Let’s talk about cheese

Winter is a slow time for the urban and rural gardener alike.  Many of us turn to other wholesome activities. I’ve been busy making bread (and failing at it), cooking soups, and most recently, trying my hand at cheesemaking.   Before anyone gets the illusion of smoked gouda or aged cheddar coming forth from my kitchen, let me quantify this statement by saying I’m trying mozzarella cheesemaking. mozzarella is a wonderful cheese to begin with because it is very straightforward to make. If I can do it, so can you! First off, I need to tell you that the knowledge I’ve gained comes directly from The New England Cheese Supply Company. If you aren’t familiar with this website, you should be. Ricki Carroll has more knowledge of cheese than I ever want to so I suggest checking her out. When making my mozzarella, I used a starter kit from her store and highly recommend you purchase one too!

Choosing your milk

I’ve done mozzarella a few times now and have had various levels of success. I’ve used both raw milk and pasteurized milk. Either will work, though the raw milk tends to be fresher, creamier, and more delicious. Still, the pasteurized milk was tasty too, as long as it isn’t ULTRA pasteurized. Ultra pasteurized milk means that it was heated up to a very high temperature (above 174 degrees F) which damages the calcium component of the milk. If this happens the curd will not form properly and you end up with a ricotta cheese like texture. (See my mistake at below). 

Interestingly enough, most organic milks are ultra pasteurized and therefore inappropriate to use when making cheese, so read the label carefully.  I used non-organic whole milk from Trader Joe’s and had it confirmed that their non-organic milk was not ultra-pasteurized. Check out the New England Cheese Supply website for more milk suggestions, or just find yourself a cow (kidding).

 

Instructions for Mozzarella Cheese

Total time: ½ hour
Yield: approx ¾ pound

Ingredients

 

1 gallon milk (not ultra-pasteurized)
1 ¼  cool water (chlorine-free)
1 ½ tsp. citric acid
¼ rennet tablet
1 tsp. cheese salt (optional (alt substitutes and/or herbs make a delicious alternative)

Equipment

1 gallon stainless steel pot or any non-aluminum or non-cast iron port
Dairy thermometer
Colander
Slotted spoon
Long knife
Microwavable bowl if using a microwave oven
Rubber gloves (optional)

*Directions were taken from  The New England Cheese Supply Company. Are you sensing a trend yet?

Directions

1. Pour milk into a large pot

2. Dissolve ¼ rennet tablet into ¼ cup of cool chlorine-free water. Stir and set aside. Wrap the remaining pieces of tablet in plastic wrap and store in the freezer 

3. Mix 1 ½ teaspoons citric acid into 1 cup cool, chlorine-free water until dissolved.

4. Pour citric acid in while stirring your milk vigorously.

5. Slowly heat the milk to 90°F while stirring.

6. Remove the pot from the burner and slowly stir in the rennet solution with an up and down motion for approximately 30 seconds.

7. Cover the pot and leave it undisturbed for 5 minutes.

8. Check the curd.  It should look like custard, with a clear separation between the curd and the whey. If the curd is too soft or the why is milky, let set for a few more minutes.  If your milk did not form a curd at all, please see p. 3 in booklet about choosing your milk.

9. Cut the curd with a knife that reaches to the bottom of your pot.

10. Place the pot back on the stove and heat to 105°F while slowly moving the curds around with your spoon.

11. Take off the burner and continue slowly stirring for 2-5 minutes.

12. Pour off the floating whey. Notice how the curd gets firmer as the whey drains.

13. Drain the whey from the curd while gently pressing to aid whey runoff.

Microwave Method

 Ladle your curds into a large microwaveable bowl and drain off as much of the why as you can without pressing the curds too much.  Place the bowl in the microwave for 1 minute

 Remove and drain off the whey as you gently fold the curds into one piece

Microwave for another 30 seconds.  Drain again and knead the curd.  Begin to GENTLY knead the curds. If you overwork it your cheese will be rubbery and tough.

Add your salt (1 tsp more or less) and/or herbs and work into the cheese.

Begin to stretch the curd. It must be 135°F to stretch properly.  If it isn’t hot enough, microwave for another 30 seconds.

