Here is an easy way to make some good homemade cheese with herbs in it. It is about $5 to make (depending where you shop). It's a very easy and quick recipe to make some good cheese. The total time before you would wan't to eat is about 12 hours in 30 minutes. Now, this may seem like a ton of time but you and spend about 30 minutes making the cheese. The extra 12 hours it to let it settle and get the flavors flowing in the refrigerator. Hope you enjoy the recipe!

Step 1: Ingredients & Tools

For this recipe you will be needing:
~ 4 cups of organic milk (whole milk)
~ 4 cups of organic buttermilk
~ A few drops of lemon juice
~ 1 tablespoon of salt

The tools you will be needing are:
~ A wooden spoon
~ A strainer that has tiny holes
~ A pot that can hold more then 8 cups of liquid
~ 2 bowls
~ Some kind of press to get all the moisture out of the cheese and also to make its form
~ A plate
~ Bungee chord
~ And a cheese cloth or a really fine cloth
~ *OPTIONAL* And finally some type of herb (thyme, chives, nettles, or parsley)

Step 2: Start Cooking!

Okay, for this step you will need the milk, buttermilk, and lemon juice it. You put this in one of your pots and put it over the stove on medium-high heat. This wont take very long. After a while the top of the milk's will start forming chunks of milk. This process it called curdling the milk. This is how most cheeses are made. So when the milk is about to boil you want you want to turn the heat to a simmer and keep stirring for one minute. This is about the time when you want to add you herbs. (I forgot to add in the herbs at this stage!)

Step 3: Strain It Out

At this step it is time to strain all the watery stuff out. This is when you get the bowl and put the strainer on top of it. I use a big pasta pot because my strainer was too deep for any of my bowls. The strainer should have pretty small homes so the cheese doesn't run through. After most of the liquid is drained you should stir it with a spoon. Now you have just made ricotta! You can eat this as is (cold of course) or you can do the next step and wait 12 hours to eat it. Now you need to put it in another bowl and add the salt. Mix it around with a spoon.

Step 4: "Making" the Press & Filling It

This step you will need the cheese cloth, your cheese press and a plate. Okay, so for my press contraption I used this tube thing (picture 3), I'm not sure what to call it. So i simply put the cheese cloth in the tube and filled it up with the cheese while its placed on the plate (In this case I used a measuring cup) and stuffed the extra cloth in the tube and too the white piece and stuck it in the tube and pressed down so more liquid would come out. After that I took a small bungee chord and attached it so there will be constant pressure on the cheese. Pour out the liquids that come out. Now put it in the refrigerator white everything still attached. Keep it in the refrigerator for 12 hours.

Step 5: The Best Part

Now its time for the best part witch it eating it. Now you have your own cheese that you made from scratch to show off to your friends and family. They will love it with crackers. Its the best thing to cook for a dinner party or a get-together coming up soon!
~ENJOY~