www.Why I Haven't Written in a While

I’m sorry I haven’t written in a while, dear readers.  During the station break, I started my sock making class, we’ve had two Wednesday night dinners, my Nikon D40 malfunctioned (I am most sad) and, after three, count them three, hours on the phone with Comcast that included two disconnections, I discovered that my wireless router is broken…busted…kaput.  I had to connect to the internet the old-fashioned way – via an Ethernet cable streamed directly from the modem.   Imagine that.  Thanks to an over-the-phone tutorial provided by older daughter, this process went quite smoothly – after I identified an Ethernet cable.  Mine is pink….of course.

I ask you – how did we survive before we had our wireless wonders? 

Quite nicely.  And simply.

Younger daughter installed a new wireless router last night and I am as happy as a pig in mud – up at 6:53 a.m. on Saturday morning writing this post at my usual spot, my farmhouse-style kitchen table that is my muse, of sorts.

I am a creature of habit...I just don’t feel inspired in the office, where the modem is (logically) located and where I should be writing these posts. Maybe it’s finally time to do something about the sterility and coziness of that room?

Anyway, the Wednesday before last, it was Singers turn to cook.  She had no heat in her house so she brought her entire prepared meal to Architect’s house where we gathered to enjoy baked swordfish, fingerling potatoes and string beans.  It was delicious…thank goodness her stove and oven were functional!
 

This past Wednesday, it was Foodies turn to cook and she made Polenta Lasagna.  The entire concoction took comfort food to a whole new level….a layer of polenta, topped with a homemade tomato butter sauce, grilled eggplant, basil, grated cheese, and the star of the show…homemade ricotta, made using a recipe from one of her favorite food blogs,  smittenkitchen.com.  It looks like making homemade ricotta is quite easy.  I just may have to give it a whirl!

Rich Homemade Ricotta

From:  Smitten Kitchen
Inspired by Salvatore Ricotta, via Tasting Table

Makes about 1 generous cup of ricotta

3 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream (see Note above about using less)
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

 

Pour the milk, cream and salt into a 3-quart nonreactive saucepan. Attach a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Heat the milk to 190°F, stirring it occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, then stir it once or twice, gently and slowly. Let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.

Line a colander with a few layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl (to catch the whey). Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let the curds strain for at least an hour. At an hour, you’ll have a tender, spreadable ricotta. At two hours, it will be spreadable but a bit firmer, almost like cream cheese. (It will firm as it cools, so do not judge its final texture by what you have in your cheesecloth.) Discard the whey, or, if you’re one of those crafty people who use it for other things, of course, save it. Eat the ricotta right away or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

The photos on the Smitten Kitchen site are just beautiful (big sigh).  I really need to get the problem with my Nikon D40 corrected….I just don’t like the (food) photos taken by my little guy.