Cheese, Lovely Cheese...

My newest interest is making homemade cheese.  Well actually I have been playing around with making cheese for about a year now, but I decided it was time I get serious and bump up my game.  

So today I am making Chevre cheese.  Not that this is a difficult cheese to make, on the contrary it is quite simple.  It takes about 12 - 18 hours for the curds to set up.  So no pictures at this point.  

However I do want to share a few resources I found helpful:

Available on Amazon

This book is , shall I say, amazing.  I am fairly new to this adventure and I have to say this book is so complete that it makes even myself feel very confident I can do this.  Now I am still in the easy cheese section of the book, but am moving onto the intermediate next week when I can acquire some local ingredients I want to use.

As for the Chevre cheese - the recipe in the book is straight forward and simple.  However, I do like to see the process and the pictures in the book, although lovely are sparse for my needs.  I found this series of videos on YouTube and found it very helpful. 

Be sure to watch part 2 and part 3 before starting.

Happy cheese making!

it only took a few months...

first off, let me introduce myself...

i'm MaCall.

{the fabulous niece & daughter.}

my husband & i currently live in Salt Lake while he
{husband's name is Aaron, but i simply refer to him as husband.}

finishes school at the UofU.

i recently finished cosmetology school & am

"in pursuit of..." finding a cute salon to work at.

so in the mean time, i'm working at a little french

bakery in downtown.

between work & school, the husband & i are always

"in pursuit of...":

- quick, easy & healthy meals.

- great ways to stay organized in small spaces.

{we're both neat freaks.}

- fun things to do on the cheap.

- beauty products that actually work.

{that's more me than husband.}

&

- fabulous restaurants.

{if we're going to eat out, it has to be worth our while.}

Spring Cleaning!

I found myself with some extra time this week and I decided it was time to do a little spring cleaning in my house. I know, I'm so exciting! Today - I tackled the REFRIGERATOR.  Not the freezer mind you, just the refrigerator.  Who knew so many things could hide behind others.  Luckily no science experiments going on - just a few items out of date.

While I was waiting for things to dry in the sink, I took a look online to see what type of organizing ideas I might get.  I thought I would share some of my findings.

I have to admit - I do love Crate & Barrel!

More fun photos...

Martha Stewart

and sites....

REAL SIMPLE

Live Simply

I always do a quick clean and sweep when I go grocery shopping - before I add the new, fresh items - I like to tidy up the shelves and wipe them down.  But, when you are really going to clean it - you need to set aside a little bit of time so you can empty out your refrigerator, take out the shelves and bins, wash them in some warm soapy water, and wipe out the refrigerator really well.  It's very simple, no crazy strategy. But I must say it will look worse before it gets better.  Everything from the refrigerator will be on your counter tops.

Sadly, I did not take any before pictures of mine - sorry!  But here are the during & after shots.