What is your deal breaker, recipe wise?

[Aunt Bea]

A friend of mine says the same thing. I love goat cheeses, but CANNOT stand goat milk. However, I am considering getting a dairy goat next spring. I too have been told if you don't have a billy, the milk doesn't have that strong taste/smell. And, a nanny is a lot easier to milk than a cow is. Sheep are very hard to milk, IMO. Been there, done that. But I did find the nanny (goat) easier to milk by hand my friends had. Been there, and done that too. Figure I can make cheese and give any excess goat milk to the hens.

If you don't require much milk check out a pint size African Pygmy or Nigerian Dwarf goat.

They are a lot of fun and not much bigger than a chicken!

 

[CWS4322]

If you don't require much milk check out a pint size African Pygmy or Nigerian Dwarf goat.

They are a lot of fun and not much bigger than a chicken!

I just want enough milk to make cheese. I hadn't heard of those two breeds--will see if I can find one! If it is pint-sized, it might not steal my laundry off the line! And, it might be a "friend" to the chickens!

 

[pacanis]

I like goat cheese and am fascinated to learn this about Billies tainting the milk. I guess the large makers of goat cheese know this, as I've never run across any bad goat cheese from the grocery store, but if I ever run across any homemade goat cheese in my travels I will pass it by, not knowing if they keep a Billy around. Interesting.

 

[vitauta]

but if you don't keep a billy around, your goat may not be able to be persuaded to mate. they l-o-v-e that billy goat smell....

 

[CWS4322]

but if you don't keep a billy around, your goat may not be able to be persuaded to mate. they l-o-v-e that billy goat smell....

I think AI is the method those who raise dairy goats use to increase the flock.

 

[Claire]

A good time to refer to Andy M's signature
I think most people refer to making a sauce from scratch as to not opening a can of Prego and adding stuff to it. Cans of tomatoes are acceptable.
And there's also the, "You need to buy your tomatoes and make your own sauce" crowd.
And then there is, "How can you buy those grocery store tomatoes? You should grow your own. It's easy." There is those purists.
And then there is Carl Sagan.

Yeah, and I don't know what planet the purists live on. A can of tomatoes in February is much preferable to "fresh". Yes, I use fresh-from-the-garden in July-September. But to pick them up at the grocery store and make "from scratch" is ridiculous. Lots of work and less flavor. And yes, I've lived in year-round-warm states, and for some reason the Hawaii soil (mostly red clay) and Florida soil (sand) didn't produce the tastiest tomatoes, although you could grow them year 'round if you wanted to fight the natural problems (bugs, fungus, birds, etc) that seem to attack as soon as they start to turn color from green. I do freeze as much sauce as I have space for (not a lot), but my kitchen is not air conditioned and even with my shortened method, it is very hot, messy work. Canned tomatoes work fine in the winter.

 

[CWS4322]

We plant over 300 tomato plants every year. We can/freeze/dehydrate a lot of tomatoes. I would get skinned alive if I bought canned tomatoes!

 

[Rocklobster]

I keep my eye on the clearence rack. Every week or so I can get packs of 6 large ripe tomatoes for 99 cents. I usually buy three or 4 and give them a quick skinnin' and baggin'. In the freezer they go. When I go to use them I just thaw them in a bowl and then quickly grind them up with the hand blender.

I don't mind canned. Just another product. It's what you do with them that counts.../.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

The trick is to find a canned/processed product that you like and can use as you like. Check it for additives and discard the ones that have ingredients you cannot spell or say. Bertolli makes their sauce with sugar, not HFCS, and I can't make a sauce that tastes better. So, I use Bertolli. I would rather spend my limited time on cooking those things I can't find on the shelves of the local grocers.

Goat cheese is a deal breaker here, too. I just cannot like it.

 

[Addie]

I don't mind canned. Just another product. It's what you do with them that counts.../.

