Elle's Hometown

The Sustainability Renaissance

2011-06-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

Harley Farms is the only dairy farm in San Mateo County, California. Owner Dee Harley marvels at the irony of this truth because, she says, "Up until the 40's there were eleven dairy farms along the coast of Pescadero. Now, Dee has a tremendously successful operation backed by a heart-in-hand philosophy, an ethic driven by sustainability, and strong community involvement.

A U.K. native, Dee is energetic, direct, calm and glowing. She learned cheesemaking years ago from a woman, Nancy Gaffney, further south in California and later she and her husband decided to buy the early 20th century farmhouse in which they now live. They have twenty employees with the head cheesemaker who has been there for sixteen years. This year they will be milking 150 goats, almost double the number from last year. One major change is that they will be milking only once a day. In doing so, "you lose twenty percent of production, but only ten percent of cost," Dee says.

When you step into the unassuming farmhouse you immediately get that feeling that only comes with something that is aged and seasoned, like an old wooden ship. Uneven floors, thick solid beams, and the setup of what used to be an old kitchen.

The walls are painted with goat milk paint made by Dee's local friend who goes by Three-Finger-Bill. It was his idea and he definitely got it right. Flower-adorned chevre rests in baskets below worn window sills that look out onto lush raised garden beds. The vegetables are grown using all goat manure compost (aka "black gold") from the farm. Outside are two huge blue tanks set 8 feet (half way) into the ground. They collect roughly forty thousand gallons of water per year which, last year, sustained the herd of eighty goats for eight months.

The vegetables are used at Dee's farm dinners which go on throughout the year. Don't get too excited yet. They are sold out at a price of $150 pp several months in advance so you've go to be on it. Surely TFL is jealous. Everything you eat at dinner is from the town of Pescadero. The table is made out of a fallen tree from her property, Three-Finger-Bill made the all-wood chairs one by one, and the meats are raised in town. Seriously local.

There is something about Dee's attitude that really seems to be at the core of Harley Farms' success. She welcomes enthusiastic inexperienced people he knows her her cheese is on the high end as goat cheese goes, yet is confident that it will sell (and it does, nearly all of it at the farm). Harley Farms is part of something much bigger in Pescadero. "This community is the backbone to our success without a doubt." Like we have seen in many other places, they are part of a community working hard for themselves and for each other.

Cheese, Wine and Humans are meant to age!

2011-03-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

I am coming upon my 32nd birthday, Darren his 30th, my 14 year high school reunion, Darren and my 3rd wedding anniversary, my sisters almost a teenager, and all I can feel is that life is passing by so quickly! Things are going WAY TOO fast! But today, as I was planting an orange bell pepper in our new 30x26 ft garden, I slowed down.

I sat my butt down on the dirt (something I would normally not do) took my gloves off and dug a whole for the peppers roots. I dug my hands into the soft, dark earth to finish the perfect, cone hole and just stopped to think. I really am OK sitting here, putting this plant into the earth. I'm not watching TV, or on the computer. But I am perfectly entertained. Now I am not the biggest fan of manual labor but there was a certain feeling that I got, in the sun, hands and nails dirty, butt damp from the earth, legs splotched with random mud, rocks in my socks that were stuffed into crocks (I didn't mean to do that.)

So now this evening, half watching Frindge ( at which I just experienced the most freaky moment on tv) and having a glass of Havens 2005 Syrah, I realize that....I can't quite explain it. Isn't that silly? My first thought is as cheesy as it sounds, The Circle of Life.

We all have a life span. We are born, we age and mature, and then retire. At some point we feel really good about ourselves. We are at our best. We have so much to give. I think I am approaching upon that age (maybe not this year, but soon.) Where there is just utter enjoyment of our current state. And we exude that state. But this feeling is not exclusive to humans. I believe this happens with cheese and wine.

We are born from the earth. We are the seed, we sprout, and grow and age, we wither or are consumed, or we are made into something completely else. Cheese. Does cheese come from milk? Or does it come from the grass that the animals eat? Or does it come from the water that feeds the earth that feed the grass? Or does it come from the bodies of water that evaporate into the atmosphere that create rain? Where it begins I don't choose to debate. Too many questions lead to many more. But what I can talk about is the cycle we see, smell and taste.

Conception begins at milking, gestation in the vat, and birth in the molds. We rear our cheese in the cave and send them to college at cheese shops around the world. Cheese is now an adult when it enters our fridge. We expect the best and the brightest cheeses with their PHD, as soon as we slice and taste.

But that point, at which we feel utterly perfect, how wonderful we must feel. We are balanced. Not too harsh but give a little bite. Oh so smooth....we just relax. Because we ARE what we should be! And Cheese when it is what it should be, is devine ( I say this because I used utterly perfect before.)

I am still yearning to to be what I should be. But at least in the meantime I can enjoy the fruits of others harmonious labor. The hand-ladled Vacherin Mont D'or, well tempered, at prime, in winter months spooned out of its spruce incasing right into the mouth---no bread needed. Ha. Oh, yea! If not finished by Darren and I, the decline begins. Must....Finish...no...want... to....waste. Consumed. Done. No plastic wrapped coffin pushed way back in the too cold fridge for this bugger.

I started writing this post a year ago and have just return to it two paragraphs ago. Much has changed in our lives. I am now actually 32, Darren is 30, my sister IS a teenager (ug) and time is STILL moving so quickly. Our business is on a back burner but still simmering and we have a new raised bed Garden. But some things still stays the same. We touch, taste, and breath cheese everyday. We are still making an effort to visit cheesemakers (we have been to Harley Farms in Pescadero and are editing the entry now.) And wine is still a very important part of our lives as well but with a few modifications. I currently work at a restaurant where the aging of wine is at the forefront of the business. I have tasted many wines at different stages of their lives from infancy to over-the-hill.

Which leads me to this question.

When I hit MY peak, is it possible to cheat nature and just stay at apex?

Luscious...balanced...harmonic...perfect. Content

James Ranch Is the Tops!

2010-03-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

Becca and Dan James really make quite the duo. James Ranch is a living and thriving example of living off the land and doing what you love. Visiting them was an incredible finish to our cross-country trek.

Dan grew up on the very farm on which they now live. So what brought this college boy back from Seattle and traveling around the world to settle back into the mountains of Colorado? Maybe it is the clean, crisp mountain air. Maybe it is because it is a great place to raise a family. Or maybe it is a family trait passed down through generations that creates the need to craft quality products from the land and animals. Maybe it is a combination of them all but whatever his reasons are, we are mighty, mighty glad he does.

Before the couple started selling cheese, they played around with recipes and styles for a year and a half using milk from their one cow, Dolly. Their cheese was destined to be great. If you believe in the idea of terroir and its effects on the final product then there was no other future then fabulous for James Ranch cheese. And it all starts with water. None of this would be possible without the historic water rights when settlers claimed stake to ample amounts of natural water flow. This water allowed for what is now James Ranch to remain lush and bountiful on the sole food source for James Ranch cows, GRASS.

Some cheeses claim to come from all grass fed cows but some claims fall short when it comes to milking time. Some cheesemakers offer feed to the cows to coax them into and out of the milking stall. But you wont find any of that at James Ranch. Dan and Becca’s cows are 100% grass fed all year round. And if that didn’t make them unique enough, the fact that they only milk their cows once a day and only seasonally adds another layer of awe to their practice. Most cheesemakers, whether they milk cows, goats, or sheep, milk twice daily.

But, even if you are starting with the best raw materials, you still need talent to pull off an outstanding cheese. Dan’s natural talent was only further inspired by education and travel. He took a short course in Utah. He and Becca also traveled all around Europe, minus France, including Holland, England, Whales, and Italy and learned all they could in 3 months. Then they went to New Zealand to pick brains down-under and, like the Feats, learned that those New Zealanders really know what their doing in terms of running an efficient successful dairy.

