Gardeners are reaping the benefits of their labor by the bushelful about now. And, if you don’t have a garden yourself, the farmers and vendors at local farmers markets and produce stands are happy to share the fruits of their labor with you. A visit to the farmers market in my area yielded perfect zucchini —  smallish and dark, with no unbroken skin, and gorgeous pole beans that were firm  (making them really good for “snapping” later) and blemish free.

If you have not yet tried your hand at making cheese because last week’s recipe for homemade mozzarella looked too involved, or you couldn’t get hold of good cheesemaking milk, then this recipe for Fresh Ricotta Cheese offers another opportunity to have a go at it. Although it is not made in the traditional way — with the leftover whey from other cheesemaking endeavors (such as from making mozzarella cheese) — it is every bit as delicious, dependable and versatile. (In Italian, ricotta means “twice-cooked,” or “re-cooked.

I didn't realize that the Junket Rennet Tablets that I had just purchased for the purposes of making fresh mozzarella cheese had expired. By the time I discovered what the numbers on the top of the Junket box meant, which was that the tablets had expired in February, it was too late. I had already discarded a batch of would-be cheese that never produced good curds and another that never achieved a "clean break" -- the separation between the curds (the white matter on top) and the whey (the liquid beneath).

Northern Colorado 1947-1955
 
Last week I wrote about our neighbors who lived in the dry lands where winter wheat was grown. Helen, her son Bobby Lee and mother Old Lady Forsay, lived in the middle of a fenced in area that was full of animals. So the house they lived in was in the middle of a corral. The house was shingled with tin can lids and the siding on the house was the mashed cans nailed with various recycled rusty, bent nails.