Mmm, Mozzarella

Yesterday, my friend E and I made mozzarella together. Making cheese sounded like it would be a challenging but fun activity. It was certainly fun, but it was soooooo easy. There were 4 ingredients: whole, pasteurized, organic milk, salt, citric acid, and rennet (the citric acid and rennet came in a cheese-making kit that E bought). The process took about half an hour for 3/4 lb. of cheese (about 2 balls approximately the size you would get at the grocery store). Aside from the fact that it's delicious, it's wonderful because I know exactly what went into it. There are no additives, and the milk came from a cow that was pastured and grass fed. I really want to try making other cheeses now. Apparently ricotta is even easier than mozzarella, which is hard to believe.

The recipe book had all sorts of yummy sounding recipes to use the whey in (cheese is made of curds, and a byproduct is a watery substance called whey) including pizza crust. I'm imagining eating pizza in the summer with homemade crust and cheese, and garden tomatoes, basil, and other vegetables. Mmmmmm. I'll admit that most of the vegetables would probably come from E's garden - she has a yard with plenty of space for a big garden and a passion that far exceeds mine for food (I will have planter boxes on my balcony), but I know she will share.