That brine of mine is more than fine its Sublime!

Earlier this evening I went out to the barn to check on the little birds that recently hatched and as I was walking towards the barn I looked up and saw the half moon glow and a shooting star, and I of course made a wish! It was a super cheesy wish.
The business Jacobs Creamery was founded on an idea which basically was a whim that I wanted to make cheese and then more and more. It has sprung into something that brings me much joy. Looking through the catalog of winners from last years American Cheese Societies competition I am reminded that I have a long way to go.
I have many hopes and dreams in the forms of cheese that I still hope to make. Camembert, Tomme and aged Gouda would be fun and throw in a traditional Havarti and some Alpine cheeses and you get where I am going - more cheese please? Yes thank you.
Its good to have goals and struggles and successes and failures because that is what makes up life's experiences and make you look back and say 'I lived'. If I ever do get old (which will take a long time because I only age once every five years (milk keeps me young)) I will certainly look back and I will say "I did ten farmers markets a week!" I will be able to take my grandchildren into the cheese room and teach them the Jacobs Creamery recipes I will be able to look out onto the acreage and see them playing in the pastures and hopefully see them feed cheese curds and whey to the chickens, and read them my newsletters as good night stories. When I am old I think I will still have huge and amazing biceps and be able to move around hundreds of gallons of milk and product even though I am sure I will have a working milk pump. What I mostly look forward to is having a a real home for me and my business to grow and flourish a place where my grandkids can come and make cheese and where I can wake up in the middle of the night and run out in my nightie to check on the cheese. Those are my wants and dreams for when I am old.

Mostly when I look back on these last couple years I think of my Dad who has from day one been my hardest critic and also biggest fan. He was never too shy to tell me my cream cheese was too tangy and always had a good word for any yogurt and butter that was put in the kitchen. He carefully saves the smoked salmon trimmings for my chickens and loans me tables and tents in a flash and always lends me a hand packing up at the markets- even though my stuff is super heavy. We laugh when we get up in the middle of the night for markets and laugh when we are sore after sitting down on saturday afternoons. Most people assume that Jacobs Creamery is a family company and I often correct them and say - Ah no that is my parents business right next door. My Dad brought me up to think and act for myself so its only natural that I have my own business and sell right next door to his. Jacobs Creamery is a family business because without my Mum and Dads help it just wouldn't be the same.
In honor of fathers day I am having a Daddy's special on greek yogurt since its my Dads favorite thing to eat!

I am still young and vibrant and still full of vinegar, coagulant and cultures! So this week we have lots and lots of mozzarella.
Thank you Portland for your mad Mozz love! It loves you too. This week you can find some new recipe ideas up on Facebook! We have enough mozzarella for all of your salads!
Please come check us out we have updates on products, markets and availability!
We also have feta which is a creamy delight and I promise you I did not add cream - its just wonderful. That brine of mine is more than fine- its sublime! Come by for a taste!

This saturday we will be at PSU and Hollywood and Sunday you can find us at King, Milwaukie and Hillsdale.
Monday you can find us at the new Pioneer Square market, Tuesday Cannon Beach
Wednesday Interstate Farmers Market, Thursday Hood river and 23rd!
If you can say all of that in the correct order without a cheat sheet I will give you a pudding!

Be well and please eat more dairy. Give your Dad a hug and by him some yogurt - its very good for the digestion.

Quotes!
Customer "If I buy this will I get pregnant" Vanae "Oh no its not the cheese you have to worry about its the wine that can be a problem!"

"Are your eggs pasteurized" - this cracked me up because if you heat eggs up to 145 degrees for half an hour you would have baked eggs!


Adieu Adieu
Until next time
Yours always
Cheese Czarina!!

Fromage Blanc no bake strawberry Cheesecake!

No bake Strawberry topped cheesecakes!