Stretch the cheese until it is smooth and shiny

(Note: the more you work the cheese, the firmer it will be.  As soon as it is smooth and shiny, shape it into one of more balls)

Storing your cheese

 When your cheese is done, you can braid it, make it into bite-sized morsels, or even make it into string cheese. Simply create it and submerge in ice water.  This will cool it down and allow the cheese to hold its shape.  You can also roll it out into a log and add prosciutto or herbs and other combinations to it. 

If you are not up for making your own shape, your cheese will take the shape of any container you put it into.  Cover and plunge the container into ice water. 

If you are not ready to eat this cheese on the spot, you can store it in the fridge for up tot two weeks.  It can be wrapped in saran wrap or stored in an air tight container.  You can also freeze it and reheat when ready to use.

 

For the record, we originally did not knead the cheese and so it ended up more lumpy than desired. I’m happy to report that when I tried again the following week, the cheese came out smooth and shiny. Still, even with a weird texture, this cheese was delicious! For more troubleshooting help go to (you guessed) The New England Cheese Supply Company. Want  to share your experience? Email me a picture of your cheese and I’ll put it up! sloomis@dehort.org.

 

Micro-Greens: An Easy Winter Treat

For most gardeners January is a time of anticipation. It is a bit premature to begin actually planning for our spring gardens (though most of us do anyway) and unless you have a greenhouse, the majority of crops are done producing for the winter. This period of waiting can be tedious, so today I’m offering one way to stay inspired: grow micro-greens!

Though the name might have you believe it,  micro-greens are not a plant from the future. You do not need to be a child of the technology age to grow them.  The truth is quite the opposite.  The term “micro-green” is really just a fancy name for juvenille lettuce. You don’t get more basic than that. When lettuce first starts growing it is often very tender, sweet, and mild. Rabbits, woodchucks, and deer have already figured out the benefits of eating baby greens so it makes sense that we humans are catching on too. You may have have already come across the concept as many restaurants now offer salads composed soley of these tender lettuce beginnings.

                                                                     Image taken from: The Kitchen website.

Over the past couple of years we have seen the practice of growing micro-greens gain momentum as the farming community has had success selling these greens within the restaurant industry. One pound of micro-greens can be marketed for around $30, which is a pretty substaintial price for a lettuce product. Don’t get too excited, however. While this price might inpsire in us dreams of  financial grandeur, when one factors in time, energy costs, and seed quanity, $30/ lbs. doesn’t appear all that astronomical. This reality, along with ever changing market trends, means the verdict is still out wheather or not micr0-greens are here to stay.

However, there is one market we can always count on. Our personal taste buds! I would say that micro-greens are worth trying for their tender flavor alone. So let’s started…

What you need:

Seed flats
Domes or plastic wrap
Lightweight potting soil
Seeds (Mesclun Mixes, Arugula, Cabbage varieties all work well)
Paper towels
A light source

Instructions:

1. Fill seed flats with lightweight potting soil leaving a half an inch or so at the top.

2. Pick out your seed to be planted. If you desire to mix different seed varieties within one flat make sure that the seed has a similar germination time.

3. Sprinkle seeds liberally but uniformly throughout the flats. The seeds don’t need much room to grow. 1/4 inch between them is plenty of space.

4. Using a piece of cardboard or paper gently push down on the top of the soil. This nestles the seed into the soil. The operative work here is “gently,” you  don’t want to compact the soil.

5. Lightly moisten the soil.

6. Place damp paper towels over the top of the flats.

7. Place the plastic dome over the top of your flat. If you don’t have a dome available simple plastic wrap will work fine.

8. Place flats in a warm space.

9. Check the flats every 2 to 3 days for mositure levels. Don’t let the paper towels dry out.

10. Seeds should begin germinating in 3 days to a week. Once this happens, place the flats under a grow light.

11. Your microgreens should be ready to harvest when their first true leaves come out. This is usually within 10 days to 2 weeks.

12. Harvest and enjoy!

 

Snow Day!

Ah, yes. It is yet another snow filled day at DCH. My commute in this morning from Philadelphia was surprisingly harrowing. I didn’t really expect many people on the road at 6:15 am on the eve of New Years Day, yet there they were – cutting me off, flying into the median, speeding over icy patches. It’s funny. People keep saying things like, “You must be so used to this, since you’re from New England.” I have explain that for one thing when it snows in New England, they actually plow. Secondly, people tend to accept that they are made of flesh and blood and do not tempt death by going 85 mph through blizzard like conditions.  Anyway, the drive got my blood flowing and I feel quite perky and awake.