Will have to take a look at my grocery store's expired shelves. I use fresh tomatoes mostly in sandwiches. But using your method, I could make a quick sauce for one (Lydia Style) very easily. Yesterday I made an Alfredo sauce with spinach and Angel Hair pasta. Delicious.

Sautes the spinach in butter. Tossed in the cooked Angel Hair pasta, added a couple of very large tablespoons of freshly grated Parma cheese, with some more butter and about a quarter of cup of cream. I let it simmer for about two minutes. Long enough for the cheese to completely melt. The pasta soaked up the suace like it was starving. Yet there was still enough in the bottom of the bowl to use my spoon to get every last drop. I still have a half package of spinach left. May just make that again today.

 

[taxlady]

Tomatoes are acidic enough that it is almost impossible to find canned tomatoes that don't have BPA lining the cans. Even the organic stuff from the health food store has BPA lined cans. BPA is estrogenic. I'm not supposed to eat estrogenic foods, so I buy passata in bottles and tomato sauces in jars. I read the labels.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Will have to take a look at my grocery store's expired shelves. I use fresh tomatoes mostly in sandwiches. But using your method, I could make a quick sauce for one (Lydia Style) very easily. Yesterday I made an Alfredo sauce with spinach and Angel Hair pasta. Delicious.

Sautes the spinach in butter. Tossed in the cooked Angel Hair pasta, added a couple of very large tablespoons of freshly grated Parma cheese, with some more butter and about a quarter of cup of cream. I let it simmer for about two minutes. Long enough for the cheese to completely melt. The pasta soaked up the suace like it was starving. Yet there was still enough in the bottom of the bowl to use my spoon to get every last drop. I still have a half package of spinach left. May just make that again today.

Addie! Please write this one up and put it in the Pasta Forum, so it doesn't get lost!!! You can just copy and paste it into a new thread there.!!! Yum!

 

[Rocklobster]

Will have to take a look at my grocery store's expired shelves. I use fresh tomatoes mostly in sandwiches. But using your method, I could make a quick sauce for one (Lydia Style) very easily. Yesterday I made an Alfredo sauce with spinach and Angel Hair pasta. Delicious.

Sautes the spinach in butter. Tossed in the cooked Angel Hair pasta, added a couple of very large tablespoons of freshly grated Parma cheese, with some more butter and about a quarter of cup of cream. I let it simmer for about two minutes. Long enough for the cheese to completely melt. The pasta soaked up the suace like it was starving. Yet there was still enough in the bottom of the bowl to use my spoon to get every last drop. I still have a half package of spinach left. May just make that again today.

I suppose every store is different. By the time they hit the clearance rack they are no longer sandwich grade, and occasionally, you may have to carve out a few blemishes and black spots, but for the most part they are still fine and plenty ripe for sauce....

 

[Addie]

Addie! Please write this one up and put it in the Pasta Forum, so it doesn't get lost!!! You can just copy and paste it into a new thread there.!!! Yum!

Done. Thanks.

 

[Addie]

I suppose every store is different. By the time they hit the clearance rack they are no longer sandwich grade, and occasionally, you may have to carve out a few blemishes and black spots, but for the most part they are still fine and plenty ripe for sauce....

I know that the store where I shop gives a lot of their 'not so nice' produce to the food bank. But like you said, some is just not fit for any spot but the clearance shelves. Will have to take a look. I have a nice sharp knife just waiting to cut out those bad spots. Thanks for the suggestion. I would much rather make a quick tomato sauce using fresh tomatoes than opening a can of them and using one or two of the tomatoes. Cooking for one is quite a challenge.

 

[JoshuaNY]

That taste comes from billy goat.

I know folks who raise goats and make goat cheese and they won't own a billy goat, just so the milk won't get that special taint.

I still try goat cheese at least once a year to make sure I still dont like it. I will continue to do so. Maybe Ill find one I like. I have had tried it in man restaurants and from the supermarket. I still cant do it.

Maybe one of these days, but I am not keeping my hopes up. Just thinking about it I can taste it.