Farmer's Work is Never Done

Well, it's another Christmas Day and we must work. I decided to make it a bit more special as far as luxury, I'd make a hearty breakfast for my husband and me. You see, even farmers don't always get the chance to eat the proverbial 'farmhouse breakfast' EVEN on a holiday. So while most were still in bed, or perhaps unwrapping gifts beneath a tree, we were already out the door. But what a joy to have our own farm grown foods as well as some of our farming friends to add to it! I fried up some of our own bacon

and made an omelete with Boucher Farm eggs and Orb Weaver Farm cheese.....

And then we were off to go look at some cows at Cimarron Farm.......he had Normande cross cows to sell.

Then back to do chores (farmers' term for each day's work that must get done) and then after that, turn cheeses.

Thanksgiving Alone

This year, for the first time in many years, I didn't have to make a huge Thanksgiving feast. I have made many Thanksgiving dinners in their entirety since a very young age. So I am perfectly comfortable with it. Suddenly, unexpectedly, I was in a bit of a quandary not having a lot of pre-planning, pre-chopping and organizing with the proverbial 'managed time' shopping days. What do I do with my time? Enjoy it. Although foreign me, I toyed with the smaller menu I was now about to create. I decided to boycott the traditional doings for a somewhat 'mixit up' kind.
Final menu was only to be 4 things. And NO stuffing. Certainly would be a guilt-free pleasure not consuming up to 4000 calories in one meal, right? Almost.
The menu?
Crushed fennel, rosemary and sea salt crusted turkey breast on the Primo (previous posts-ceramic cooker)
Butternut squash, apple, onion, Vaquero blue cheese tart
Steamed green beans
Potato gratin with grated Mountain Tomme

Since the menu was short and simple I didn't even have to start cooking until late afternoon. What a wonderful day it was. Slow paced, calm, quiet.
What a joy to not have the baggage claimed competitive and sometimes yucky family dynamics to digress from what Thanksgiving is supposed to be about. To have gratitude for what we are. I thank the universe for who I am, my health and the here and now. So all you empty nesters, young college students, singles, neighbors, and aquaintances, it is very possible to not only have a great time but feel good about it too. My husband and I sat down to some nice bubbly and the meal was on!

Guilt-free pleasure? No. We were still full-and with gratitude. Happy Holidays to all and may Peace come to earth.......

Willow Hill Farm Butternut Squash Tart:

Ingredients:
1 apple (I like Granny Smith), peeled, cored, sliced thin
Butternut squash-cut off neck of squash, peel and slice thin
Half an onion, sliced thin
Approx 1 cup Willow Hill Farm Vaquero Blue Cheese
Tart Dough (below)

Dough:
1 cup flour
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
2-2.5 tablespoons ice water
pinch salt

Whiz above ingredients in a food processor about 20-30 seconds until it forms a ball. You know when it's about to form a ball when the sound begins to change to a whirring bogged down sound. The moment a ball begins to form, stop. Dump out onto plastic wrap and form a circle. Put in refrigerator at least 30 minutes before rolling out. When ready just roll out to form the 9" tart pan size. Be careful not to stretch dough when placing in pan as it will shrink when baking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out dough and fit into tart pan. Arrange alternating apple slices, squash slices and onion slices in a circular pattern following the pan. Bake about 45 mins to one hour. Remove from oven and sprinkle crumbled blue cheese on top. Bake about 5 mins more til bubbly. To gild the lily? Drizzle some honey on top of that!

Farmers Market Season Has Begun

Well- The first Burlington Farmers Market has begun and what a day! I thought I had realistic expectations but even in the poorest economy since I have been on Earth, people were disposing of disposable income. Perhaps it's that they will not travel this holiday season, I am not sure why.

Completely unexpected, I arrived late although I was leaving on time-due to a propane truck straddling my front door so as to prevent my exit. Oh and did I mention that we got 5 inches of snow the night before ? So shoveling and plowing were in order prior to anything else happening. When I arrived, on the very first day, my paid for parking spot was filled by another car. As late as I was, I was forced to set up tunnel vision fashion without saying hello to anyone I knew. In fact, it became so busy at my booth I was unable to walk around at all that day and visit with other vendor friends. I spent about the first 45 minutes attempting to set up my stand with customers rushing in at me. I sold out of most of our lamb in the first hour. Lots of regular customers and some new faces I did see, as well. Ironic, given that I had forgotten my farm sign and was in a corner at the far end of the room.

Our new cheese 'Vaquero Blue,' (cave aged sheep/cow blue cheese) sold out first. Creamy, mild and buttery it was a hit for holiday giving, I suspect. By the way, Vaqueros were the original cowboys that came here from Spain who used more advanced techniques not previously seen here in North America to not only handle cattle but train horses for range use. These were the men that taught the Hawaiians on our ranch (as I have mentioned in previous posts) that later became known as 'Paniolo' in the Hawaiian language- the rugged Vaqueros from Spain. Many thanks to all for supporting us and happy hoiday!

Cheese Caves of Vermont

There are a number of cheese caves in Vermont. What is a cheese cave? It is typically an underground room or building that houses cheese for ripening. Its inherent constant temperature and humidity allow the slow process of 'affinage' or cheese curing to occur. It is a complex process wherein proteins and fats inside the cheese break down in such a way as to create different nuances in flavor, texture and aroma. Just like in the wine industry, the area or soil from which a product comes influences its outcome, or 'terroir'. This term describes the effects of the flora and fauna indigenous to a particular locale, farm, vineyard or even mountain. Although Vermont is a small state, there are large differences in climate and soil types from North to South. One can find a dizzying array of not only cheese types but contrasts amongst those same cheese types, ie, cheddars, bloomy rinds etc.

