Cheese of the Week June 4, 2008

Yep…that’s right…it’s CHEESE of the week. And it’s mouthwatering!!! Last night I ate it on some toasted sourdough from 222, spread thick with fresh strawberries on top. good lord, it was downright amazing! It comes from Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, VT…..Constant Bliss!!!

Constant Bliss is based on a Chaource recipe, which we modified to suit our production schedule and cheesemaking facility. The result is a cheese which hardly even resembles a Chaource. It is a slow ripened lactic curd made only with fresh, right out of the cow, uncooled, evening milk. We actually begin the cheesemaking process before the cows have finished milking. Constant Bliss is made with raw whole milk. This is not a double or triple crème cheese as is sometimes thought. Seasonal variations in the milk result in variations on the surface and flavor of the cheese. We like to use Constant Bliss to highlight our milk, and rather than overpowering the natural microflora of our milk with cotton white mold, we prefer to see a mottling of diverse molds and yeasts, which are prevalent particularly in the summer months when the cows are out on grass. It is aged 60 days before it leaves the farm, and is a ‘sell it or smell it’ item for retailers.

We named Constant Bliss after a revolutionary war scout killed in Greensboro by native Americans in 1781. He was guarding the Bayley Hazen Military Road with his compatriot Moses Sleeper, who died with him.

It’s name it suitable….b/c when you eat it…you are in a state of constant bliss!!!! Very fitting.

Prairie Grass Farm EGGS!!!!!!! May 24, 2008

They were at the TG Farmer’s Market!!! Didn’t think to ask about the doggie rumor! Just bought two dozen and boggied.

Making the ultimate breakfast sandwich right now. Egg from prairie grass, cheese from wisconsin, sausage from Heinkebein and bread from 222.

UPDATE:  So, the rumor mill says thus:  The puppies got out ate all the little chickens….not the full grown hens.  They were next years flock.  So….we will have eggs for the remainder of this season…don’t know about next.  No dogs were EVER harmed!

Who let the dogs out?….Prairie Farms is out of eggs for a while May 15, 2008

Okay…that was a bad pun….you’ll get it after I tell you this sad story.

Prairie Grass Farms’ resident German Shepards got loose and terrorized the hen houses.  Majority of chickens were lost…and rumor has it that there will be no more eggs from Prairie Grass Farms.  So sad.  I wonder what they are going to do with the leftover chickens.  If we were in the new house I’d take them for my urban chicken project.

Cheesemakers of the Week April 30, 2008

It’s been a while since I posted a Cheesemaker of the Week. So here it goes…..Twig Farm in West Cornwall, VT….owned by Michael Lee and Emily Sunderman. When I came across this duo…it made me even more excited about Simon and my future plans. It can be done…..Michael and Emily have proved it!

We have been in business since 2005. Our twenty-acre farm is located in West Cornwall, Vermont, about 10 miles south of Middlebury. Michael manages our herd of goats and makes and ages our cheese. Emily manages the business and marketing for Twig Farm and works as an analyst for a publishing company. Michael makes our cheese by hand using traditional techniques and equipment for farmstead cheese production. Our cheeses age in a temperature and humidity controlled enviornment in our cellar. Michael learned his craft mostly by doing. Prior to making Twig Farm cheese, Michael worked as an apprentice at Peaked Mountain Farm in Townsend, Vermont, and before that was a cheese manager at South End Formaggio in Boston, Massachusetts.

Summer Internship at Berger Bluff Farm April 21, 2008

We had the joy of spending Sunday out at Lee & Ingrid Abraham’s farm in Berger, MO! What an amazing day!!!! It was very hard for me to leave after a wonderful brunch and afternoon walking the farm. I have fallen in love with their daughter Leena…I only hope someday our kid is as cool as she. She made us laugh with her prom night story….and she loves Feist just as much as I do and even went to the show in StL last week. Coolest kid around….she even ate the cheese rind….most teenagers wouldn’t have even put the strange cheese in their mouth….not Leena…she’s awesome.

