Better late than never

Summer is here, no matter what the calendar says. Our garden has been a challenge with all the rain here in Missouri this Spring. My husband and I decided to put in raised beds. We had about 6 and they have been doing great. We've had beets, lettuces, chards, peas, etc. but the main garden, traditional rows, has been a mess. So, even though it seems a little late, we transplanted the few seedlings that are growing and then built a series of raised beds. We are hoping for the best. Eternal optimists, we are already making plans for next year! However, I still have high hopes for this one. I've been out weeding, weeding, weeding. The only bonus is, the chickens love the greens! A few green beans are coming on now and the yard long beans are blooming. We had a steady diet of those last year! Tomatoes are on the vine, so all is not lost. In dirt we trust.

Snow peas and chevre

It's time! The snow peas are ready. The pea vines are full of fresh pods and blooms. Enjoy a simple pleasure, snow peas stuffed with chevre. Simply run a knife down the pod to open it, stuff with fresh chevre and top with black pepper. Enjoy!

Hello to MaryJane's Farm Readers

Hello Farmgirls! I just got my new issue of MaryJane's Farm and I am so pleased to see goats, hats and cheesemaking as current topics! I started making straw (raffia) hats two years ago and have been having fun ever since. It is amazing how many of the things I am interested in show up in MaryJane's magazine! Haystacks, outdoor tubs and showers, sunflowers, and all those things that keep life interesting.

It looks like rain here in Missouri and I've got to get the rest of the tomatoes in this afternoon but tonight, be sure, I'll be kicked back and reading MJF from cover to cover! If you don't know about this magazine go to http://www.maryjanesfarm.com/ and find your long lost sisters! Farmgirls rule!

Read the previous post to find out about my cheesemaking classes in Hermann, Missouri.

New classes coming soon

Are you looking for a way to be more self sufficient? Learn the art of cheesemaking! Classes are geared to the home cheesemaker and require no special equipment. I will be teaching soon in Hermann, Missouri in conjunction with the Dierberg Educational Foundation through the Hermann Farm. http://www.hermannfarm.org

New classes staring in June for guests of the Inn at Hermannhof http://www.innathermannhof.com and in July for the general public. We will work with goat and cow milk. Enjoy hands on instruction and learn to make 4 different types of cheese. After you learn the basic techniques you will be able to make an amazing variety of cheese in your own kitchen.

Come to Missouri Wine Country, taste the local wines, make cheese and have fun! Check back next week for a schedule. Email me at jlynnehurst@yahoo.com for more information

Cheesemakers Unite!

Hello to all my cheesemaking friends. I am happy to report there are up and coming cheesemakers in Missouri. The class at East Central College in Union will come to a close this evening. We will have our farewell flatbread pizza! This is becoming a tradition on the last night of class. A super flatbread crust topped with fresh mozarella, fresh basil, sun dried tomatoes and other goodies.

Now my sites are on the Hermann Farm and new classes to begin there in June and July. What a perfect venue. We will have a bit of wine with our cheese experience which will give us a better understanding of the whole concept of wine and cheese pairings. For some reason it has always been a bit of a mystery - what to pair with what? We will break it down into easy terms and have a flight of wine to go with our freshly made cheese.

For more information about the classes go to www.hermannfarm.org

Herbs

One of my farmer clients has fresh herbs for sale, already! She and her husband start their plants in January and they are now ready to go. I have to go and get some fresh basil and chives. I bought chives in the grocery store and they are huge....more like scallions, not the delicate wispy greens I was hoping for. Every Winter I vow to keep a pot or two of herbs going and every Winter, I get side tracked and the frost comes. This year I did pull my wine barrels into the little greenhouse, which did prolong the inevitable. However, hubby did some housecleaning and mid January pulled them outside. So much for that experiment! My plan now is to buy some of the ready to go herbs and create a fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil arrangement. Oh, for fresh garden tomatoes about now! Those luscious sun warmed orbs, nature's perfection! Soon, soon! The sun is out and the lady bug (beetle) brigade continues. My home is surely the designated landing space for their entire population.

