W.J.E.I. DAY 1- meal 3- making queso blanco

What a windy and dark day!

After milking, I went out with James, Agnes and Barney to the back end of their property for some Mullein and mint to make tea for all these gross sounding coughs.  

Tonight's meal was nothing crazy.

Mashed parsnips with thyme, onions and garlic, 

grilled pork loin from our organic, no soy pigs, cabbage salad

 and sweet potatoes with spicy chili sauce and raw queso.

With the understanding that dairy does not fall into everyone's beliefs about the Paleo diet- 

I do see that some allow it IF it is raw.

I figured it was only fair to note how fast and easy it is to make queso blanco.  This type of cheese is crumbly and if pressed then sliced- will fry well as a meat or soy substitute.  Anything is better than soy- try it.

When you look up this recipe on other sites or in books- you will note that they all indicate an initial temp of between 160* and 180* or to foaming but just below boiling.  You have to keep milk at these high temps for about 30 minutes to pasteurize properly, but the good stuff begins to get killed off at a very low rate of heat- especially if you get it up to 134* and once again around the very low 140's and 170's.... This is how some manufacturers are able to put the "raw" cheese label on their product- it is if they never fully reach one of those temps for certain cheeses.

 Since I prefer to keep my cheese as raw as possible- here is how I make mine. 

Heat your milk to very low 90-ish*

(use an instant read thermometer or you can heat it to the point where if you were to put your finger in the milk and close your eyes- you would not know it was in liquid)

At this point add 3/4 t citric acid per 1/2 gallon of milk you use.

Mix well in an up and down motion and top stir for a few moments if using fresh raw milk- 

this will keep the cream from surfacing.

After a minute or two you will notice the coagulation occur.

Let rest for 5 minutes

Drain into a colander and allow to drain for up to an hour.

Toss with salt and/or your herbs for best flavor.

I drain mine and save the whey for several other things like a replacement of water in baking, protein drinks or what I actually do... feed it to the pigs.

This week we have one pig- my daughter named him Cheddar.  Next week I will let my son name the other when we get him/her.

Last year we had 3 and they were named High heel, Squidgy and Justin.

Again- this dinner was pretty average for us... but it was warm and fast and on a blustery day- it works well.

**IF you live in a state where raw milk is legal then follow these instructions**If I lived in a state where raw milk was legal- this is what I would do.