The Sustainability Renaissance

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!

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!

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

 

 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'

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!

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...

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.