Cheesy Fun
We make quite a few of our own dairy products, yogurt, cream cheese, ricotta and other soft cheeses, mostly. And today, Jacob made his first batch of mozzarella cheese – all by himself (mostly). If you’re looking for a fun, easy way to get kids (or anyone!) involved with cheese making, I highly recommend New England Cheesemaking Supply’s 30 Minute Mozzarella Kit. It’s simple and straightforward, but finding the right milk can be a bit tricky.
Each week, I get farm fresh milk for Jacob to drink, but because of its cost, I tend to look at it as liquid gold. So, when I first began making mozzarella, I didn’t want to use it. I went to the store and bought a gallon of plain ‘ol 2% and followed the 30 minute recipe. It didn’t work. I tried again with a different brand of milk. Again, the curd that formed was too soft to make cheese. What was wrong? Feeling like an idiot, I wrote a letter to the company. Someone replied kindly and quickly, and explained that the milk was to blame.
This mozzarella can be made with pasteurized milk, but not with ultra-pasteurized milk, because the protein is denatured at the high temperature; the whey proteins bind on the casein and block the site of action of the rennet. I knew this (because I read the directions). But, even milk not labeled as pasteurized can be processed at a temperature too high to allow cheese to be made. That is what had been happening on my first two attempts at mozzarella.
Now, if I’m making the mozzarella for a gift, or to be eaten fresh, I will use the fresh milk. But, there is another option. This 30 minute recipe can also be made with dry milk and cream. Since I’ve seen Jacob handle the cheese curds before, and know he tends to stretch them, uh, less than gently (picture a kid squeezing the heck out of a handful of Play-doh), I let he use the dry milk method. Yes, his cheese had the consistency of rubber (not unlike my own beginning attempts), but he was so proud of the results. We let the mozzarella cool in the refrigerator as we made pizza crusts, then grated Jacob’s homemade cheese for the topping. Delicious.
Here’s my pizza crust recipe:
3 cups flour (I use 2 cups whole wheat and 1 cup spelt)
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast (or one packet)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 1 1/2 cups warm water (or, you can use the warm whey left over from the mozzarella)
Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the oil and 1 cup of water. Mix with a wooden spoon or in a stand mixer with a dough hook (yes, I’m lazy, so that’s what I do). Add more water if necessary. When the dough is the right consistency, knead by hand or with the mixer hook. Divide in half, let rest, covered, on a floured surface for about 20 minutes. Then press into two pans and bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes (until the crust begins to brown). Remove from oven, add sauce, herbs, cheese, and any other toppings, and bake for another 10 or so minutes, until the cheese is melted.
For Those in My Local Area (or not)
Many of you know try to support *fair trade* industries as much as possible, especially those tied into specific ministries. (I do realize the term gets tossed around quite a bit these days, but a bit of online research will usually reveal if the organization touting the fairly traded goods is reputable.) The Lighthouse Christian Bookstore in Queensbury, NY, is now offering a selection of goods from SERRV, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating poverty wherever it resides.
SERRV works with thousands of small-scale artisans and farmers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and other developing regions of the world by marketing their handcrafts and agricultural products. Through our work with 75 community-based organizations in 36 countries, we create economic opportunity so these producers can support their families.
In addition to purchasing and marketing products, we work with producers to assist them in becoming economically self sufficient through product design, training, information, technical assistance and market access.
Your purchases give you the chance to have a direct impact on our global market’s great injustices: the inequality in income and quality of life for people living in developing countries. With your help, SERRV becomes a powerful tool for putting right the imbalance in the world. Our work encompasses more than just buying and selling. We offer prepayments so our partners can sustain their business, create new designs so they can build their markets, teach new skills so they can develop their craft, and provide grants so they can expand their resources. We support equal rights for women, guide sustainable development, and of course, pay a fair wage.
For 60 years, we have worked on behalf of the world’s Artisans and Farmers. One of the first alternative trade organizations in the world, SERRV is a founding member of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT) and a member of the Fair Trade Federation (FTF).
The photos are of some of the items I’ve purchased at The Lighthouse: a kalsa grass basket made in Bangladesh, a handcrafted bamboo vase from Vietnam, and yummy handmade soaps that support women in Chicago (I have the peppermint scent, and we keep it next to our bathroom sink for everyday use).
