Recipe Card: Chive Blossom Butter

Growers of herbs know... chives are plentiful! But what is there to do with all of that bounty, especially those gorgeous chive blossoms? Whip 'em up into some butter! Chive blossom butter is great on baked potatoes, melted on top of steaks, used as a gourmet treat to your favorite breads, and so much more. Here's a simple recipe that I'm sure you'll love!

Pick blossoms at their optimal state: when they are bright, fresh, and have not seeded. Wash and dry your blossoms in cool water.

What you'll need:

Butter

Chive Blossoms

Food Processor (a blender should work well, too)

Jars/container to store

Simply pop those whole blossoms into your food processor and whip 'em up until nicely chopped. This part smells SO good! 

Cut up your stick(s) of softened butter so they whip evenly and easily with your blossoms. Whip until blended well. Using a soft spatula put your butter into containers of your choice. They can be stored in your freezer for up to a year until ready to use.

Other great blended butter ideas:

Garlic Scape Butter

Garlic Scape & Italian Herb Butter

Chive Blossom and Garlic Scape Butter

Lemon Basil Butter

...have fun experimenting! Share your recipes and ideas here!

Homemade Ricotta Cheese recipe

Homemade Ricotta Cheese!

I am amazed that, in my 33 years of life, I never knew how easy it was to make ricotta cheese.  A cheese I love so much I never bothered to learn the right way to pronounce it.  Who cares?  There's no telling what I'm saying with a mouthful of ricotta, anyway.

So I was flipping through a magazine and BAM, there it was.  A little chunk of Heaven on a page...how to make ricotta at home.  And it's super simple!  So being the benevolent person I am, I demanded that Joy grant me author access to her blog so that I could share it with her fine readers.  By the way, this is Jamie, Joy's twin sister.  Most people mistake us for each other anyway so call me whichever you'd like.  I'll just secretely hold a grudge.

Ingredients

• Half gallon whole milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (I really like things salty and added a bit extra)
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice

That's it for ingredients, I swear!  

Then for supplies you'll need:

• Cheese cloth
• Large pot
• Strainer
• Large bowl
• Slotted spoon

hot milk

First thing's first, put all of the milk and kosher salt in the largest pot that you have and get it boiling. Don't do as I did and think your second largest pot is big enough. It's not. Get the bigger one. Milk likes to boil over and burnt milk does not smell good.

if you crisscross the cloth it'll look more beautiful

While that's boiling, line your strainer with 4 layers of cheese cloth. Then put the strainer on top of a large bowl, like so:

Put this over that and then this thing inside of this one.

lumpy milk

Once the milk has boiled, turn it down to a simmer and add the lemon juice.  Stir until lumps form, about 3-5 minutes.  Those lumps are golden bits of ricotta cheese that you are going to stuff into your mouth soon! 

don't make fun of my slotted spoon, I know I need an upgrade

Take a slotted spoon and scoop out all of those lumps and put onto the cheese cloth.  Let drain for 5 minutes.

you can eat it now

That's it!! You can eat it with a spoon (my preferred method), add it to a pasta dish, or refrigerate for up to 4 days.  YUM!!!  Did you know it was so easy?! Now you do!

Like the pottery featured? I got it from the peeps at Clay Coyote Pottery.  Like the red kitchen napkin?  So do I, it's mine.  But you can buy one of your own from 5 O'clock Crows.