Sonnental Dairy

Another local cheese has stunned me and made my life complete. I just wish that Sonnental Dairy had a website so I could give it a much deserved shout out for its raw milk tomme that was perfect for my bruschetta.

A few of my favorite things

Fresh strawberries, lots of cheese, and my friend Dawn who gave me the excuse to buy even more cheese than the recipe called for. A weekend full of friends and lots of time out front playing croquette, on my new favorite household installation.

Say Cheese!

I took a cheese making class - I will make a detailed post when I have more time, but I wanted to be sure to let you know.
May I introduce to you, my baby Camembert.
















I have to say, on my drive home I kept singing to myself, "I'm bringing home a baby Camembert. Won't my family be so proud to share!"

Second Chance Farm

Catching up on some long put off blogging, I had the pleasure of tasting and buying some Longfellow's Serenade cheese at the Common Ground last fall. Second Chance Farm in Avon Maine is a small family farm that deserves a shout out from this blog! Their motto is a lot like mine: "Nourishing the body, sustaining the spirit and celebrating community“.

Mmmmm Cheese Iron!

I

was

so

lucky

this

past

week

end

as

I

got

CHEESE from the Cheese Iron.
In fact, I bought some aged Gouda named Beemster!
Pleased... so nice for my once-every-six-month-visit
my favorite store in Scarborough Maine!

I am a Turophile.

New Years Eve Supper - Fondue for 15 with cheese as a starter course.
























I know it's hard to believe, but my cholesterol is ideal in every way. Ah to be a fromagophile (aka turophile) with wonderful genetics. Don't hate me. :D

Nettle Meadow's Kunik

We went away to the Catskills a few weeks ago and my friend from Brooklyn brought a wheel of cheese called Kunik. It is a rich, yummy, triple cream, cheesy, butter - oh wait, I meant a rich, yummy, triple cream, buttery cheese! Made from a blend of cow and goat's milk on a farm in New York called Nettle Meadow, Kunik is one of my new favorites. I am pretty sure it is not the first time I have eaten it, but it is the first time I have eaten it since I started blogging and really paying attention to where my food came from. So get up and walk, no run, to your closest cheese monger and ask for Kunik - you will be happy you did!
I am particularly fond of the logo on their website:

"Happy Goats - Great cheese!"

Artisan Cheese Tasting

While preparing for my mini lesson on cheese, we tasted a lot of cheese. Several evenings were spent indulging my turophilic nature, and clogging poor SPs already threatened veins. I do love him and care for his health and well being and would happily say farewell to meat for a life time. But give up my cheese? I think not. This particular night we sampled several artisan cheeses, both local and international.
On this cheese board are the remains of Vermont's Jasper Hill's bloomy Constant Bliss, some out of this world Bandaged Cheddar from Cabot VT (and aged at Jasper Hill's caves), the amazing delicious buttery Eleanor Buttercup from Hahn's End from coastal Phippsburg Maine. The final and most visually appealing cheese is this one. The gorgeous yet far from local Campo deMontalban, a true cheese from La Mancha! I was so impressed with the color and texture of the rind of this cheese that I took another picture. Isn't she pretty? Maybe it's just me, and I need to set up a support group called Turophiles Anonymous. In this economy cheese is one of the most expensive things to buy. But there is no stopping a Turophile, we resist recessions. I think you should do the same and go out and support your local artisan cheese maker!

I am just crackers for cheese

Like Wallace I am just crackers for cheese.

"Gromit! it's the cheese Gromit!"

"Gromit, that's it! Cheese! We'll go somewhere where there's cheese!"

I took this silly picture while prepping for a mini lesson I did on cheese.
Can you guess why?

The funny hint is, that that sheep actually became a Water Buffalo in sheep's clothing.

Saturday Morning Sleeping-in

I really am a lucky woman. My husband SP really takes good care of me. I allowed to sleep as long as I want on Saturday mornings, which means that I am typically not up until the hour approaching noon. I can sleep that's for sure. I sleep about as well as I eat cheese - both of these things could make me famous. I digress... the point is that I am lucky. Better than lucky. Not only do I get to sleep in, but SP makes sure that a portion of breakfast is set aside for me so that I am well nourished when I finally decide to grace the world with my presence. See that picture above? It's a home made egg and CHEESE sandwich on Rye bread with ketchup, nicely wrapped in tin foil, and hand decorated by my loving husband SP.

