfortunately, I tend to procrastinate sometimes its a horrible quality that I would love to shake. Anyway, the cheese was awesome, so fresh creamy and delicious. I slathered my first taste on a crusty piece of bread and then I used the rest of it added with parsley to my lasagna. This is so easy. Totally simple, there is no reason not to try this! Unless, of course you don't really care for ricotta cheese, in which case you should try it anyway. Because, it is so much better than anything you buy out of a tub from your local grocer.

This is all you need to make your own cheese.  11/2 cups of milk and 1/2 a cup of heavy cream.  The juice of 2 lemons and the zest also if you would like. I left it out this go round. 1/4 tsp salt and sugar. 

While you bring the milk up to just a simmer juice and zest your lemons.  I don't have photos of the milk simmering cause the stove shots always seem to be awful so we'll skip that shot.  

Line a strainer with cheese cloth and put it in a bowl. 

When your milk and cream are just beginning to simmer, not boil! add your lemon juice , salt, and sugar. and give a  stir then pour into the cheese cloth lined strainer. 

Let is sit for at least 2 hours if you make a bigger batch I would let it sit over night. Otherwise I think about 2 hours does the trick. 

All the moisture will sink into the bowl and leave you with this!  

Its so beautiful!  Peel it away from the cheese cloth and revel in the magic you have just created. I think its best to enjoy it in its simplest form. Spread it on some bread or stir it into some hot pasta with a splash of pasta water.  The lemons give the cheese a hint of lemony tartness and makes it taste so fresh. You could also use white wine vinegar and get the same results I would use about 3 tablespoons if you go the vinegar route. You have got to try this!

I Love Food

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." 
-Luciano Pavarotti

Incredible Fast Food

This place is a revolution in fast food. Delicious, healthful, fresh food- fast! Steve Ells, the guy who started this chain of awesome, deliciousness runs his restaurants based on the philosophy, Food With Integrity. I will quote his actual statement which is printed on every menu. Its just too important not to read. "Chipotle is a pioneer in changing the way people think about and eat fast food. Armed with our philosophy of Food With Integrity, we take pride in sourcing as many of our high quality ingredients as we can from local and family farmers who are committed to sustainably raising antibiotic and hormone-free meats and organic vegetables. Food With Integrity is not merely a marketing slogan or a philosophy. It is an active process of working back along the food chain. It is a deeper level of thinking, consideration, and comprehension than just the word"fresh." It means going beyond distributors to discover how our vegetables are grown, and being cognizant of how our pigs, cows, and chickens are raised. It is a philosophy solidly based on a foundation of not exploiting animals, the environment, or people."  How simple and wonderful. This is something we all should be doing! Someone please tell me why McDonald's can't live by this philosophy??? I think greed is the answer. People always say that eating organically is too expensive. Well, the most expensive thing on the Chipotle menu is $6.50. Which is about the same price of any large value meal on McDonald's menu. We had to drive 70 miles to eat here, but if you happen to  live near a Chipotle give it a try you will not be disappointed. 

Look! They are actually making food!

Here is my food, I ordered the tacos and they actually make them when you order them. 

The finished product, that was quickly devoured. Two tacos with black beans and carnitas the naturally raised pork. One taco with pinto beans and barbacoa, naturally raised beef braised then shredded mmmmmm. 

Our order of chips and guacamole so good! Your chips come in a bag but the fella made a nice presentation of our order. 

Heaven wrapped in a flour tortilla! 

All the menus are printed on recycled paper. This guy walks the walk.  Changing the world one taco at a time!

The fella ordered a burrito with the barbacoa ( shredded braised beef) without beans. I don't know why he doesn't like them, but I'm not complaining. He ate a burrito and guacamole!

Cheese Please

Hey guys, I am currently working on making some home made ricotta cheese. Apparently it is quite easy to make, it just needs about a day to sit. So, as soon as I have my final product, I will post it as fast as my not- so- little fingers can type. Lets cross our fingers it comes out at least as tasty as a watery tub of Polly-O.  Wish me luck!

A Quick Lunch....Or Dinner

Just a few ingredients keep you and your stomach away from a tasty and healthy meal. This little number only takes about a minute longer than the time it takes your pasta to cook. When the fella is eating his favorite eggs and hash on a saturday afternoon, this is what I make. He won't eat it (so more for me) and I don't feel bad for eating 3 bowls of it. This is a recipe based on what you have on hand, but has two basic principles use some kind of vegetable and whole wheat pasta. Today I have arugula and rotini and used half a box of each of these. No good can come of it when I make a whole box of pasta. Ok, lets get this party started shall we? 

Here we have the stars of the luncheon show, arugula and pasta.  When your pasta is finished cooking let it sit in the colander for a minute while you add the arugula to the hot pot with some oil salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if you can take the heat.) Let it wilt down just a bit. Throw your cooked pasta on top of the arugula and add just a bit more oil and give it a stir.  To beef up on the veggie count I added half a bag of steamed peas in with the arugula. 

TA DAAA! 10 minutes later you have something really good to eat, with little to no effort. Top off your bowl of goodness with some good parmesan cheese and start shoveling or politely savoring every bite. 

Milk, of the Nutty Variety

This stuff is delicious. I stumbled upon this tasty treat during a stroll through Target. I've seen the commercials and have even tried the original Silk Almond Milk, but this stuff....wow.  It is so thick, rich, chocolaty, and simply delightful. It has a hint of almond flavor, far less distinct than the non-choclate version. I am not a fan of milk, at all but this is absolutely wonderful. This tasty bev offers way more calcium than regular milk, which I am trying to consume more of these days. I know these freaky, new fangled food items might seem weird but this is soooo good. Try it and let me know what you think. It goes without saying that I am definitely not being paid to comment about Silk's Almond Milk, I wish! 

Mmmmm going, going....

GONE!

Caesar Dressing (A Healthy Version)

My best friend Sarah and I love Jamie Oliver. I remember lying on her bedroom floor in high school while we proclaimed how cute his accent was and how good his food looked, as he drove around on his little vespa from place to place making his recipes. I still love him today, especially this food revolution he is on. I totally support his crusade to teach Americans about good food, where this food comes from, and healthy, easy, delicious recipes. Americans eat horribly, we could use the simple wisdom this wonderful Brit has to offer.  I know the world is busy, but I think its time we take a cue from the Europeans and put down all of the gadgets we find so necessary to possess, sit down and enjoy a meal. Preferably with some people you love, and preferably at least once a day.  We can all start with a tasty and healthier version of the classic caesar salad. It takes about 15 minutes and makes enough to nicely coat 2 heads of romaine. Though the recipe calls for just one large head.
1/3 cup low-fat or nonfat Greek-style yogurt
2 anchovy fillets mashed
1 garlic clove mashed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large head of romaine lettuce torn into bite sized pieces

Here are your ingredients. Unfortunately I live in the middle of nowhere, and this is the best parmesan cheese I can get my hands on. Oh how I long to live near a Whole Foods again. But, it did the trick.

Lemon juice, garlic, and anchovies. 

In a small bowl whisk the yogurt with the anchovies, garlic, lemon juice and worcestershire sauce. 

Whisk in the oil

And the parmesan cheese

Season with salt and pepper

In a large bowl, toss the romaine with half the dressing and the remaining cheese. Serve, passing the remaining dressing at the table.