ImPerceptibility

Archive for the ‘Cheesemaking’ Category

This choice was made under a tree last month.  I waited to be sure it was true.  It is and it is right. I’ll miss ImPerceptibility but mostly I’ll miss you.  Take care.

Goodbye Stranger

It was an early morning yesterday
I was up before the dawn
And I really have enjoyed my stay
But I must be moving on

Like a king without a castle
Like a queen without a throne
I’m an early morning lover
And I must be moving on

Now I believe in what you say
As the undisputed truth
But I have to have things my own way
To keep me in my youth

Like a ship without an anchor
Like a slave without a chain
Just the thought of those sweet ladies
Sends a shiver through my veins

And I will go on shining
Shining like brand new
I’ll never look behind me
My troubles will be few

(Goodbye stranger it’s been nice)
(Hope you find your paradise)
(Tried to see your point of view)
(Hope your dreams will all come true)
(Goodbye Mary, Goodbye Jane)
(Will we ever meet again)
(Feel no sorrow, feel no shame)
(Come tomorrow, feel no pain)

Sweet devotion,
It’s not for me
Just give me motion,
To set me free
Land in the ocean,
Far away
By my chosen
Every day

So Goodbye Mary,
Goodbye Jane
Will we ever
Meet again

Now some they do and some they don’t
And some you just can’t tell
And some they will and some they won’t
With some it’s just as well

You can laugh at my behavior
That’ll never bother me
Say the devil is my savior
But I don’t pay no heed

And I will go on shining
Shining like brand new
I’ll never look behind me
My troubles will be few

(Goodbye stranger it’s been nice)
(Hope you find your paradise)
(Tried to see your point of view)
(Hope your dreams will all come true)
(Goodbye Mary, Goodbye Jane)
(Will we ever meet again)
(Feel no sorrow, feel no shame)
(Come tomorrow, feel no pain)

Sweet devotion,
It’s not for me
Just give me motion,
To set me free
Land in the ocean,
Far away
By my chosen,
Every day

Now I’m leaving,
Got to go,
Hit the road
I’m sayin’ once again,
oh yes I’m leaving
Got to go,
Got to go.
I’m sorry another day
But Goodbye Mary,
Goodbye Jane
Will we ever
Meet again

Oh I’m leavin’
I’ve got to go

Every year for my birthday I try to learn something new. Except for a couple years when the stresses of life got in the way it’s gone well. One year I learned to knit. It took a long time for that to take hold but I very much enjoy it now. Another year I bought a beginner cheesemaking kit and learned to make cheese. Ummm, homemade mozzarella is delicious. I got a bunch of bread making books from the library one year and taught myself to make bread. I now have an entire shelf in my pantry devoted to flours, grains, and seeds. I love to make bread. It’s good for my soul. There have been other experiments throughout the years. Some I’ve enjoyed and others I haven’t but I was glad I tried them all. It feels good to learn something new even if you never want to try it again.

I’ve been having problems this year. My birthday is coming up next month and I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to try. There were a few options but none seemed quite right. I was thinking I could take a class in something I already knew and get better at it but that didn’t seem right. I am supposed to learn something new for my birthday. My birthday is only once a year; I can take classes anytime I want. It was really starting to bug me. Then last week, we went to Jamestown.

They have a re-created Native American village and we were having fun learning to prepare hides, grinding cornmeal, watching the chickens, and learning how to cook corn soup in clay pots over coals. It was interesting but I was more interested in the grass baskets. I liked the way they felt and the way they smelled. The woven patterns seemed so complicated but unassuming. In a way, they reminded me of every person I’ve ever loved. I couldn’t stop myself from picking them up and seeing how they were made. I was still thinking about them when we went to the fort and also when we boarded the boats. I stopped thinking about them when we got to the gift shop. Good grief, there must have been a hundred screaming kids in there. But they came back to mind when I saw a basket making kit. It was for children ages 10 and up but I figured I was definitely in the up category so I bought it. They weren’t the same types of basket. The kit was for the wide reed type baskets and I really like the grass baskets. It’ll be a good start.

