Dancing in the breeze

One little daffodil had nothing much to do,
Out popped another one, then there were two.
Two little daffodils were smiling at a bee,
Out popped another one, then there were three.
Three little daffodils were growing by the door,
Out popped another one, then there were four.
Four little daffodils were glad to be alive,
Out popped another one, then there were five.
Five little daffodils were wearing golden crowns,
They danced in the breeze in green satin gowns.

- author unknown

It is easy to make your own!

If someone had told me how easy it is to make your own ricotta I would have stopped purchasing it pre-made a long time ago. It is way cheaper too. Ha!
I would never use our precious raw milk to make this. Besides, we ran out of our gallon last night. We'll need to up our order if I keep making yogurt.
So I went to the store this morning and walked past the ricotta cooler. Non-organic was on sale for 4.99 for a 16 oz container. I kept walking to the milk cooler and picked up a half gallon of Organic Valley whole milk which with my coupon cost me 2.69.


I heated the whole amount to 180 F.


I poured in 1/4 cup white vinegar, took it off the heat and let it sit for a few minutes. The curds separate from the whey.


I then ladled it into a cheesecloth covered colander.


Then I tied it up to drip for about 2 hours while I picked up Sahara from school and got all the rest of my ingredients ready for spanikopita.


This made me about 13 ounces which is 1 ounce more than my recipe called for. I've never been one to measure exact amounts anyway.
Lydia decided (again) that she doesn't need afternoon naps anymore so she helped me make a mess of the phyllo dough. Our dinner guests will appreciate the funky looking, yet delicious dish we created, knowing that a 2 year old helped.
There are plenty of homemade ricotta instructions on the web if you are so inclined to do more research.

Raw Milk

I've boarded the bandwagon, for good reasons, I will add.
We now purchase a gallon of raw milk from a local dairy farmer once a week. This one of the cows:


It is delicious (the milk, not the cow) says I who switched to rice milk 15 years ago. I do it mostly for the girls. Funny how parenting changes all aspects of one's life.
I also (and this is the way cool part) started making our own yogurt! It is super easy. I've only done it twice now, and neither time has it turned out very thick, but mostly we eat it mixed into our oatmeal and maple syrup every morning so that doesn't matter much.
Lydia loves yogurt with blueberries as an afternoon snack.


I love love love love baking bread and making yogurt and canning tomatoes and cooking yummy meals from pantry items and spending the whole day with Lydia. Now if it would only create some income too.

sunny day

While Pablo was at work today Lydia and I weeded in the sunshine, barefoot.

Sahara was quiet in her room working on this piece of floor art.

She loves to create mosaics like this on her bed or floor with little treasures. Today I thought to capture it with a foto.