Recipes ala Mode

From:  Christy Hinton

oven roasted asparagus & broccoli*

mozzarella cheese cubed**

Combine all ingredients and let set for a while in the refrigerator.  It really tastes good after it marinates in the refrigerator for a day or so.

*oven roasted vegetables - this recipe comes from Rachel Ray but you can roast them any way you want

1/4 c. olive oil

5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. grill seasoning blend

1 large head broccoli, cut into thin, long spears

Combine olive oil, garlic, chili powder and grill seasoning in the bottom of a large bowl and add the broccoli spears.  Toss to coat broccoli evenly then transfer to a large nonstick baking sheet.  Roast the broccoli until ends are crisp and brown and stalks are tender, 17-20 minutes.

(Christy's notes:  I used this recipe 3 times - 1 for the asparagus and 2 times for 2 heads of broccoli.  I like my broccoli a little more crisp so I didn't leave it in that long.  Also because I was putting it in a salad I chopped the broccoli and asparagus after it had been roasted.)

**mozzarella cheese - I used fresh homemade mozzarella that I made the night before.  The recipe comes from the book Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll

1 1/2 tsp. citric acid dissolved in 1/2 c. cool unchlorinated water

1 gallon pasteurized milk (do not use the ultra-high pasteurized milk as know as milk in a box on the shelf)

1/4 tsp. liquid rennet diluted in 1/4 c. cool unchlorinated water

Pour milk into a stainless steel pot, when milk temperature reaches 55F add in the citric acid to the milk and mix thoroughly.  Heat the milk to 90F over medium/low heat (The milk should start to curdle).  Gently stir in the diluted rennet with and up and down motion, while heating the milk to between 100F-105F.  Turn off the heat.  The curds should be pulling away from the sides of the pot; they are ready to scoop out (approximately 3-5 minutes for this).  The curds will look like thick yogurt and have a bit of shine to them, and the whey will be clear.  If the whey is still milky white, wait a few more minutes.  Scoop out the curds with a slotted spoon and put into a 2-quart microwavable bowl.  Press the curds gently with your hands, pouring off as much whey as possible, reserve whey.  Microwave the curds on HIGH for 1 minutes.  Drain off all excess whey.  Gently fold the cheese over and over (as in kneading bread) with your hand or a spoon.  This distributes the heat evenly throughout the cheese, which will not stretch until it is too hot to touch (145F inside the curd).  Microwave two more times for 35 seconds each; add salt to taste after the second time.  After each heating, knead again to distribute the heat.  Knead quickly until it is smooth and elastic.  When the cheese stretches like taffy, it is done.  If the curds break instead of stretch, they are too cool and need to be reheated.  When the cheese is smooth and shiny, roll it into small balls and eat while warm.  Or place them in a bowl of ice water for 1/2 hour to bring the inside temperature down rapidly; this will produce a consistent smooth texture throughout the cheese.  Yield: 3/4-1lb. fresh mozzarella

If you need to see pictures of the cheese making process click HERE.