Local Goat Cheese!

Fresh goat cheese from The Ram's Farm.
Mmmm mmm good!

That's not the best picture, I know, but I couldn't resist. I love cheese, but I REALLY love this cheese!

This stuff is so yummy and refreshing it almost makes me want to go swimming in there on this sweltering August day. I love Saturdays because I can find Helen and her cheese at the farmer's market and get my fix for the week! I am hoping that she will offer a cheese making class soon so that I can get my first hands on lesson in cheese making.

More Recommended Reading

Thank Goodness it is Friday! It's not only a payday when I can get some long awaited books (bought used of course) but tomorrow is the Farmer's Market!!! Yippeeee! It's the small things in life that really excite me! So without further ado, here are the books I have just been drooling over!

Cheese - another way to keep it local

The Portland Press Herald published this article recently about the localvore simplicity of homemade cheese. I found this article through the blog of the Maine Cheese Collective. I recently published the recipe from Gourmet for homemade mozzarella cheese, but the uncanny timing of this article can't go unnoticed. I just returned from a week long trip to New York City, where I was able to dine on any ethnic food I could choose. From American to Italian to Indian to Brazilian and ending with an American Australian - my final meal one morning in Brooklyn was markedly the best. My daughter's Godmother and I ate in Greenpoint at Five Leaves and it was a treat to say the least. The cafe which opened 7 months ago was financially backed by the late Heath Ledger, another yummy favorite of mine. I chose for breakfast the Sage scrambled organic Eggs w/aged cheddar, which served on a roll but the swirly herbed eggs made the most beautiful sandwich I have ever eaten. But my friend's choice was even more stunning: house made ricotta with fresh thyme, chestnut honey, figs, Maldon sea salt and fruit bread. It was heaven in a bowl and an inspiration for the things to come. Before I move along to the point of this blog I must say that everybody should go and eat at Five Leaves. The experience I had at Five Leaves was a reminder that some day we will keep bees and I will make cheese. So when I returned home last night and read through the blog posts on my dashboard, discovering that the Portland Press Herald had written an article titled, "Another way to keep it local? Say cheese", I knew I had come full circle. So without further ado, here are the recipes.

WHOLE MILK RICOTTA

1 gallon whole milk, pasteurized or raw
1 teaspoon citric acid
1 teaspoon salt

In a large stockpot, combine milk, acid and salt. Heat to 185 to 195 degrees, stirring often. Do not boil.

As soon as the curds and whey separate, turn off the heat. The whey should look somewhat clear rather than milky. Let sit for 10 minutes. Line a colander with cheese cloth and place in a large bowl. Ladle the curds into the cloth. Tie the corners of the cloth together and hang for 20 to 30 minutes.

You can hang the cloth from a knob on a kitchen cabinet or use a wooden spoon through the knot to hang over a deep container.

Eat immediately or refrigerate for up to two weeks.

Makes 3 to 4 cups (11/2 to 2 pounds).

As a parting shot, and reminder to go to Five Leaves, my favorite part of the decor was the bathroom door which though baffling at first approach, turns out to be a recycled boiler door.

Making your own Mozzarella

I saw this article in January's Gourmet magazine and now know that I will start making my own cheese sooner than I thought. In case you find yourself ready for such an endeavor, I hand you this article in the hopes that it inspires you to do something more sustainable than buying plastic wrapped mozzarella. All you need to buy is salt, citric acid, rennet, cheesecloth, a thermometer and milk.

Make your own Mozzarella

The Recipe.