Some age their cheese in caves, others in cellars. Caves are usually freestanding structures while cellars are below where the cheese is crafted. Several caves come to mind here in Vermont:
Vermont Shepherd (the first cave constructed to my knowledge), Lazy Lady Farm, Willow Hill Farm, Orb Weaver Farm and the newest, Jasper Hill Farm. Somehow we get confused in consumers' minds often with Jasper Hill Farm. I have attended the Burlington Farmers Market now for 16 years and every Saturday approximately 1200 people walk by my booth. I am asked each week at least once if we are from Jasper Hill or if we age our cheeses there. Perhaps it's the word 'hill' that creates the confusion? Of cheese farms in Vermont with the word 'hill' in it, we were the first. There are now several "hill" farms: Willow Hill, Cobb Hill, Thistle Hill, Jericho Hill, Jasper Hill. What is it with the word hill? Someone recently asked me if I knew Twig HILL Farm? I wanted to reply, "It's called Twig Farm, silly!"



We built our cave in 1999 with materials from our farm. The stones that created the retaining walls and the front facade all came from the hill that my husband, David, excavated himself. We built this cave to adjoin to the natural bedrock in the back of the rooms to provide extra humidity...like a mini-Roquefort cave. The seepage that occurs through it is entirely weather dependent, and hence a huge challenge from a cheese maker's point of view. It is not climate controlled so our 'terroir' is exactly that. Each year, analogous to wine, the cheeses ripen into a different 'vintage'. In 2005 for example, it was very wet, so the Blue Moons (our natural rind sheep milk blue) were quite moist with a thicker rind...........much like the texture of a sweet Gorgonzola as it held a lot of moisture in the paste (the interior of the cheese).

All of our mature cheeses are 'plank aged', meaning they are cured on boards-- that were also made here on the farm. We purchased a portable sawmill many years ago to harvest the wood for our house which is post and beam construction and it truly has been handy in building bridges (literally), cow barns, sheds etc. And cheese boards. The wood harvested for the planks is white ash which is a hardwood and very lightweight-helpful for maneuvering and washing. Cheeses are turned daily in the beginning of their affinage and less often as they age. As they give off moisture and develop a rind, the boards must be washed frequently and rotated into different locations through the cave as new cheeses enter each week to begin their aging process. This is a brief introduction to our cave...people often ask to visit our caves. Unfortunately due to food security/sanitation reasons, our caves are not open for visiting at this time. Next project? On to harvesting and milling boards for siding our new cheese house. Finally! Then there's firewood....

First Vermont Snow Fleurie

Well it's unbelievable but even with our attitude, not altitude, we had snow today. October 22nd!
Actually it IS our altitude. We are at approx 1200 feet above sea level, so when there is rain down in town there is snow up here. Just the other day Cobble Hill was covered in a light fog and gorgeous leaves.

Then the colder air moved in and boom! It looked like something in mud season (spring here in Vermont) when there is light snow and the roads are soft and warm and easily damaged by vehicle wheels or even cow's hooves........


But wait! Vermont Snow Fleurie? This is not a misspelling of 'flurry' it's the name of one of our delicate cow's milk cheeses, La Fleurie. This means 'bloom' in French and is in itself a play on words as it is a cheese of the 'bloomy rind' style, like Brie or Camembert. What's new? It has been chosen by Williams-Sonoma for an American Farmstead selection for the holidays. It is a unique cheese as it begins like a rich Chaource with its inherent cheesecake-like texture (a very good thing) and then ripens more silky thru the middle into a buttery creamy decadent event! La Fleurie can be consumed at all stages of its maturation which makes it widely appealing to all at a party or holiday meal. With two out of the four cheeses in this collection from Vermont, this is a fantastic gift for the holidays. Click here to order Williams-Sonoma

Whey Fed Pigs Rooting Heaven

As I looked behind me while taking some fall shots of our farm I heard some happy soft grunts (which are the cute sound relaxed pigs make) and lo and behold there were the pigs up in a field toward our old Christmas tree operation! First they came toward me thinking I had some treats for them


Then after realizing I was just hanging around on this beautiful day taking pictures they went off and continued rooting.


A few seconds later, something strange happened! The pigs began to make an alert sound and I looked to my left and whoa! An otter running across this upper pasture right by me!


Then off he went back into the woods.


Back to rooting heaven........."Wait! I think I got a grub. Yum!"



"Come on guys, someone's here with some whey. Let's go!"


"Yay. They brought cheese too."
Happy pigs rooting heaven.........Hmmm. Why was the otter there? Did he want cheese too? What a sighting... Ewe otter try Willow Hill Farm cheese too!

Perfect Pickler

Now ya'll know ( I can say this-my mom is Southern) that I am into all things fermented, so when I spied a gadget on TV on a show that rated kitchen thingys, I said "Hmmm. I'll check out their website and see what's up." Well I did, and was enamored.

I adore lacto-fermented vegetables and preserved meats, and oh heck I'm a cheese maker for goodness sake! Each and every day I deal with what someone once coined the 'controlled rotting of milk'. Haha! So when I saw a new rig for making pickles without a canning setup or a cold basement, I decided to go for it. Every culture in the world has a propensity for consuming some kind of fermented foods, be they vegetable, meat, dairy (i.e, cheese, yogurt, kefir) or fruit. Done properly, raw fermented foods are a huge benefit to the digestive system, which begins to change for the worse as we age.....

This item called the Perfect Pickler is a large bucket with a lid, spacer and primary fermenter (like I use in home brewing). All you add are the vegetables, some celtic sea salt and water. In 96 hours you have fantastic raw fermented pickles that are crunchy, a bit spicy (if that's what you want) and oh-so healthy. My first batch with this thing I used River Berry Farm cauliflower, carrots, garlic, ginger, green beans, fennel and red pepper I had on hand. If you look closely you can see the 'spacer' which is merely a ramekin set inside the brine. So if you have never had your own raw fermented pickles some good books to get you going are: Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz and Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. This thing is fun!

