Yesterday was a glorious Spring day here in Nowwheresville. On my way to the cheese room I saw that the strikingly handsome bald eagle had indeed found himself a lovely lady baldy - they were quite a picture to look at perched up in the tree, it was very romantical......
I also saw that one of the moo cows had indeed produced twins during the night and the two calves were both trying to get some milk from her at the same time.
It was positively the most 'country' scene ever especially with the bulbs popping up! So spring!
The other evening I was lucky enough to have dinner with a cheese expert, a culture expert and an equipment expert! x3 the fun!
That is my kind of dinner which was topped off -only- by the fact that during dinner I was also making a batch of cheese. Sitting down with these gentleman pointed out to me yet again, that "I know nothing" and greedily soaked up the wise words they had for me :)
NOT all is sugar and spice and all things nice however, it appear that India doesn't want me (or doesn't want me in the time frame that I can travel and which my tickets were booked for.) So sadly my vacation has turned into one of those very fashionable staycations! Yes my Yeti will have to wait... as will my glorious mountain excursions that I had planned and all the tea that I was desperate to buy.
What does this mean for you? Well it means that Spring butter will be available a little early this year. With the cows already out on the pasture in the next couple weeks we are all in for a buttery treat!
I was feeling a little bleu after my cancellation so I threw myself into a churning frenzy and made a large batch of creamy fresh ricotta. In honor of my hand scooping extravaganza I will be having a Spring promotion on the ricotta this Sunday at the Hillsdale farmers market.
Last week I promised my neighbor boys (4 and 7) that I would pay them .10 for every worm and a .25 for every slug they brought me. The boys sauntered up to my doorstep with a big ol bucket of wrigly crawly things and the chickens ate greedily from it. I know this may seem a little gross (it kinda is) but the end result is a very rich yolk in the egg of which anyone can enjoy! It has been proven by 'emerging science' that eggs eaten fresh have lower cholesterol than store bought eggs!
I will have plenty of butter and eggs and ricotta this week.
Peculiarly enough I still have a spot or two available in my cheesy class scheduled for saturday so if you and a friend feel like trying your hand at some cheese making sign up! We will be serving a light supper and some wine with the class to reserve your seat call (503) 546-3737. I am particularly looking forward to the wine!
Haha moment ...
My friend Marcus stopped by a sandwich shop one afternoon and placed his order with the girl at the counter. She rattled off a list of condiments, but he stopped her when she asked if he wanted white cheese or yellow.
"What's the difference?" he asked.
"Hello?" replied the girl, sighing and rolling her eyes. "The COLOR is different!"
(yes she was blond...)
What does a cheese alcoholic call for? Morbier
What do you call an oriental cheese? Parm-asian
Did you hear about the cheese fight? It had to be broken up beaufort it got out of hand
What's the most popular American cheese sitcom? Curd Your Enthusiasm
My best wishes to you all!
xoxo
Cheese Czarina!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
More newsworthy Jacobs products in the News (Mum and Dad this time)
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=23566ea6bc&view=att&th=126c3a03e08d1cf5&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Mission: To find unique cheeses and a Mountain Yeti!
My mission:
Discover the cheese making techniques of the Himalayan mountain range and of course to find an adorable Yeti that wants me as his mate!
Its come to that time of year where I am itching to explore (a little more than the countryside on foot and the interior of the cheese room).
So I have decided to go and pay homage to the land where cows are sacred, where dairy is close to none and enjoy the hustle and bustle and craziness of none other than INDIA!
What better a place for a cheese maker to visit than the land of scared cows?
As usual I have put my own slant on things and have planned a rather physical fun filled excursion to Nepal to trek in the shadow of the Himalayas. At first it was a physical quest: a nine day trek that I had my heart on, but lately understanding that I may get lonely and start talking to myself I have opted for the foot trek with a guide and the occasional donkey ride! yeeeeaaawwwwhhhh (that's the sound that donkey's make if you were wondering)
I am going to be riding in the mountains via donkey (how many people get to say that??) and hope to meet some small village people with small herds of yak so that I can make yak butter and cheese.
In these small mountainous villages they make different types of cheeses seasonally and store it in caves. It is the unique character of the cheeses these mountain villages store that has me trekking for numerous days. I know I am bound to come back having learned some very interesting techniques. Its the challenge of re-creating those unique mountainous flavors that will keep me going. All for the love of cheese.
I also have a very romantical notion that while I am trekking in the mountainous ranges of the Himalayas that a Yeti will find my abilities of cheese-making and butter churning simply irresistible and choose me as his mate and sweep me (literally) off my feet.