To make their Belfort, Andalo, and Leyden, they needed to buildup their cheesemaking facilities. They installed a custom fit cheese press to fit in their compact space. Their small cheese vat was a loaner from a man in New Mexico who was interested in getting into the cheese business. In exchange for fixing up the vat, Dan was lent the Double O cottage cheese prototype until the guy was ready to make his own cheese. It was the strangest vat I had seen on the trip.

Small enough to fit into the room but how the heck did he get in there to scoop the curd? Dan jokingly remarked that his tall thin physique allows him get in there and easily reach over the large milk vat. Anyone with a bigger belly or short stature would have trouble getting his or her hands down into that heavenly curd. Years later the New Mexican decided not to make cheese and Dan offered to buy it from him.

So where did this love for milking cows come from? Dan’s parents were in the meat business (Black Angus), not the dairy business. While he makes cheese with his wife, his other siblings are involved at James Ranch as well. One sister raises chickens to produce the farm fresh eggs, which they sell, and his other sister grows seasonal vegetables for the market. Dan’s brother has chosen to use food as his medium at his own nearby restaurant.

Dan now does all the cheesemaking and does it all by hand. There are no chemistry sets measuring levels and balance when Dan is making cheese. He does it all by feel judging when to add rennet and when to drain all by the feel of the raw milk passing through his hands. WHAT? That’s right. All by feel. As the seasons change he feels the milk change and through feel works to make the most consistent product he can.

Their flagship cheese is Belfort, a gouda style cheese that is aged for at least sixty days. Belfort is covered in cream wax that allows it to breath so that the cheese ages nicely for much longer (up to a year or beyond). They sell it in young form and aged form. They also make Andalo, and Italian style cheese and Leyden a Dutch style cheese with whole cumin seeds up in the da mix!

The James’ graciously invited us to dinner with the whole family. The children beautifully set the table while Becca baked a fresh fig tart (gluten free to boot). I was so inspired by that tart that I tracked down and bought some lard at the Ferry Building and have it waiting until my friend can bring me some fresh figs from her in-laws’ tree! (Of course I talk about dessert first) Whew! We had a spread of a cheese that night and a gorgeous farm fresh salad.

Our cheese board consisted of their young and aged Befort, and the Andalo. They also included a super aged goat cheese from another local cheesemaker. Their toddler daughter (who might I add shamelessly flirted with Darren) liked the stinky one the best! I love kids who love stinky cheese. She must have been introduced to “The Stinky Cheese Man Cometh” at a very, very early age. We contributed Old Kentuky Tomme from Capriole and another flavored cheese from Mozzarella Co. We sat and talked cheese, kids, family and more cheese. We hope they enter their cheeses this year at the ACS competition. They really deserve a ribbon.

The young Belfort was our favorite so we asked the James’ to send a wheel out to us. Buh-bang! Wow. Who you wit’?! We have been sharing with everyone, passing along the scrumptiousness, mouth-watering cheesyness of Belfort! There has been an absolutely unanimous response from novices to some of the most sophisticated palates in the San Francisco Bay area that this cheese is a winner. Bravo! We have helped add fans to James Ranch cheese. You should start a facebook page cuz youz got a lot of friends! Thank you Dan, Becca and family.

p.s. There was so much more to our visit. After two pages of text, however, I had to reign it in. I didn't even get to talking bout the construction of their cheese cave (or their Whey Good Pork). But I put in a pic of the construction anyway.

Mission [Utterly] Accomplished

2010-01-18T18:47:00.000-08:00

There’s something about being involved in the opening of a new business—the excitement, the press, the trials and errors. Liana and I have both experienced this sensation when helping to open new restaurants in New York. At Jumpin’ Good Goat Dairy the mountain air was buzzing and alive with all of that electricity.

Set high up in the Rockies (where the mountains are named after Ivy League schools) this relatively new and quite sizeable dairy is owned and run by Dawn Jump, a veteran Washington state cheesemaker with serious skills and sharp business sense. The facility is large and is growing by leaps and bounds. Construction began in 2008 and was complete by March ’09.

We arrived in time for their 4pm milking tour which was led by farm guide and volunteer Pat. His wife used to volunteer as well until she was offered a paying position at the dairy in the Country Store doling out samples and educating tourists. Pat gave us a very detailed tour of the facilities, walking us through the different types of cheeses made by Jumpin’ Good Goat while providing us with a history of the farm.

To begin the tour I, Darren, milked a goat! This was a top priority; a goal of utmost importance (unknown to Liana until that moment) and sweet success is what I feel now. I even got a blue ribbon for my fearless effort. The glorious utter was mine, for just a brief moment, all mine. Yes!

Liana’s prize moment was when we got enter the baby goat pen and one of the little rascals jumped up on her and tried gnawing on her sweat shirt. I’m surprised she didn’t try to sneak on of them home! Definitely adorable! When they say “Jumpin” goodgoats, they’re not kidding!

Currently Jumpin’ Goat is home to 95 does and 4 bucks of La Mancha and Alpine breeds. They milk six days a week on the 43 acre farm. This farmstead milk is always used to make their goat cheddar and also to make a few other cheeses. Jumpin’ Good Goat Dairy has a very special arrangement with a nearby minimum security prison by which inmates milk goats for them. Twice a week they go to pick up that milk from the 1,000 more goats milked daily by the inmates. Their goal is to process 250,000 pound of milk (or 25,000 pounds of cheese) per year.

This dairy sells 10 different spreadable chevres such as maple, pumpkin and lemon dill. My favorite was the Rocky Mountain Dawn Chevre Lemon Dill flavor (a 2009 winner at ACS in the Chevre category). It is outrageous: creamy chevre, lemon zest and fresh dill. I was inspired instantly with a receipt that would utilize this delightful cheese. Simply begin by whipping the RMDC up with a little bit of crème fraiche. Let that sit for 5 minutes. In the mean time, take Ruffles chips and layer each on with a piece of smoked salmon. Now drizzle each salmoned chip with the chevre/fraich mixture and sprinkle with fried capers, then BOOM! We are talking dee-lish.

In addition to the chevres Jupin’ Goat makes goat cheddars and some interestingly flavored ones too. One flavor is called Hot Chocolate Cheddar. The cheese consists of their Champion Hill Cheddar with a vein of chipotle and an additional vein of cocoa. Soon they plan on making goat milk ice cream (look out Haagen Daz!).

The tour also includes a trip to their aging caves. We were led to their subterranean cheese cave to spy on the maturing cheese. No booties or special boots required since all their aging is done via cryovac. This also allows for the aging of cheese on wood racks without any hassle from the health department.

Right now they sell quite a bit of their products to local restaurants. Her three brothers are all chefs who I’m sure take pride in using her cheeses in their cuisine.

Funny anecdote:

A woman named Laurie, who lives near what is now Jumpin’ Good Goat Dairy, owns a towing company. She was offered a questionnaire, sometime before the dairy was built, asking how she felt about having a goat farm nearby. “Cool!” she thought. Months later, as a neighborly gesture, she rode over to the new dairy to plow the driveway and who does she run into? Her old childhood friend from Washington, Dawn Jump! What a surprise that was, and now the old friends are reunited.

Creativity is Harder than Expected but I'm Tryin'

2010-01-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

It has been almost three months since we left NY and we still have 2.5 cheese visits to report on. I have found that sitting down at the computer and reporting somewhat creatively about our cheese adventures has proven more difficult then expected. Motivation comes in putting spurts! I am moderately motivated now but when I look back on our notes, I have a hard time reading Darren's handwriting. For this posting I will give you a heads up on the remaining posts to come in addition to an into the other aspects of this blog (which are included in it's title) such as the trials and tribulations of starting a family business, and our first cheese and wine catering gig!

Our last two plus visits landed us in Colorado, first at Jumpin' Good Goat Dairy in Buena Vista, CO. Then in Durango, CO with Becca and and Dan James at James Ranch. After Colorado we high tailed it to Utah for a loose appointment with the owners of Beehive Cheese Co. in Uintah, Utah. I guess it was too loose of an appointment since when we arrive neither cheesemakers were there. We were, however, greeted nicely by the young woman running their store. Since we bought some cheese at the store I thought we should at least review our experience, so I deemed it half a visit.

