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....