As a cheese maker I feel that it is my calling and duty to tackle such excursions and continuously learn how other cultures and societies process milk into cheese. I have always been a lover of culture and have greatly enjoy learning about other religions, communities and of course what they eat. The imprint that cheese makers have on societies is an interesting one. In almost every culture you can learn in depth things about the community and society by their means of processing milk into cheese.
It is India and only India that hold the cow sacred and I think that it is appropriate that I go and pay my respects to the Holy Cows of India and give thanks to my good fortune as a cheesemaker.
Yak butter is the new Moose milk btw. The people of Nepal drink it in their tea, and as a Irish afternoon tea drinker and lover of butter I thought "What better merger of the two" although I doubt that my grandmother would be happy.
My only worry is that I will get deeply and udderly (hehahea) lost.
I am slightly concerned about this as I can get deeply lost in the most un-remote of circumstances (like 1-5) so I asked my Dad how it was that I can never find my way. This is what he said.
"Lisa before you were born GD asked you if you could choose between having a fabulous sense of direction or being a cheese maker- the rest is history"
So you see I decided to find my way by making cheese - and I am deeply in love with the fact that cheese will always lead the way to everything I need.
Because this very well might be my very last market (assuming a mountain Yeti picks me as his mate) you should definitely come to Hillsdale January 21st and say hello (or goodbye) and pick up some JC goodness!
February 20th is my last cheese class of the season so if you would like to attend please call 503.546.3737 and make your reservation. We will be having a lite supper with vino! along with the class.
Yours always
Cheese Czarina
P.S. If I don't come back please come looking for me in the mountains of the Himalayas- instead of streams you can look for tributaries of whey cascading down the mountain and wrappings of bit o honey.
Discover the cheese making techniques of the Himalayan mountain range and of course to find an adorable Yeti that wants me as his mate!
Its come to that time of year where I am itching to explore (a little more than the countryside on foot and the interior of the cheese room).
So I have decided to go and pay homage to the land where cows are sacred, where dairy is close to none and enjoy the hustle and bustle and craziness of none other than INDIA!
What better a place for a cheese maker to visit than the land of scared cows?
As usual I have put my own slant on things and have planned a rather physical fun filled excursion to Nepal to trek in the shadow of the Himalayas. At first it was a physical quest: a nine day trek that I had my heart on, but lately understanding that I may get lonely and start talking to myself I have opted for the foot trek with a guide and the occasional donkey ride! yeeeeaaawwwwhhhh (that's the sound that donkey's make if you were wondering)
I am going to be riding in the mountains via donkey (how many people get to say that??) and hope to meet some small village people with small herds of yak so that I can make yak butter and cheese.
In these small mountainous villages they make different types of cheeses seasonally and store it in caves. It is the unique character of the cheeses these mountain villages store that has me trekking for numerous days. I know I am bound to come back having learned some very interesting techniques. Its the challenge of re-creating those unique mountainous flavors that will keep me going. All for the love of cheese.
I also have a very romantical notion that while I am trekking in the mountainous ranges of the Himalayas that a Yeti will find my abilities of cheese-making and butter churning simply irresistible and choose me as his mate and sweep me (literally) off my feet.
As a cheese maker I feel that it is my calling and duty to tackle such excursions and continuously learn how other cultures and societies process milk into cheese. I have always been a lover of culture and have greatly enjoy learning about other religions, communities and of course what they eat. The imprint that cheese makers have on societies is an interesting one. In almost every culture you can learn in depth things about the community and society by their means of processing milk into cheese.
It is India and only India that hold the cow sacred and I think that it is appropriate that I go and pay my respects to the Holy Cows of India and give thanks to my good fortune as a cheesemaker.
Yak butter is the new Moose milk btw. The people of Nepal drink it in their tea, and as a Irish afternoon tea drinker and lover of butter I thought "What better merger of the two" although I doubt that my grandmother would be happy.
My only worry is that I will get deeply and udderly (hehahea) lost.
I am slightly concerned about this as I can get deeply lost in the most un-remote of circumstances (like 1-5) so I asked my Dad how it was that I can never find my way. This is what he said.
"Lisa before you were born GD asked you if you could choose between having a fabulous sense of direction or being a cheese maker- the rest is history"
So you see I decided to find my way by making cheese - and I am deeply in love with the fact that cheese will always lead the way to everything I need.
Because this very well might be my very last market (assuming a mountain Yeti picks me as his mate) you should definitely come to Hillsdale January 21st and say hello (or goodbye) and pick up some JC goodness!
February 20th is my last cheese class of the season so if you would like to attend please call 503.546.3737 and make your reservation. We will be having a lite supper with vino! along with the class.
Yours always
Cheese Czarina
P.S. If I don't come back please come looking for me in the mountains of the Himalayas- instead of streams you can look for tributaries of whey cascading down the mountain and wrappings of bit o honey.
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