Since arriving in San Francisco, we have finished our business plan (minus that darn balance sheet), sent it to several potential investors, decided that our initial location is yuck and we are reconsidering our site options and dreading redoing the whole demographic section, have attended a seminar on commercial real estate leasing, are planning on taking a series of bookkeeping classes, and have catered our first "unofficial" cheese and wine event. Darren has also gotten a job at Quince as their new Maitre'd, and I am still unemployed! Weird that I can't carve away a few hours (or days) to finish what we started!

Have I mentioned that we have spent half our savings buying cheese since arriving?

We have had some awesome experiences with the cheese-workers and mongers of the bay area in such cheese shops like The Pasta Shop, The Cheese Board, and Cheese Plus. The day before our catering event we were scouring these shops for the perfect cheeses and ended up talking cheese most of the day, not bothered by our dwindling yet precious prep time. The wine and cheese event went off without a hitch for the most part. Darren had to work so I hired my little sister to be the waitress while I prepped all the food and such. And I have learned a great lesson. People are hard to peg! The cheese that I thought the peeps at the party would like the least, was indeed the favorite. This cheese I am referring to is a favorite of many, Vacherin Mont d'or.

Christmas gifts this year were cheese and wine centric (OF COURSE!) A Raclette Grill with the additional granite stone (which we were turned onto at Meadow Creek Dairy), several bottles of fine vino, the book Mastering Cheese by Max Mccalman , and about 5 other books on wine. Also our (but really my) very first piece of Le Creuset. A heafty light green, almost limey, dutch oven. My next piece? Terrine mold!

We have our work cut out for us for 2010! Our new year's resolution to drop ten pounds and limit the alcohol intake is always thwarted by our passion for such delectable, intriguing, taste bud bursting, gotta have more now, and just plain awesome dairy, grape, and meat products! Here's to the everlasting 10!

Pioneering Women of the Southwest!

2009-12-06T16:22:00.029-08:00

When you think of Dallas, Texas, what comes to your mind? Cowboys? Beef? Country Music? Well did you ever think Cheese? I bet not. But Texas has been producing some great cheese for 27 years...well at least Paula Lambert has been. She originally started Mozzarella Co in 1982 in order to bring her fabulous memories of fresh Italian buffalo mozzarella to Americans. Even though she is not producing buffalo mozzarella she is producing some excellent cows milk and even a cow/goat blend mozzarella that has stood the test of time.

We made our way through crazy, futuristic Dallas highways to a once industrial looking area where Mozzarella Co has made its home for the life of its existence. We entered their sales room with an immediate view of the cheese making process. Ladies behind the thick slats of partitioning plastic going about the handmade process of making cheese as if it were second nature. And for some of these ladies it is. There are 10 cheesemakers at Mozz Co, 3 whom of which have been there for 20-23 years!

Our tour guide for the day was Mitchell Whitley, a cheesemaker and plant manager! And what an awesome tour guide she was. We tasted a few cheeses to begin with. Of course we tasted their regular fresh Mozzarella, Capriella (their cow/goat blend mozzarella) and Smoked Mozzarella but we were also interested in their Hoja Santa, a fresh goats milk cheese wrapped in an hoja santa leaf. The tasting we had really didn't do their cheeses justice (they were ice cold) but when we got home we so enjoyed every nuance of the cheese! The Capriella had a tasty tang, but not overwhelming. The goat/cow mixture gave a little "umpf" the mozzarella that regular mozzarella sometimes lacks. The texture was nice as well, yet different from the almost overworked fresh mozzarella from your local salumaria. Usually when you bite into those balls of milk you get a squeeky clean texture (reminds me of moving my finger across a newly clean, wet piece of tupperware after using Polmolive) and uber mild flavor (some say no flavor at all). But, the texture of Mozzarella Co. Mozzarealla was between that of squeeky curd and a lower moisture mozzarella. It had a more substantial mouth feel. And remember that mozza-disliker I mentioned in another post? Well they also enjoyed the the flavor of Mozzarella Co Mozzarella.

But back to the tour of the facility-- Mitchell donned us with our customary white fluffy hair net and on we went into the aging caves. I always feel cool when we get to put on hair nets and boots and stuff to keep our stuff away from the cheese but man, it sure isn't a look that I can rock! Mitchell showed us immediately to their aging facilities knowing Darren's fervent interest in caves. They utilize every nook and cranny of their factory from cave to vat. It is hard to believe how much cheese they produce in that little amount of space. I guess that is why the first shift starts at 2:45 am, so they can fit all that cheesemakin' time in.

Mitchell introduced us to the smoker where headless white

snowmen are strung up to be smoked over pecan shells to become Smoked Scamoraza. There are even mini headless snowmen for tastings. One cool part about this cheese is that all that cheese it is dipped in wax, by hand, using only one small crockpot wax melter thingy. Crazy tedious job! There must be someone dedicated only to waxing with "Daniel-son" wax-on wax-off focus.

Standing in our little spot we got to watch at least 3 different cheeses being made at once, and I am sure there were more being made but watching the 3 was taking most of our attention and focus. Watching these ladies was inspiring. They moved so smoothly, seamlessly. Each played a specific role in this labor intensive, muscle strengthening, seriously handmade process.

One women was hand pressing curd, using her body weight and

arm strength to extract as much whey as she could in order to get it to the optimum moisture level so that she could mix in epazote and chiles. This cheese would become their Queso Blanco with Chiles and Epazote. This cheese would also become a nightly guest on our dinner plate. For 5 nights, Darren and I made tostadas with chicken (2 nights), shrimp (1 night), or pulled pork (last 2 nights).

(I made them once out of five times---Darren made them best.)

He began by warming fresh corn tortillas in the countertop oven, pulling them out just before they got too crispy. He spread a layer of refied black beans and a little sour cream on the tortilla, topping that with the protein of the evening, freshly chopped cilantro, diced tomato, sliced black olives and corn. Then for for the big TA DA he crumbled the Queso Blanco on the top and finished it with a squeeze of lime. No pictures exist of these beautiful and scrumptious creations because our minds were clouded by hunger...every night! And when we remembered 3 bites in, it was too late. There was no putting this tostada down. It was finger (hand) food at this point.

We watched the "mutzarell" (as ya might say in NY) being made as well. And I can rightfully say that we have tasted the freshest motz around. Mitchell asked the ladies to squeeze us of a small bit right after stretchin

g and it was so milky and warm and wonderful. More more more please! Yum!

We have eaten copious amounts of cheese on this trip, doing little to counter act the effects of cheese additction. But then I thought, instead of the latest exercise craze to work off those delicious dairy products, try making mozzarella. We could all have rockin' arms if we hand stretched mozzarella all day. But don't try stealing my idea, I already have the copy-write for the workout video entitled "Yogarella!" It's a hard job but somebody's got to do it and I'm mighty glad it is these ladies. Thanks to Paula, Mitchell, and the cheesemaking ladies of Mozzarella Co, when you think of Texas, think Cheese.

P.S. Mitchell, we meant to get a good photo with you before we left and I am sorry we didn't! Thanks for the GREAT tour! To see Mitchell and learn about her gourmet cottage cheese follow this link to to an article in the Dallas News.

Happy is the man that has his quiver full...

2009-11-19T10:48:00.032-08:00

Our trip was starting to feel a little anticlimactic since we had such a rigorous farm schedule in the beginning and now our visits were thinning out. After Bonnie Blue Farm we had a little vaycay within our big vaycay. We drove to Memphis for a day where I was intent on seeing Graceland. This didn't happen (not too dissapointed though) because we had the best strawberry cake I have ever had and BBQ ("So Good Yull Slap Yo Mama!") at The Germantown Commissary. We then high-tailed it to New Orleans for 2 days. Luckily, some friends had given us recommendations on where to go. We had beignets at Cafe du Monde, Hurricanes at Pat O'Brians in the piano bar (definitely my favorite part), and seafood at Acme Oyster House. We took it easy our last night in the French Quarter because we had to be up and out
early the next morning to visit Debbie and Michael Sams of Full Quiver Farm in Kemp, Texas.