• 1 gallon whole milk
• 1 1/8 teaspoon citric acid
• 1/4 tablet rennet, crushed
• 1/4 cup warm water

• Equipment:

  cheesecloth; kitchen string

• Heat milk and citric acid to 88°F in a 7- to 8-qt heavy pot over low heat, stirring occasionally, then maintain a temperature of 88 to 91°F on an instant-read thermometer, returning to and removing from heat as necessary, for 1 hour. (Mixture will begin to curdle.)
• Dissolve rennet in warm water, then stir into milk mixture. Let stand, uncovered, maintaining 88 to 91°F, until the consistency of soft pudding, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Using a long knife, make cuts across stiffened milk mixture at 1/2-inch intervals, reaching down to bottom of pot, then make similar cuts in stiffened milk mixture to form a crosshatch pattern (small squares) on top. Let stand, undisturbed, 5 minutes. Keeping temperature between 88 and 91°F (reheat when necessary over very low heat), gently stir curds every 10 minutes for 30 minutes, then let curds stand, uncovered and undisturbed, maintaining temperature, 30 minutes more.
• Line a large sieve with cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Using a ladle or slotted spoon, transfer curds to center of cheesecloth. Gather sides up over curds to form a sack and tie sides together with a long piece of string as close to curds as possible but without squeezing curds. Suspend sack from a knob or cupboard handle, using string, at least 4 inches from bottom of bowl (sack should not sit in any whey that accumulates; if necessary, discard whey as it accumulates). Let hang 3 hours at room temperature.
• Heat a large pot of heavily salted water (1/3 cup salt for 5 qt water) to 170°F. Place one fourth of the curds in a shallow bowl, then ladle about 6 cups hot water over curds and let stand until curds start to meld together, about 2 minutes. Gather curds together with a slotted spoon and remove from water. Working over the bowl of hot water, gently fold the mass of curds over itself in your hands, stretching as you fold. Reheat in hot water as necessary (3 to 5 times) to maintain temperature, folding and stretching until curds become a smooth and elastic disk.
• Form into a ball by tucking outside into center, then pinch edges together. Place mozzarella in cool water to cool completely before eating. Make remaining cheese in same manner, reusing hot salted water for subsequent batches.

Cooks’ notes:

• Curds can be made and drained in cheesecloth (3 hours) 1 day ahead, then chilled in a resealable bag.
• Mozzarella is best the day it is made but can be kept, covered with water, in refrigerator up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

The closest artisan cheese

I am a fromagophile.

When we move and get a farm there will be live stock.
Chickens, to goats, to cattle.

I would like to learn to make cheese.

Finding this tonight made me smile.
I signed into Local Harvest (http://www.localharvest.org/) and the first farm to pop up was one of my favorites for local milks, creams and even my favorite cheese! Rosemary's Waltz - the perfect lunch cheese for a salad. I've enclosed the link. whatever that means - but here's stuff from the site.

But on further examination this is the PLACE! It is not only

http://www.mainecheeseguild.org/map/smiling.html

Silvery Moon Creamery at Smiling Hill Farm

http://smilinghill.com

Smiling Hill Farm (Westbrook, Maine)	Email this KeepMePosted Forum Printable del.icio.us StumbleUpon
(0 reviews)

A historic New England dairy farm that produces and process it's own products. Fluid milks including skim, whole, 2% and creamline as well as creams and flavored milks. Milk is bottled in returnable, reusable glass bottles. Smiling Hill Farm makes ice cream, butter and other cultured products. On-site farm market sells directly to the public. Family owned and operated since 1720. Cows are raised and grazed on the 500 acre farm. No pesticides, no chemical fertilizers, no feed-lot, no artificial hormones, All animals are humanely treated. Farm is open to the public and offers cross country skiing in winter. Smiling Hill Farm is also the home of Silvery Moon Creamery a producer of award winning artisanal cheeses. (This listing was last updated on Jan 6, 2008) Location 781 County Road Westbrook, ME 04092 Contact Information Warren Knight smilinghill.com 207 775 4818 Farmers' Market Schedule and Location: Saco Farmers Market Cumberland Farmers Market Farm Stand Schedule and Location: Farm Market open daily. 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM with extended hours in summer. Call ahead for current schedule (800) 743-7463 Farming Practices: [?] naturally grown, grass fed/pastured

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