Dyers Coreopsis

The dyers coreopsis(calliopsis tinctoria) is starting to bloom. This is it's second year so it is 4 ft. tall. I will pick the flowers off every other day and dry them in a paper sack. The dried flowers are soaked and simmered for less than an hour and then  yarn is added after being mordanted with chrome.4 oz. of dried floweres will dye 1 pound of yarn or fiber to a nice brick red.

Kitchen garden update

Here is the Kitchen Garden that I said would be finished this spring. I still haven't transplanted all my herbs but am in the process.My THH(turkey hunting husband) did a wonderful job on the fence. One of the best features  NO DOGS!

Goat's milk ricotta

With all the fresh goat milk I'm getting, I've been making alot of soft goat cheeses. An easy one to make is ricotta. Ricotta is made from the fresh whey of cheese that you have just finished, in this case goat milk cheddar. The whey is heated to 195 degrees when another quart of fresh milk is added and then heated back to 195 degrees. The tiny Ricotta particles come to the top and it is ready to drain. I let it drain for about an hour, add a little salt and voila'. I think some homemade lasagna with some fresh spinach will be on the menu this week.