The farm that we originally intended on visiting in Texas, aside from Mozzarella Co., either were not accepting visitors, or didn't return our calls. So we counted ourselves lucky when we stumbled across information on Full Quiver Farms. We found their name in a book in called "The Atlas of American Artisan Cheese," by Jeffrey P. Roberts, that was sitting on a shelf in Capriole's little cheese library. Despite our diligent, prior research on cheesemakers in the U.S., we NEVER came across this book until Indiana! WOW! HOW? OMG! It's like the YellowPages for U.S. cheesemakers.

Our trip from LA to TX was slow going. An intense storm that stayed with us for probably 200 miles slowed our pace. We were concerned that we wouldn't make it in time. Debbie said not to worry (even though they were quite busy, we found out why later) when we called which eased our minds.

When we arrived in Kemp the rain had stopped but we witnessed what it left behind. Many homes no longer had front yards, only newly formed natural ponds. Full Quiver, though not totally deluged, was extremely soggy. Debbie greeted us and then Michael took us on a tour.

We began in their modest country store where they sell their cheese, eggs, chicken, pork and even kombucha, AKA "The Booch"as it's called by some of our dear friends. They also sell some other staples including Bragg's apple cider vinigar (which reminded me I was running low.) Prominently displayed on the check out countertop is a 8 x 10 family photo.

Michael explained the cheeses they make at Full Quiver. The biggest sellers are actually their flavored cheese spreads which can also be found in some local Texas Whole Foods markets.

We moved onto the cheese making room and a large commercial mixer was spinning away. Oops! He accidentally left if running when he came to meet us. Inside the mixer was one of his delicious creamy cheese spread concoctions. We talked a bit about how he got into making cheese. Surprisingly, Michael hadn't actually milked a cow until he was 30! Until he was nearly thirty he was a "city boy" and owned a general store. Later he realized he wanted to find way that the whole family live and work together, so he decided to get into the milk business.

For a while, milk cows could support his growing family until, like we have heard from many other farmers, milk prices were dropping and it got harder and harder to make a living selling straight milk. But there was always another option to consider. For 2o years, Debbie had been making cheese. 17 years ago when they moved onto the farm she started taking excess milk and cream and making butter and cheese for the family. They agreed to put her talents to work and invest more of the milk into making cheese to sell. It seemed to them that selling cheese was more profitable so ultimately they switched their whole operation over to cheesemaking.

The transition was fairly easy. They just utilized the existing equipment they already had and continued milking their herd of Holsteins. When production became too high for Debbie to on her own, she passed the cheesemaking cultures over to Michael who took their cheese to the level it is today which sells at Whole Foods, farmers' markets, and at the Full Quiver Farm store. They have been selling cheese successfully for 7 years now.

We didn't try any of their cheese spread but Michael did send us home with their fresh mozzarella, their 2 month aged raw milk cheddar and their raw milk colby. Now, we were both raised on cheddar. My mom used to make homemade nachos and instead of that oozy, not-really-a-cheese-product cheese, she would grate cheddar. It never melted quite right. But when we tried Full Quiver Farm's cheddar and colby we were certainly impressed. The colby was mild and smooth, the cheddar moderately sharp, and when mixed together and sprinkled on corn tortilla chips, utter perfection. They melted nicely but maintained a bit of structure so it wasn't an ooey gooey mess. Both good on their own as well. Sliced thickly on a GF cracker as an appetizer in the middle of the Utah Canyonlands was great. It actually could have been my dinner!

We also converted a mozzarella "disliker"serving them some of Full Quiver's hand streched mozzarella. Just a bite of their sweet cheese made our test subject reconsider her previous generalizations that mozzarella "just doesn't taste like anything."

We had mentioned earlier that the Sams family was pretty busy. It turns out there was a big double celebration in the works. Their son had been picked to lead their Menonite church as a minister which is an extremely high honor. Additionally, one of their sons was getting married and they had relatives coming in that they were hosting. Excitement was in the air. But even amongst all that commotion they graciously invited us to dinner. Reluctantly, we declined. We had been driving all day and had yet to check into the hotel which was a bit of a drive (that's another long story!).

As we left we asked how he came to choose the name Full Quiver Farm. The story is prefaced with the fact that Michael, Debbie and their 9 children are of the Mennonite faith. And as he glanced down at his wonderful, and large family photo he said, "Family is very important to us!" There is a Psalm in the Bible that states, "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit o the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are the children of the youth. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them..." Michael and Debbie are indeed very happy. With 9 children and almost double that in grandchildren, their quiver is full of arrows, their hearts full of love, and their hands are full of cheese!

For some more photos of Full Quiver Farms follow this link to Linda Walsh Photography and it will lead you right to some.

The 'Road Warrior' of Tennessee Goat Cheese

2009-11-10T10:51:00.036-08:00

Back in Tennessee? Wait a second. Weren't we here already? So wait Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee... Okay so this is definitely NOT the fastest way to drive to California. But there's a reason we came back through Tennessee again--because we knew we'd find a pot o' gold (AKA delicious aged crystalline goat cheese magic) at Bonnie Blue farm in Waynesboro.

Originally from Sacramento, California Gayle and Jim Tanner decided to move locations because they knew

that for making their cheese they wanted four seasons and terrain. The flew into Little Rock and drove 1,600 miles looking for the ideal location for their new farm. Finally, they settled on Waynesboro and began working closely with the state on all of the health and other regulatory details. After all, Tennessee has very few cheesemakers, so this was largely new territory for the state health agencies. Like many cheese makers we have met in states where cheesemaking is a relatively small or new industry, Jim and Gayle have largely taken it upon themselves to help educate and enlighten health officials for whom this is all very

uncharted territory.

It was 2004, they had their new farm and the goats were living large. Thinking back she laughs as she says, "At the time, we lived in a trailer and the goats had a nice big barn!" With the goats settled in, Jim, "the road warrior" continued his building so that he and his wife could be as comfortable as their Neubians and Saanens. And now they are taking things to the next level by building a real-deal cheese cave into the side of a hill. It is almost complete and looks great.

Right now they are milking 40 goats. The goats browse the land just about every day and are also fed a lot of hay. Most of their cheesemaking equipment is imported from Brazil and the Netherlands. With intentions to expand production, they make all of their cheese with super-fresh milk and are really producing some absolutely incredible stuff.

Just a few weeks ago their Tanasi Tomme won Best in Show at the 2009 ADGA competition in Buffalo. It is a tangy aged delicious masterpiece that we were lucky enough to try during our visit. They also make a Gouda style cheese called Parker named after Robert Dru Parker who was born in a pre-civil war cabin that used to stand on their property. This cheese won Best in Show last year in San Francisco. Here's a funny tidbit: When Gayle and Jim first moved to their new farm they were payed a visit by Mr. Robert Dru Parker himself and he told them the story of his birth. Funny enough, when he left Tennessee all those years ago he moved to a city an hour north of Sacramento, where Jim and Gayle moved FROM. Funny coincidence. Anyway, they decided to name one of their favorite cheeses after this man.

Aside from the Parker and Tanasi Tomme, Bonnie Blue also makes some nice bloomies and some absolutely outrageous aged goat cheddar. We sat down with her for a proper tasting and "cheese-chat" which was really nice. She sliced off a bit of cheddar from this two year aged wheel and WOW! Crystals, depth, brightness, and nuance. Overall very impressive. And this is cheese aged in a perfectly acceptable but possibly not totally perfect cave. With their new cave, I really believe that the already extraordinary cheese they are now producing will really raise the bar in a big way when it comes to aged American goat cheddar. Quicke's has nothing on you Bonnie Blue!

