You can fool the fans - but not the players.... John Cage

Cheese-making, part 2: the cheese!

Those very adorable goats I posted about yesterday produce plenty of milk when they aren't nursing babies.... and the mistress of the goats we met makes cheese, teaches others how to make cheese, and even sells some of the supplies to make cheese.

But first:

 

We had a milk-tasting, comparing the taste of one goat's milk to another. Since all the does are pregnant or nursing, we tried milk that had been frozen. It was icy cold and delicious. I'm not even a milk drinker and I slurped my shots down to nothing, it was that tasty. I could do goat's milk!

 

Next we put two gallons of milk to heating, each in it's own stainless steel pot, because we were making two batches of cheese. And while the milk heated we had another tasting.

 

This was a pesto cheese we tried. Delicious. In fact, I can just say right now that the entire experience of cheese-making was delicious and get that out of the way.

We learned to taste cheese on bread rather than crackers, as crackers have too much flavor of their own.

 

These little rounds were chive and cilantro - creamy, silky, and oh-so-good. We were all greedily sampling bite after bite.

 

While the milk heated and we stuffed our faces, our instructor talked us through the supplies needed for making this type of cheese: stainless steel pots with lids, a colander, a large stainless whisk, measuring cup, small lidded containers for the finished cheese (she uses tupperware), and a good quality cheesecloth. The cheesecloth is so important that once she found the right weave she bought a bolt of it and sells it by the yard to other cheese-makers. If you clean it carefully, it can be used over and over again.

 

We were set to work chopping herbs (we made rosemary-garlic and cilantro-chive cheeses), and measuring out salt, butter, and vinegar while the milk heated. It needs to be 200-206 degrees farenheit - foamy but not boiling or scalded.

 

Once the milk is heated, it is slowly stirred with the whisk while the apple cider vinegar (or other acid like lemon / orange juice) is added until it begins to separate into curds and whey (who knew?)

 

Your cheescloth covered colander sits at the ready, the curdling milk is covered and left for a minute,

 

and poured slowly into the colander.

 

The corners of the cheesecloth are gathered up and the ball of cheese is sort of rolled around to let most of the whey drain off, then it is placed back into the warm pan.

 

With a potato masher the salt, butter and herbs are worked into the cheese and it is ready to be packed into smaller containers to chill and set up (about 24 hours).

 

We each took home a round of cheese that had been made the night before, and we got to scoop out the bits of warm cheese that were left over from our two batches. So very, very delicious.

I'm ready to get a dairy goat and start making my own cheese!

Cheese making - part 1: The Goats

When I think of cheese making I think of nuns in France, aging their cheeses in underground vaults. Or the Cowgirl Creamery over on the coast of northern California. I don't often think of our little town. But the art of cheese-making is alive and well here and I had the pleasure of learning the basics of making goat milk ricotta yesterday. And sampling yummy, delicious goat milk from two different does. And taking home a round of rosemary-garlic cheese to share with Mr. Man.

It all starts here:

Did you know that a goat like this can produce up to a gallon of milk a day? I'd guess that if you owned this goat you'd quickly learn to make cheese, and you'd make sure all your friends liked cheese, and you'd create a lot of opportunities to serve cheese.

 

According to the 4H dairy goat website, there are six breeds recognized for milk production.

 

This mama had two week old babies and another mama had one week old babies, 2 each, and cute as can be. I believe she is another alpine and the 3rd mama is a cross between a nubian and an alpine. Nubians have those long ears that hang down and alpines have upright ears. (I could have gotten some of the mixed up as there was a lot of talking going on and I am easily distracted by looking around at everything).

 

I wouldn't want to be their mama, cause some udder-butting was going on that couldn't feel good. Our teacher explained that at this young age the babies have such little mouths that they sometimes have a hard time getting a hold of a teat and then, if they haven't been successful in getting any milk, that teat gets even more engorged and larger. Then the doe has to be milked to relieve the pressure and prevent problems.

 

So dang cute. They had just had their little heads shaved and their horns burned off so they looked a little alien, but they had their milk and then got a little frisky around the pen. Even at two weeks they can jump! And they are pettable, although a bit squirmy.

 

I didn't get any good photos of the one-week babies - they were in another pen. They were sweet too, and would attempt to nurse on a finger if offered. The mamas were quite tolerant of us being there - perhaps it was the bowl of salad that came with us.

 

It was all I could do to not purchase one of these baby does right then and there.

 

Reason took over and reminded me that we have a resort to run and are soon to be temporarily homeless - probably not a good idea to add to our menagerie with a goat right now.

 

I was sorely tempted, though.