I’ve looked through the directions and I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to figure it out. I think it’s one of those things you just have to do. So I’ll be doing it before long. When I get a free day and feel adventurous. Wish me luck!

Sorry guys and gals but every time I go looking for cheese…

LONDON (Reuters) – Cows have regional accents, a group of farmers claims, and phonetics experts say the idea is not as far-fetched as it sounds.

Lloyd Green, from southwest England, was one of a group of farmers who first noticed the phenomenon.”I spend a lot of time with my Friesians [Maybe too muchtime?] and they definitely ‘moo’ with a Somerset drawl,” he said, referring to he breed of dairy cow he owns.

“I’ve spoken to the other farmers in the West Country group and they have noticed a similar development in their own herds.”I think it works the same as with dogs – the closer a farmer’s bond his with his animals, the easier it is for them to pick up his ccent.” [Maybe some bonds get to be a little too close?]

Dom Lane, spokesman for a group called the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers to which Green belongs, said it contacted John Wells, Professor of Phonetics at University College London, who said that a similar phenomenon had been found in birds. “You find distinct chirping accents in the same species around the country. This could also be trueof cows,” Wells said on the group’s
Web site (

http://www.farmhousecheesemakers.com).

According to Lane, accents among cows probably develop in a similar way as among humans, and resulted from spending time with farmers with differing accents.“

Apparently the biggest influence on accents is peer groups – on children in the playground, for example,” he said. “Herds are quite tight-knit communities and don’t tend to leave the area.” [Due to the fact that they are fenced in?]

He added that more scientific research was needed to prove what was just an anecdotal theory at this stage. [Who's paying for that?]

Now that I think about it, this might be true. I once heard a cow fart just like gramma used too.

Seriously, it’s a good website with lots of links and good pictures. And the naked nibble article… I’ll just let you read it.

Ok, we all know about illegal drugs crossing our borders. Illegal aliens, nothing new. Human sex slaves, yeah. But when I read this I knew something had to be done.

U.S. border cops nab Mexican cheese smuggler – Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:38 PM BSTPHOENIX, Arizona (Reuters) –

Puzzled U.S. border police arrested a Mexican smuggler with 88 pounds (40-kg) of cheese hidden in a special compartment in his truck, police said on Friday…

…It looks like it was destined for people who wanted a taste of the old country,” he added.

Police arrested the 38-year-old driver, seized the cheese and confiscated the truck because he failed to declare his cargo.

In 2003, border police in the area impounded nearly 800 pounds (360 kg) of bologna as it was being smuggled across the border from Mexico.

I had no idea this was going on. This has got to stop!

For my birthday this year, I decided to learn the art of cheesemaking. I think spending time with relatives in Scotland must have inspired me. They had a very nice dairy farm and I was impressed with the storeroom full of blocks of cheese. All were in various stages of ripeness. All the blocks of cheese lined up and dated waiting for the right moment to be taken down and enjoyed. Something about the process fascinated me. Milking cows, goats, and sheep is definitely not my thing. I am quite scared of sheep, and I have no idea why. Thankfully, I can buy milk at the local grocery and skip that step in the process.

I found a nice website (New England Cheesemaking Supply) that sells beginner cheesemaking kits. I purchased the 30-minute Mozzarella kit and didn’t have to wait long before it arrived. My first batch of mozzarella was delightful both to make and eat. I knew, after the first bite, store bought mozzarella was a thing of the past. I had no idea freshly made cheese was so good. After making four more batches in just less than 2 weeks I decided to move on to hard cheeses. The hard cheese kit arrived and I already had the milk waiting in the fridge.

My first hard cheese was Monterey Jack. It takes several hours to make cheese. I found it to be a test of my patience. It’s sitting in my fridge right now, coated in red wax with a nice handwritten label. The label has all the necessary information – the type of cheese, the date it was made, and when I can eat it. I smile every time I see that cute little block of cheese.

Since then I have made Feta, Farmhouse Cheddar, Ricotta, and a few more batches of Mozzarella. I’ll be working on some Parmesan soon.