food? who needs it?

between a little stomach bug and the heat, food doesn't sound particularly interesting to me this weekend. last night as i wallowed in mild self-pity (it's a mild bug), it occurred to me that, sick or not, i'd have to go water the garden in the morning, or my brandywine would never forgive me. at that moment, i was glad i'm not a farmer. can you imagine getting up at dawn and doing hours of chores with the flu, because if you didn't, no one else would? yikes. lucky for me i just had about 10 minutes of work to do, and the cool morning air probably did more good for me than anything else could. and my tomatoes are happy. i was recently inspired by animal, vegetable, miracle to pick up a book from the library by the "cheese queen," ricki carroll, and now i can't wait to make butter. unfortunately, i just bought butter, so a little self-restraint is in order. fairly soon after i picked up this book, this article showed up in the new york times. ricki's recipe calls for a vigorous shake in a mason jar; the other calls for a whip in the kitchenaid. both i could do. ricki's sounds more foolproof, if more difficult physically. anyone out there make butter? suggestions? this could be dangerous. really good butter is like ambrosia to me. i forsee a lot of toast in the future. as for the cheesemaking, that will have to wait as well. it'll take about $40 worth of supplies to get started, plus shipping, and that's written into august's budget. bummer, yes, but The Budget must stand. and we must stand firm behind the budget. then we'll make cheese!