Ricotta Cheesecake

So apparently my rennet was old. About 4 years ago I went through a spell where I made a bunch of mozzarella cheese. When Tage came along, I put my cheese making supplies away and haven’t looked at them since until a few weeks ago when I started making cottage cheese. Well, I made a batch of weird cottage cheese and then when I tried some farmhouse cheddar the other day, the curd never set firm enough. Instead of throwing out the batch, I drained the soft curd through cheese cloth for several hours and got a ricotta-like cheese. It tasted delicious.

And it was destined for this lovely cake.

I never thought I’d like ricotta cheesecake. I’m not a huge fan of the cheese itself. This cake, though, was perfect – very lightly sweet and decadent enough to feel like a big indulgance. I love a good, rich cheesecake now and then but I can never eat more than one or two slices of a cake so I don’t make it very often. But I could eat a lot of this cake. Maybe that’s a bad thing!

Oh, and I got some new rennet and my cheese making is going splendidly. I’m pressing my third wheel at the moment while the other two air-dry on the counter. They smell wonderful!

Ricotta Cheesecake

Adapted from Joy of Baking

Crust

7 whole graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs (about 1 cup)

1 T sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix the crumbs with the sugar and butter. Press into the bottom of a greased 8- or 9-inch spring form pan. Surround the bottom of the pan with a layer of tin foil. Set aside.

Filling

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

2 1/2 cups (20 oz) thick ricotta cheese*

2/3 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 t lemon zest

1 1/2 t vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese until it’s smooth. Add the ricotta and sugar and beat again. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined each time. Stir in the zest and vanilla.

Pour the filling into the crust. Set the pan into a larger pan and fill with about an inch of water. Slide the whole thing into a preheated 350F oven and bake for about 45 – 60 minutes or until just set in the middle. Remove the cake from the water bath and chill before eating. Serve plain or with a fruit sauce.

*If your cheese is on the thin side, hang it to drain for a while in cheese cloth but you’ll want a full 2 1/2 cups of thick cheese when you are finished draining it.

Serves: 8 – 12

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Spring Omelet

This was delicious. Even Tage, who despises mushrooms right now, gobbled one up and proudly proclaimed, “Mommy, I eated my musswoms!”

The asparagus is starting to pop up. Usually at the beginning of the season, there’s only 2 or 3 stalks to pick each day. This was the first picking…3 tiny stalks. Not much good for serving as a side dish but perfect for omelets! I also grabbed a few leaves of volunteer kale and spinach. The mushrooms were locally grown. Half of the cheese was made locally. The eggs were from my chickens. Unfortunately I ran out of onions two weeks ago so the one I used were from who-knows-where but I’d still call this a local (and yummy!) breakfast!

Spring Omelet

Per omelet:

1 egg, beaten with a spritz of water and dash of salt

2 spinach leaves, chopped

1 kale leaf, chopped

1 stalk asparagus, finely chopped

1 small mushroom, finely chopped

1 t minced onion

2 T grated cheese

butter

Saute the veggies in a bit of butter until greens are wilted and asparagus is crisp tender. Set aside.

Melt a bit of butter in a small (I use an 8-inch) cast iron or non-stick skillet and heat over medium-low until a drop of water sizzles when dropped in. Pour in the beaten egg and cook until almost set. Sprinkle half of the circle with cheese and veggies, bring the other half of the omelet over top the veggies, and cook a few more seconds if you don’t think the eggs are set enough. I like mine to be just barely set. Browned scrambled eggs are kind of nasty, I think. Remove the omelet from the skillet and serve immediately.

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Egg Salad

We are big fans of egg salad around here. Since we get at least a dozen eggs a day from our chickens, I certainly don’t mind making it!

The flavor of this salad really depends on the pickle juice you use. I make and can 7-day sweet pickles each summer and that’s what I use. It’s our favorite sweet pickle. So use whatever you like…don’t throw that pickle juice down the drain!

Egg Salad

My mom’s recipe (or a similar version, I suppose, since she doesn’t really have a recipe)

8 – 10 hard boiled eggs

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 T prepared mustard

1/4 cup sweet pickle juice

1/8 t salt

Smash the eggs with an old-fashioned potato masher. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Add more pickle juice if it seems too stiff. Serve immediately. Will hold in fridge for a few days but will need stirred before serving as the juices tend to separate out.

Yield: 3 cups

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Healthy Breakfast

I don’t know what I should call this. Fried corn bread with greens and fried eggs? That’s a bit of a mouthful but that’s exactly what it is. I was really craving greens the other morning so I whipped this up for myself.

It’s not much of a recipe, just more an idea in case you, too, are thinking you’d like to eat a pile of greens.

Take a slice or two of leftover corn bread (I need to post my recipe!) and fry it in a bit of butter until nice and brown on both sides. Place on a plate.

Meanwhile, mince a clove of garlic and throw it in a small pan of hot oil or butter. Stir a few seconds and then throw in some greens. I happened to use frozen beet greens but spinach, chard, or kale would work, too. Season with salt and pepper and saute until cooked through. Dump the greens on top of the corn bread.

Next, fry an egg or two. Make sure to season these with salt and pepper, too. I like to leave my eggs runny so the yolk soaks down onto the greens and corn bread.

Anyway, place the eggs on top of everything and immediately chow down.

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Rice Pudding

I used to despise the stuff. I thought rice only belonged in savory applications. But then Brad was hungry for rice pudding so I went searching for a recipe.

The first one I made was so gross. It called for beating egg whites and folding them into the cooked rice/egg mixture. That resulted in a runny bottom and foamy top. And it was disgustingly sweet. The chickens had a hay day with that batch.

So then I did what any good (annoying?) daughter does and called up mommy. Of course she had the perfect recipe. Should have gone to her first!

It turns out that the best recipe (in our opinions) is my Grandmother’s. My mom relayed some of her tips and tricks to me and pointed me to the recipe in one of the books I have. It’s actually my grandma’s old church cookbook. I wish she was still living because I’d love to talk rice pudding with her.

My mom said that in more recent years Grandma could no longer find her favorite rice to make pudding. I guess they don’t sell it anymore or something. I don’t know if I’d ever be able to tell the difference because we loved it with regular old white rice. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and creamy.

Rice Pudding

Adapted from Grandma’s recipe

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup uncooked white rice

1 t salt

4 cups WHOLE milk

4 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

2 t vanilla extract

Bring the water to a boil in a medium-large heavy pot. Add rice and salt and cover. Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until very soft. If your rice is at all firm, the pudding won’t be as creamy and the rice will be a little tough.

Once rice is soft enough, add the milk and heat to simmering. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugar together. Temper the eggs with the hot rice mixture and then pour them into the pot and heat for a few more minutes…until the mixture thickens. Make sure you stir constantly so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the vanilla. Fill your sink with a few inches of cold water and set the pot into it. Stir the pudding occasionally until it is completely cool. I don’t know why it’s important to cool your rice pudding quickly but that’s how Grandma did it so I do too.

Once pudding is cool, transfer it to a covered jar or bowl and refrigerate until completely chilled.

Yield: 6 or 7 cups

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