I'll post the moz recipe soon! Anticipation.

Back to the blog!

I'm back! I've been taking a break from the blog to finish my book and teach a few cheesemaking classes. It is amazing how many people there are who want to learn to make cheese! Cheese is one of the those mystery foods that no one is sure exactly what is involved. So it is great to be able to share and bring the joy of cheese to those who are interested. We meet for 5 weeks and learn to make chevre, a molded goat cheese, a bloomy rind, cheddar and mozzarella. My goal is for everyone who takes the class to be able to make cheese on their own. So far, so good! We are linking up cheesemakers with milk producers, so it is a win win situation.

My neighbor's goats kidded last weekend, so there are kids running about the neighborhood! What fun. Kids and lambs are surely the best cure for the winter blues. They hop, skip and tumble and make me smile just thinking about them.

Tonight's cheese making selection includes: Chevre with crushed black pepper and a soft goat cheese served with pears, pecans and local honey. This combination is elegant and impressive.

Awakening

Going away, even for a short trip, can be an awakening. My time in Vermont was not quite long enough but well worth the effort. Vermont is a foodies paradise and localism reigns supreme. My first trip to Burlington, 7 years ago, was to the Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese. I feel in love with the people and the countryside. Oh yes...............and the cheese!

Since returning home, my family and I have been enjoying a two year old Shelburne Farms Cheddar, and a Lazy Lady creation, a lovely bloomy rind called La Roche. I have a Vermont Shepherd aged sheep milk and an aged Doe's Leap goat milk tomme. Forgive me for bragging! These are of course, being rationed out, one bite at a time. Although tomorrow night the students of my cheesemakers class are in for a treat. I bought enough of the Vermont Cheddar to share.

I went to the Farmers' Market in Burlington. What a treat! The vendors there display their vegetables, breads, cheese and other provisions with skill and style. Beautiful lettuce, turnips, beets, carrots, rustic breads and more. We had some of the handcrafted bread for dinner tonight. It traveled well. The best thing about the market was the obvious pride of the farmers. Hats off on a job well done.

I came back home with a new enthusiasm for small scale agriculture. Sometimes I wonder if we are on the right track here at our place, Indigo Meadows. It is easy to get bogged down in the day to day and forget to enjoy the process of getting from where we are to where we want to be.
When I got back home and pulled into the driveway, I saw the remains of this year's garden, the newly planted apple trees and the woodpile I came to a new appreciation of our progress here on what was a bare piece of land a mere two years ago. Thanks Vermonter's on providing insights and inspiration.

Autumn in Vermont

I am living a dream, Autumn in Vermont. I am writing a book for Voyageur Press entitled, "Homemade Cheese" so Vermont is the perfect place to connect with artisan style cheesemakers. Today's visits included Does Leap and Lazy Lady, both small farmstead creameries; excellent examples of innovation, hard work and strokes of pure genius.

Goats have to be the most photogenic, interesting and challenging creatures on the face of the earth. I read a book quite some time ago that had a profound effect upon me and my desires for a small farm. The book, "How to Live on Almost Nothing and Have Plenty" by Janet Chadwick helped me to set a course. Janet wrote about her family, her farm, her mistakes and victories. She used the word "winning" to describe the personalities of her goats. I have never forgotten that use of that particular word and I would have to strongly agree, winning indeed.

The cheesemakers here are making something that goes far beyond food. Their creations have moved on to an art form. The people who do this work are generous with their time, their products and their ideas. I have always found farmers to be an interesting lot. Some are drawn to it simply as a vocation. For a happy few the farm becomes a lifestyle, a passion and a center. Those are the kind of folks I met today.

The scenery here is breathtaking. Today I got lost but I really didn't care. I found myself climbing to Stowe, surrounded by color, mountain streams and waterfalls. Being lost was perfectly fine. Rarely, does nature draw one to the point of such emotion that tears are close, but I have to say today I was at that point. All the words used to describe beauty fall short of capturing the intense color, the scents in the air and the essence of Vermont. Days like this are a gift to be sure.