It's raining worms; ricotta
/In order to maximize enjoyment of the figs I poached yesterday, I am now making some ricotta. I cannot wait.
People, I slept so long this morning that I didn't make it to my Pilates class. While I was sorry to miss it and my two favorite lady-pals there, it was, nonetheless, remarkable to just sleep and sleep some more. When I was finally up and at 'em, I mozied outside where T was installing the last plank in the foundation for the playhouse. My garden really needed an overhaul so I retrieved my pitchfork from the depths of the garage and went.to.town. We've got this grand sugar maple out back, and really, it is a gem. It must be at least 60 years old because it towers over our house and in the fall turns neon yellow for about a week. It is beyond glorious but raking the leaves it then drops is really a long-term commitment. In any case, I love that tree but its roots can be hard to deal with. They've grown tentacle-like all throughout the yard, popping up to the surface every now and again just to mess with you and establishing quite a web underground. The pitchfork comes in handy!
Once the gardens were turned, I headed to the compost pile. I've neglected it for a while so decided to get out the sieve and see how much black gold could be harvested. A lot! I forked and shoveled and sieved, and worms were flying everywhere. I love the worms and take great care never to injure even one. You can imagine this really elongates the amount of time any one task takes, but I don't mind. They are so industrious and helpful, so I give them a wide berth. If you have any room, consider starting a compost pit. It takes absolutely no energy to do so. Simply start throwing your fruit and veggie scraps, coffee grinds, eggshells, some leaves and yard clippings and occasionally, some newspaper shreds, and you're set. Toss with a pitchfork on occasion, if you don't get a lot of rain, water the pile sometimes. Get a sieve so you can utilize what's ready and toss back what's not. Between composting and recycling, you'll be amazed by how much less you're throwing in the regular garbage. Awesome.
I am getting a massage in an hour, friends. Wonderful foresight to have scheduled this if I say so myself! Off to strain the ricotta!