Willow Hill Wins at World Cheese Awards

We are excited to announce that our new cheese, Butternut, (which husband named due to its butter-y and nutty flavor profile) just won a medal at the World Cheese Awards in Dublin, Ireland. With 2400 entries from every cheese making nation, Butternut made its long trip from Milton, Vermont to New York where it was consolidated with others en route to Dublin. There it was most likely lifted, sniffed, tasted while the judges chewed along thru the other 2399.........

Butternut is an Alpine style semifirm cow's milk cheese plank aged in our underground cave here on the farm. Quite an honor as it was included with other Alpine style cheeses in Europe where they reign in this category!

Paniolo Cheese in the News

Well maybe not headline news but surely an honor-for me. I come from 10 generations of cattle ranching in Hawaii. This, many people know about me. How I ended up in Vermont is a long story with a circuitous trail. The family ranch, currently the 5th largest in the United States, was at one time the largest privately owned ranch in the country, with 250,000 acres and 50,000 head of Hereford cattle. Its history goes back to the late 1800's wherein an unfolding saga of Hawaiian kings and queens and a chieftain's daughter marrying a New Englander ensued and wrangling of hundreds of freely breeding cattle and horses to be tamed-to chronicle but a bit of its story. (for more info www.parkerranch.com)

And the working Paniolos. This word, paniolo, word historians do agree is a 'corruption' of the word 'español' whom the Hawaiians were trying to describe when speaking about the Vaqueros, or Spanish cowboys, that came to the islands to manage the wild cattle.

Vaqueros, were those master cattle wranglers who cruised thru Texas on to California and thru Mexico centuries ago. Well some settled on our ranch and became the very fabric that made things happen. And this is a generation before there ever was an American cowboy. Now, now. Texans please do not contact me for libelous content. Look it up. It's on record. Anyway, back to my honor.

This year was named the Year of the Paniolo and marks the centennial wherein a renowned Paniolo, Ikua Purdy, "shocked the Western world with his unprecedented win" in Wyoming competing against the best cowboys of the time (Paniolo Preservation Society). So in August of this year they held lots of celebration at the ranch with rodeos, trail rides, luaus, Old Hawaii (a parade in period dress on horseback) to commemorate a moment in time hopefully not forgotten.

We released a new cheese we called 'Paniolo' in Aug of 2007. And it was fine time to donate some to this event. After several snafus with DHL shipping (!!) it arrived in ok condition and was served at a fundraising event. To my surprise and honor, a bidding war ensued and in the end someone won a small wheel of cheese for several hundred dollars! And to boot, the real honor was working Paniolos in attendance ate my cheese and loved it. Talk about history. What a circuitous route.

New Winter Farmer's Market

It seems like just about a year ago at this time I was announcing our acceptance into a new winter farmer's market about to open in Montpelier, Vermont. It was held once a month in a college gym and we attended each one. Well now the market has expanded so as to add another Sat to its roster, the 3rd Sat of each month thru April. SO that makes the 1st and 3rd Saturdays each month thru April to make 10 winter markets to attend!

NOW Burlington Farmers Market has jumped onto the localvore bandwagon and is planning a winter farmer's market! I say? "It's about time!" So do many others of my clientele from years gone by at the summer market. This market is planned for the 3rd Saturday of each month beginning November 22, 2008 thru April. It is going to be in the Memorial Auditorium in Burlington, Vermont. Should be great as far as products represented-my last check, 40 vendors are committed!

Willow Hill Farm's commitment? We are attending both Burlington and Montpelier Farmer's Markets. We will be bringing our award-winning cheeses, grassfed lamb, whey fed pork and blankets to both markets. See you there! And thanks for your patronage!

Cooking For 50

Well I haven't written in my diary in a bit since we have been so busy trying to keep ahead of the rain, breaking equipment and a slew of cheese orders. Last weekend I had pre-planned a party for myself and husband for approx 50 people-many near and dears and many "haven't seen in 15 year" types.

Sent out invitations and planned the menu and schedule lists in order to prepare things ahead of time to enjoy the time with guests, albeit somewhat short. The best planning still doesn't cover it. I had menu planned, daily duties all lined up for myself and then...........we lost all water in the house. And at the same time, two, not one, but two walk-in coolers failed at the cheese plant. This means that cheese couldn't be kept cold. Not to mention throwing the daily list of duties 4 days in advance off completely! Without water, one cannot prep food. So I shifted gears, as any experienced farmer does, as we are well-versed on changing plans at a moment's notice due to weather, and decided to vacuum, straighten the house, and pickup old mags, papers and the like. Set up the tiki torches, arranged chairs etc. Tried to carry on. Like a farmer.

Come the day of the party water had been restored only about 12 hours before. So I was on a kamikazi mission to attempt to prepare everything and be ready for arrivals. Someone smart would have cancelled.......Low and behold I just about made it. As friends began to arrive, I greeted them with the best attention I could give however I was distracted because with that volume of food some of it needed to be kept in cold storage at the plant ( I don't have the fridge space for all that). So things were going along smoothly with children splashing in the pool, music blaring and folks seemingly enjoying themselves. And before I could pull the pork and roast up the shrimp or put on grass fed burgers, a huge storm, visible across the lake rumbled over. So although I had thought about the proverbial Plan B, I never entertained we would actually ALL have to move inside. And so it did. The party, that is. All of a sudden, I was on. About 50 people staring at me in my kitchen and surrounding area and had to finish preparing foods as well as figure out how to line up folks buffet style to access the pulled pork, which was lovingly 'pulled' by Dawn and meanwhile Kat frantically zested some lemons over the shrimp I was going to roast. It's truly a great get together when you can find local ingredients to boot:
basil I used from River Berry Farm for my pesto, as well as their fabulous sunflowers that graced a number of vases around the house and lettuce and tomatoes for all else! We also dined on some of our lamb in the form of kebabs. So all in all, it was a great time-and too bad I didn't get any photos after I made the Carolina style slaw




and other sides, and put the pork shoulders on the day before.