Tomorrow - the making of the cheese. Wherein we move to the kitchen, wash our hands, and begin part 2.

Making Limoncello for the new year...

I thought for certain I had already posted this recipe but because I don't have a search function on my blog (bad, BAD blogger - must add one pronto) I couldn't find it and if I can't find it then you probably can't find it. If you like lemons and vodka you need this recipe because it makes the very best lemon drops AND you can make Crema di Limoncello which is heavenly served over ice.

 

I wish I could credit this recipe too, but all I have is the magazine page, torn from its origins, with no hint of where it came from 3 or 4 years ago. The article is by Ann Hood, about her childhood and homemade food...

Whoa! Wait a minute! I just did a search for Ann Hood's limoncello and guess what I found... my own blog and the recipe for limoncello! So without further ado, here it is!

I meant to make limoncello and crema di limoncello a month or more ago and give it away, but time just kept getting past me and other things took priority. I had two bottle of Trader Joe's vodka set aside just for this purpose and kept buying bags of lemons that would go bad in the fridge. Finally, JC came home last night and said he was going to make himself a vodka martini and I thought about how refreshing a lemon drop might be.... and next thing I knew I was knee-deep in lemon zest.

 

I did have a lemon drop to celebrate riding my mare again. I'm just taking baby steps but I think now it will all start accelerating. She is fabulous and I just have to work through the head games and develop some trust in her (and in myself and my abilities again). She wants to please and I have to be completely confident when I'm on her. I kept thinking of that quote that is often attributed to John Wayne, "Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway" as I fumbled my way through tacking her up, ground-working her, doing everything BUT riding her.

Getting hurt, getting older, and feeling the frailty of being human is a hard lesson to learn... I don't really want to learn it. I'd like to somehow regain the fearlessness of youth but something tells me that is gone forever. In its place is a new scale that has to be balanced... the memory of broken bones against the years of time in the saddle and knowing how to ride it out. My body knows how to do this but my head has become the non-stop voice of doubt and fear that I have to just SHUT UP somehow. I'm betting that listening to myself, doing this at my own pace with the help and support of a couple of women I trust will help me find a healthy balance again. I can ride this mare and we will have many years together.

There is the possibility I could turn into an alcoholic while working through this... I keep a "buck-off" bottle of Jack Daniels in the saddle shed now and have been drinking a beer before riding her. I just drained my last Mammoth Brewing Company's Double Nut Brown before yesterday's ride, and don't know what I'll drink before getting on her this afternoon. Taking the edge off the nerves and anxiety is important though - these rides need to be good for both of us. A bit later we can go through ups and downs (well, not literal ups and downs, please and thank you very much) but these first "getting to know you" rides are just confidence-builders. I don't think it will take long now.

What a good way to start off a new year!

Recipe: Baked Eggplant w/ tomato sauce and mozzarella

This one is a keeper, folks. We've been getting a lot of eggplant in our CSA deliveries lately and I pulled out a book everyone on our staff received last year - Placer County Real Food by Joanne Neft.  It is a book that celebrates seasonal food grown locally and I dearly love the way it is laid out into the 52 weeks of the year. I didn't do it this year but if I remember I'll make it my new year's resolution to try a recipe out of every week next year. Could make for good blogging!

For now - make this using home grown tomatoes and any other ingredient you can pull from your garden or the farmer's market instead of the grocery store... you won't regret it.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

4 small or 2 large eggplants, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch slices

(I did not peel mine and it turned out delicious)

1/4 cup plus 3 TBSP olive oil

1 cup bell peppers, diced (I used red and green)

3 cups tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeds removed and diced (because I am basically lazy - I did not peel, blanch or remove the seeds - I simply diced and threw them in the skillet - and lived to tell about it)

2 cups onions (it doesn't specify what to do with the onions so I just sliced them)

1 lb fresh Mozzarella, sliced (I didn't have fresh on hand but I bet it would be even more fabulous had I)

1/2 cup Thai basil, diced (I just used plain ole' basil from my garden)

Salt and pepper to taste

Brush olive oil on both sides of eggplant slices and place on parchment lined baking pan. Bake until eggplant is easily pierced with a fork. (Check at 15 minutes and then every few minutes until done.)

Remove from oven, leave on pan.

Saute peppers in 1 TBSP olive oil until soft. Add diced tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Add diced basil and hold on low heat. Salt and pepper to taste.

 

In another large saute pan, place 2 TBSP olive oil and over medium heat, carmelize the onions until soft. (7-10 minutes, maybe longer if you like them really carmelized)

 

Top each slice of eggplant ith a small spoonful of onions,

 

then a slice of mozzarella and a sprinkle of salt.