Simon says our visit got me “farmcited!” (farm+excited). And yes….I am beginning to long for our own little plot of land and to leave the city behind. I would be happy just to move in with Lee & Ingird. I just need to finish grad school first…well, maybe I don’t…I might be able to finagle a way to do it from a farm….ah….a girl can dream…

Anyway….Berger Bluff Farm is in need of a summer intern(s). See below for details:

We are looking for one or two apprentices for the 2008 growing season. Work will include all facets of vegetable farming: propagation, transplanting, cultivation, irrigation, harvest, packout, and delivery. We market our produce in St. Louis at a farmers’ market and restaurants. Our prime consideration is that we find a person or persons who have a passion for gardening/farming-and are willing to work hard, listen to instruction, and apply the information. The intern must enjoy working around others and be flexible to the needs of the farm. Housing is provided in a one-bedroom, restored log house with kitchen and bathroom facilities. We offer a monthly stipend and produce during the season. Please contact us if you are interested.

If you are not familiar with Berger Bluff Farm, I am so sorry! You are missing out! You can find them at the Green Market in the CWE….you will NOT be disappointed with their bounty! Please check them out once the Green Market opens this season. I was introduced to them when I began dating Simon…all those years ago! Sidenote: Lee and Ingrid were the very first people I was introduced to as Simon’s girlfriend!!! AWWWW.

the answers are blowing in the wind…. April 10, 2008

i can only hope that this actually becomes reality. 

Giant Wind Farm Planned for Montgomery, Christian Counties

2010 is too far away…we needed this years ago.

One of my favorite sights is when we drive up to the farm in WI and we pass the giant wind farm.  Makes my heart swell. 

this little piggy went to market March 7, 2008

It’s March. It’s St. Louis. It’s cold…but according to Mother Nature, Spring Equinox is slated for March 20, 2008. uh..right.

All I know is that the River Hills Farmer’s Market opening day is tomorrow. If you have never been to the River Hills Farmer’s Market, located just about 70 miles NW of St. Louis in the quaint little town of Silex, MO…you should come with me tomorrow. It seems that on Saturdays into the 1930s the city fathers would gate off Main Street into stock pens so butcher stock could be loaded onto the Short Line. Eggs and cream were bartered for essentials, and horses and mules were traded on one end of town. Inspired by this in its search of a community-service project, the Silex 4-H Flyers club decided to recreate the traditions of a Saturday Market Day and thus, River Hills Farmers Market was born.

Amish baked goods, green beans and tomatoes, table eggs and hatching eggs, baby chicks, peafowl, goats and sheep are just a few of the weekly offerings. I can’t wait to gas up the truck and head up north for a day of fun in Silex.

From Localharvest.org:

River Hills Farmers Market is entering our 18th year. We are open on the 2nd and 4th Saturday, starting March the 8th. We offer a variety of market items, from Heritage poultry to Heirloom vegetables. On any given Saturday you can find Welsummer chickens, fresh country eggs, honey, fresh baked goods, Royal Palm Turkeys, local fruits and vegetables.

The Cheesemonger will be at the shop that day and unable to travel to the market. That means I will be left to my own devices. muuwhaaaahaaa!

**we will be leaving St. Louis at approx 8:45 am from Clayton.

Broken Arrow Ranch: Texas Hill Country March 6, 2008

I lived in Austin for 3 years. While I was there, I spent most of my time eating and drinking….the latter being the more prominent. However, my carnivorous ways were honed and encouraged while living in the Hill Country. BBQ was a way of life….meat with every meal. I was lucky enough to have come in contact with this amazing ranch. Broken Arrow Ranch is a one of a kind, truly free range wild game meat. Until recently, Broken Arrow Ranch has slipped my mind. Micheal Ruhlman reminded me today of the beauty that is Broken Arrow Ranch.

As a supporter of sustainable agriculture efforts, we work with about 100 ranches around Texas as an integral part of their game management plans. Without proper population management, ranches can quickly become overpopulated with wild deer and antelope resulting in overgrazing and, eventually, starvation for the entire herd. Our field harvesting methods helps ranchers maintain naturally sustainable deer and antelope populations, which preserves the herd and land as a future resource.

