“Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Gandhi
One of the more freeing things for me in this life is being able to do things on my own. Whether it be build something, grow something, make something, paint something or whatever that gives me the knowledge or power to not have to rely on having to buy something or pay someone to do something. To learn a skill, no matter how simple or benign is freeing, peaceful and gives me a great feeling of independence.
To that end I have always wanted to make cheese. As weird as that sounds I wanted to learn this very simple skill, and it is very simple at its core. The easiest place to start is with a simple farmer’s cheese. I did some reading and found that this kind of cheese is very common all over the world. Even better, it is super simple to make. A little bit further research then led me to the fact that after I made my cheese I would have leftover whey with which I could make any number of other items.
When it was all said and done I made my delicious farmer’s cheese, a loaf of crusty artisan bread and chicken soup. All this from a single gallon of milk. Granted there are a few other ingredients involved but that gallon of milk gave me a good size ball of cheese, provided the liquid for my yeast and flour in the bread and was the base of my chicken soup. Pretty impressive, pretty cheap, quite delicious and healthy.
The following recipes work out incredibly well:
For the farmer’s cheese this recipe is spot on. I bought this cheesecloth off Amazon and have used it several times, just popping it in the washer after each use.
For the bread this recipe is right on the money, just use the leftover whey instead of water in the recipe. This is possibly the easiest recipe ever and requires all of four ingredients. I can’t emphasize enough how great a Le Creuset enameled cast iron is in the kitchen. It will last the rest of your life and can be used so many different ways, including in this recipe.
With cheese and bread now at your disposal, some soup sounds good. You will still have plenty of leftover whey for this one. However, you may still find yourself needing a little bit more liquid. I will usually wind up using some chicken broth and a can or two of beer to top off the liquid in this one.
There is no specific recipe that I like for chicken soup, but following this basic outline will always yields delicious chicken soup. Then you can add noodles or rice later on to make chicken noodle or chicken with rice soup. A slow cooker is another invaluable tool in the kitchen. This one is mine and I use it A LOT!
- 1 Whole Fryer Chicken, broiler chicken or roaster chicken (they’re all the same)
- 2 Celery Stalks, Diced
- 2 Carrots, Diced
- 1 Medium Onion, Diced
- 2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 tsp or so of Italian Seasoning or dried Rosemary, Thyme and Sage if you have them separately. Really, whatever spices you like would work. I toss in some crushed red pepper for a bit of heat.
- Salt and Pepper. I won’t tell you an amount, but you can start with a teaspoon of each. Once the chicken is cooked in the soup start tasting the broth and adjusting according to your taste.
- Whey
- Chicken Stock or Beer
Put all the items in a slow cooker and cover completely with the whey. If you need more liquid to accomplish this I have used chicken stock and beer with great success. Turn on the slow cooker and let it go for several hours. I will usually start on high until I get to a boil and then let it go on simmer for several hours, tasting and adjusting the salt/pepper, spices to suit my taste. Once the chicken is cooked and the taste is to your liking, remove the bone and meat from the chicken, discarding the bone and tossing the meat back into the soup. At this point you can eat it or make some noodles or rice to add to it and have an even heartier soup.
That’s it, a couple hours of work will yield you some delicious fresh cheese, a great loaf of crusty bread and a hearty chicken soup. All those great things from a gallon of milk. That’s almost a week’s worth of great eating all from a little bit of effort on your part. I swear it all tastes better too, because of the effort you put in to learn this simple craft.
Good Luck! JOE
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