With this pork I made a fresh ground coffee, cumin, garlic and cayenne dry rub. The pulled pork was gone in about 5 minutes. So the storm blasted by and soon enough in shivering temperatures the kids were back again in the pool, and the core group of farmers stayed until midnight. Kat's blueberry tartlets were a hit-we needed about 100 more of them. A good time had by all! As Wolfgang Puck says, "Live, love and eat!" We did.

Bouncin' Blueberries!

Blueberry picking season has begun! After a much awaited harvest opening, and serious excess rain in the month of June and July, the plants are so loaded with berries that they bend over and almost touch the ground. To boot, the mower won't even fit between the rows that we haven't been able to mow in close to a month. So while the grass is long for now (I'll take care of that hopefully soon), the pickin' is easy. Stand in one spot for five minutes and there you will have about a quart of luscious organic blueberries.

We are the original U-pick Organic Blueberry farm in Chittenden County. And with about 9 varieties of blues we can pick 6, sometimes 8 weeks. We don't use a lot of bird prevention devices so if you come picking you can spot songbirds, oreoles, and other critters like turkeys and if late in the day, pheasants we previously released into the wild. They're probably picking blueberries as well!

We are always closed Mondays and Tuesdays (the blueberry fields only) which is often helpful as to allow some time for additional berries to ripen in the 'off-days'........Until further notice, our hours are as follows:
Weds-Sun 10-2
Directions: Coming from Main St in Milton, turn right onto East Rd. Make first left onto Hardscrabble Rd. Go approx 1.4 miles up the hill and we are on the right.
You can also call ahead for weather updates. 802-893-2963

No Pig in a Poke

Now everyone is aware I am fairly obsessed with good barbecue and the other day after another exhaustive farmers market (it takes much time and preparation to get ready AFTER making the cheese all of Friday-and then talk to approx 1000 people between 8am and 2), I decided to put on a pork shoulder to slow cook it on the Primo grill for pulled pork the next day. At the same time I put on a dry rubbed slab of pork ribs to eat later that night for dinner.



As cheese makers, we produce as a by-product, something called whey. It is a liquid serum that comes out of the curds and is rich in nutrients and some leftover calcium and proteins. And pigs love it, to boot! If you've never had whey-fed pork before, you are in for a treat. It has more flavor than supermarket bland ('brand'- tongue in cheek) pork and is very tender. Industry allows up to 10% added water and sodium, I believe, which is known as 'enhanced' meat. What this does is artificially tenderizes meat for the homeowner because when you add the sodium (salt) and water together, it holds moisture. This is not necessary with whey-fed and milk-fed pork products direct from your local farmer. The cuts are just plain juicier and moister!

So after 21 hours of slow cookin', the pork picnic shoulder was ready to take off.

And the 'pulled' pork was divine!
Had that nice pink smoke ring and was juicy and tender. Added to it, was Carolina style sauce, vinegar based so as not to blur the succulent flavor of the meat with a sticky sauce.


Why so much attention to pork, you ask? This is a dairy site, after all. Well after much anticipation awaiting a heritage breed order of piglets from a local pork producer, that never seemed to come to fruition (interestingly they are also brand new vendors at the farmers market I have attended for 16yrs), my good friends from the Boucher Farm saved the day. We make cheese every day thru the week and seriously need to utilize the whey or ship it off. It should not go down the drain. And we don't produce enough to ship off.........So a few days ago, they brought me some healthy piglets from their pork source. And it was no pig in a poke! These piglets are good size and very healthy and vigorous! They already, after just a few days, look at us askance if we come with other feedstuff and NOT whey. As if to say, "what are YOU doing here without our whey?"

Below is Dan from Boucher Farm holding a piglet when I yelled that I had camera in hand!



They are also vendors at our market and produce milk fed pork, veal, beef and cheese. They go out of their way to help others and are dear friends of ours -especially in a time of need-without the competitive paranoia that we are going to infringe upon their market. Farming like it used to be when everyone helped others......Thanks guys!

Back to pork. In the late fall we will be offering once again amazing whey-fed pork as found in parts of Italy and Spain. We had to take a hiatus as we were building our new barn and cheese plant and didn't have the infrastructure to accept pigs-or the labor. The famous Prosciutto di Parma is produced from the hams of whey-fed pigs from the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese making process (Parmesan). Likewise, ham in Spain is cured from whey fed pork from the cheese making process.
Notably, pigs are nature made to root up the soil and get nutrients from the grasses, tree nuts and wild herbs etc. Add to it the whey, and you will go hog wild! So please contact us for some whey-fed pork later this season, if you are local. Sadly we are not set up to ship our meats at this time....

Cheese. The Dirty Truth.......

Cheese makers. Nothing more than glorified dishwashers, I say! That's what we are. Most people think we lead glamorous lives, going to competitions and coming home with ribbons in hand. Or attending fancy food shows. The dirty truth is? All we do is clean! As farmstead cheese makers, by definition, the milk comes from the farm's own supply of milk from animals raised right on-site. As well by definition, this means dirt, mud and poop. Yes the evil poop word. As such the farmstead cheese maker must be a dirt vigilante and clean, clean, clean. When we arrive at the cheese room each morning, we begin by filling sinks. Lots of them. Sometimes, 5. With what? Chlorine detergent, acid rinses and then sanitizers.

Now what? Well, the forms that hold the curds must be washed, rinsed and sanitized. So must the tables that they drain on, and the floors too. All the while, simultaneously, keeping the curing rooms just as clean and the 'proper' molds growing in there. For in each curing room there are numerous molds that want to grow on every cheese in sight. And certain cheeses require particular surface molds, or bacteria for their proper development.

This week while awaiting milk to heat to its required temperature, we spent about 5 hours cleaning things before we even made the cheese! It's a very steamy, wet environment, a cheese making operation, so cleaning is top priority and arduous as well. And did I mention it must be done every day? Glorified dish washers we are, I say!

Grassfed Lamb Shares

It has become quite chic to elucidate on all things local, please forgive the digression, but the above photo is our grassfed lamb burgers with homemade tzatziki and River Berry Farm lettuce with our own winter-stored fabulous baking potatoes.

