Most of you know how much I love potatoes, and CHEESE ranks right up there as one of my favorite foods. I was craving Irish farmhouse cheese, but besides being hard to find it costs more than I care to pay. Since Kroger had milk on sale this week I thought it was the time to make it myself.
I have used George’s mom’s recipe before and thought it was great and simple - both in the ingredients and technique. Ever watch “Ham on the Street”? That’s the George I’m talking about. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/george-duran/georges-moms-homemade-herb-cheese-recipe/index.html
Two summers ago I gathered or made my cheese-making supplies. For one gallon of milk, a whipped topping container is perfect. I used the electric drill to get drainage holes in the bottom (if you do this, be sure to remove all the plastic particles - you might have to use a very sharp knife to do this).
I purchased a package of cheesecloth, cut off about a 36” long tube and tied one end closed. That might seem very long, but I found that length necessary to completely cover my colander so I wouldn’t have to worry about it slipping as I poured in the curds and whey.
On my electric stove, using milk and half and half directly from the refrigerator it took slightly over an hour to reach 195 degrees. I tend to be impatient and those last 15 degrees seemed to take forever. I wish I had an “instant read” cooking thermometer - I use a meat thermometer that I have to hold in place until the needle stops moving.
Curdling takes place quickly. I’ve learned to add my ingredients (today I used fresh basil from the garden and one freshly minced clove of garlic) while it it still easy to stir.
Then I slightly squeezed it.
After flipping it around in the cheesecloth tube so the “knot” wouldn’t leave a lasting impression, I placed it in my “cheese press“. I have a small bowl that is slightly smaller than the container and then put something heavy on it.
After about an hour of draining, it “ages” overnight in the refrigerator.
Finished product; DELICIOUS! ~~K 
Killians Irish Red went well with very tasty Irish Salted Potatoes swimming in garlic and butter!
Last year at the end of a our meal at Schmidt’s in Columbus’ German Village there was no room for dessert, so we had their delicious cream puff as a “shared snack” with iced tea.
“Caber” is gaelic for “tree”, so as you may imagine it looks like men in kilts throwing telephone poles. After picking up the tree trunk (many contenders don’t even get this far), they have to balance it vertically in front of them before attempting to flip it so the end not in their hands lands first on the ground in what should again be vertically straight up and down as the tree had grown. These are strong men! 
What appears to be a combination of gleaning and pole vaulting? Sheaf Toss! Using a pitch fork, contestants throw a burlap bag stuffed with straw over a bar. Each man had three chances at each height and was eliminated if none of the attempts threw the sheaf over the bar.
On the unorganized spontaneous side, in a frat party atmosphere, the competition ran “high” in the beer glass stacking tent late Saturday night. 
Old favorites like the Clancy Legacy and the Hooligans are “must sees”.
We always make it a point to watch the champion step dancers. The price of some of the girls’ costumes is exorbitant! After seeing some of the girls’ hair “au naturel” I realize how much I dislike those crazy curly wigs. That withstanding, the dances are so intricate and entertaining. Talk about being fit!
A new twist to entertainment included a short comedy about that Catholic Irish tradition known as Bingo. Of course the main characters were a priest and nuns!
Another unexpected favorite this year was “Salsa Celtica”. They described their act as a “Colombian-Irish Shotgun Wedding” - what fun! Bagpipes with salsa music, and trombones and saxophone with Irish jigs – most entertaining and international.
Of course we like to try different beer, but instead of their sampler we had them draw two different pints for us: Bearded Pig Pilsner (a crisp lager with a perfect balance of malt and hops)and Red Barn Ale (a smooth, malty amber ale). D preferred the RBA, but I couldn’t choose - they were both a great treat with our lunch. 
Fayler Cemetery is an old, but well-maintained small graveyard. Unfortunately many of the grave markers are nearly destroyed; the same can be said for the trees within the burial grounds. Luckily the poison ivy near the cache is just getting started for the year, so I don’t think there will be any skin consequences.
Slippery Elm Trail was busier than we anticipated; but not enough to deter us from quickly locating the stash. I was a bit surprised that they have not replaced the sign – the posts are still in place.
What a nice day! ~~K
Our “carb-loading” pasta dinner is one of my all time favorites; of course we had salad and bread with it! 
Breakfast at 5:45 Sunday morning was oatmeal, French toast, and bacon. I had too many pre-race jitters and couldn’t even finish my oatmeal – only ate about 3 spoonfuls! NO COFFEE and I’m so glad since there were no porta-potties to be seen anywhere downtown.
Yummy! ~~K
While harvesting the asparagus after school Wednesday other sure signs of spring were a welcome sight. 
Look close at that last picture – besides the sedum, violets, and coreopsis you can see the first blossom on one of the strawberry plants – it's quite promising as long as the rabbits don’t take over! 
This is a MUST HAVE recipe (