Spring Renewal

In dreaded anticipation of the dawn of my personal hell -- summer in Del Rio's 100+ degree heat -- I'm sucking the life out of one of our last few temperate days. (I know those of you still covered in snow and ice hate me right now.). I'll be spending the next hour on my stoop eating some homemade ricotta, honey, and berries, swatting bees away like a madwoman.

After a month of intense yardwork at the new house, recovering from a recklessly bad case of poison ivy, traveling for friends' special occasions, and the futile search for a day-job in the sad state of affairs Del Rio calls a local "economy," this little homemade ricotta snack is my detox. I'm wiping the slate clean and renewing my goals and objectives in time for spring.

This ricotta is from a test batch, and only the second batch of cheese since moving into the new house. Yes, I'm ashamed.  I made it in anticipation of my first cheesemaking class at the local arts center in a week. I made a couple varieties with different acid coagulants (lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk) and with different ratios of added cream (from one cup to zero), to find the consistency appropriate for a given culinary purpose. Berries and honey, in case you were wondering, demand a 4:1cup milk to cream ratio with either a vinegar or citric coagulant. Okay, okay, it's less of a test batch and more of a proving-to-myself-that-I-still-enjoy-it batch.

Boy WILL I ever enjoy it....Tad's still at work, so this batch and this bottle is all for me. Boom! Happy Friday!