Ready or Not… RICOTTA!

Happiness.

This word has been coming to the forefront of my thoughts. These past couple of months that I’ve been absent from this little blog of mine it kept popping into my head. There are so many things that make me experience happiness.

What causes this feeling?

Maybe it’s a smile…

Maybe it’s a new accessory… or two…

Oh my heart…

Maybe it’s a favorite caffeinated beverage…

…

Maybe it’s a hunky husband…

So many things can cause this exquisite feeling that can come and go so fast.

Meeting my third precious baby and my first boy propelled me into Happiness quicker than a Porsche in a string of mini vans.

Is that a saying?

Well, I’m saying it.

Maybe it’s having three kids that has mini vans on the brain. After the initial happiness of meeting my new baby I found, as in the past, that the adrenaline that comes from that happiness wore off. Sleep depravation set in. Suddenly I’m feeling like I need to jump in a Porsche and zoom my way down an open highway just for fun… all by myself. ALONE. I wonder… will I ever have a moment to myself again?!

All it takes is seeing my little guy smile, laughing at his antics, or dressing him up in a ridiculous outfit to make me feel just fine and dandy about not having time to myself.  That Happiness feeling comes zooming back faster than any Porsche could ever go.

I feel I need to clarify something. When I said “ridiculous” outfit, what I actually meant was ridiculously CUTE!

Babies may not need shoes.

Or bow ties.

Or enough outfits to change ten times a day without doing laundry for a month.

But it certainly is fun to pretend they do, isn’t it?

Well, I think it is anyhow.

Oh, and I thought of one more thing that makes me happy.

CHEESE!

Yes, that’s right.

R is for Ricotta.

And, where else to start but with the homemade version of the stuff?

Here’s the recipe I used. It was as simple as it sounds and then some.

MAKE IT!

Today, if possible.

I promise it will make you Happy.

Yes, this is all you need.

To a medium pot add heavy cream…

Buttermilk…

And whole milk…

Is it just me or did those three pictures look exactly the same?

Oh good. I’m not alone.

Put a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and line it with several layers of cheesecloth.

I just took one long piece and folded it back and forth until I had four layers on top of the strainer.

Put the burner on medium heat and simmer this mixture until you see solids float to the top…

And wait until they cover the surface of the liquid… forming kind of a “raft” on top…

Turn off the heat.

Let it sit 15 to 20 minutes.

Almost done.

Now, here’s where living in the Phoenix area comes in handy. Have you ever skimmed a swimming pool? This was a rotating chore in my household growing up. You use a net with a long pole attached to it to ‘skim’ the leaves, bugs, etc off the top of the water to make it more enjoyable to swim in.

Nothing like a dead bug in the mouth when you come up out of the water.

The job was really not so bad. Unless your week to do it fell during a series of dust storms.

And now. For the cheese post.

I do tend to go off on tangents, don’t I?

It’s okay, you can say yes.

I’ve come to terms with my problem.

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Use a large spoon to skim the solids from the surface. Put the solids into the cheese cloth in the strainer. Just get as much of the solids as you can.

GENTLY pour the remaining stubborn solids and all of the liquid SLOWLY over top of the solids you skimmed. You may have to wait a bit before pouring all the liquid through depending on the size of your strainer. Mine was pretty small so I had to pour and then wait, pour and then wait, pour and then wait.

It sounds more laborious than it was.

Then just pop it in the fridge for 3 to 4 hours or so…

And… “TA DA!!!”

The drained liquid can be used to thicken soups or in place of water in bread dough.

So thick and creamy…

I started eating it RIGHT AWAY.

To be fair I did have to wait for it to drain for 4 hours first.

It goes beautifully with honey… just drizzle a bit over a bite of it.

Heaven.

Mmmmm.

Happiness.

In one bite.

Click here for the recipe!

It’s good to be back!

Love, Jenna