I’m the first one up this morning. It’s three degrees outside, though it sounds better in celsius: -16. My husband got up during the night to put more wood on the fire so the house isn’t too cold. I love cold weather. The hunkered down feeling is so satisfying. 

We didn’t do our normal Christmas tree this year. I’m a little weary of spending so much money just to cut down a live tree — it almost feels sad. So instead I picked up a holly bush at a local nursery. It’s the size of a small tree and it’s kinda shaped like one, though the branches poke out at weird angles in places. We strung it with white lights. I was thinking strands of popcorn would be nice, and my daughter wanted to add slices of dried citrus, but then we didn’t get any further. My son was in an uproar that we didn’t cut a real tree, but then he pronounced it good so I guess it’s okay.

Our traditions are changing. We spent the first few years establishing them, and then the next few years maintaining them, and now we’re shifting. Paring down. Reevaluating. Since the kids are older, they can take on some of the responsibility. Example: I don’t feel like making iced butter cookies and they’re bummed about that so I say, Why don’t you make them? And then when they don’t, it tells me they don’t actually care about the butter cookies enough to go to the trouble of making them so why should I? (Of course, that’s not completely true — they do have an emotional attachment to the butter cookies. But that doesn’t mean they’re necessary.)

Part of me misses carrying the full weight of making the Christmas magic, but another part of me is quite happy to let go. I know if I kept pushing myself at this stage in the parenting game, I’d probably end up resenting everyone. So tonight we’ll go to church for the Christmas eve service and I’ll wear the extremely warm dress I wore for last year’s winter wedding, and then we’ll come home and have our cheese feast. I scaled back on the cheese part of it since I’m (temporarily) a little cheese fatigued. But yesterday I realized that one of my Bries is ready to eat, and then my daughter-in-law agreed to bring her killer sticky rice squares with shrimp and seaweed and I made meatballs and a double batch of eggnog and my mom is bringing cut veggies, so I guess it’s not really scaled back after all.

We still don’t know what we’re having for Christmas dinner, though. My younger son wants a ham. My husband says hamburgers. I’d like something basic yet fancyish like a caramelized onion galette and a salad. What are you having?

Merry Christmas to all. xo

***

photos from last week’s ice storm

This same time, years previous: wedding weekend: the officiation, chocolate bourbon pie, or something like that, 2018 book list, ludicrous mashed potatoes, sex for all creation, 2015 book list, 2014 book list, fa-la-la-la-la, toasty oatmeal muffins.

I’ve tried a number of Asiago cheeses, and this Rosemary Asiago is by far my favorite: easy, straight-forward, delicious. I’ve made it a number of times, including for the YouTube channel, and I keep meaning to do a proper write-up of the recipe. Finally, I am.

tools, spritzed with vinegar

homemade yogurt as the starter culture

checking for a clean break

first, cutting the curd into large cubes

then smaller, with a whisk

after cooking the curds and pouring off the whey

cutting fresh rosemary

minced, with olive oil

halved, so it’ll fit in the bag

smells heavenly!

the wait begins

Rosemary Asiago Cheese
Adapted from Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll.

For a straight Asiago, simply omit the rosemary rub. You can use partially-skimmed milk for a harder cheese, or use whole milk and add in even more cream for a softer, more moist cheese. The original recipe called for 1 ½ teaspoons of rennet, but I dialed it back. To see me do a comparison taste test between two rosemary Asiagos, go here.

7½ gallons whole raw milk
1 teaspoon calcium chloride diluted in ½ cup water, optional if using raw milk
1½ cups yogurt, thinned with a couple cups of the milk
1 teaspoon rennet
saturated salt brine
¼ cup chopped fresh rosemary
½ cup olive oil

Heat the milk to 95 degrees. Stir in the diluted calcium chloride. Add the thinned yogurt and stir well. Let the milk ripen for about 30 minutes. 

Dilute the rennet with about a half cup of cool water and add to the milk. Stir for no more than one minutes. Cover and let rest for about 25 minutes, or until the curd gives a clean break.

Cut the curds into roughly 1-inch columns (or cubes, if you’re overachieving) and let rest for 5 minutes to set up. Then, cut the curds with a balloon whisk — final curds should be about ¼ inch cubes — and let rest for another five minutes.

With your hand, or a large spoon, gently stir the curds for about 10 minutes to make sure they’re all broken up to the right size. (If the pot is too full, remove some of the whey.) Over the course of the next 25-30 minutes, heat the curds to 106 degrees, stirring steadily. Now, heat the curds a little more quickly: to 118 degrees over the next 10 minutes. If needed, continue to gently stir the curds in the whey, off heat, for 20 minutes. (I don’t usually do this last step — generally my curds are done cooking right around 116 degrees.)

Let the curds rest for 5 minutes to settle to the bottom. Pour off the whey. Transfer the curds to the mold. Press at about 30 pounds of pressure for 20-30 minutes. Flip, and press for another 30 minutes at 30 pounds. Flip, and press at 40 pounds for 1 hour. Flip and press at 40 pounds for about 12 hours. 

Brine the cheese in a saturated salt brine for about 24 hours (4-5 hours per pound of cheese), flipping halfway through and salting the exposed surface. Air dry the cheese for a day or two, flipping morning and night

Mix the chopped rosemary with oil and heat in the microwave for about a minute to sterilize the herbs. Rub it all over the cheese. (I had to cut my cheese in half to fit it in the bag. I put both halves in the bag and then added the rosemary and oil and smooshed it around.)

Vac-pack the cheese and age at 55 degrees for 2-12 months, flipping weekly. 

This same time, years previous: wedding whirl, how we homeschool: Terra, second amendment sanctuary, sour candied orange rinds, science lessons, the quotidian (12.14.15), the quotidian (12.15.14), bits of goodness, soft cinnamon sugar butter bars, crazier than usual (updated).

Quotidian: daily, usual or customary;
everyday; ordinary; commonplace

One person’s (diner’s) trash is another’s treasure.

I can vouch for this NYTimes cookie recipe, and then some.

Would you like some chips with your cheese?

Last-minute, nutritious, and delicious: the best kind of meal.

Upping my butter game: now on the hunt for wooden paddles, molds, and stamps.

Apple crumb, with dulce de leche-sweetened ice cream.

When bartering, this much cheese will get you…

…this much chicken, wheeee!

Secondhand, in excellent condition, and for just $20: score!

End of an era: a landline family no longer.

Equipped.

This same time, years previous: just what we needed, turkey broth jello, in praise of the local arts, the quotidian (12.12.16), Italian wedding soup, hot chocolate mix, constant vigilance!, light painting, the quotidian (12.12.11), Sunday vignettes: human anatomy.