 

Return eggplant to the oven until the mozzarella melts.

The directions say to next spoon 1/3 cup tomato sauce on to a plate, top with eggplant and garnish with basil. I did it backwards:

 

Put the eggplant on a plate and top with the tomato sauce. And it was just delicious. This can be an appetizer or a main dish and is just as good the next day (as I can personally attest).

Yum. Summer food.

One great tomato

So far, from this year's tomato plants, I've plucked a few yellow grape tomatoes and eaten them straight from the bush, and one nice, big slicing tomato:

 

I waited a long time for this tomato to ripen and I picked off horn worms all around it, watched it sit there, green, for the longest time, impatiently held off while it turned pink and then, finally, red. I could've continued to wait - it could have gone a day or two more - but I was so ready for a home-grown tomato.

And it was very, very GOOD! I sliced it and made a tomato and cheese sandwich on whole wheat with wasabi mayonnaise. What a lunch. I wish I could say there were dozens more of these on the vine but alas.... the tomato harvest is looking a little skimpy.

I'm going to have to remember this tomato for awhile.

Coffee is obviously on my mind

It has been one of those weeks without enough sleep and entirely my own fault. Busy work days and then wanting to squeeze an entire 2nd day out of the evenings. I am particularly bad about it during the summer when the days are longer anyway and there's no one here to remind me about keeping a reasonable schedule. I become a night owl but I still have the alarm set for 6 am.

Therefore, coffee is my friend.

 

This grinder is a funny thing. It works well for me all summer and then when JC is back home and takes over coffee-making duties the grinder will periodically go berserk and grind either super coarse or ultra fine. I love this grinder, though, especially for the looks. It has a very sleek, retro industrial look. And I don't even think they make it any more - I found it on ebay a few years ago. It is the Kitchenaid A-9 and it definitely isn't for everyone. I know that I'm willing to fuss over something in exchange for great style - but my reward is seeing it on the countertop and other people would probably promptly put it up for sale on ebay.

That is why ebay works.

We tend to buy dark, oily beans and take the time to clean the machine periodically by running white rice through it. That seems to be a workable combination and it has been a reliable, stylish coffee bean grinder for us.

 

For years I've had some variation of a stove-top espresso pot and about three years ago I found this one in a thrift store - and it has become the workhorse of the kitchen. It is made of substantial stainless steel, has a unique locking handle instead of the more common screw top and makes a great cup of coffee. It is the Giannini Giannina.

This is a huge espresso pot - I think it is the nine-cup - but for me it makes 2 Americanos and then enough left over for a hefty iced latte later in the day. We Americans like our coffees BIG!

 

In large American coffee mugs, like these. It is no wonder those lovely vintage cups lanquish away in thrift stores - these 12 oz thick white china mugs are the ones I reach for every morning. These I purchased new - yes, new, in our wonderful local kitchen store, Anne Maries. They are made by a company called Side Saddle and they all have humorous cowgirl quotes.

 

And then, to finish off the perfect cup of coffee, there is half and half. And nothing else will do. In a pinch, up at the cabin, I keep cans of evaporated milk but it is a distant second to half and half.

That's how I roll on these sleep-deprived mornings... what is your secret?

The pies of Vermilion

For as long as anyone can remember, the VVR has been known for the pies. We make fruit pies here, almost everyday, and they go like hotcakes. PCT hikers have been known to devour an entire pie at one sitting - and these are no lightweight pies.

I make a lot of pies, CL makes even more, and even the cooks and the wait staff are pulled into making pies when we aren't around. Yesterday fifteen pies came out of the oven - apple, apricot-berry, cherry, and peach. PCT hikers alone consumed all the apricot-berry pies and the rest will be gone tonight.

Last year I made an apron just for this purpose - I wanted a full-coverage apron that looked cute enough to run out to the store if need be. I had a set of dish towels purchased from the now defunct but much loved "La Florista" in Lone Pine and I fashioned those towels into this apron:

 

This apron has it all - pockets, ruffles, full coverage and a retro vibe.

 

And it is being put to work this week.

 

We buy our fruit from a family-owned business in Fresno and they buy fruit from the central valley. You have not had an apricot or a peach until you taste the culls that the farmers will bring up here for the staff. Tree-ripened, so juicy there's no way they'd ever make it to market, sweet and full of flavor. California still kicks some serious butt when it comes to producing good fruit. Let's hope it stays that way and doesn't turn into one huge megalopolis.