As we were leaving, 'Road Warrior" Jim returned from the market. He is a one-of-a-kind person with a sense of humor that is joyful and relentless. Together Gayle and Jim are a magical team of Tennessee cheesemaking pioneers and we look forward to tracking their progress and tasting more of their cheese. Congratulations on the Tanasi Tomme!!!

The Cranberries Have Nothing on this Cannonball!

2009-11-02T10:37:00.007-08:00

We had tried making contact with Capriole for a personal visit but had no luck. So we decided to crash the party! Well not really. We saw on-line that they had a store so we decided to drive on up (actually down.) We got to Capriole in the mid-afternoon in the middle of the most beautiful weather. We had been so lucky this trip with the atmospheric conditions. We drove up the long wooded drive until the road opened up onto the main property where a large and lovely house stood to our left and to our right the cheese making room and store.

We got out of the car and walked toward the store past the cheese making room where 2 ladies were making that day's cheese. We peered in and watched for a bit. They didn't seem to mind our voyeurism. We continued on to the farm store where the walls were covered with accolades and a small board listed all the available cheeses.

We rang the little bell and one of the cheesemakers came to assist us with our choice. There were no descriptions of the cheeses so we definitely need some guidance. We were familiar with a few of them like the Sofia, Pipers Pyramid, Mont St. Francis and the Juliana. So or course we wanted to try something we never had and we always look for something raw first! We inquired about he Old Kentucky Tomme and she agreed that would be a good one to go with. We were also looking for something small since our cheese cave (aka big blue cooler) in the back of the car was meeting its limit! We decided upon the Wabash Cannonball.

Both the cheeses LOOKED great! Enough to stir up a strong anticipation of cutting them open. We dove head first into the Cannonball, a plump little 3oz ball of cheve, very clean, yet earthy and firm paste but not super dense. This Cannonball was on the younger side. It's exterior was only slightly wrinkled with small amounts of ash poking through. Overall, a very pleasing cheese. Darren made a trip to Cowgirl Creamery on the Embarcadero in San Francisco a few days ago and bought another Wabash Cannonball that was aged longer. Its rind more wrinkled, its ash exposing itself almost fully except for its almost snow dusted peaks. Its texture was a bit firmer and flavor fuller. We preferred the the more aged Cannonball as its flavor had matured and was more condensed.

We cut into The Old Kentucky Tomme in Durango, CO with the owners of James Ranch Artisan Cheese. The Tomme was mild in flavor with a chewy texture and its rind quite soft. The flavors are much more subtle than the Cannonball and less bold. It was a more elegant cheese in comparison, however. The quality of the raw milk was expressed nicely in this cheese.

This is a pic-less post. You can view pictures of the cheeses on www.capriolegoatcheese.com

Locust Grove and the Great “Mistake”

2009-10-26T11:44:00.015-07:00

When we arrived at Locust Grove, which is nestled in a somewhat suburban hillside of Knoxville, we found a dairy in a state of transition. Sheri Palko and her herd of all-star sheep are producing some great stuff. This past year she sold 6,000 pounds of cheese, about one third of her possible maximum production right now. That’s a big jump from the 35 pounds she produced her first year, which was not long ago at all. Sheri is now in the process of relocating the farm, relocating her home, and expanding her cheese production. Locust Grove has an incredible amount of momentum that has been accumulated after only a few years of milking.

Like the story at Everona Dairy, Sheri’s story begins with dogs. Back in the day she was a competitive exhibition dog trainer. She bought some sheep to do some exercises with her beloved canines. Next thing you know, the cheesemaker of Knoxville, Tennessee is born.

We rounded a corner behind her home and the house guard animal, a large mule, “HEE-HAWD” at us like crazy! Mules are guard animals! I had no idea. When those teeth are showing and those gums are flappin’ and the “HEE-HAWS!” and the imposing wide-legged stance—YIPES! If that fence wasn’t there I’d have been running like a jackrabbit!

Other farmers we have met seem to have a slight weariness about raising and milking sheep. The general thought is that sheep can be very delicate, prone to problems and not very productive. We asked Sheri what she thought of all this sheepishness toward sheep. “I think people have that misconception because they don’t have the patience to raise them properly,” she says. “It is very easy to over care for sheep,” she continues. That may sound too easy to believe, but her robust, productive, flourishing herd speaks for itself.

Along the way there was an accident that occurred at Locust Grove that much to Sheri’s surprise turned out to be an extraordinarily positive thing—a really great “mistake.” She had been breeding both Fresian and Tunisian sheep.

Fresians are typically the better milk producers and Tunisians are a bit heartier and require much less feed (and produce less milk). At the time, cross-breeding was not in her game plan. Until one day, a very excitable Tunisian ram escaped by jumping a fence and got one of the Fresian ladies pregnant. The result? Sheep that produce as much milk as Fresians but are much more cost effective. “Breeding Tunisian with Fresian produces sheep that lactate for 180 days on much less feed,” she explains. These super efficient cross-bred beauties work like magic.

Sheri is the kind of person that radiates success head to toe. She has a spark, outgoing positive energy and a zip that matches the bold and tasty zip found in her cheeses. Her “La Mancha,” a Manchego style cheese is sold at two ages, 60 days and 6 months. Both are really good. The six-month really has a nice complex tang and could easily be aged another six months. She also makes this interesting cheese called Cumberland, flavored with garlic, onion, sweet chiles and ginger. This cheese is unusual and really yummy. Of all the “flavored” cheese we’ve tried so far (which normally we’re not really into), this one is particularly satisfying. Sheri suggests grating Cumberland over a a pizza crust with nothing else, just O' Natural. Or try making a thinner, cheesy flatbread for an appetizer.

With Sheri we traded some cheese and said farewell. A day later we shared her La Mancha with a Spanish friend in Columbus Ohio who was really impressed. Give me a little Rioja, some olives and anchovies and Halehluja! Perfecto! We will look for this one in Cali. It’s pretty widely distributed.

I Wanna Be Your Goat!

2009-10-21T11:28:00.012-07:00

If I had to come back in another life, I would want to return as one of Liza and William's goats. Specifically, I want to be a descendant of Polly, one of the four original goats and lead goat, who passes down the trait of freckled ears! They would feed me special treats like roasted peanuts throughout the day, set out buckets of hot water to drink and pet me all day long! For now, however, I am quite happy as a human being able to visit Ripshin Goat Dairy and hang out with Liza and her family. The cheese business is quite the family affair at Ripshin. William does the milkin’ and farm maintenance, Rachel, Liza’s daughter does the cheese makin’ and Liza does the sellin’ at all the farmer’s markets, not to mention all the spoilin’!

Liza welcomed us in to her home and a chance to wash up before we toured the farm. When we walked into her charming home (which was originally her grandparents’) we found the preparations for that night’s dinner ready in the kitchen; Scottish Salmon (Loc Duart maybe?), fresh, crisp lettuces, and a bubbling pot of Irish Colcannon on the stove. She had invited us to dinner AND to spend the night in their gorgeous apartment above the garage, a welcome treat for us weary travelers…

We walked out the back door and down the path toward the goats. The whole herd of Saanens were excited to see Liza as she cooed and cawed upon approach. Just as we arrived, Liza's niece and husband, William, had just started the evening milking.

Two by two they milked the entire herd, luring them out for the milking room with roasted peanuts (their favorite treat). After milking these very loved pets look forward to a drink of steaming hot water. It’s like high tea—goat style!…almost. Across from the milking room is the cheese making room where cheesemaker

Rachel does her magic. Inside was the day’s production; bags of fresh goat curd hung draining in cloths to create the perfect moisture level.

We walked back outside to say hello to the odorous and excited bucks. It is breeding season after all. Now that I think about it, Darren wears a similar smelling cologne called New

Buck! Pewf! We watched as the boys paraded up and down the fence trying to attract the flirting ladies!

