Mossflower Vegetable Stew with Dumplings

7 cups water or vegetable stock
6 Tbls. corn meal
3 Tbls. oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 1/4 pound potatoes, diced
5 carrots, chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
1 1/2 medium onions, chopped
1 1/2 cup peas
1 1/2 cup corn
3 cups beans, precooked

Dumplings:
2 1/4 cup flour (whole wheat, white wheat, or whole wheat pastry)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cup milk or nut milk
1/3 cup minced parsley
3 egg whites

Whisk the corn meal into the water/vegetable stock. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Let it simmer, but not boil.

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and parsley. Beat in egg whites. Drop dough in spoonfuls into the stew. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Cover and cook for 10 more minutes until dumplings are done.

Winter Salad

1 cup grated apple
2 cups grated carrot
2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 cup chopped pears
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 tsp. lavender buds
1/4 cup plain yogurt

Combine all ingredients and chill.

Beetroot Salad

1 pound beet roots
1/2 apple juice, or other fruit juice
2 Tbls. olive oil
4 Tbls. minced chives, mint, or parsley, or a combination
Salt
2 cups, packed, of chopped lettuce and beet greens

Scrub the beets and grate with a large-holed grater. Toss with the lettuce and greens. Combine the juice, olive oil, and salt to taste. Toss with the beets and greens.

Serves 4.

Roasted Wheat Ears

4 cups whole wheat flour or white wheat flour
2 Tbls. oil
1 Tbls. salt
1 3/4 cup warm water, milk, or nut milk

Preheat oven to 450 F. Mix together 2 cups flour, oil, salt, and milk. Gradually knead in the rest of the flour. Roll thin on an oiled surface. Cut about 2" squares, then cut those into triangles. Fold into ears by bringing two of the corners to meet the third corner, open the edges on the top, and gently push the new corners underneath. Place on an oiled baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve with cheese or dip.

Cold Mint and Apple Tea

8 cups hot water
4 mint tea bags
2 apples, grated

Mix together and steep until cool. Strain. Serve chilled.

White Cheese with Sage / Yellow Sage Cheese

1 gallon milk
2 tsp. citric acid or lemon juice
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. rennet
2 Tbls. sage leaves
a bit of carrot juice or turmeric, for yellow cheese

Pour the milk into a large pot. Dissolve the citric acid in a bit of cool water and stir into the milk, or stir the lemon juice directly into the milk. Stir well. Heat the milk slowly to 90 F (use a food thermometer). Try not to let it get above 90. Once it reaches that point, you can turn off the heat without the temperature decreasing.

Stir the sage leaves into the milk. If you are making yellow cheese, add the carrot juice or turmeric at this point. I haven't measured exactly how much is needed, but it really is just a tiny amount. But it also depends on how strong you want the color to be.

Dilute the rennet in a few tablespoons of cool water. My rennet is extra strength that says 1/8 tsp will work on 2 gallons of milk, so I try to approximate 1/2 of a 1/8 tsp. measure. If your rennet doesn't have a suggested ratio on the container, using 1/4 tsp. should be fine.

Stir the rennet dilution into the milk. Let sit until a curd forms, this usually takes 5-10 minutes. Check the curd by sticking in your finger and pulling it out horizontally. Your finger should come out mostly clean with the curd splitting apart around it. You can also check by pulling the curd away from the edge of the pot and having clear whey fill in the space.

Take a long, sharp knife and cut a grid pattern in the curd all the way to the bottom of the pot. Cut several more lines that slant through the depth of the curd. Let rest for a few minutes. The curd should be thick enough that you see the lines you cut, and the cuts will be filled with clear whey.

Line a large bowl with a large piece of cloth (in my experience the commercial cheesecloth is too gauzy, and normal muslin or light linen works better). Pour all the curd and whey into the cloth. Add salt to taste. Twist the cloth closed at the top, trapping all the curd inside. The whey will pour out into the bowl.

Set up your cheese press. You can have a real one or a ghetto one like mine, where I put a wire cooling rack over the sink, placed the bundle of cheese on that, then put a cutting board on top. On the board I used heavy cans of food as weights to press down on the cheese.

Let sit for about an hour, then check to see how solid it is. I added more salt at this point, molded it with my hands into a thicker shape, folded the cloth around it so it didn't make creases in the cheese, and let it press for another 1/2 hour.

This makes about 1 1/2 pounds of a soft cheese.