"How long did you do the cure/aging Jim?" Hmm. That's a somewhat embarrassing question. Most of it was deemed inedible and was discarded at a young age, but in my fridge there is a rock hard small wheel that is several years old. "Did you purchase a press or cobble one together?" I bought a cylindrical stainless steel container from a cooking supply store and drilled a lot of holes in it with a 1/8" drill. I cut a circle from a polyethylene cutting board to fit inside the cylinder and apply pressure. I weighted this down on top of the cheese. I have a screw mechanism for building a real press, but haven't gotten around to it. Might have to build a wood fired, outdoor pizza oven first. :-) "I haven't checked the health food store to buy milk...but wished that I had a dairy available for sure." Cheese works out to be as expensive as the milk at retail price used to make it. I understand that using dehydrated milk will work and reduce the cost. Haven't done that yet. Best would be to buy milk at the farm if you can. It takes a lot of milk to make a little cheese. It's not surprising that Jessy and I cited the same source for supplies. That company dominates the cheese making hobby. They have lots of information and every supply you could want. Jim

Beachlily, you're right. This is a digression and not about cooking at all really. I find nomenclature interesting, as well as the hair splitting, and I find that it helps to order my mind, which, in the end, also helps my cooking. Rusty, opinion respectfully understood and appreciated. It is nitpicking, and not of interest to many people, I'm sure. I have certain language bugaboos with cooking. I'm entirely aware that they're my issues, and not something that I expect others to cleave to or participate in. It doesn't bother me if people call purchased prepared food that they've doctored "homemade". To me, that just means they have a different definition of homemade. So be it. I do, however, have an issue with opened a bunch of cans and dumped them in a dish being called "from scratch". Again, I realize that my having an issue with what people want to say about their food is entirely my own problem, not theirs. In the USA, at least, there's a tradition of food snobbery in which "from scratch" demands a level of respect. I don't say "from scratch" about my cooking or baking, even when it is. If someone asks, I'll say I made the crust, or whatever, and might even use "it's from scratch" if asked about the process, but it's not a way I identify myself or my work. It goes with the kind of snobbery that insists that something hand sewn is superior to something machine sewn (not counting computer programed sewing machine work, which is its own category). Good results are good results, no matter which tools you use to achieve them. The grated cheese issue is a bagatelle: it's really all the same whether you pare it, grate it by hand, grate it in an FP, or buy it grated. The main reason for doing it oneself is that one often buys tastier cheeses than they put up pre-grated, and it keeps better as a block. Since we have that culture of admiration for the scratch cook, I think the person claiming the honors ought to be honest about it. I wouldn't think ill of anyone who doesn't put the line exactly where I do. That's why I started this thread--to learn where others put the line. But if you tell me that you made a frozen green beans, condensed mushroom soup and French's canned fried onions casserole from scratch, I'm going to think you're awfully naïve... My other bugaboo is people who don't know what the words mean extending them to mean other things. Again, totally my own issue and the world marches the way it does without regard for it. But hummus means "chickpea" not paté or puree, many hummus dishes use whole, not mashed, chickpeas, and you can't make chickpeas out of black beans. Aioli means "garlic oil", not flavored mayonnaise, and can be made without egg yolk (i.e., not like mayonnaise), but not without garlic. Some aiolis aren't sauces at all, but more like a paste or relish, but all have garlic and oil. So, I've learned a lot about how far the words "scratch" and "homemade" can extend without breaking and some points over my own lines that cooking people allow. I hope more people will contribute their ideas. And for those who just don't care, thanks for letting us know that too...

gldno, I can tell you that if you scoop out the curds diligently, there is much less of the milk solid to turn into ricotta. I scooped mine carefully and got very little ricotta when I poured the whey through the cloth. Elery was not as careful and broke the curds a bit, and he had more of the milk solids when he strained the whey. So, maybe you're just doing a very good job of removing the curd! tracey, I'll be interested to see how your experiment goes, it's just so easy and infinitely do-able. That book also has directions for making ricotta from whole milk and skipping the mozzarella part entirely... Annie

TGIF to all! Jimster, I have never heard about Parkinson's law, but boy does it ever apply here! Let's see, my day began before 8 when the Bosch repair guy called to say he'd be here between 10 and 1pm! WHAT THE HECK? I told them that I needed an early appt. gave them plenty of time out to schedule and they gave me the requisite 4 hour window of 8-12. I grumbled, but said I really needed the first appt so I could go to WORK! What a novel idea. I guess the one who promised shouldn't have so I canceled the call. How the heck can I work? Also it's their 3 or 4th service call for the same problem and the washer is only one year old! Grrrr... Anyway this weekend kicked off nicely as I was able to squeak in a hair color appt at 5 and afterward DH met me in Beverly Hills for dinner at a new (to us) restaurant. Italian food and nice. It kinda felt like a date! LOL Tomorrow morn I'd better hike over to the paint store and choose the right white for our dining room. We're painting this coming week for a dinner that's being held here on the 2nd. I've got paint samples on the wall (which I hate), so I'm committed to finishing the paint job now. Then I'm going to try and fit in a Costco run and be home by one when the grands are coming over to spend the next couple of days. I know I'm gonna hurt, but I love having them here! Probably will invite my parents over for dinner and then Sunday we'll take them to visit DMIL. Lots going on with my parents and MIL, but suffice it to say that carving myself up into pieces wouldn't be a bad idea! No wine for me, at least white wine for awhile, I had a battery of new allergy tests and came up allergic to white grapes among many other things. Tuesday I meet with the doc to find out what my new "diet" will consist of. More on that later on. AM- I'm sending positive thoughts that all will be okay with DH's job and your hectic life can continue undisturbed. Dixie- hugs to you, I still have Zeke's collar too. Have a great weekend everyone!!