Monday, January 05, 2009

Face it: I am Laura Ingalls Wilder

In my ongoing quest to live a life cobbled together with themes from Holly Hobbie and Little House on the Prairie, I tried my hand at making cheese this summer. Settle down. It’s not like I dug a cave in my backyard to house my smoked gouda or something. (Though we do have a new book in which I read last night about burying peaches below ground as a food preservation method: waving to S&K thanks!) I began small. With ricotta. And tonight I tried it again. And at the same time, I had a loaf of homemade bread in the oven.

And I stopped to pinch myself. Was I Laura Ingalls Wilder? No, of course not. But in my desire to cut out processed food, I realize it’s brought me closer to things like this. Like homemade jam made from berries picked that morning. Greens sauted with garlic and onions from farms within my county line. And cheese made in front off my eyes, on my very own stove. Money into my local economy, supporting local farmers, and knowing where the hell the stuff going into my body comes from. Stuff without ingredient listings consisting of chemicals and words I can’t pronounce.

And you know what? Dinner was great. Homemade bread with sauted kale and some ricotta cheese mixed in. So do you want to know about that bread or cheese first? Because the kale part has become a standard in the winter repertoire of the farm CSA recipient. And it certainly doesn’t photograph as well. Even if it is tasty...
Homemade ricotta, bread and kale
Let’s start with the cheese…

7 comments:

A Lewis said...

Dear Laura,
The food looks delicious. I am going to try it soon!
Love,
Pa

small town dyke said...

go you !!!

Syd said...

Looks delish, Half Pint.

Anonymous said...

When you make a toy out of a pig's bladder, then you'll have truly reached the zenith of ingalls-wilderdom.

beautiful cheese and bread! I think the photograph looks great.

Anonymous said...

Have you got the actual Little House Cookbook? I <3 mine, even though some of it is a little iffy (like the directions for canning).

Anonymous said...

I think all girls of our era wanted to be Laura. I had not only the Holly Hobby doll, but of course Heather too! (She was cooler anyways - brown hair and the best name!)

bemused said...

Wait, haven't I seen you in pigtails? Could it be because Laura is your style guru, not just your kitchen inspiration?!