Since it is snowing out I thought I would reflect the weather and do a “fluffy” post (get it?).  Instead of saying anything worthwhile I’m choosing to simply give you a little peek into winter life at DCH. Snow days are fun here.  People tend to congregate in the kitchen (coffee) and in the greenhouse (light and warmth). Here are some shots from today and our last storm. Consider it a little green inspiration!

Stay safe.

 

Fancy Feathers

I have considered my imaginary flock of chickens the way that some spend endless hours strategizing about their fantasy baseball team. It takes a lot of finesse to get the recipe right. Size, temperament, egg production goals, all of these characteristics factor into flock design. My fantasy flock isn’t the most practical, I’ll admit. I adore creatures in miniature, so predictably I favor bantams. I’m won over by their pint sized eggs and agile movements. Bantam Mille fleurs, Black Frizzle Coachins, Golden Sebrights, and Rhode Island Reds flit across my daydreams. The Murray McMurray Hatchery  website is troublingly conspicuous in my favorites toolbar at work.  See below the charm of what I’m talking about. Photos are credited to Penelope Smith of the Animal Talk website.

My love of chickens is nothing new. Growing up working on a farm, my co-workers called me the “chicken-whisperer.”  Though I’m convinced the flattery (that was what I considered it) was meant to encourage me to clean the coop and take on the majority of the hens care, I didn’t mind.  I enjoyed my time spent pacifying the cantankerous old hens as I collected their eggs and giving the friendly ones tiny neck rubs at the base of their wings.

Living in the city, what I miss most is the landscape of where I grew up. I feel calmer surrounded by mountains interspersed with small family farms. I enjoy the smell of agricultural land- the sharp little whiffs you get of pungent goat, or horse (dairy farms, I can do without). So, you can imagine my delight when my coworker Jacque sent me this: Substitute No 2 To Ordinance 09-074 (Backyard Flocks).

That’s right fellow residents of New Castle County, we can dare to hope that chickens may soon be allowed within city limits!  Up until this chickens have been banned on any land parcel less than one acre. While I’m escatic by the new proposal, I know not everyone is.  Of course there are things to consider. Clealiness, noise levels, quality of life for chickens and neighbors alike. Yet, I think that urban residing chickens are a positive step for urban agriculture. If we want to encourage access to healthy local food, what better way than this?  What are your thoughts about the proposed ordinance?

 

Monday Musings: Snow and Comost

 I love frolicking through snow drifts.  Sledding in the park.  Curling my frozen fingers around a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Snowshoeing and nordic skiing. I love these winter pastimes with an all-consuming joy. Yet, after two days of pretending I’m a creature out Jan Brett’s The Mitten, I’m ready for the thaw.

Within 72 hours of a blizzard, I start fantasizing about leafy vegetables and tanned skin. Lucky for me DCH has a greenhouse. It’s no Longwood Garden, but our tiny green oasis gives me a leap of joy. It reminds me that spring isn’t so far off and encourages me to start planning for the summer.

Today, I am thinking about compost. Not so glamorous perhaps, but nonetheless exciting. This coming spring we will be expanding our compost operation at the Baylor women’s prison, the place that I will be spending much of my time in the upcoming months. Alice Davis, a community gardener, urban farm coalition member, and master composter (such a talented woman, no?), has agreed to assist us in setting up a three bin system next to our vegetable garden there. Last summer at 12th and Brandywine we did this using some odd metal containers that our friend Eric Mayer happened upon at a local auction. They are working out fantastically well.

Photo Courtesy: TCD

 Any gardener will tell you the importance of compost in your garden. When it comes to organic gardening, ”Feed the soil not the plants,” is an especially important adage. Spreading compost each spring is a good practice as the added humus improves the quality of your soil dramatically. So, for those of you wondering exactly what compost is, I’ll provide a brief description…

Compost is best described as the product of decomposed organic matter. Ideal compost is a blend of various composted materials including nitrogen rich waste like grass clippings, fruits, vegetables, and coffee grounds as well as carbon rich materials, like straw.  Both these types of compost are extremely beneficial to a garden because they hold in moisture and soluble minerals which are important factors for effective production. If you are looking to maximize the efficiency of your compost system your goal should be a percentage of 30:1, carbon to nitrogen. Figuring this ratio out can be tricky but you can estimate by noting how much moisture is present in what you are adding to your compost. For example most dry materials (think sticks and straw) are primarily carbon, while wet items (your morning coffee grounds and various rotting vegetables) have a greater amount of nitrogen. Balancing these materials will allow for a more efficient rate of decomposition and therefore quicker turnaround for when you can use your compost.

