"Once" Upon A Time

...upon a time a young man named Michael was shopping for a Christmas present for his mother. His mother was not difficult to please, but it seemed that she was in need of nothing. "I have everything I need," she always said. Michael, being the savvy online shopper he is, chose to explore the options of journeying to Minneapolis with Mom to see a play or a concert. After much searching, Michael narrowed the choices to comedian Jim Gaffigan, the musical "Once", or the musical "Sister Act".

Christmas finally arrived and Michael anxiously awaited the time for his mom to open the gift from him. Before opening the package, mom made her usual predictions of what may be inside. "Is it a puppy?" she quipped. Not exactly...wrong again. But she was not disappointed to discover the coupon with the three choices.

April fourth finally arrived and Michael, Mom (and Sara too) took the long, 23 minute drive to downtown Minneapolis, home of The Orpheum Theater. The 90 year old theater, which none of us had ever been to, was a beautiful step back in time; a time when seeing the architecture and decor was almost as enjoyable as the production on stage!

And the production- Once, the musical was amazingly wonderful! The music, dancing, instrumentals...all amazingly wonderful! We all totally enjoyed the evening. So where was farmer John? He had an amazingly wonderful evening too...at home milking cows. Yes, he is not much of a theater person, and especially not the musical version. So while we were appreciating the beautiful sounds of talented actors, he was appreciating the gentle moos of contented cows. 

Thank you Michael for this mom's night at the theater. My birthday is in May...another night at the theater, Michael? Hint-hint...

Loving life, on and off the farm!

Creative Gift Giving

My daughter Sara is so creative when it comes to gift giving. Her Christmas gift to dad John was a mozzarella cheese making kit, with the promise that she would help make the cheese using the milk from our cows. This past weekend it was mission accomplished. Welcome to our cheese "factory."

After pasteurizing the milk, the enzyme and coagulant were added.

The curds were separated from the whey. 
Curds are drained and pressure was added to remove the remaining whey.

Microwaved in short increments to 135 degrees in preparation for stretching.

Shaped and ready for cooling.

Placed in ice water to set the shape.

After 10 minutes, the cheese is ready for grating.

A perfect topping for home-made pizza!

One gallon of milk made about nine ounces of mozzarella. 

It took about one hour to make and it tasted great!  
Ahhhh...the power of cheese!

Have you ever made cheese? How did it go for you?

FYI- Sara ordered the cheese making kit through Amazon.