Monthly Archives: April 2014

Best Basic Cheese Kit – Let’s Make Cheese!

I’ve dabbled in a little cheese making in the past – just enough to know I want to make more, and I want it to be delicious. I love really good cheese. Jerri Bedell, our beloved owner of Homesteader’s Supply, sent the Best Basic Cheese Kit to me to try out. You see…I have an idea. I think we should make cheese together. All of us! Well not all of us. Of course not everyone wants to make cheese. But how about some of us?

Here’s my plan. On Tuesday, May 13, I’m going to make cheese using the Best Basic Cheese Kit. There’s time for you to order the kit, get familiar with it, and be ready to make cheese that day. We’ll compare notes as we go and talk about the cheese we made. If you write about this in your blog we’ll share your link on Facebook, Twitter and in a blog about our cheese making day.

The cheese kit is only $44.88, and shipping is free in the lower 48 states.

Best Basic Cheese Kit

So about that cheese kit! This is the same supplies and equipment used by professionals to make cheese.  It contains some of the same quality products in our larger kits, just gives you the basic products you need to try your hand at making all kinds of cheese.  And what better than to buy your kit from a store that takes pride in helping our customers!

Best Basic Cheese Kit

Best Basic Cheese Kit

Our kit does not contain any citric acid or vinegar, and there is no need for a microwave.  Let’s face it, real cheese takes time to make…some faster than others. But if you want the best tasting, all natural cheese, then this is the kit for you.

With this kit you will be able to make many types of cheese, as it includes both basic mesophilic and thermophilic cultures, enough to make up to 24 lbs of cheese from each type.   And, these cultures are the only  type where you can make a mother culture for continued use, so they can last you a very long time.  We include that recipe. The Reblochon Mold is the best one to use as a form for soft cheeses and mozzarella, and as a press for harder cheeses like Colby and Cheddar, making one pound of cheese from one gallon of milk!  The rennet is vegetarian, and usually only needs 1/4 or 1/2 half tablet per gallon of milk. The calcium chloride is for making cheese with pasteurized milk, necessary to help for the curds.  And the bonus is you can even make butter and sour cream with this kit!

Everything that is included in this kit and more information about the kit is available on our website. Please let us know that you’ve ordered one of our cheese kits (doesn’t have to be this one in particular!) and will be making cheese with us. We’d like to blog about the project, include your photos and comments, and if you have one, link to your blog. You may comment here, leave a message on Facebook or send Robin an email.

The Ultimate Cheese Press

Now that the birthing and milking seasons are in full swing there’s an abundance of milk. It’s time to make cheese!

Our cheese press is made for home cheese makers, designed and manufactured by Homesteaders Supply right here in the USA! Homesteader’s Supply carries cheese making supplies. We suggest starting with our kits and replenishing as you go.

The Ultimate Cheese Press

The Ultimate Cheese Press

Made from a beautiful grained hard maple, with a lighter basic color with various shades of darker marbling. Each press is as unique as the wood it’s made from.  It comes with an innovative design that makes pressing cheese easy, and they all come out the same.  No need for pressure gauges, no lopsided cheeses… every one comes out great!  And this press will probably last you a lifetime with proper care!

Raw presses will be readily available soon. They are not oiled! You can choose the oil you’d like to use. Organic coconut oil works very well. We’ll make an announcement when the raw presses are in here in the blog, on Facebook and Twitter.

Some of the features of the Ultimate Cheese Press:

  • Perfect to make all types of hard and semi-hard cheeses.
  • Ergonomically designed handles and followers to reduce the stress to your hands and fingers.
  • Comes with 2 hoops, now larger and taller than other presses, to prepare a 1 lb to 5 lb cheese!
  • Designed to accept the hoops in perfect position every time!
  • Hoops are made of food grade heavy duty water pipe. Professional cheese makers prefer this type of hoop over the metal hoop type, as it won’t cause too fast of cooling the cheese during pressing time as stainless steel does.
  • Made with all food grade materials, will last a very long time, sturdy hardwood with heavy-duty stainless steel fasteners.
  • Easy to use; small enough to just place it into baking pan to allow for draining… therefore no mess, no fuss…
  • Finished wood with Canola Oil with no odor, no petro-chemicals, natural for food contact, makes the wood water proof, and all you need to do is reapply a very small amount of your own oil of choice when it appears dry.
  • We use real wood, not plastic. Latest research confirms that wood inhibits bacterial growth, which is not the case for plastics such as melamine. Now you know why everyone is going back to butcher block cutting boards!
  • No need for gauge… as you just turn to tighten as whey is released. So Simple! Easy to Clean! Just can’t say enough about this press… it’s the best!
  • With proper care, this cheese press should last a lifetime! (soap and water, no dishwasher!)
  • Dimensions:  Base approx 7″ X 7″,  Unit Height 11″, Large Mold 7″ tall, 6 1/2″ Diameter; Small Mold 7″ tall, 4 1/2″ diameter.

Wardeh Harmon, owner of GNOWFGLINS (visit the website – you’ll love it!) demonstrates the use of The Ultimate Cheese Press. You’ll see how simple this cheese press is to use in the video.

