I Can't Believe It - It's Raining Again

It's such a lovely day today - showers coming across the Bay all day. Such a great day for being inside with the light on. I've spent a fair bit of time on the computer, quilted and sewn the binding on Chloe's little quilt, and made some ricotta cheese. I've never done it before, but thought I'd give it a go after reading about it in a magazine. It's funny how you see a group of things that relate to each other now and then. Mum gave me a yoghurt making kit recently, and then I saw this article which talked about making ricotta, yoghurt and soft cheese from yoghurt. As you are away from the shops here, it's good to be able to make stuff like that occasionally, so I gave it a go.

I now understand why fresh ricotta is so expensive, as you don't get much cheese from your milk. This is what I got from 1 litre of low fat milk, but I think that I could've maybe got more if I had added some more vinegar/lemon juice. I had a look in my vegetarian cookbooks and in a Hare Krishna one I have it said I should add more lemon juice til the whey is clear, whereas mine was still a bit milky. It was really interesting reading, as it talks about why cows are sacred in that religion, mainly because they produce milk which is a major protein source, and that milk is good for your physical and spiritual health. A cow that feels happy and content because she knows she will not be killed once her milk runs dry, gives better sweeter milk, so they say. Interesting stuff.

Anyway, the next thing I'll try is to make it from LongLife milk, which would be ideal. I also want to make some yoghurt cheese, which is just yoghurt with the water drained out of it. You can add herbs and spices to it, or use it as the base for dips and so on. I feel in the mood for cooking - must be the gloomy day, but there isn't much food here to cook. I have a bit of a tomato harvest from the garden, so I might cook them up. The egg or Roma tomatoes look great, but they're a bit floury inside which I don't like that much, so I've been baking them along with the cherry tomatoes with some olive oil and herbs to make a sauce for pasta.

I have been doing a little sewing today too, and have finished the quilting on Chloe's little quilt. It's a really quick job and I've put the binding on too. Just the hand sewing to do now which I might get done tonight. My eyes, my right eye in particular, has really deteriorated lately, so I may have to start using my reading glasses more often. I'm still a bit in denial about it, as I've always had perfect eyesight, and can't get used to the idea that I'm getting old. Plus I prefer to not have the house brightly lit - mood lighting works for me - so that doesn't help with night-time sewing. I'll have to get a lamp just for sewing I suppose with a 100 watt bulb in it!

It's starting to get dark now as it is 6pm and still raining. The dogs are both asleep here on the spare bed, and I could have a lie down too, but I'd better not - too late in the day now. Better think about dinner and have an early night I think.