Ripshin Goat Dairy sits amongst 500 acres of beautiful wooded North Carolina family land on which many other family members are scattered including Liza’s daughter Rachel and husband Serkan, her son Jesse and his wife Amy and her sister’s family.

We had a little bit of time until dinner still so we hopped into Liza’s car for a surprise excursion and drove across the street and up a dirt road and parked. From there walked down a dirt path to where Liza’s son raises his heirloom Tamworth pigs. These adorable red piggys will end up being some of the most delicious whey fed pork you will ever eat. As we supplied them their daily whey we heard “pop pop pop” not too far away. It is black powder season in North Carolina.

Liza had another treat in store for us--a sturgeon farm nearby still within the limits of her land! Can you say CAVIAR? Liza’s late brother developed a project farming sturgeon with the support of a state university. We got to sneak a peek in at these prehistoric looking fish in the pitch dark and we used our handy dandy cell phones to light up the pools of fish. The first tank contained the smaller sturgeon which were only about a foot long. As we moved down the row of corrugated steel tanks the fish got bigger, and bigger and bigger! The biggest ones looked like they were about 5 feet. At six years old these “little” fishies terrified me. I had to jump back from the pool several times in fear that they would jump out and bite me.

Back at the farm we settled in to our digs and then we gathered around the kitchen island for none other than our absolute most favorite delicious perfect never-get-old-even-after-two-weeks-of-having-it-straight cheese and wine. Liza put out some of their fresh cherve that Rachel had just made and we cracked open a bottle of Metz Gewürztraminer. With our dinner Liza shared with us a bottle of local chardonnay. Not too shabby North Carolina! And if we thought that the tender, rich salmon and buttery, rustic Colcannon couldn’t be matched, we were wrong because for dessert the freshly baked brownies topped with homemade citrus frozen yogurt was to die for. Our ice cream maker at home will again see the light of day for that recipe. And we definitely can’t keep this one to our selves so here it is:

2 3/4 cup of fresh raw cow's milk yogurt

1/4 cup of half and half

1/2 cup of lemon juice

zest of 1 or 2 lemons

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp vanilla

And use a seriously old school ice cream maker for best results!

On full, glorious bellies we slept like whey fed piglets. The next morning we leisurely packed our bags and packed up the car. Our exceedingly gracious host sent us on our way well prepared with a comforting breakfast of local granola, fresh goats milk and hot steaming coffee and tea. She packed us with a wheel of goats milk camembert for aging and bid us adieu. William keep on milkin’, Rachel keep on makin’ and Liza keep on sellin’ and we’ll keep on eatin’!

And Coming Up!

2009-10-12T20:51:00.005-07:00

After our posts for Ripshin Goat Dairy and Locust Grove Farms, look for our visits to...

Capriole in Greenville, IN (counts as half visit cuz we just kinda showed up and bought cheese)

Bonnie Blue Farm in Waynesboro, TN

Full Quiver Farm in Kemp, TX

Mozzarella Company in Dallas, TX

p.s. We haven't really gotten to write much about our other "cheeseless" adventures while traveling but one small change, the Rennet-gade is had ! Bad, rumbling brakes and in need of an oil change we traded him in for a new baby. She is doing well is is a ton more comfortable. She has been baptized Big Bessie! Our horn might as well say "MOOOOOOOOOOVE"

Well Shoot! Makin' Cheese is Hard Work!

2009-10-12T12:07:00.013-07:00

"Darren! Hurry up, we're gonna be late!

We got in to Galax, pronounced 'gay-lax,' very late and had decided to splurge on a hotel room at the Super 8. We have gotten a little too used warm beds and continental breakfast and haven't camped since. I pull the Belgian waffle out from under Darren, "You can finish this in the car!"

Ok, so I was a bit neurotic. But I was SUPER exited about visiting Meadow Creek Dairy. Grayson was the first cheese I ever ate at Casellula (when I was a customer). I didn't want to make a bad impression by being late. When we arrived, the milk was already being brought to temperature in the large, circular Dutch vats. Darren and I were given a pair of sterile, white rubber boots and were escorted into the cheese making room. WOW! yes WOW! We were going to watch first hand how cheese was made. How the "magic" happens! And guess what? We were going to watch Grayson being made! Whooopppp Whooopppp! (Really, I do make these sounds)

Helen is an exceptional cheesemaker who has her recipes perfected. The milk is handled as little as possible before going into the vat. After a 23 minute rennet the curd is cut. When the curd is ready, large buckets are used to scoop the curds and whey from the vat into the molds. The whey drains off and the curds settle. Then all of the molds need to be flipped at exactly the ten minute mark (or as close as possible) so it's a race. It took a team of 4 to make Grayson. One thing we learned clearly by watching this process is that incheesemaking timing is everything. If you are just one minute off not only with flipping, but with many other parts of the cheese make, the cheese will be all messed up. We broke a sweat just watching these ladies go! The physical energy is tremendous.

Meadow Creek makes two cheeses every day. The other cheese they were making that day was their Mountaineer which is the same exact milk prepared differently. In this case the curds are pressed in the vat, then cut into squares and then molded. Mountaineer is a harder cheese than Grayson and just as delicious.

Later in the day we were invited to take a ride with Rick in his pickup to see more of their mountainous property. He walked us right into the middle of a herd of cows as he talked. Watch out for the patties! The pastures are seeded with rye grass, clover, chicory and grazing turnips which give the milk character. Up the hill an intern whacked away some giant weeds with a machete.

When it comes to Grayson especially, Rick says this cheese is really made in the cave. That's how it gets it's distinctive nose and we agree with him when he says, "I don't see anything wrong with stinky!" In the cave there were many different cheeses including the harder and robust Appalacian and an experimental blue named after the second oldest river in the world (which happens to be right near their property) called New River Blue.

Rick was kind enough to share a lot of information with me about their cave. He and Helen have traveled all over the world seeking knowledge on the best way to build a cave appropriate for their cheese. There are a few important things he has discovered about cooling and keeping the humidity right. Unsealed concrete works really well for keeping the moisture level high. He has a water sprayer on a timer that sprays the walls. Consistent high humidity has been the key for avoiding ammonia—and it works. A room without corners at the ceiling is preferable because this helps to avoid any dripping and also is ideal for airflow. He uses fiberglass-reinforced plastic to round out the corners and has cold water flowing through pipes around the walls to keep the cave cool.

How did it all start? Helen has a passion for cooking and was spending a lot of time throughout the week preparing delicious meals for her family. So her husband suggested she use that time and love for cooking to do something that may make some money. Lots of trial and error, brilliant ingenuity and some delicious recipes and BOOM! Mind blowing, outrageous cheese glory!

Helen is still an amazing chef. We were invited to sit down for a incredible mid-day meal that included the whole staff including the team of young cheese making interns who have come from all over the world (South America, Thailand, The U.K.) to learn the art. Lunch consisted of fresh from the farm chicken, potatoes, lettuces, bread and cheese (all home grown and home made). Fresh delicious everything! Grayson and Appalachian were melted in these little mini pans on a Raclette grill and poured over the potatoes and the warm bread. These big family lunches are the norm at Meadow Creek, but for us it was far from anything ordinary. We feel honored to have shared a meal with this outstanding team of cheesemakers.

Helen’s favorite recipe to make with Grayson: Tarte de Flet

Boil white potatoes with skin on and then slice. Fry up bacon or your favorite pork product. Reserve excess fat to saute your onions. Chop bacon and combine it with the onions. Add a good amount of red wine to the onion-bacon mixture. Begin layering potatoes with the onions until you fill up your baking dish. Slice your Grayson thickly and lay it rind up on top of the potatoes. Cover with foil and cook on 425 until heated through and most of the cheese has melted. Remove from oven, take foil off and return to oven until the rind is crispy. Gently peel away crispy rind and serve. (You can also leave the rind on if you prefer.)

