Blessed are the cheesemakers

Vivian and I have enjoyed a few quiet, snowy weekends back home in Bellevue since the holidays have wound down. We're both preparing for a Cheese Party in the next week or two, so Vivian tried her hand at cheese-making one Saturday. She was able to produce some tasty soft white cheese, very much like ricotta, from a gallon of whole milk. It should be fun to top off another cheese-tasting event with something made right in our own kitchen!

We got to enjoy an unexpected three-day weekend when a fairly large snowstorm passed by and dumped a good portion of white stuff all over the Omaha metro area. I shoveled our driveway at least three times trying to keep it clear, which seemed like a futile effort at times, but it was nice to have the extra time off to do it. I was also a little amused at how the snow storm suddenly became national news only when it approached the east coast a few days later.

Snow on the ground, of course, means spending more time in the Great Indoors, which often means cooking. Vivian made up some tasty stuffed peppers one Saturday just for fun, and she also went all-out with something of a seafood feast made entirely of items I'd found at Aldi. You'd never guess the little discount store down the street would have such things as lobster tails, bay scallops, and mussels available (not to mention wine). Yeah, we're living up, albeit on the cheap.

We've still been having fun with our friends, of course, dropping by JNO for dancing and then tacos at Alvorado's afterward (two weeks in a row). On Saturday, we joined Jenny and a few of our mutual friends at Mic's in northwest Omaha for karaoke. The guys stepped up with I'm too sexy, which was hilarious, and the girls and I got to perform Love Shack once again. I've taken a pledge to boycott Omaha for the time being, so I didn't get a dose of liquid courage before stepping on stage. From the sound of the inebriated members of the audience, it sounded like we did just fine.