A simple compost system is made up of a bin which you pile waste into. Unless you have a very large system, you should avoid putting in dairy, meat, and animal products because they are slow to breakdown and many furry little critters have a taste for these items.  By simply “turning” the waste, i.e. bringing what is on the bottom up to the top, you can assist in increasing oxygen which stimulates more bacterial action.  The bacteria break down the waste products and leave you with a rich humus. More serious or large-scale composters utilize a three system compost. By setting up three compost bins you are allowing yourself the space to have a starting bin, a bin for compost in process, and then a final bin for the finished compost, ready to be used. If you don’t regularly add compost to your garden, give it a try this spring and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what comes forth from your soil during the growing months. Let me know how it goes!

 

A Berry Merry Season!

Author, academic, and farmer, Wendell Berry once wrote, “A good community ensures itself by trust, by good faith and good will, by mutual help. A good community, in other words, is a good local economy.”

Gurney Norman, Wendell Berry, child and dog c. 1973 Photo Credit: Appalachian Heritage

My morning started out nicely with these words of wisdom from Mr. Berry and so I thought I would share them with you. It is a nice reminder of what is at the center of much of this talk about urban agriculture: community. There are many reasons to grow your own food; many of us are intimately familiar with the list. We grow our own food because we love gardening, we want our families to eat the healthiest food they can, or because some of us lack fresh produce in our neighborhoods so this way we can access it, the list goes on. Yet, one thing that is sometimes left out of the discussion is the fact that by buying local you are, in effect, rallying around your community. Since I’m only 24 I can’t in good conscience make statements like, “Back in the day communities were closer- they supported each other,” (then we walked to school four miles in the snow, in sandals, uphill both ways), but, wait, I just did. I know this is inarguably an idealized notion but I still desire the work of neighbors caring for each another just like the March  family.

This isn’t to say that people aren’t doing great things for one another all of the time, it’s just that as a whole, I just think that we could be doing it better.  Everyday there are new ideas generated with regards to food security. New and creative ways of growing and feeding people are thought up daily. Let’s come together around these ideas. Why not continue to build community with neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family by feeding and loving one another, not only during this season of celebration but all year round.  Enjoy your chilly morning and maybe today take a few moments to consider Wendell remembering that you as the individual always matters to the whole.

 

#3 of the Pest Series: The Harlequin Bug

Harlequin Bug

 

Photo Credit: Texas A & M University, Extension Entomology

 

The harlequin bug is a pest that targets the crucifer family which includes crops such as collard greens, broccoli, kohlrabi, and cauliflower.  It will also move onto other crops like asparagus, squash, corn, tomato, and corn. The harlequin bug is identified by its eye catching red and black color pattern. It does damages by sucking at the sap of plants which in turn makes them wilt and eventually die. While the harlequin bug is resistent to many insecticides, manual destruction of the bugs and their eggs is fairly effective.

 

#2 of the Pest Series: Japanese Beetle

Japanese Beetle

 

Photo Courtesy of Clemson University

 

The Japanese beetle is a serious pest to over 300 plants and crops including raspberries, corn, peas, peppers, tomatoes, corn, and strawberries.  This beetle can be recognized by its oval shape, metallic green coloring, and copper wings.  It spends it’s larval state feeding on the roots of grass and can do significant damage to lawns as a result. During this time in it’s life it is fairly susceptible to various nematodes and a commercially sold powder which spreads a bacterium called milky spore.  During their adult life they are most readily controlled by kaolin sprays made from a type of clay that when sprayed directly onto the crops irritates the mouths of the beetle and deter them from snacking. Similarly, soap and water mixtures applied directly onto the plants can stop damage. Finally, natural predators like the meadowlark and cardinal, are helpful at controlling populations, though are rare in urban settings.

