July 2006 – David Fankhauser

Pressing the fresh curds to remove excess whey is important since spoilage of the cheese is hastened by retention of too much water in the finished cheese. This cheese press can be fashioned from items you may already have in your kitchen, or which should not be difficult to obtain.

The pictures show the use of the press to press curds from the recipe to turn five gallons of milk into cheese . Click the last two images ( 13 & 14 ) to see full sized pictures for what the assembled press looks like. Note that some cheese recipes are very specific about the pressure applied to a given cheese. I have not calibrated this press, but it works perfectly with the cheese recipes I have posted . The pressure can be adjusted either by adjusting the width of the rubber band, or by adjusting the height jar used in the press.

Supplies

5 gallon canner
Large white dinner plate with smooth bottom
white dish cloth (non-terry), very clean (boiled and hung in the sun for an hour or two to sterilize)
Pressing frame: 6″ x 9″ cylinder made from PVC pipe (or large can without ribs on the sides, ends removed)
The “follower:” a circular block of wood cut to fit inside pressing frame (5.6 inches diameter)
5/8 inch wide rubber band cut from an automotive inner tube (cut it wider for greater pressure).
Two chop sticks
Quart mason jar (use a half gallon jar for greater pressure)

Directions

Need to organize/download images, enter text, then add images, TBD

Bil’im is in the background. The barrier wall erected by Israel is in the foreground.

The barrier wall is in the forground, illegal Israeli mining and beyond, newly constructed Israeli settlement

The people of this brave village stand as an example to the world of how non-violent resistance can successfully resist injustice and military might. Israel has been confiscating all “unoccupied” Palestinian land. Israel defines “unoccupied” as any land on which no occupied structure exists. Thus, olive orchards, vineyards, agricultural land, grazing land are all being confiscated. These ancient Bil’im olive orchards, lovingly tended for many centuries (see the terracing in the picture below) are all officially “unoccupied.”

Once “unoccupied” lands are confiscated, Israel nearly always refuses to grant building permits to Palestinians, but readily grants them to Israeli settlers to erect new settlements, thus ever increasing Israeli lands and ever diminishing Palestinian lands.

This process was being inflicted on the village of Bil’im, a village of 1,500 residents.

They embarked on a long series of imaginative non-violent protests. Israel’s response was to occupy the village, place it under curfew, tear gas the citizens, including tossing tear gas into their mosque.

I stayed with the Samara family, and was treated to feast after feast.

They were the most generous and congenial hosts one could imagine–demonstrating that famous Middle Eastern hospitality is indeed world class.

Children of Bil’im, when offered crayons, drew, with no prompting what so ever, scenes of Israel occupation, and the construction of the barrier wall.

Behind the Samara home, children played soccer on a rocky field.

We got historical background on the local resistance to the occupation from a number of experts.

Towards evening, the Earlham group hiked out along a ridge towards an Israel mining operation wich is in violation of international law.

We passed through the remnants of ancient olive orchards (many were chain sawed or bulldozed down. Many of the most ancient trees (known by name to the Palestinians) were stolen by the Israelis, to be replanted in the new Israeli settlements as decorative trees in traffic circles …). Protestors chained themselves in the trees to prevent them from being chainsawed

The one you see below is at least 1,000 years old. The next image is a hole from which an acient olive tree has been stolen.

ou can see the barrier erected by Israel which separates the citizens of Bil’im off from their agricultural land.

We passed through an Israeli checkpoint (no pictures allowed)

You can see the village of Bil’im in the background.

We got a lecture on the history of the Israeli take over of the land from a Fatah candidate for local elected office. (He was not elected–the people voted for Hamas candidates out of protest of corruption in the Fatah party, and because Hamas took many positive steps to assist citizens and students with the problems they face.)

you look towards the west, you see the new construction of several new Israeli settlements.

This picture was taken the next day and show also a huge mining operation with Israelis operate, in violation of the Geneva Convention which states that occupying forces will not exploit or take natural resources from the occupied country

After Israel declaired the agricultural land “unoccupied”, the citizens of Bil’im were able to bring rudimentary building materials onto the site and erect a shelter.

Since its erection, the shelter has been occupied 24/7, making the land officially “occupied.”

At sunrise the next morning, I found an egg “factory” next door…

…and a view of the VERY twisty-turny road we traversed on in our SPEEDY taxi to Bil’im. A trip to remember!

Mr. Samara and I spent some “quality time” before breakfast touring his garden, the first plant is Mulukhiyya, a green used as seasoning in a number of Palestinian dishes.

This image is zahtar, a delicious form of thyme, served with sesame and salt by dipping pita in olive oil and then in dried zahtar–yum) picking okra.

He demonstrated his technique for grafting grape vines.

…and were then were served a typical (lavish) Palestinian breakfast.

We took a tour of Bil’im, past policital slogans painted on walls (this one promotes Hamas)…

…and visited the mosque into which Israel had tossed tear gas.

A fabulous lunch indeed, with the proud patriarch beaming next to his VERY hard working wife.

Young men of the Samara family with which I stayed, including Walied Samara (right) who taught me several new steps to the Debki–the national dance of Palestine. THANK YOU Walied–I loved the dancing!