This recipe comes from Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll. Supplies can be obtained from New England Cheesemaking Supply Company or from your local natural foods store.

The best cheeses always come from farm-fresh milk. Consult the free and easy databases at Local Harvest and Eat Wild to find a source for fresh, pastured goat's milk near you. I have made excellent chevre (but haven't tried mozzarella) with fresh, raw goat's milk from Jimmy Greene in middle Tennessee. His milk is so great, in fact, that he's fresh out of stock right now! But check his Web site in the coming months, and you may get lucky: www.rawgoatsmilk.org.

Goat's Milk Mozzarella Cheese Yields 3 1/2 to 4 pounds Note: Do not use calcium chloride, because it will prevent your cheese from stretching.

4 gallons whole goat's milk
1 packet direct-set thermophilic starter or 5 ounces prepared thermophilic starter
1/2 to 1 tsp lipase powder dissolved in 1/2 cup cool water
1 tsp liquid rennet (or 1/2 rennet tablet) diluted in 1/4 cup cool, unchlorinated water (If your water is not filtered, you can simply boil it and let it cool.)
Cheese salt, to taste (coarse, noniodized flake salt similar to pickling salt; do not use iodized salt)

1. In a very large pot, warm 2 gallons of the milk to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the starter and diluted lipase; mix well. Cover and allow the milk to ripen for 45 minutes.
2. In a separate container, chill the remaining milk to 35 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the diluted citric acid to the chilled milk, stirring to combine.
3. Add the chilled milk to the warm milk and bring the temperature back up to 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Add the diluted rennet to the milk and stir gently with an up-and-down motion for 1 minute. Let set for 15 minutes, or until the curd gives a clean break.
5. Cut the curd into 1/2-inch cubes. Allow them to set for 5 minutes.
6. Drain the curds in a colander for 15 minutes. Cut them into 1-inch cubcomments sectiones.
7. Put a handful of the cubes into 145 degree water. Let the curds soak in the hot water until their temperature reaches 130 degrees.
8. Using your hands, stretch the handful of curds with upward motion until it is smooth and shiny. Work quickly, but if it loses its stretch, dip it again into hot water. Shape it into a ball or pear or use a mold, then put it into a bowl of ice water until firm. Repeat with the remaining curds. It is best to salt the curd to taste as you are stretching it.

Please share notes in the comments section below about your experience trying out this recipe.

Several readers have inquired about how to make the 30-minute Mozzarella Cheese Recipe from Ricki Carroll's great book, Home Cheese Making, without using a microwave. Here's how.

Follow the recipe for 30-minute Mozzarella until Step 5.

* When you get to Step 5, reserve the whey. Then put on heavy rubber gloves.

* Heat the reserved whey to at least 175 degrees Fahrenheit.

* Add 1/4 cup of cheese salt to the whey.

* Shape the curd into one or more balls, put them in a ladle or strainer, and dip them into the hot whey for several seconds.

* Knead the curd with spoons between each dip and repeat this process several times until the curd is smooth and pliable. When it stretches like taffy, it's done.

* Roll the cheese into small balls, and serve warm. Or place them in a bowl of ice water for half an hour to bring the inside temperature down rapidly. This will produce a consistent, smooth texture throughout.

* If you have any cheese leftover (highly unlikely!), cover and store in the refrigerator.

Bob Anderson lives in the hill country of Bangs, Texas, where he grows several exceptional garlic varieties. His farm, Gourmet Garlic Gardens, has trialed more than 80 different varieties over the years. At any given time, you can purchase about 40 different kinds through his Web site, gourmetgarlicgardens.com. According to Bob, 'The age of designer garlic breath has arrived.'

If anyone loves garlic, it's Bob! Who else could be heard saying things like:

'Garlic is life.'

'Anytime you run into somebody who has garlic breath, that person is almost always smiling.'

'Garlic just makes you feel good.'

In the following video, he discusses the peaceful, easy feeling growing garlic brings him.

For more great garlicky resources, check out the following:

• Garlic and Your Health
• Specialty Garlic Restaurants
• Garlic Seed Sources
• Plant Garlic this Fall
• Plant Now for Great Garlic
• Garlic Scapes
• Growing Garlic Scapes

And now for some super garlic recipes:

• Make Your Own Garlic Powder
• How to Roast Garlic
• Extra-creamy Roasted Garlic Guacamole Recipe
• Easy Refrigerator Pickled Garlic
• Garlicky Bruschetta Recipe
• Great Garlic Recipes