We spent six hours at Meadow Creek and learned so much. Talk about a dynamic duo! Helen and Rick are awesome and inspiring, especially to us. We look forward to returning the gesture of generosity down the road.

Community and the “Nexus of Sustainability”

2009-10-10T08:09:00.009-07:00

When we arrived at Goat Lady Dairy in Climax, NC we were shocked by the number of cars lining the small country road. People everywhere! Eight hundred something! It was their Fall open house, a major community event where all types of natural meats, produce, mushrooms and hand made pottery were being sold.

At the top of a small hill rested the dairy overlooking a small pond, and a small vegetable garden. Inside people tasted a variety of goat’s milk treats including fresh spreadable chevre, walnut-smoked chevre, yogurt and “goatella.” We couldn’t get to the guy we wanted to talk to, the main man Steve Tate, because he was so popular!

found him in a pen with ten goats and a big audience. With a bright projecting voice and almost tearful nostalgia he described the experience of watching the youngsters in the community grow up around him. At one point Suzy, one of the more “neurotic” goats, gave him a powerful head butt to the rear sending him forward stirring up big laughs all around.

There were volunteers, neighbors, friends, children all connected by the same enthusiasm for real, delicious natural food. “We do this because we feel like it’s our mission in life,” he says. With an intently listening audience he stood their answering questions and educating people on cheesemaking, clarifying the myths about goat cheese, and emphasizing the importance of sustainability.

We were looking for some cheese that was aged and harder so we went up to a guy who looked

like he was somewhat in charge to ask. Bingo! It was actually Steve Tate’s son Nate. He was nice enough to grab some Old Liberty (a raw cow’s milk specialty they make in limited amounts from a neighbors cow’s milk) from his secret stash. For a while we talked with him about the day’s event. “The community has made this a nexus for sustainability and that whole movement.” There was a sense that Goat Lady Dairy was something much bigger than just a place where they make cheese. The level of pride in having created this community is what we really noticed in Nate.

After the whole crowd had left we had a chance to sit on the rocking chairs in front of the Dairy with Steve and his family. He told us about their new invention they call “Goatella,” like Nutella only made with goat cheese. It was totally gone by the time we had arrived (only one hour into the open house) so we asked for the recipe. Here it is: Mix together 5 lbs. fresh chevre, 2.5 cups sugar, 1.5+ cups of cocoa, 2-3 Tbsp vanilla, 1 Tbsp Hazelnut essence. If you stir it too much it will get frothy so stir slowly and gently. There it is—Goatella!

A Jaunt to Chapel Hill

2009-10-06T19:26:00.010-07:00

We were lucky enough to arrange a quick visit to Chapel Hill Creamery in North Carolina. Both Flo Hawley and Portia McKnight just recently returned from a trip to Italy with minds full of new ideas and inspiration about cheese. There to greet them was their closed herd of Jersey cows who are primarily pasture fed and are minimally supplemented with soy and minerals to round out their diet. Originally in 2001 when things were just beginning there were only 9 cows on the land. Today, Flo and Portia are operating at almost full capacity utilizing most of their 37 acres of pastureland.

They milk their 22 cows twice every day and usually make cheese five days a week. Originally they only breeded in the spring, but to grow their heard and cheese production they needed more cows. So they decided to have two breeding seasons in order to maintain optimal milking conditions for consistent, year round cheese making.

When we arrived Flo was hard at work in cheese making room but was able to slip away for a moment to chat while until Portia arrived to show us around the farm. She first pointed out that many of the cows were actually pregnant. Cows are like humans when it comes to gestation. A good 9 ½ months after conception, bunches of bouncing baby Bessies will be roaming around the paddocks. Only a few newborns are kept and they rest are sold to other frams. The Chapel Hill Herd is left outdoors year round with the exception of just a few of the coldest days of the winter.

As for their indoor facilities we were able to tour the milking salon and peek in at the milk room and cheese making room. We found out that Solar panels heat the pasteurization tanks. Not only is this better for the environment but it actually increases the efficiency. They have 3 caves in the cheese making room. One is dedicated as a cold room and the other two are for aging. Because of our timing, we were unable to see inside then, however, Portia was kind enough to go in and pull out some of the goods for us to see.

The ladies of Chapel Hill make 6-7 types of cheese. Their most popular may be their mozzarella and now with their very own mozzarella stretcher they can keep it comin' with a bit ease. They also make a bloomy 1 pound camembert style cheese, feta, farmers cheese and a raw milk gruyere pictured below.

At the moment Darren and I are enjoying the Hickory Grove that Portia sent us home with (well to the campground really.) She suggested we wait it out a few days before we dug into it. It was hard but we were patient. And patience pays off. It's PERFECT!

It has been a few days since our visit and now we're in the middle of Kentucky at a Super8, our plastic knife in hand, and we gently cut through the healthy, thick rind only to find pure satisfaction in texture and taste. Gooey (not oozy) near the rind and a tad bit firmer in the center. The quality and freshness of the milk is the first thing that stands out, followed by a slight saltiness and an agreeable tang.

As we were leaving the creamery that day we asked Portia what she would serve with the Hickory Grove, or any of their other cheeses for that matter and she replied, “They’re just good on their own. That’s how you taste them the best.” We concur.

Rona Sullivan and the Reign of Terroir

2009-10-04T19:44:00.019-07:00

Oh Rona! Where to begin? How can WE do YOU justice? This is what I struggle with at the moment. Should I begin with the cheese and your ancestral artisanal ways? Darren chants softly near me, “Clear and concise…Clear and concise.” Aaaahhhhhhh! I’m tryin’.

There couldn’t possibly be a more generous, more enthusiastic, more warm-hearted soul then Rona Sullivan of Bonnyclabbler Country Cheese and it permeates with vivid expression into her work. Her goat cheese, made from a herd of only five goats, is made without added cultures or rennet, something very unusual and rustic. The taste is exquisite: rich, bold, tangy and incredibly clean. Rona is committed to her “old school” cheesemaking technique which is inspired by her family’s Irish hometown traditions. She is a rebel in this world of artisanal cheese, a hidden gem and an excellent host.

"We can’t have brunch without flowers!” Rona says as she gathers wild flowers from her front yard. We followed her inside to her kitchen not quite knowing what to expect since this is only our second dairy visit but were soon awed. It was like talking to an old friend. Her knowledge is deep and rich and she was eager to share. Cheese, honey, fresh baked bread and crisp rainbow chard filled the kitchen.

The majority of our visit was talking about Bonnyclabber over breakfast. She showed us how to make Easy Southern Biscuits all the while sharing information about her cheese making process and commitment sustainable living. “As long as we can keep the farm no matter what happens—illness, hurricanes--that’s what sustainable is to me.”

She produces her own honey, soap (including the lye), eggs, bread, fruit preserves and maintains a diverse vegetable garden. Guard dogs and Lamas (which are also guard animals! who knew?) protect her property from coyotes and foxes. Her goal is to one day be completely sustainable throughout the year.

We asked her about a recipe that included her cheese and Rona referred us to her son Cole. An excellent cook and musician, Cole made us a stovetop, cast iron frittata we call Cole’s “Sandy Bottom” Eggs.

The Recipe: Cole began by whipping up farm fresh eggs with a little milk. To this mixture he adds a rainbow of vegetables including coarsely chopped red swiss chard, green bell pepper, purple onions and aromatic basil. Then most importantly he crumbles Bonnyclabber Sandy Bottom goat milk cheese into this heavenly concoction and it now stands ready for the cast iron skillet. The thick, frittata like egg omelet is cooked solely on the stove stop, being turned once for even cooking. Cole slices and plates the eggs where they are joined by biscuits topped with butter and either homemade honey, or Crazy Lady Preserves (Mmmm, or both!)