The campgrounds are full, the resort is full, and summer is officially underway. From now until Labor Day it will be non-stop and there will be plenty of pies to be baked. We're soon to have our own baking ovens and I can't wait to start churning out apricot oat bars, brownies, coffee cakes, scones, cookies...... my new apron might be worn out by fall!

Dinner at Parallax

Last night I had the pleasure of attending an awards dinner up at Parallax on Mammoth Mountain, at what used to be known as Mid-Chalet but is now know as McCoy Station. It was a cold, breezy evening but incredibly beautiful.

It was even cold in the Owens Valley and windy as all get-out. Cruel spring.

 

I click-clacked up to the gondola in my going-out-to-dinner shoes and realized this was the closest I'd been to skiing all season. Sad, isn't it? My life is out of whack.

 

Never get tired of the view....

 

Love being on the mountain at odd times - the groomers are out, but no one skiing or boarding.

 

Amazing that this was shot on April 29.... it looks like mid-winter.

 

Being in the gondola while the mountain is closed is a little strange - you can hear all the creaks and groans of the equipment but then there are stretches of long silence.

 

This is the view from Parallax - a beautiful venue.

The food - the food was so good! A lovely baby green salad perfectly dressed, followed by a slightly sweet squash soup. And then, bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin that could be cut with a butter knife. Yum!

 

Dessert - an amazingly rich molten chocolate cake with blackberries. And a magical ride down the dark mountain.

Great dinner, fun event. Friends, new people to meet, good wine. Loved it.

 

Cows - they make me smile

I like cows. I don't know cows personally but I like how unflappable they are. And how content they seem with their lot in life. We see cows quite often on our walks and our dogs have learned not to interact with them even though sometimes it is the calves that want to investigate.

We usually find them when they are in a group, just hanging out and napping, or chewing their cud- contemplating a cow's life. When the dogs are running around, it gets the attention of the herd pretty quickly.

 

They watch and truthfully? They are kinda slow to process. They watch and watch and watch and because they don't start moving away until it is in full panic mode I'm never quite sure if they will simply move away or get protective and move towards me. And I'm never one to encourage a very large animal to move towards me in a threatening manner.

 

We give them a wide berth and most of the time they just watch. It makes the herd nervous if I stop moving and start snapping photos, though. I can see it makes them nervous.

 

That little one is taking his or her cue from mom - "should I be worried here, ma?"

 

That little one stayed sacked out the entire time I shot these photos - I don't even think he or she lifted an ear. That sun just felt soooo good and there must've been a full belly there.

 

Don't you just love the color on this girl? These are by far my favorite - this creamy latte foam color.

 

This has got to be her baby. This is one of the times I wish these little guys and gals were just a little more bold and friendly. Of course, the minute one starts to venture over mom starts bawling and then the whole herd gets going.

 

That little brown one refused to look directly at us...."if I don't look over there they won't see me..."

 

Another baby avoiding eye contact.... and looks like there might be a protective auntie in this trio.

 

This one had attitude. Look at that raised chin. I would have taken her home with me to raise in our back yard had she been the least bit friendly. So cute.

 

I'm guessing she'll get that darker cream color as she matures. I'd put a cowhide like that in my living room in a heartbeat. (Sorry, vegetarians)

 

This reminds me of a sad story - we are out of the ground beef we bought locally - and so we had to go to the market for storebought yesterday. Our local Vons had nothing but ground beef labeled from numerous countries - Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada..... where the heck is all this beef going? Doesn't that seem ridiculous? I HATED buying that beef and I'm not going to do it again. We'll buy local or we won't eat beef.

 

A local rancher told me these will end up in Nebraska at 93 cents a pound for the rancher.... off to one of the 4 large packing houses. A couple of our ranches here have started to sell shares in steers so that we can have a choice - but it is hard for both the rancher and the consumer. No slaughterhouse here - everything has to be trucked to Nevada (the closest) and then packaged and trucked back. That makes it more expensive on both ends.

 

I like beef, I want ranches here. I'll pay more and I'll eat less. And I'll continue to snap photos of these cute calves.

 

Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » behind the bar: peggy wong’s winter sunset

This is another cocktail recipe - this time for you martini lovers - gin that is....

My parents live in the country in a house surrounded by farms and farmland. During the winter, Alissa and I try to time our visits to coincide with snowstorms so that we can sit in the big picture windows drinking hot chocolate and watch as the snow slowly coats the vast expanse of nothingness. Until today, I thought this was pretty much perfection. After being introduced to the “Winter Sunset,” however, I realize that I have been missing one huge opportunity in this whole process — cocktails! Our next visit will be sure to include a little Winter Sunset.

via www.designspongeonline.com