Crust!
½ cup Jacobs Creamery butter
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

The Inside!
8oz Jacobs Creamery Fromage Blanc
1 1/4 cups Jacobs Creamery European Style or Natural Greek Style yogurt
2 Jacobs Creamery happy curd fed fresh farm chicken eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
I tablespoon of gelatin
2tbls of very cold water

The Top!
Two to four pints of strawberries (depending on how many you eat when you hull them)
2/3 of a cup of Jacobs Creamery creme fraiche
a handful of sprigs of fresh mint for garnish!

What to do!
Grease 10 muffin cups. To prepare crust, melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in graham cracker crumbs. Press mixture into bottoms of greased muffin cups. Set aside. To prepare filling, beat Fromage Blanc, yogurt, egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until smooth (hand mixer works great). Combine gelatin with water in a small saucepan. Simmer until gelatin is completely dissolved; stir into cheese mixture. Spoon filling into prepared crusts. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours or until set. Remove cheesecakes from cups. To garnish, slice strawberries and arrange on cheesecakes. Whip cream until stiff. Put a dollop on top of each cake and top with a sprig of mint.

Serves 10

The Sun will come out!

First off I should let all of your reading know that I am do indeed have whey all over me! I have whey soaked hands whey in my hair and whey even in my... well you get the point!
It was the very first Thursday in June and instead of being at the markets I was singing "Just a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down medicine go down medicine go - in the most delightful whey" to my very last batch of fromage blanc for the week which totaled a whopping 250 lbs!
Fromage balnc is a cheese that has rennet and the rennet does sort of look like a tonic so it inspired me. While hand scooping some serious poundage of ricotta today I was listening to the Alabama soundtrack which made my Italian style ricotta have a special country flare to it. You will definitely be able to tell as it was an especially special batch. This week we will have some very fresh squash blossoms at PSU. Squash blossoms are wonderful stuffed with ricotta and lightly sauteed in some Jacobs Creamery butter with a pinch of salt and pepper. The recipe will be up on our facebook page so please come check us out!

We are now in six markets a week with a new one starting next week which I will be doing on Sunday- it is the King Market!
Please come see me we will also be in Hillsdale which will be operated by the Twins and Milwaukie which will be operated by Vanae!
In addition to our markets New Seasons will of course be carrying some products, but if you are feeling like a treat and want some JC goodness to be involved you can sit down at one of the lovely cozy tables at DOC for a very local sourced and wonderful meal or Fenouil in the Pearl who is also making some lovely creative dishes with Jacobs Creamery products.

I am waiting for a glimpse of sun to whip up a batch of our signature crumbled mozzarella so if you all think supper sunny thoughts and repeat "The Sun is coming out" ten times a day I think I might be able to pull it off sooner rather than later.

Oh yes a recipe. This recipe is brought to us today by Nancy Cunningham all the way from Waco, Texas.

You have to like fennel!

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh green beans trimmed you can also you snap peas
  
• 1 fennel bulb, cut into very thin slices
• 1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 1/8 cup Jacobs Creamery salted butter
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2-3/4 cup crumbled Jacobs Creamery feta cheese

Directions

1. Fill a saucepan half full with water and bring to a boil. Add the green beans and fennel slices; cook until just beginning to become tender, about 4 minutes. Pour into a colander to drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.
2. Return the empty pan to the stove and set heat to medium. Pour in the olive oil and butter and let it heat for a minute. Return the green beans and fennel to the pan. Season with basil, salt, and pepper; cook and stir until coated and warm. Transfer to a serving dish and toss with feta cheese and viola!.

It is good to laugh and for this reason and this reason only I have included a joke.

Two cows are eating grass and talking in the field. One cow says, "Have you heard about the Mad Cow disease that’’s going around?"

The other cow answers, "Yeah, makes you glad you’’re a penguin, doesn’’t it?"

That's it ladies and gentleman until next time

Don't forget our new mantra "The Sun is coming out" - (which sorta makes me want to sing a song from Annie "The Sun will come out tomorrow!")

Yours always

Cheese Czarina!