We’re proud to have designed this press and to have it manufactured right here in the United States. It’s a beautiful, functional, easy to use press that’s great for hard and semi-hard cheeses.

Gardening with Kids

Getting kids into the garden isn’t always easy but once they’re in, getting them out might be a challenge. As much as kids love to play in the dirt, gardening isn’t quite the same.  Let’s make gardening with kids fun and easy.

Small hands don’t grasp adult-sized tools easily. For a few dollars each you can buy child-sized tools. They’re typically rugged enough to last the entire season but not so expensive that when they disappear half way through that it’s a big loss. Kids like “diggers.” Trowels and spades are great. A hoe and garden rake should also get a lot of use. Spend a little time showing kids how to use these tools properly so they don’t become discouraged. Store the tools conveniently near the garden so they aren’t misplaced when the child gets distracted on the way to the house.

Black Krim Tomato

Black Krim Tomato

A lot of vegetables come in kids’ colors. Carrots are available in red and purple. Purple and lime green cauliflower varieties could be what it takes for kids to love this often passed up veggie. Bright Lights Swiss Chard grows in six main colors. Tomatoes aren’t always read. You can grow yellow, orange, striped and speckled varieties. They also come in different sizes and shapes from tiny cherry tomatoes to varieties that grow to weigh more than a pound.

In winter months where it’s too cold to garden, online seed catalogs are a good way to start developing a child’s interest in gardening. Seed displays in the garden department of stores are fun and the reward is immediate; you can take the seeds home and plant them the same day now that the weather is warming up.

Gardens need water. Kids plus water plus soil equals mess. It’s okay. Kids, clothes and floors wash. Our kids had small watering cans and a bucket of water. Let them water their seeds after planting and as they grow. Older kids who understand not mowing over nearby plants with the hose should be able to use the hose. Control the water flow by adjusting the faucet accordingly.

Grow what kids eat and eat what kids grow. You don’t have to love purple carrots but you’ll set a good example if you eat them, or at least try them. Be creative. Lime green cauliflower becomes Alien Brains when you get creative. White turnips are cool eyeballs if you cut the top off one-eighth inch above the bulb.

If you give kids their own spot in the garden you should consider wider than normal rows to walk in. The smaller the feet the bigger the foot prints left in the soil, or so it seems. Plants will get stepped on, and they’ll probably survive.

We sometimes asked our kids to choose and harvest the vegetable for supper. Occasionally we had a medley of tomato, broccoli, spinach and cucumbers in one meal, and it was always delicious.  We mix it up in the salad bowl so why not on our plates?

How to leave fast food behind and eat inexpensively at home

It’s sad that it is cheaper to feed your family at McDonalds than to provide a balanced meal for your family..

For example – if all they can afford is crap, and they don’t have the resources to grow their own they could be at a real disadvantage.

These are two of the comments made on Homesteader’s Supply Facebook page. Balanced meals don’t have to be expensive, or complicated. They can be much healthier than fast food. We can leave fast food behind and eat inexpensively.

It takes a bit of time to prepare and cook a good meal. The time can be spent teaching children to cook, a skill that’s being lost in a large portion of our youngsters. Food for thought: In the big picture of life, is it more important to have children in three after school and extra curricular programs that keep us too busy to cook and eat well than it is to teach our kids to cook? Let’s get off the road a little and into the kitchen more, where we can share some quality family time.

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9″ stainless steel pie pan.

Here is a recipe for quiche to help us get started. Quiche is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. For a grab-and-go breakfast use muffin tins instead of the pie plate, no crust needed. I browsed the online flyer a Hannaford, a grocery store chain, and the paper flyer from Food Mart to get prices.

Broccoli & Cheese Quiche

One dozen eggs
1/2 pound chopped broccoli
1/2 pound grated cheese
One pie crust
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Scramble the eggs and add seasonings. Use seasonings you like. A quarter-teaspoon of crushed red pepper adds zing without heat. Garlic powder is also good. If the broccoli is frozen you should thaw, drain and pat it dry. Mix everything together and pour into the crust-lined pie plate.

Serving sizes are out of proportion these days. One serving of meat is three to four ounces. That’s the size of a deck of play cards (not Uno or other large game cards). Keep the number of servings you need for the entire day in mind. You have three meals and possibly a snack to get all that you need to be healthy and fit.

Variations: spinach, onion, mushrooms, artichoke, dandelion greens. What’s available in the garden?

Bake at 350* for 45 minutes.

To cut down on costs:

  • use brick cheese that you grate yourself
  • chopped broccoli is less expensive than pieces when using frozen
  • use broccoli stems, not just the tops

Eight servings. $7.20 total.
Eggs – $3.00
1 pie crust – $1.15
Cheese – $2.20
Chopped broccoli – .60 cents
Seasoning – .25 cents

Serving cost: .90 cents.

Eating healthy, homemade meals probably means dietary changes if you’re used to swinging through the drive through on a regular basis. Change can be difficult and fun. Try to avoid overwhelming everyone. You might cause a revolt. Keep it fun.