 

#1 of the Pest Series: The Cabbage Looper

Just in time for the end of the growing season, I’ve decided to do a mini-series on some common garden pests to Delaware. Now you have all winter to study these little creatures and lovingly plot their demise.*

 *For those of you who think this is harsh- When I first began working at DCH I too struggled with this line thinking. My sister said it well when she remarked on the disarming vulnerability of so many of our little soft bodied friends. Kill a slug? It seemed to me akin to waging war on a puppy. Then I began gardening…

 

Cabbage Looper

  

Photo Credit: Texas A & M University, Extension Entomology

 

The cabbage looper feeds on the foliage of various crops and can wreak significant havoc on their production.  The most popular host plants are cabbage and similar plants like collards, broccoli, and cauliflower.  Other host plants include beets, cabbage, potato, spinach, tomato, lettuce, and cucumber.  The cabbage looper is identified by its light green coloring and the two white stripes that run down its legs. Late instars grow to over 1’1/2” in length and at this stage do the most damage. The adult cabbage looper is grayish brown and has silvery figure eight patterns in the middle of its wings. It has about an inch and a half wing span.  The adult cabbage looper can lay nearly 350 eggs over a ten day period and seek out the underside cabbage. After three to six days the eggs hatch and begin to feed on the underside of the leaf.

While “naturally” occurring insecticides like rotenone, pyrethrum, diatomaceous earth blend, and sabadilla can be used, they are still fairly toxic to mammals and extremely toxic to fish and other insects so we suggest using alternative control methods like sprinkling flour or salt on the worms, using more resistant types of crops, or putting on row covers before moths can come lay eggs on your plants. If you are more adventurous you can also release predator insects such as the trichogramma wasp or the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis into your gardens.

 

A tree grows in… Wilmington

It’s official- the Fall has arrived. It wasn’t the calendar that told me;  it was the fact that last weekend I ate a spoonful of homemade apple pie. My first of the season. You would think that my spirits would have soared, yet, with this delicious bite there also came a wash of homesickness for New England.  Now, I know we aren’t that far from the Green Mountains or the Connecticut River. We get changing foliage down here. Decorative gourds and hay rides abound. Delaware folks ring in autumn with pumpkin carving and the donning of overused hoodie sweatshirts just like the best of the northerners, so why doesn’t it feel quite the same?

For one, we are living in a city (most unlike my former home in Massachusetts). I’m not surrounded by mountains that look like Bob Ross just had a go at them.  I don’t come into contact with nearly enough sugar maples (sorry DCH- I know they aren’t all that exciting, but I do love them!), and I haven’t been to an orchard since I’ve moved to Philadelphia.  So what is a misplaced New Englander left to do?

Photo by John Giblo

As I pondered this question this past weekend, I visualized Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire not in their orange fired glory, but saw them in the middle of January. Bitterly cold, isolated, wet, dramatic, and harrowing. I reminded myself that I love living in a city because I don’t need to drive 40 minutes to go to the movies, buy groceries, or see another person under the age of 50. There are many aspects to living in a southern (comparatively) urban center that are incredibly fantastic… but I still want more country.

That is where urban orchards come in. Last week a co-worker and I “attended” a webinar on urban orchards. Ashley Atkinson,  the Program Director of  The Greening of Detroit spoke about her work establishing thriving orchards throughout the city of Detroit. There were so many incredible projects highlighted including the development of a five acre mixed use public park containing a large orchard. Very inspirational. Of course, there are many challenges to utilizing public landscapes in this way. Care of the trees, knowledge of growing fruits, longterm commitment- all of these things can become substantial obstacles. Yet, I’m becoming increasingly sold on the power of community. If the people want it, it can be done.

 We at the 12th and Brandywine Urban Farm are pretty entrentched in this thinking. The people wanted apples and so we  are taking our very first step towards fruit production. This fall, with the assistance of the 2009 H.E.L.P. campers we will be planting 9 semi-dwarf apple trees. Peter Lindtner, a coalition member and former gardener at Hagley will be teaching us about espalier,  specialized pruning that maximizes yield while creating a work of art. I’m excited to be bringing a little New England into Wilmington and the day we plant them, I will definitely be sporting my most threadbare hoodie in honor of Massachusetts.