First shiver, first cheese, heat awaited.......

Finally got round to making some soft cheese, 

with the milk given so far from our cows going to the dogs, pigs, and cooking,

but no cheese, which I felt guilty about, but which was beyond my control.

OK, so......

I had already bought some cultures to make cheese with

so all I had to do was read the recipe, 

which seemed simple enough,

..... heat one gallon of milk to 86 C,

add 1/16 tsp of Mesophilic starter culture series 4001-4002,

then 1/8tsp rennet (vegetarian)

both purchased from The Cheesemaker company in America,

then a good gentle up and down stir of the milk,

lid on pot,

leave at room temperature (around 72 C) for 12 hours,

or if you were me...

until you remembered to have a look to see if the curds and whey had arrived.

Muslin into colander,

colander put over big pot,

curds and whey into colander,

and drained for several hours.

And this is what I got after I had added salt and herbs to the cheese....

.....quite a dish full of soft cheese, which is going to last us for a while,

so I need to find some recipes online to use this cheese up.

I was surprised at how much cheese just one gallon of milk made,

and will be definitely making the recipe again. 

I think I could add make this cheese sweeter by adding sugar, honey, or fruit,

so lots of experimenting ahead.....

And the first bit of shivering.

The over night temperatures have gone down,

although the day time temperatures are still holding good for the moment.

So, scarf (to keep my neck warm) and fleece top, but no thermals yet, that is what I am now wearing.

And trying not to get grumpy about the cold.

However......

....... pipes! And attached to the Rayburn! 

Could this be the end to my early winter grumpiness about the cold?

Because today the fire will be lit in the Rayburn,

and the pipes will be tested for leaks,

and with any luck,

and all fingers crossed, 

it just be possible that we shall have heat this winter!

And do doubt there will be plenty of arguing between me and Lester as to who is going to be sitting in the chair beside the Rayburn!