AppleJuice Apocalypse and Nutty Nums (plus a Ricotta bonus)

Ok. Just wanted to share two quick oatmeal adventures, one good and one awful. Awful comes first.

Apple Juice Apocalypse: I wanted an apple taste in my oatmeal, but didn't want dried apple or to go through the trouble of cutting up a fresh one. I had some apply juice and thought, why not? Do not do this! For some reason, I didn't think of apple juice as an acid, but when you're talking milk, it totally is. And my milk curdled while it was cooking. So, instead of a lovely hint of apple, I ended up with icky acidic whey and chunks of milk. Sound gross? Well, it was.

Nutty Nums: This is a good story. Not a love story, but a good one. Nuts. Chopped and added as a protein and flavor booster right at the end. Lovely. I used almonds. They were pretty good, but I think walnuts or another soft, creamier nut work better. Either way though, a hint of vanilla and last minute nut add-in = a nice fulfilling breakfast.

Ricotta Bonus: So, I've been making my own ricotta. Or some kind of version of it. Here's what I do -

I heat milk to about 200 degrees F (just before boiling). I add lemon juice or vinegar by the teaspoonful until the milk starts to just curdle. I add one more teaspoonful, and end up with some nice blobs of "cheese." (I seriously doubt this is a real cheese because there's no culturing to it.) I hang it over a bowl in a floursack towel (my cheesecloth's holes were too big) for about 5-10 minutes and use immediately. Great in lasagna, or ricotta almond spaghetti with pine nuts*. A half gallon of milk makes probably 2 cups of ricotta, but I could be wrong.

*Ricotta almond spaghetti: boil some spaghetti; save some of the water. At the same time, make your "ricotta." Mix together ricotta, some ground almonds (1/2 C?), salt and pepper to taste, dash each of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a few tablespoons of pasta water (helps sauce bind to pasta). Toss mixture with spaghetti, and add pine nuts. A nice autumn pasta.