We like to call our lamb, Basque Style. Basque style lamb is similar to the lamb produced in the mountainous Basque region of Spain. They are raised on pasture and harvested smaller than American lamb (which is feedlot finished similar to beef). It is therefore more lean than standard American lamb. Grazing our diverse pastures contributes to lamb that is delicate, tender and full of varietal flavors.

Our lambs are completely pasture-raised. They are free ranging and are never confined. Moving to new pastures each day provides optimum nutrition and flavor. They forage for grasses, legumes and even wild herbs like thyme and dandelion!

They nurse their mothers’ own rich milk and are supplemented with whey (a bonus from our cheesemaking process) and natural minerals. The result? Tender, lean and delicate due to the diverse diet they eat. We do not use any antibiotics, hormones or genetically engineered products.

One has to ask, how long can the feedlot-raised meats paradigm last? Given the price of fuel and the cost of raising grains in the midwest, then shipping it to areas far away. Well, I won't go into a diatribe on animal welfare, carbon footprints and the untold LACK of health benefits of grain fed meats. I will leave that to better writers and more comprehensive science-based sites on the internet like Eatwild, NY Times writer Jo Robinson's site dedicated to grassfed meats and dairy products and their health benefits. What a wealth of knowledge on her site!

Back to our lamb. Called “Among the best spring lamb...” by Williams-Sonoma TASTE magazine (2000), it is truly of the land and reflects our own terroir in the foot hills of the Green Mountains of Vermont.
So please join us at farmers market to try some, or by special appointment here at the farm for purchase. We offer both meat cuts and whole lamb shares. Yes, it sounds contradictory. Perhaps gone are the days when folks referred to 'freezer lamb'..........now everything is called a share-blame that on CSA's. Ha! I'll take it.

Farmers markets heat wave

Wow! We are sure having the oddest season I can recall. First a mini-summer in April wherein everybody in the neighborhood opened their pools (which doesn't usually occur until June here in Northern Vermont), and then another heat wave in early June and now in late June days and days of rain-enough so, I shall build an ark. Wondering if farmers near here are suffering as there has been virtually no sun for too long. But I will say where there is failure, there is always success. After all, I am one who, like it or not, always sees the proverbial glass as half full, not half empty. If not I could never be in farming. Hope springs eternal and in Vermont spring is short, so you better be hopeful. Tongue in cheek. Anyway the most incredible and gorgeous tender greens are coming our way with veggies shares and by the looks of it, most other farmers are having the same bumper crop. What comes with lots of rain is greens and lettuces that absolutely love rain. So who cares if the peppers are drowning and the eggplants may never make their own eggs, we'll have sumptuous salads everlasting!

At farmers market though it is truly challenging to keep cheeses and sheep yogurt cool. The lamb we bring to market is frozen and is in large coolers stocked full of ice packs. Luckily I learned long ago that a frozen solid cut of meat tends to keep its brethren frozen too. Of course, that's if one doesn't open the cooler lid too often-like mom always said "stop opening the fridge so many times!" Well, this is one day I wish I had a fridge to open at the market. As for lamb, we do still have lamb shares available.

Pork. It's What's for Dinner.

To say that "pork fat rules" is an understatement by Emeril Lagasse. I love pork. I love it alone and combined with other meats. It has a succulent, slightly salty, wonderful mouthfeel, the fat, that is.
We raise lamb and when I make lamb meatballs for spaghetti in red sauce, I enjoy the pure lamb meat, meatballs, but I cherish the meatballs with a little ground pork added. Of course I add a tad of our own milk to the mix too!

Our lamb, similar to Basque style lamb, is a little leaner than standard American lamb, so adding a small amount of ground pork helps add moisture and tenderness to the meatballs. Anyway, back to pork. It's so darn hot here in Northern Vermont right now that I figured, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.".............hence, the desire in the HHH (Hazy Hot and Humid temps) to barbecue some pork in true Southern style and enjoy this lazy day of summer. Wait! What? Lazy day? No whey! We made sheep yogurt today, Sunday. So another 9 hours in heat.......... This means that on a 90 degree day in Vermont, we were relaxingly donned in our rubber gloves and rubber aprons in an 85 degree room at about 90 percent humidity. Steamy is more like it!

Back to pork. I adore barbeque. I also relish grilling. What's the difference? **See notes below........I started out with the proverbial Hibachi on the ground in college. Then graduated to a gas Weber grill. Then inherited a Weber bubble charcoal grill when my mother moved away. I started out of curiosity to cook foods on the charcoal Weber. I never went back. Relegated the old gas Weber to the back of the garage and it's never seen the light of day, since. I would post a picture, but it might be sacrilege for some, so I'll refrain.

Consequently after grilling on the charcoal Weber for 3 years I noticed an ad in Fine Cooking Magazine for a Big Green Egg. This is a ceramic 'cooker', so it's called. But don't let that fool you. It excels in grilling, smoking and roasting. There are other brands of this Kamado type cooker on the market. I ended up in my obsessive hunt for one buying a Primo brand ceramic cooker (grill/smoker). These cookers can do direct cooking, indirect cooking, and smoking-even high heat cooking for a grilled pizza. They use charcoal, like the Weber bubble, however, the hardwood kind. This is lump charcoal, and will give your food an indescribable flavor. I know no one who has made the switch that goes back to briquets or gas. Yikes! I sound like I am pitching. Back to pork.

I 'cook out' as they say almost 365 days a year, here, in Vermont. I make lamb, pork, beef, fish and pizzas on the Primo. When it's storming, like a N'oreaster(whipping winds, below zero temps etc), then I make something else inside the house.

Here is the St Louis Style ribs with the fell (that thin skin next to the bones, sort of blueish, that needs to be removed prior to barbecuing-just pull a small amount with a knife, and using a paper towel pull the whole thing off in one fell swoop)...........pulled off with a paper towel, and rubbed with Dizzy Pig dry rub.



