This week's recap and homemade ricotta!

Doug and I have been keeping busy these past few weeks with the start of the new school year and settling back into our routine.  Last weekend, Jessica and I went to a "Girls Night Out", which was an dinner event planned by a professional Canadian boxer living in Korea.  She has her own "boxercise" class (I just went to my first class today and am already hooked!!) and she plans things for foreign women in Cheonan.  The restaurant was beautiful and it was tons of fun.  I'll post more pictures about that later this week!

This Saturday, Doug and I went to Seoul with some friends and had an amazing time.  First, we went to Insadong, a street well-known for traditional Korean souvenirs, and got some gifts for some lucky family members!  Then we made our way to Itaewon, which is basically the foreigner district and has tons of pubs, restaurants, an English bookstore, and shopping.  Jessica found a restaurant called Tomatillo in Itaewon that is the same idea as Chipotle.  You walk up and choose your meat/vegetables and if you want a burrito, taco, tostado, quesadilla, etc.  It was pretty amazing.  We got a side of guacamole and it was the best gaucamole we have had in Korean yet.  Needless to say, Doug was in heaven and wanted to get second burrito before getting back on the train!

Today, we had a relaxing morning, took Yeppi on a nice walk, and got some grocery shopping out of the way.  I was super excited because this week I found a recipe online for ricotta cheese and wanted to give it a try since I was able to find the ingredients here.  I made some this afternoon and was shocked by how easy it was.  It honestly took me maybe 15-20 minutes and tasted way better than store bought ricotta.  It was super light and fresh tasting and was great in penne pasta mixed with some fresh tomato sauce.  I was so excited that I decided to document the ricotta making process:

 First, I prepped the straining bowl.

Then, I boiled the milk and cream mixture until the curds separate from the whey.

After, I spooned the curds over into the strainer.

 Here's the ricotta straining for a few minutes.

Ta-da! The finished product.

Here's where I got the recipe: http://www.framedcooks.com/2011/08/how-to-make-fresh-ricotta.html