recent food endeavors

At the end of last year, my friend Rachel and I decided that January would be the month of food wrapped in bread. We would make a new crusty delight at least once a week. We inaugurated this by making Calzones last weekend ... mm, delicious!! Mom's pizza crust recipe (in lieu of my usual hippie whole-wheat, non-stretchable creation), homemade mozzarella (I made it by myself!) ... here's the recipe for the mozzarella, homemade (by Rachel) sauce with lots of onions and garlic, and a filling of leftovers consisting of roasted butternut squash, onions, sweet potatoes, potatoes, etc. A winter melange, if you will.

I can't remember if i ever reported on my first mozzarella venture - again, with Rachel, and our friend Zack. I ordered all of the necessary supplies (just 2 really, rennet and citric acid) from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company, bought a thermometer and a gallon of milk, and went to town. It was awesome! a gallon of milk yields about a pound of mozzarella (and 3/4 gallon of whey, but that's another story ... apparently you can use whey to water plants? i just drink it and use it instead of water in my oatmeal) and fresh mozzarella has a texture that is difficult to describe and produces a joy that is impossible to recreate.

Tonight, we are heading down to Zack's house to make sushi ... for once, a cheese-free endeavor. I just learned (albeit from Wikipedia) that most Wasabi that you can buy is not 'true' wasabi, but is made from a different variety of the wasabi horseradish. I wouldn't have thought to research this, but the checkout man at Whole Foods brought it to my attention.