I like to make homemade dry rubs for meats, however,
I really appreciate being able to order the Dizzy Pig dry rubs online if I need to, in a pinch. Another favorite bbq product of mine is the Billy Bar. This tool, is exceptional at cleaning any kind of grates on any grill/smoker. Be it gas or charcoal. It is as good as sliced bread! This tool, is a small rod-like shape on a handle. Here, the bar cleans the grates.



Notice the V-shape of the bar. It gets in the grates and around to clean the gunk and will work on any type of grill, gas or charcoal. It has a stay-cool handle and can be wiped off with a paper towel. It beats those brass brushes that never last.


Barbeque vs. grilling: Barbeque is anything that is slow cooked, low & slow at about 250-300F. Grilling, on the other hand, is high heat, or not, direct or indirect cooking on a grill. Barbeque, for me, is pork ribs, beef brisket, spatchcocked chicken, slow roasted lamb and/or game meats.

How To Eat Supper

Listening to The Splendid Table on National Public Radio yesterday on the drive home from our 2nd farmer's market (of the summer season anyway), it struck me that CSA's, otherwise known as Community Supported Agriculture, is the way to have fabulous suppers thru the year!

Traditionally, CSA's are a way for a farmer to make an early income and pay for employee payroll as well as the seeds necessary to plant all those vegetables. For those who might not know what one is, it's a situation wherein one joins a CSA, pays a modest fee to the farmer to receive weekly 'orders' of foods-be they veggies, meats, eggs, bread, flowers and the like. I say 'orders' because in most CSA arrangements the customer gets what is pre-chosen each week, mostly what's ready to be consumed. So in July, here in Vermont, what would one get? Green beans, basil for pesto, greenhouse tomatoes, new potatoes, lettuces and perhaps some berries (if the farmer is diversified in that way).

I have discovered a brilliant concept in a new form of CSA: River Berry Farm. Located in Fairfax, Vermont this is a very diversified farm offering greenhouse plants, strawberries, raspberries, mixed veggies and organic eggs. The concept is different in that one pays a flat rate and gets credit. So instead of a pre-chosen allotment of foods, the customer can utilize the credit to purchase anything they raise on the farm! So in light of full disclosure, for my share I can buy veg plants in their greenhouses at the start of the season for my garden and then graduate to luscious organic raspberries and glorious cottage garden flower bouquets later in the summer.

And what's more? As I was then on cheese deliveries in downtown Burlington, I noticed something interesting. The same size bag of spinach at a large chain supermarket was over $5.00, while at a local co-op it was a bit less (and local and organic). However the spinach that I received as part of my share (again full disclosure) was huge and less money, costing about $3.50. Not only less in dollars, but more in value for those bags are fresher, the spinach tastes sweeter and there is virtually no waste inside the bag. You know those little brown wilted leaves that always remain in a bag of California-shipped spinach. So to be succinct, like mom always said "Less is more."


This bag of spinach was taller than my coffee pot! Below is supper a few nights ago of slow bbq'd pulled pork, thyme infused white bean salad and River Berry Farms' fresh spinach with a lemon vinaigrette.



What's for supper tonight? Some more low-n-slow bbq and I'm thinking wilted River Berry Spinach with some fresh cream from the farm and a bit of melted La Fleurie cheese. Some roasted sweet potatoes on the side. Now that's how to eat supper!

Ah-butter

With all the calving going on, but yet not enough cows in the parlor for cheese making, I decided to get started stocking up on raw milk grass-fed butter. What is this? This is butter made when the cows are out on grass and not pasteurized. With the larger proportion of Jersey cows' milk now in our herd, their milk makes superior butter.

What makes superior butter, you ask? Larger fat globules which the Jersey cows have. The size of the globules makes the butter 'break' into butter and buttermilk more readily than milk with smaller fat globules. And oh, the color! Butter made from cows out on grass is like egg yolks from chickens out on grass-bright yellow. Since I don't own a butter churn I use the food processor method for making butter.



Basically pure chilled cream is put into a food processor and whirred around for a few minutes until it breaks into a sloshy yellow mess of butter and buttermilk. Then it is rinsed with cool water and washed and washed and worked by hand until the liquid is out of the now solid butter. Then all that's left to do is form or package up the butter into whatever vessel you like. I like packing butter to be consumed soon in little ramekins.

Butter for storage is wrapped in freezer paper and frozen to be eaten later in the year. Visit Eatwild to learn more about the benefits of raw milk butter and other dairy products.

Lions, Tigers and Bears, oh my...

Lambing, calving and cheese making, oh my! Well spring has truly sprung in Vermont as the grass has just begun on our farm to green up. Granny Smith green at this point. Birthing time always brings with it a season of obstetrics. Little sleep and then all of a sudden lots of babies on the ground. We have a ball watching the lambs, especially, frolicking with each other and engaging in their daily races. Lambs, like clockwork, run races of sorts until they are so out of breath, they all come to a screetching halt at once. How do they know when to all stop at the same time? It's as if it's a choreographed dance. Or perhaps they are a secret society.




Our calves, on the other hand, do what we call, boinging. All of a sudden they discover their legs and boing straight up in the air with tails held skyward and zoom across the field in a short burst. And then they are done.



The above photo is Peony, a first time mom, with her new baby, Carmela. Peony is half Jersey, half Brown Swiss. Unlike most dairies, we leave the babies on the moms for a bit to nurse. There are several reasons for this. For first time moms, it is very beneficial for the bonding process, and what is known as 'let-down'. This is the process of any lactating mammal of letting down her milk. She needs to get used to the sensation of having something nurse on her udder and it is stress-less. On the other hand, training a new mom in the milk parlor having never been nursed before can be a small nightmare. She must learn not only to walk into a very clean man-made room, hear a loud vacuum pump (which runs the milking machines), then stand still while a milker puts teat cups on her udder and then, lastly, let down her milk. So by leaving their babies on for a bit, they learn in a most natural way to let down and also give the farmers a small break during a most challenging and busy time of lambing and calving. Another huge benefit is of health. The calves get the antibody rich colostrum direct from their mothers.