Our field harvesting facility is comprised of several separate trailers that can be moved to any location on the ranch to minimize the time lapse between harvesting and processing. The ranch is quietly searched for deer and antelope. Animals are harvested in the field from long-range using a sound-suppressed rifle and a Leupold scope.”

We have undertaken these unique field harvesting procedures in order to reduce stress during slaughter, which is a major factor in controlling meat quality. An animal that senses a threat or unusual situation will react with an increased flow of adrenaline which in turn creates a rapid increase in lactic acid within the muscles. This acidic condition causes the meat to become tough, strongly flavored, and reduces the shelf life of the meat. Farmed deer are slaughtered by loading them into a trailer, taking them to a slaughter house, and running them through an apparatus where they are killed and processed. Even though these deer are domesticated and relatively tame, there is certainly some stress introduced during this process. The purpose of our field harvesting technique is to ensure the animals are never under any stress and the resulting meat quality is the highest possible.

The first time I had meat fielded by Broken Arrow was while dining at Cafe Annie in Houston. It was an amazing meal and one of my first introductions to sustainable agriculture. The liver for NYC’s Head to Tail Dinner at the Astor Center was sourced from Broken Arrow. What a bunch of lucky folks.

In regards to their mobile ‘butcher shops’: Gordon Ramsay had a similar type of slaughter performed on the turkeys he and his children raised for Christmas Lunch on his BBC show “The F Word”. I found it interesting how the slaughter of the birds took place at his home in the garden. A quick electric shock and they birds were dead…feathers plucked and cleaned. and before you knew it….they were in the oven. Now that is fresh. See STLBites spot on “The Butcher”.

Mobile butcher shops might just be what our local farmers need.

 

 

The 2008 Acres U.S.A. Conference March 2, 2008

Mark your calendar . . .
The 2008 Acres U.S.A. Conference
Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 4-6, 2008
Pre-Conference Intensive Study Options, Dec. 2-3, 2008
Hyatt Regency Union Station, St. Louis, Missouri

The annual Acres U.S.A. conference sets the standards for innovation and learning. It is where you find farmers and consultants from every side of eco-farming who come together to share their experience and expertise. Attend the non-stop event, learn the latest in cutting-edge technology and methods, and return home ready to make your farming operation the best it can be.

Flying Pigs Farm March 2, 2008

 

I know this isn’t a cheesemaker, but this family is doing something that is important and dear to my heart. Flying Pigs Farm. They breed and raise heritage breed pork. Michael Yezzi and Jennifer Small keep Glouchester Old Spots, Large Blacks and Tamworths. These 3 breeds are very old and very rare these days. The farm is located in Washington County in the great state of NY.

 

 

Our pigs are Large Blacks, Gloucestershire Old Spots, and Tamworths. These breeds are quite old and now rare. Pork from these breeds is more moist and has a better flavor and texture than the pork from conventional hybrids.

It may seem odd to use rare breed pigs for pork, but these breeds simply will not survive unless a market for these animals can be created. Already 6 of the 15 breeds of pigs raised in the United States in the 1930s are extinct.

 

For more information about conserving breeds of farm animals, contact the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (www.albc-usa.org).

The pigs on Flying Pigs Farm are able to roam freely on the grounds and assist the farmers in managing their land. You can order direct from Flying Pig Farm…but if you are heading to NY or the east coast anytime soon, their products are found in the following restaurants:

 

Applewood (Brooklyn)
Beekman Street Bistro (Saratoga Springs, NY)
Cleaver Company/Green Table (Manhattan)
Craft (Manhattan)
Diner (Brooklyn)
Fiamma (Manhattan)
Gramercy Tavern (Manhattan)
Il Buco (Manhattan)
Lunetta (Brooklyn)
Mas (Manhattan)

Mezze (Williamstown, MA)

Pangaea (North Bennington, VT)

Savoy (Manhattan)

Telepan (Manhattan)