If you’re looking for a gift and live in the Queensbury area, please consider supporting The Lighthouse, as well as artisans around the world who would not be able to support their families without the sale of their handicrafts.
Those of you who aren’t in an area that has a retail store selling SERRV items can shop directly through the website at www.serrv.org or www.agreatergift.org.
Congratulations, Susan Meissner…
…on your ECPA Christian Book Award win! Susan was nominated with me and three others in the fiction category for this award. Her novel, The Shape of Mercy, is available from WaterBrook Press.
Other winners include:
- The ESV Study Bible
- Holiness Day by Day, Jerry Bridges
- Dictionary of the Old Testament
- Spectacular Sins, John Piper
- For Young Men Only, Jeff Feldhahn and Eric Rice
Second Tuesdays – Operation Kid-to-Kid
Jacob and I tend to have our most thought-provoking conversations in the car. We’re on the go often, and I suppose staring out windows lends itself to pondering. (I’m not going to admit I can’t count the number of times I’ve driven past my exit on the highway because I’ve been thinking…) The other day, we’re going to our homeschool co-op, and he said, “I don’t feel like I’m serving God enough.”
“You know what? I feel the same way,” I told him. “That’s the Holy Spirit talking to both of us. So, we need to pray together, and see what God might have us do.”
Now, Jacob is a 7-year-old man of action. He likes to do things. He likes tangible results, and wants to be directly involved. I went online, trying to find a way he could be a participant in a ministry, not just an observer or a fund raiser.
What I found was Operation Kid-to-Kid.
From the OK2K website:
Operation Kid-to-Kid is a partnership of Group Publishing, Inc., and nondenominational Christian organizations dedicated to creating hands-on service projects for children in North America. Operation Kid-to-Kid projects have impacted hundreds of thousands of kids all over the world.
Over the years, Group’s Operation Kid-to-Kid has become one of the largest forces mobilizing children in serving other children around the world. Hundreds of thousands of kids have been impacted with gifts of school supplies, Bibles, hygiene kits, Christmas gifts, Bible Coloring Books, and socks and shoes.
OK2K has has offered different projects over the years (but all seem to be on-going; you can still order the supplies from the Group store); this year’s projects are the Comfort Critters and the Prayer Bears. They’re similar – a flannel bear or turtle that children can stuff themselves. Each animal also has a pocket where kids can write a personal message to the recipient. The bears are distributed by the International Bible Society to orphans in Africa, while the turtles are given to children in the United States who have been though disasters, such as floods, wildfires, tornadoes, or hurricanes.
This was just what Jacob was looking for. We ordered 80 bears and turtles, and in April we’re having a Kid-to-Kid ministry party; Jacob sent invitations to his friends, asking the to “come help share Jesus’ love,” and we’re going to stuff animals, eat pizza, and then pack up the little critters and pray over them before shipping them off to their new homes. I’ll post photos of the project party next month.
For ordering information on the Prayer Bears, click here; for the Comfort Critters, click here.
A Little Green, A Lot Thankful
A friend of mine recently said something that really resonated with me:
I happen to believe very strongly that Satan is a very smart being–and he knows that if he can get his people to start to learn and practice something then the majority of the Church will reject it outright as evil. I’m convinced that is what he has done with environmental/green living.
Now, I freely admit I’m a bit of a tree hugger. Part of it is just personality – I love being outdoors, enjoy physical labor, and am invigorated by the scent of soil. Part of it is frugality – we use cloth napkins and other non-disposable products, I make my own household cleaners, often shop consignment stores, and avoid expensive processed foods. Part of it is for health reasons – I do think it’s better to eat local, organic produce and farm products, to make my own cultured dairy products and baked goods, to grow heirloom non-GMO veggies, and to avoid medications in favor of natural remedies whenever possible. Part of it is moral – it is a responsibility I feel I have to spend my money as intentionally as I can, using it to support neighbors, ministries, sustainable and fairly-traded products.
But, in the end, all this adds up to ways I’m trying to be a good steward of the earth God has put me on. No, this world will not last forever, and the Lord certainly is sovereign over it all; my using paper over plastic is not going to change anything He has set forth. For me, however, doing these things is another way I worship and serve Him. It doesn’t make me a humanist. It doesn’t make me a PETA member or a global warming activist. It just makes me a Birkenstock-wearing follower of Christ who happens to be a little crunchy, a little off-beat, and a lot grateful for all He has entrusted to me.