We sit down for breakfast at the Sulivans’ table where an array of 5 goat cheeses, fresh whey bread, and steaming hot coffee await. While enjoying our fabulous breakfast Rona shows us how she makes cheese, bustin’ out a presentation board with her process diagramed and illustrated from beginning to end. My favorite part in her process is when she tastes the curd to determine what cheese IT wants to be. If the curd is a little sharper, it will be made into Tidewater. If the curd is a bit sweeter she will make Moonshine or another cheese that wants sweeter curd. “This is the Rein of Terroir!” she says. The milk tells her what cheese it wants to be.

When it comes to molding time Rona sees no need in buying fancy French molds. Instead, she finds cool shaped containers around the house that could be used as molds. For her ashed rind cheese, Virginia Belle, she uses a French stylye coffee glass, and for one of her soaps she uses a Hershey’s Cocoa Tin as a mold. Talk about recycling and reusing!

I have to say that one of the highlights of this visit was a personal mini concert during out meal by Cole. In traditional Irish style we were serenaded with two original songs that made our visit more personal and enjoyable than we could have ever imagined. Check out more of Cole's tunes at www.colemusic.net.

We ended our outing by touring the unique facility where all of the magic happens. A 12x24 Grade A facility where the hand milking, making and aging of Bonnyclabber occurs. Rona sent us on our way with an entire basket of goodies including goat’s milk soaps, honey, fresh bread, “crazy lady fruit preserves,” cheese and more.

We left transformed. The Sullivans are a remarkable family on a remarkable mission. We feel the need to offer so many thanks and we hope to visit them again sometime down the road.

Holy Sheeeep!

2009-10-01T17:14:00.026-07:00

Everona Dairy was outstanding. The stars of the show are Dr. Pat Elliot and her daughter-in-law, cheesemaker extraordinaire Carolyn Wentz. What a lady! She can fix a car, build a house, raise two beautiful kids and make fabulous cheese. Everything is farmstead and artisanal--handmade top to bottom. Their herd of 150 alfalfa-fed, Friesian sheep are milked twice daily and produce some super-delish milk.

Their flagship cheese is their Piedmont which is aged 60 days before going to market. It is slightly nutty, sweet and tangy with subtle alfalfa notes near the rind. This is a harder cheese that can easily be aged for more than two years for crystally, heavenly goodness. The cheesemaker’s favorite pairing with this raw-milk, natural rind beauty is apples. Either fresh or cooked down with some sugar, Carolyn says this is the perfect match.

Our two-hour tour was detailed and so much fun. Oscar, Carolyn’s adorable two-year-old son (and milking apprentice) was with us for much if it and so was Julie the sheep/guard dog. Carolyn is warm and has such a great sense of humor. The high quality of all of their cheeses, from unique blues to unusual sheep’s milk cheddar are no doubt products of her hard work and love for her craft. “We don’t get much sleep around here,” says Carolyn with an exasperated, yet beaming smile. She is a strong woman and there is much about her worth admiring.

Everona is in the process of expanding production to meet demand. They sell at about 15 local markets and ship coast to coast. April through June is peak season. The have some very interesting washed rind cheeses that are soaked in either Dr. Elliot’s home made beer (YUM!), or a very locally produced red wine. Their facility is impeccably clean and their cave is absolutely pristine.

Carolyn’s favorite recipe with their Piedmont:

Grate some cheese (coarse) into a nice little mountain. Get a frying pan good and hot. Take a 1-2 tablespoon pinch of the cheese and put it right in the center (no oil) of the pan. Let it melt down until it gets a little bit bubbly and golden brown on the bottom. Flip it over for about another 45 seconds. Remove from the pan and let cool. It should be crispy and golden on both sides. Top it with a smear of basil pesto and some diced (preferably heirloom) tomatoes. We recommend dressing the tomatoes with some lemon, salt and a drop of olive oil. What a treat! And, yes, we made this ourselves...I’m gainin’ on ya Fraser!

Tomorrow bright and early we head out to Wake, VA to see the super-friendly people at Bonnyclabber. They’ve invited us for brunch! Are cheesemakers the nicest people, or what? In the afternoon we zip down to Chapel Hill to meet with the superstar cheesemakers there.

Funniest thing that happened today: Darren nearly took a little more of the farm with him than he wanted too. Luckily, there was half a popsicle stick to pick it out. Hello thinning hair! ouch.

p.s. Car is named...Renet-gade, aka Renny G.

Homeless, Jobless, and On the Road!

2009-09-29T20:50:00.006-07:00

Wow!

We are one day away from hitting the road on our “tour de queso!” It still seems so unreal. Darren and I had our last days of work on Sunday, I at Casellula and Darren at Dovetail. We were both lucky enough to work at our two favorite places in New York.

On Monday we had our last New York dinner at Compass, met up with friends at Revival where Darren and I had our first “date,” and stayed at the Hudson hotel.

It’s Tuesday now. We rolled out of bed, a little hung over, and hopped a train to Stamford where we are picking up the Car, which Darren insists on naming. He has a few in mind, however, he wants to feel out the vehicle first to see if the name “fits.” His first thought is Bessie. Appropriate maybe.

Our first week is planned! Whoooo Hooooo! Seven, count them 7, cheesemakers have graciously accepted our request to visit them. Some have even extended invitations for lunch, supper and a place to crash. Cheesemakers are nice! I’m glad we like cheese and not, let’s say, corporate law.

Dun da da dahn! (is that how you spell it?) Our first week itinerary!

Thurday, 10/1

Evarona Dairy in Rapidan, VA

Friday 10/2

Bonnyclabber Country Cheese in Wake, VA

Chapel Hill Creamery in Chapel Hill, NC

Saturday 10/3

We are still waiting for a response from...

Sunday 10/4

Goat Lady Dairy in Climax, NC

Monday 10/5

Meadow Creek Dairy in Galax, VA

Ripshin Goat Dairy in Lenior, NC

Tuesday 10/6

Locust Grove Farm in Knoxville, TN

BTW-the CAR is NOT named yet! What are we to do? By tomorrow morning we will have picked from the following list:

The Curdster

The Renent-gade

The Rind Rocket

Ol' Bessie

The Shredder

Dolly Pardon

The Cheese Chariot

The Utter-cycle

We have our work cut out for us for sure! (I had to cut Darren off or this would have gone on for hours) Any Faves? Or ones we didn't think of? Maybe a middle name.

At this point in the evening we are slightly delirious. Shenandoah here we come!

p.s. Funniest thing that happened today: Liana drank coffee.

Question: Why can't we input more than 26 locations on Google Maps?

2009-09-20T10:16:00.002-07:00

Cheese Lovers! Cheese Makers! Cheese...People of every type! Friends! Family! Welcome! We are setting off on a multi-week cheese tour of the U.S.A that will take us from coat to coast--NYC to SF. Why? WE LOVE CHEESE! Especially Artisanal Cheese. Our goal is to visit well established, and up and coming "rising star" cheese makers across the country, particularly in some of the regions that tend to get less attention.

For us, eating and appreciating fine, hand-made cheese has become a passion that grows deeper every day. We have been working with many of these awesome American Farmstead/Artisanal Cheeses (and fabulous European Cheeses of course) for years and are excited to meet the people behind some of our favorites. Our particular interest, besides the cheeses themselves, is the places they are made, the "hometowns" of the people who make and enjoy the finest farmstead products in the U.S.A.

Of course we had to map out our trip right? This beginning stage of our trip has led us to lose faith in Google Maps for the time being. Maximum destination inputs? 26! That's point A to Z. Now really, Google, you're letting us down here! Yes, we have more than 26 stops on our journey and all we wanted was one big ol' map. Most of our 27+ stops are all about Cheese, but hey, who can pass up Graceland? Well, it kind of fits into our "Cheesy" theme. And it was either that or Dollywood. ( Darren voted Dollywood...interesting!)

All this map hoogamalu had led us in a different direction when it comes to posting our route. We will break our trip up into 3-4 day chunks. The first leg of our trip will be posted on September 30th along with the coinciding map. Google, can you handle this? Wifi, can you handle this? Battery, can you handle this? I really hope Y'all can handle this!