So something I haven't written about, but have been meaning to, is my appreciation for Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It spoke to me, spurring me on to do things that I've done in the past (backyard gardening) but that had lapsed while we lived in apartments in NYC. It also encouraged me to do things (namely Farmer's Market shopping) that I did before for fun, but now I do with a true sense of purpose, enjoyment, and obligation (it's very important to support local farmers since they provide bio-diversity necessary for our planet's well-being, the significantly lower fuel usage in getting the produce to me and my neighbors, the sensibility and enjoyment of eating food that's "in-season,"...)
Anyway, two direct repercussions of reading this book are:
I'm serious about growing our own vegetables and fruit next season. Sean got me this great book as a birthday present this year, called Bountiful Container, that is proving to be critical in my planning for next year. (While I have yard access, due to a shady tree in our backyard, very little of the ground gets lots of sun. So I'll be doing container gardening along one side of house which gets tons of sun but which is also completely paved over with asphalt.) I'm so excited and don't know how I will get through the long months of winter. Seriously, I'm excited. You should see the plans, dog-eared library books, my highlighted copy of Bountiful Container littering the floor along my side of the bed.
The second thing I've done, that I have to admit I never ever imagined I would ever do, (even in my most hippie-fied fantasies), is to make my own cheese. And this is a direct result of Kingsolver's book. I had some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket and as always, I was determined to use it for something out of the ordinary; something that I want, but that I can't really justify to myself to come out of our budgeted monthly money, which also has to fund things like toilet paper and food for the baby. I know, you're thinking, "Cheesemaking?!?" I said, I know. But apparently it's super easy to make soft cheeses like mozzerella, ricotta, and goat cheese. The place to go for home cheese making is cheesemaking.com, where Ricki Carroll has been teaching home cheese making for 3 decades. Just tonight, I purchased the Starter Kit, which contains their book, an instructional dvd, and the Mozzerella & Ricotta kit which contains all the equipment and ingredients I need to make mozzerella 30 times. For now, I'm kind of doing this for the novelty of always being just 30 minutes away from organic, homemade cheese made without unnecessary processing, refridgeration, storage, transportation, etc. But rest assured (or be forewarned, whichever camp you fall into), I'll write about the trials and victories, the cost and savings, the taste and elbow-grease that goes into making your own cheese at home. So stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment