The City Mouse in the Country

      I'm going to keep this simple.   One of the reasons why Sue and I moved back to Western Pennsylvania was due to our desire for healthier living.       Sue has had some various health problems through the years and has managed to fight them all.  She's a strong resilient woman and one of the many reasons I love her is that she is a fighter.   Many people would have given up, but she keeps on keeping on.  For privacy, I will not go into what ails her.      I, on the other hand, have a pretty strong constitution and want to keep it that way.  So when my doctor starts telling me he's worried about "cholesterol" and "high blood pressure" I can't help but pay attention.  Both my parents have heart disease and it's something that I've been aware of my whole life.  Both Sue and I actually try to maintain a low salt diet for example.       That's tough to do when your a hedonist and a foodie at heart.  Living out here in the country does lea

     I don't know what attracts me to "Amish Cheese's."  I came across a few recipes while putting about on the interwebs and was taken by them.  They do seem rather simple to make and they require little in actual work but they do require time.  While not exactly a "set it and forget it" cheese, these cheeses often used milk that has spoiled naturally over time or "Clabbered."       Which, considering the Amish lifestyle, makes perfect sense.  The Amish are not a wasteful people.        One cheese that caught my eye is called Amish Cup Cheese.   It is a soft spread where you heated the milk to room temperature first (about 72 F) then let it cool, letting the curds seperate from the whey.    Then you add a bit ingredients and again...you "rested" the cheese for 12 hours before moving on to the next step.  Then, again add some more ingredients then rest for 5 hours before moving on.  It's not hard, just time consuming.        It's

      I'm slowly but surely moving ahead with my cheese hobby. Recently I found some Facebook groups and other resources that are helpful in how to make cheese and what equipment I need,  including how to build a cheese press and make a cheese "cave."   Although I swear they are all hiring professional photographers to take pictures of their cheese!     I'm still trying to keep it simple, however after the success of the Insta Pot Paneer cheese , I could not help but wonder what other cheeses I could make in an Insta Pot.   I found three different types of cheeses actually.   Cottage Cheese, which frankly I never really liked the taste of and wasn't interested in making.  Mozzarella and Ricotta were the other two.  I picked the recipes that I did simply because they didn't require any rennet or starters like many of the other recipes I found.     I was unsure if I was ready for Mozzarella yet.       Out of all the cheese's this is probably the one that

       Hey everyone!  Did you know that this page now has a companion Facebook page?    It will have articles, memes and such that interest me that relate to this page but don't really apply.  Be sure to check it o ut!        I have to be honest, at no time did I ever think I would want to make cheese.   My first effort , done more as an experiment than anything else, turned out very well.  So well in fact, that I wondered what else I could make.   I wanted to keep it simple. My first Cheese, misshapen and all      Keeping it simple means different things to different people of course.   I was hooked when I started to look up exactly what rennet was.  Which brings up the whole question of what the hell primitive man was thinking when they decided to put the milk back into the intestines of a dead animal or what lead to that discovery...and moving on.     The earliest cheeses are probably similar to the Farmer's cheese that I made earlier (see link above) and that got me looki

    As I wait for one or two more estimates about putting together a transfer switch, so I can use the generator to power parts of the house in case of a blackout,    I thought that I should as least do something in the kitchen this weekend.     Part of my journey into "country mousehood" is learning how to cook.  If your growing your own food, you should at least know how to prepare it is some form right?     Having a deep love and respect for history and a desire to explore, I've learned that flavors and styles change.  Big business determines what we eat (and that is several blog entries waiting to happen) and as such the American palate grows smaller and our desire for something that isn't familiar to us, grows less.     Hence you don't see venison (deer), duck, rabbit or turtle soup anymore in the restaurants and inns of America.  When I lived in Florida, I looked forward to eating other types of fish only to see the big three - Salmon, Tilapia and Haddock (w

         I am not a cook.        In fact, I'm only starting to learn to cook.  I've always enjoyed good food and experimenting with different tastes and favors.   I've been lucky in my life to have found women that not only can cook, but love to cook; and have been introduced to a world of favors because of them.   I've eaten everything from a fiery red borcht to a Chopped challenge dish.                 However you start one little fire in the kitchen and it takes forever and a day for the women in your life to trust you around flames again.  However that's not stopped me from making a few things .            When I decided to make some changes in my life, I also decided that I should learn to cook.    Or at least make some simple dishes that I would enjoy.   So what is easy to make?   Something that I enjoy and likely would not screw up that was healthy?    Hummus it is.          The history of hummus goes back to at least the 1200’s but undoubtedly its true o

  Hey everyone!  Did you know that this page now has a companion Facebook page?    It will have articles, memes and such that interes t me that relate to this page but don't really apply.  Be sure to check it o ut!      I find myself in a holding pattern.       The generator has been ordered and is making it's way slowly to me, it will take approximately two weeks to find it's way to my door.   In the mean time I have the estimate from one  electrician and I'm waiting on the estimates of two more.   I am a bit fearful that I will have no choice than to go above my self imposed $1500 budget.        I'm also fearful that after having all this work done, that the generator will sit unused in my shed.  Although if I am serious about becoming more self sufficient, then I'm sure that it will come in use, somehow and someway.       It has occurred to me that I could put up the two ceiling fans we have in the meantime, or even start the painting in a few of our rooms.