The other day another baby born, to Iris, another Jersey-Brown Swiss.


Altho the heifer introducing herself to him is Bramble, who was born inconveniently in the middle of a blackberry bramble patch a few years ago. The markings on this baby are from his Dutch Belted father, with his semi-belt around his middle. Bramble herself is a Jersey-Dutch Belt cross and she didn't get the white belt either. Her mother, Reo, short for Oreo, has a most beautiful thick white belt across her middle.

The 5 Seasons of Vermont

Well here we are again. The worst season in Vermont. It's called mud season. It is after winter and before spring. Some would argue that in Vermont there is no spring. Just winter and then mud season and quick summer. All the winter run-off causes roads, pastures, fields and driveways to turn to muck. Including ours.

Our small viewing room is still open but if you come to visit please be aware that the farm road to it is a bit messy. This should all end by the end of April-hopefully. It is never a sure thing, how long it will last. And also remember that our viewing room is self-serve as we don't have the extra hands to give formal tours. We are in the throes of calving and lambing now. Yikes!

Please stop by and visit us at the Montpelier Winter farmers market tomorrow, April 5th. It will be the last one until next winter. After this market ends, we will be attending the Burlington Farmers Market for our 15th season! It begins May 10 and runs thru Oct 25, 2008 (Saturdays 8:30-2, in City Hall Park). See you then!

Farm Fresh Raw Milk For Sale in Vermont

March 14th was a great day for Vermont! Currently in Vermont dairy farmers can sell up to 25 quarts of raw milk per day. They CANNOT advertise, sales must be via word of mouth and no signs can be hung at the dairy. For those who may not remember, there are 4 quarts in a gallon. So 25 quarts equals roughly a bit over 6 gallons. A newly freshened cow (one that has just given birth) gives that amount per day. So with current law in Vermont, a farmer is only allowed to sell, by word of mouth approximately one cow's worth of milk. Vermont is the only state in New England to limit raw milk sales to 25 quarts.

There has been significant discussion and debate regarding the health benefits versus risks of selling raw milk. Some states allow raw milk sales with advertising, some allow sales at the retail level in stores, and some even allow milk to be shipped via Fed Ex. In Vermont, what had been proposed with this new bill, the Farm Fresh Milk Bill, as it has been called, was a stringent third party certification and testing program, coupled with the allowance to advertise milk sales and give the informed consumer the choice to buy raw milk. I won't use this space to go into lengthy discourse pro or con raw milk but I will say the bill got a very favorable response from lawmakers.

Unfortunately as time ran out to fix a complicated issue of jurisdiction, they moved to strike all which means to completely change the bill as it is currently worded and instead worded it to increase the volume of milk a farmer can sell to 50 quarts a day as well as advertise! More info will be available as to its status as well as sound files on their website Rural Vermont. Hats off to all involved in moving Farm Fresh Milk forward in Vermont!

New York City trip

Well it's been a while since I last posted as I traveled to New York City to visit cheese shops and get together with some long missed friends. While there I had the unusual treat, for me anyway since I don't get off the farm much, to dine at Momofuku noodle bar. Having seen the chef making his well-known steamed buns on Martha Stewart I was intrigued to try them. Little did I know that it would only be a few weeks later! They were better than I had imagined, just right thickness, perfectly done, and oozing with the heritage breed pork juices from the meat inside. As heritage pork raisers ourselves, I was thrilled to see New York city chefs spreading the word, just from a taste standpoint alone. Fun!

After dinner, my friends from Cheese by Hand took me a few blocks away to meet up with Anne Saxelby of Saxelby Cheesemongers, a fantastic cheese booth in the Essex Street Market on the lower East side. She had just done a tasting to die for............my favorite foods! Beer, cheese and BACON! What is not good with bacon? The pub hosting, Jimmy's No.43, is on East 7th Street. Walking down a set of stairs I entered an underground small pub with low lighting graced with the smoky smell of hearty bacon-and of course, beer. What a great time! And fantastic place to host.

While in NY I also required bringing home bialys and lox. Those in hand in my cooler bag, I returned home on the train to another week of meals courted by lox. Oh............and did I mention the Patriots did get creamed by New York? Much to the chagrin of my husband.

Super Bowl Sunday!

The New England Patriots are unbeaten and about to play in the Super Bowl today. After a long day at farmers market yesterday and another long day of cheese making and shipping tomorrow, Monday morning, I decided to play it easy and forgo all the planning for junk foods and fatty pupus (that's appetizer in Hawaiian) and just keep it simple and grill some of our own grass fed beef and bake some potatoes from the garden. And for dessert, dark chocolate gelato and to gild the lily, it IS the Super Bowl after all, some liqueur soaked cherries and fresh bakery-made cannoli. Go team!

Ulterior motive? Brewing some more beer. What's this contraption?

This is a wort chiller. It enables me to cool down the wort (the liquid that later becomes beer) quickly so I can pitch (throw in) the yeast to get the thing fermentatin'! Next up? A pilsner style. I definitely will be re-creating the Belgian Style Pale Ale for the husband has them almost all gone before their time! The last Belgian Pale Ale below...crisp, refreshing and effervescent.

One More Farmers Market...

Despite a nasty pre-market storm to include a half inch of ice, sleet, freezing rain and snow, the show was to go on. I battled the interstate thru chunks of ice causing rough road conditions and getting behind and oh-so slow Fed Ex Custom Critical truck. Wait. Aren't those the ones that are supposed to deliver critical boxes in the same day such as organs etc? At least the driver was driving carefully.

I arrived late and was later greeted by some familiar faces from another farmers market. Nice to know that folks will drive well over an hour to buy our cheeses and meats. "Buy Local" is truly becoming a movement in Vermont!

