They're Not All Winners

 

I'm having a little laugh at myself this morning and thought I'd invite you to join in the fun.  I was playing with my birch ring brooch concept, and wanted to have a birch ring within a birch ring.  I was going along, la di dah, when I looked down and saw a big wooly eye staring at me instead of the fabulous brooch I had envisioned.  AN EYE. 

Wait!  If I turn it the other way, it sort of looks like a papoose.   Or an eye at an angle.  Not quite what I was going for.  Maybe if I avoid using eye colors on the next one....or maybe they're all going to look like eyes to me... I don't know.  Maybe I should make two of them and wear them on the back of my hat so my kids really think I have eyes on the back of my head.

Anyway, it was a concept I had to try.

On another note, after an initial unsuccessful attempt at cheese-making, I am proud to say that I made a ball of, what is quite possibly, the tastiest mozzarella cheese in all of Minnesota last night.  Using my handy-dandy kit from UrbanCheesecraft, and a gallon of non-homegenized, Minnesota-grown, organic whole milk from Cedar Summit Farm that I purchased at our tiny little local food co-op (which just moved to a more convenient location, I'll add) this weekend.  Success!  My first try involved a Wal-Mart brand milk and I suspect it is ultra-pasteurized which extends shelf-life but doesn't do much for cheese-making.

I paired the cheese with some toasted french bread, a sun-dried tomato spread I made ( minced sun-drieds, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar - yum!) and some diced tomatoes and garlic.  Oh so tasty.  If you've been on the fence about trying cheese-making, you should really try it.  The mozzarella came together so quickly and easily that I can't believe I didn't try it sooner.

Sorry, there are no pictures of the cheese, it was devoured before I could capture it.

Have a happy Tuesday, everyone.