I woke up dreaming of Italy. Maybe it was Peggy's pasticciotto recipe that is now on my "must eat" list, maybe it was the dappled sunlight on our new espalier apple trees but I woke up with a this lovely feeling, and I hope it stays all day.

As long as I am laying things bare, here is another thing about me: inspiration comes in waves. Since we are about to move into a spring cleanse and be talking sprouts and flax meal, I figured we should get the deli stuff out of the way first. Truth: I love cheese. I love the stinky ones, the mild fresh ones, the gooey oozing ones and now, I have begun making my own. About a month ago I took a class here and have since made some tasty ricotta, mozzarella and butter! Double truth: I love butter.
Anyway, the fresh cheeses are amazingly easy and delicious in summer tarts, caprese salad or a simply with jam on morning toast.
Here is the recipe from haystack for goat ricotta- super yummy, super simple.

Ricotta Goat
Ingredients:
1 gallon whole milk
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 T melted butter
1/2 t baking soda

1. Heat the milk in a non-reactive pan to 195 degrees, stirring often! You will need a hand held thermometer to keep track of your temps.

2. Once you reach 195 F, slowly stir in vinegar, a little at at a time, until the curds and whey ( of little Miss Muffet fame) separate. If whey is milky, heat to 205 degrees F.

3. Spoon (or use your hands) curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth and let drain for 1 minute.

4. Place curds in a bowl and mix in butter and baking soda. Done.

Store in refrigerator but let it come back up to room temperature before enjoying.

I confess

It has been too long. Those last few months of winter really took a long time to transform into spring. I felt a bit like the nascent seeds, curled into myself, waiting for the sun to do its magic, and here it finally is. May 22. I have been busy planting, getting a new bee colony set up for another season and making food projects with my friend Mara. Our latest endeavour? Sausage.
Here is the confession: It was a little gross. I mean c'mon, cutting up chunks of pork fat and then smooshing that into the grinder that makes all sorts of guttural noises and then there was the casing... yup, that's right, 50 feet of pork gut that needs to be soaked, cleaned and then loaded like a water balloon onto the end of the sausage stuffer. This was a great project for a few reasons. 1. We laughed a lot 2. My five year old son was fascinated with the whole process and now informs dinner guests that, "guess what? We eat pork guts!!" 3. and perhaps most important- having a relationship to how foods that we eat actually come into being changes that way we look at them. To get up close and personal (and I still have a long way to go, wild game butchery- here I come) with meat makes me realize the visceral nature of what I am eating and how much goes into the true farm to table journey. I have begun to limit the amount of meat that we eat as a family and when we do it, well, it is good to know where it is coming from and whenever possible to be part of that process. We buy meat shares here and it adds to the flavor knowing that there are giggles as well as garlic in the sausage. If you are inspired, this is a great book and there are a few good tips here. Coming up soon, homemade miso and nuka pickles. I promise I won't stay away so long.