Good time to read

I just love reading at night. When the bloody police shows come on, I just excuse myself and go into my room to read and daydream about goats and sheep. I just finished The Year of The Goats and Goat Song which made me cry at first as that was me many years ago starting out on a W VA farm and buying my first buck and doe, then waiting for babies and then milk. Mother Earth News was our bible. I was the Laurel Chanel of the mountains except nobody there knew it. They (the W VA mountain people) thought a person would be crazy to  actually pay money for a goat and ugh eat the milk or cheese? I had little in the way of recipes, no bacterial cultures so I guess I made lactic acid cheese using  a starter from my own yogert  and adding rennet. We also had a blind, hard to milk, kicking cow and there was lots of milk from Bossie and the cream to make butter. Not so easy with goats milk as the cream is naturally homoginized and does not float to the top for scooping for  butter making.  Next to read: Living With Goats by same author as Year of the Goat.  I am there with them in spirit.

goatcheese truffles

I tried a recipe that I found in Caprine News.  Simple,  just make little balls or sphears of plain cheve, freeze on parchment paper, melt bittersweet chocolate, dip frozen cheese in the chocolate and sprinkle with a little kosher salt, cool and walla, cheve truffles. Next time I will roll them in a little chopped nuts.  It’s a creamy treat like a Good Humor chocolate covered vanilla ice cream popsicle but with less sugar.

Cheese School

2/2/10 I just spent 3 days in cheese school in Sonoma county, CA. 2 days were with Dr. Moshe Rosenberg from UC Davis, one of the top leaders in the subject in the world in the chemistry of cheesemaking. We learned much about chemistry, biology, microbiology, PH, TA and so much more. We had 1 day of cheesemaking at Redwood Hills Farms creamery, plus a tour of the farm and lots of fun with the goats. About 40 in the class coming from many areas of the USA. People with dairies, people building dairies and people with a deep interest in the subject. Jenifer Brice the owner of Redwood Hills and one of the most important players in the artisan dairy business was our host, mentor and had to graciously put up with our incessant questions. We appreciate her hospitality and that she had to use 350 gallons of precious goat milk for our class which would have normally gone into their products. It was awesome,  Dr Rosenberg was just the best speaker, making chemistry interesting with a passion he has for teaching it.

cheesedreamer

I am a lover of anything cheese. I love the cheeses of course but I also love the cheese makers and the cheesemongers.  I am crazy for animals and if I could, I would have goats, sheep and a cow to milk. They are such wonderful animals, all with different personalities and different milk which translates into totally different cheeses from each. I try to sample 3 cheeses weekly, mostly ones that I have never had before. 
There are thousands of them coming from many countries in the world. My loyality is to the cheeses of northern California and Oregon as I am a believer of the Slow Food Movement and buying locally. To be real though for my studies, I do taste cheeses from other countries, blending them with wines, looking for that magical match of which there are many. I will share my journey on this blog and who knows where it will take me BUT, it is the journey that is important!!

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