Feeling More Italian Today ...

Today I hit the RFK FarM, which will be the FarM closest to home when I move next week. Looks like I'm going to have to be a bit more careful shopping there as it seems they stock some non-local produce. It was great that the people working the stands were willing to point out what they had grown locally. I picked up some garlic grown in PA and some local orchard apples.

For lunch I took some of my mini-plums and Sunsweets and made a quick tomato salad with some sliced green onion, quickly sautéed garlic and a drizzle of aged balsamic. I ate that incredibly delicious bowl of red, yellow and green with a thick slice of Kalamata bread topped with a smear of marscapone and some of the sautéed garlic. The lunch was really really heaven and representative of how I always want to eat (especially accompanied with the glass of wine!)

After packing up more of and cleaning my kitchen a bit, I decided that I couldn't wait a week to make my first batch of mozzarella (darn. guess I'll have to make another batch with my dad - I was planning on surprising him with a cheese-making, father-daughter bonding event) Following Ricki's directions, I made my first "30 min mozzarella" in about an hour. I used a gallon of 2% cow's milk and produced two baseball-sized balls (I didn't have an ice bath to help them keep their shape, so they're more like shiny, off-white blobs) and I plopped about 12-15 1-ounce-sized twists in a Tupperware of olive oil, crushed garlic and red pepper flakes. Mmm, the process really was easy, and the product tastes like perfectly delicious mozzarella! The texture is great (I made sure not to over-handle the curd) and next time I know to add a bit more salt. I'd love to experiment with different types of milk and maybe I'll even throw in some fresh herbs! I guess I know what I'll be contributing to this year's Christmas Eve dinner. :)

I anticipate that tonight's dinner will consist of another glass of wine (hey! when you live alone, you have a limited amount of time to consume a bottle) and a saute of potatoes, sweet red and banana peppers, onions, garlic, green onions and ground turkey. MMM, this is so fun!