Making My Own Cheese

Lavender and Lovage 'Herbs on Saturday' Your Chance to Win A copy of 'The Cooks Herb Garden Book'

If you read about how clever I thought I was Making My Own Yogurt in the Slow Pot can you imagine my delight in discovering I can then (with a twist of magic), turn that yogurt in to Cheese!  I love cream cheese.  It has a constant presence in my fridge.  I love it on bagels, on toast, on crusty bread and in cheesecakes.  I like it plain, with chives, herbs and garlic or my current favourite with chilli.  When I was pregnant with both of my sons I used to eat it spread very thickly on toast with Strawberry Jam.  I had not eaten like that before I was pregnant or since, yet at the time it was a heavenly combination to me.
I was reading in Blogland when I came across A Trifle Rushed and a wonderful Blog post about making homemade cheese.  It sounded so simple I tried it straight away.  It was magical.  Just add three quarters of a teaspoon of salt to 1 litre of Natural Yogurt and stir.  Pour it into a Muslin Cloth and leave it in a sieve over a bowl, overnight in the fridge.  The 'Magic' starts to happen almost immediately the yogurt starts to solidify and a clear liquid drains off.  By Morning you can pick up the cheese and form it into a ball.  (I didn't have a muslin cloth I just used a clean tea towel.  I have since purchased a straining cloth for the Raspberry Liqueurs though, so that will double up as my  'Cheesecloth'.)

Delicious spread on Homemade 'Sunflower Seed Bread' and sprinkled with freshly picked Chopped Chives

I also added dried chilli flakes to some of it and took it to work for lunch (two days in a row) with bread, cherry tomatoes and sticks of red pepper.  When I eventually get some eggs I am going to feel fantastic, I feel like an Urban 'Farmer'.  I need a little goat in the back yard now!  (Preferably Cashmere).

The 'Tour de Fleece' starts tomorrow to coincide with the lesser known 'Tour de France'.  My posts should become increasingly 'Crafty' again as I begin this 'Epic Event with Fleece'.  It will be my first year competing in such an event and I am a proud member of:

The aim is to Spin for each day of the Tour which runs from 2-24 of July, it includes two rest days.  I will be recording my progress for prosperity.