
It has been awhile, but Ask A Churchlady has a new trick to pass on!
What to do with the leftover coffee cream
We are always putting on lunches, and every lunch requires something called "half and half". That is the 10% cream we buy to put in the coffee. We don't want to clog the arteries of our guests with full cream, nor do we want to insult their taste buds with skim.
Half and half it is.
But there is always some left. Now, if your church is full of people who use the half and half at home, good for you. Pack it off with them.
Ours is not. We are hardcore here. We take our coffee black.
So what do we do with the leftover coffee cream?
We make cheese.
Step 1: Determine the most hippie-like of your churchladies. Here, it is the webmaster. Give her the leftover half and half to take home.
Step 2: That churchlady will put the cream in a heavy pan with a little salt. She will simmer it over med-high heat then add lemon juice. See quantities below. She will simmer that until soft curds form. She will gently pour the curds into a cheesecloth-lined colander set in a bowl. She will pull up the edges of the cheesecloth to make a bag, tie it off, then hang it from a cupboard doorknob until it stops dripping.
During that time a family member will want into the cupboard, even if they never usually go there. The churchlady should provide some sort of distraction to keep them away.
Step 3: The final step is the bringing of the cheese to church the next Sunday, if it survives the family.
Quantities: 1 gallon of half and half to 2 tsp salt and 1/3 cup lemon juice. This recipe can be halved or quartered as necessary to fit the amount of cream. It is forgiving (like us), so don't worry too much about the math. Approximates are fine.
What to do with the leftover coffee cream
We are always putting on lunches, and every lunch requires something called "half and half". That is the 10% cream we buy to put in the coffee. We don't want to clog the arteries of our guests with full cream, nor do we want to insult their taste buds with skim.
Half and half it is.
But there is always some left. Now, if your church is full of people who use the half and half at home, good for you. Pack it off with them.
Ours is not. We are hardcore here. We take our coffee black.
So what do we do with the leftover coffee cream?
We make cheese.
Step 1: Determine the most hippie-like of your churchladies. Here, it is the webmaster. Give her the leftover half and half to take home.
Step 2: That churchlady will put the cream in a heavy pan with a little salt. She will simmer it over med-high heat then add lemon juice. See quantities below. She will simmer that until soft curds form. She will gently pour the curds into a cheesecloth-lined colander set in a bowl. She will pull up the edges of the cheesecloth to make a bag, tie it off, then hang it from a cupboard doorknob until it stops dripping.
During that time a family member will want into the cupboard, even if they never usually go there. The churchlady should provide some sort of distraction to keep them away.
Step 3: The final step is the bringing of the cheese to church the next Sunday, if it survives the family.
Quantities: 1 gallon of half and half to 2 tsp salt and 1/3 cup lemon juice. This recipe can be halved or quartered as necessary to fit the amount of cream. It is forgiving (like us), so don't worry too much about the math. Approximates are fine.