Cheese Success and Marinara

Earlier this week I made a second attempt at home-made mozzarella. I used the 30-Minute Mozzarella recipe from the book Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll. The first time I tried to make mozzarella, I ended up with a big pot of boiled, slightly curd-y milk. It took me a couple months to find the time/inspiration to try again. The mozzarella wasn't quite as perfect as I had hoped, but I think there is a pretty big learning curve with home cheese making. The texture is a little off, and it is a little bland, but it is still cheese and is definitely edible. There are a few different reasons as to why my mozzarella didn't turn out quite as I had hoped. It could be that I have an electric stove, it could be the pot or utensils I used, the brand/type of milk, etc... I think I will try it again in a few weeks to see if I can get a slightly more satisfying result.
Also this week, I finally made some marinara sauce from the tomatoes I grew last summer. I know, tomatoes that have been frozen for almost 9 months probably aren't as good as tomatoes frozen for 30 days or just a couple of months. I've been busy though, and it is difficult to motivate myself sometimes. I'm not a huge fan of tomato sauces, usually I prefer a pesto or alfredo. This sauce turned out quite well though. I used a recipe from Epicurean.com, and put the sauce into jars and froze for later.
Tonight we are making calzones with my sister, and my home-made mozzarella and marinara sauce are going to be put to good use.