At the end of the market a frequent cheese buyer from Pete's Greens came over and handed me a jar of canned tomato sauce. What a nice ending to a long day to be able to come home and make some spaghetti with sauce ready to go. Thanks Roger at Pete's Greens!

Obsession Revisited

Once upon a time I heard someone call the art of cheese making "controlled fermentation." It would be fair to say that I am obsessed, then, with all things fermentation. I am a cheese maker, I bake slow fermented hearth breads, especially in the winter when my schedule allows and now, I am revisiting the quest for good homebrew. My husband, back in the early 90's, used to brew beer at home. Me, partial to wine, I paid not much attention. Now with worldwide grain crops causing skyrocketing prices for microbrewery beers as well as the unavailability of hops, I felt compelled to save money on his beer purchases and decided to do homebrew. Somehow he has not quickly picked up the equipment and taken over, but I have. I ran to the local brew shop, Vermont Homebrew Supply, and picked up some malt, hops, corn sugar, and several more books we probably didn't need to add to our beer library........at this point.

On the fast track I first made an English Ale, also known as a bitter. And while it was still happily bubbling away (fermenting) I travelled again to the brew shop and bought more! For my next brew I decided to try, with the shop owner's help, a Belgian Style Pale Ale made with honey. Today it still is fermenting and we patiently await the English Ale to carbonate in their bottles.

Given the obsession with all things fermented I also relish lacto fermented vegetables such as true kimchi and sauerkraut. One great tangy, crunchy fabulous brand in Vermont is Flack Family Farm's version I just purchased at Healthy Living down in Burlington. The health benefits are well-documented and known but what's also a boon is their taste! It's like no other. You get the salt, the crunch, the umami? That unidentified '5th' taste sensation. The 4 tastes we were educated about in school, that the human tongue has receptors on to send messages to the brain. You know, bitter, sour, salty, sweet. And now added.....umami. It's the unknown taste, you get it in true Parmesan cheese, soy sauce, fish sauce, anchovy, wild mushrooms and other foods that are good for you. Happily, they also make our meals take on so much more depth!

Foodies Rejoice!

Foodies Rejoice! The all-new huge spacious Healthy Living Market on Dorset Street in Burlington, Vermont is now open and welcoming all in a fantastic space. From the well-organized local produce section to the hot deli, artisan bread, soup, sandwich and panini pressers panel to pastry purgatory, I confess I am enamored by this new store. What can be more comforting than a PB and Choc panini? (peanut butter and chocolate-a perfect match)

The cheese department is all-new too and its size reflects the knowledge and experience of its cheesemonger, Lydia, who is committed to cut-to-order should the customer desire but also offers on-the-fly purchases as well. Her new selection is perhaps the largest in Burlington and definitely on par with well-known shops in New York City and Boston.......

What is 'cut-to-order?' This is when a customer does not know which cheese to buy or what it tastes like. Although curious, he/she does not venture to ask......Then comes 'cut to order.' The customer should ask for a taste or several tastes and then can better decide which he/she prefers to buy. A relationship develops between the seller and the buyer and true customer service is actually, had. I recommend to all lovers of cheese to relinquish your shyness and ASK for a cut of cheese. After all, you are the customer and cheesemongers want you to buy what you will enjoy. As for Lydia, she and her experienced staff are excited to show you what's available!

Kat's International Plate

Well today I had to say farewell to my intern/employee/assistant cheese maker/good friend. It all began when she wrote me a note to ask for a job in eighth grade, I reluctantly hired her due to her age but on a farm you take what you can for help. Nobody wants to do this kind of work and labor is always the limiting factor to not only success but any type of expansion. She came to me with an innate work ethic not normally seen in this era of cell phones, instant messaging and trips to the mall. As she came and went with each new passing school year I watched her grow up until she went to college and now off to Europe for a semester abroad. What will be an excellent opportunity for open-mindedness, culture, growth and some serious immersion language studies will also mean for me a bittersweet loss of what my husband termed "an incredible asset to our farm."

These days it is an exceptional young person that can work with fervor, initiative and intuition-we should all strive to enhance our work environments like she does-naturally. So let's all make a New Year's resolution to enjoy our work, whatever we 'do' and also laugh a LOT. That's what we did. Hats off to Kat and many many thanks for great years of attention to detail in the cheese room and making me laugh- a lot.

Mark your bookmarks to Kat's International Plate to see her travels thru Spain and great food to boot! Buena Suerte, Kat!

Happy New Year!

Good things come to those who wait. That's what I say! 2008, that is. After a challenging 2007 on the farm with everything electronic or electric breaking I relish the entry of 2008. It began with my husband and I attempting to 'finish' the two and a half year cheese house construction project by ourselves. Especially since the old one was completely disassembled and unusable. Then all of a sudden, it seemed each and every compressor, condensing unit, bulk tank, motor and engine broke here on the farm. For those unfamiliar with these terms, they are all related to refrigeration. The kind that keeps cheese, meats and blueberries cold. Refrigeration costs are expensive and always break down on a Sunday, when charges to fix them double. This mostly affects those small delicate soft cheeses and not the larger natural rinds in our cave.

Due to the ever lengthy construction project, we also were unable to produce the normal volume of our award winning natural rind cheeses which age in the caves: Autumn Oak, Mountain Tomme and Blue Moon. Hopefully we will be back on track for 2008. I look forward to this year as one friend said recently "the 2007 curse has broken."

Great things that happened in 2007? We released a new washed rind cheese appropriately called 'Paniolo' which means 'cowboy' in Hawaiian. This, in honor of at least 10 generations of familial lines of those Paniolos who have worked the cattle and land on our family ranch in Hawaii. As their numbers are on the decline we felt it a propos to pay homage to them. This one is a stronger cheese, what some call 'stinky cheese.' I prefer aromatic. It is creamy and mild when young, maturing into a luscious texture and unctuous character-like a true cowboy. Complex in nature, it deserves to be served with an Alsatian Riesling or a big Belgian beer.