CHEVRE

I am quite amazed it has taken me this long to make homemade cheese.  Up until now I've never had access to homegrown, organic, raw and delicious milk so it never really made sense for me to make cheese from milk in a carton.  Our dear goat Cassie kissed her wee ones goodbye and off they went to a new farm to live, and we now have full and complete access to her udder.  Last year we were kind of off on our weaning timing and messed up the system and were only getting small amounts of milk each day.  This year we are definitely in the game and get a good litre and a half a day.  For our family that is more than enough milk for cooking and drinking, so I started freezing some every day in anticipation of some cheese making.  My dream of making homemade cheese has been realized at last, and it was special indeed.  And easy, which is a bonus.  After a long morning of wild blueberry picking, I came home to a precious batch of chevre ready for the sampling.   The most simple, perfect, and delicious lunch I've ever had.  

By simple I mean just stirring in some raw minced garlic, some torn fresh basil from the garden, and a drizzle of olive oil.  Spread that goodness on some toasted sourdough crostini and prepare to swoon.  And eat more.

CHEVRE

4 litres organic raw goat milk

1/8 tsp Mesophilic culture

1/4 tablet rennet

sea salt to taste

Method:  Dissolve the rennet tablet in some unchlorinated water and allow to sit for 30 minutes before using.   Warm milk ever so gently to 22* which is really like room temperature.  Then stir in the starter culture and then the rennet solution and stir for 30 seconds.  Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours.

     When a curd has developed, use a slotted spoon to scoop out the curd mass into a strainer lined with cheesecloth.  Drain out the liquid whey for 6-12 hours (the longer the drier and tangier).  Once drained, remove cheese from cloth and add 1 tsp sea salt and herbs if desired.  Store in a covered glass container in fridge and eat within 7-10 days.

I feel like I've landed in the land of milk and honey.  A huge bowl of cheese sitting in my fridge, and I can't stop dipping my finger in for a taste.  I also couldn't resist using some in our dinner tonight.

I am loving summertime food.  Fresh and local roasted eggplant, tomato sauce, fresh goat cheese and mozzarella.  It truly doesn't get any better than this.

KIDDING AROUND

So fun to wake up this morning, look out Faegan's bedroom window into the backyard and see Scott still home and striding across the lawn.  Hooray!  he was so happy to announce that our sweet goat Cassie had given birth to two kids.  

What an exciting moment for our family, this being the first birth we've experienced as new farmers.  Not only are we blessed with two very cute little kids, we will soon be in the milk as well which is great because I miss having access to organic, raw milk.  Guess I better brush up on my milking skills, and my enthusiasm for this daily task.

   Before I keep gushing about his wonderful event, I must fill you in on the circumstances which led to this joyous occasion.

     So our little brood of goats arrived at Spruce Hill Farm way back last spring as a threesome, Cassie and her two kids whom we named Buck and Nola.  Now Buck was the male and he was still a youngster, but we knew we had to keep an eye on him as he matured so that he wouldn't try and mate with his mommy or sister.  Time passed and so eventually did Buck.  As late winter rolled around we made arrangements with a local farmer to have our Cassie date her buck for a little while in hopes of getting her pregnant.  Time passed there as well and no luck hooking those two goats up no matter how long we left her there!  So, we disappointedly brought Cassie home, only to discover that she was already pregnant, very pregnant too.  Looks like Buck left a little of himself behind...

     Apparently this is deemed a "terminal cross" which isn't a problem genetically unless it unexpectedly happens again within the family.  Which could very well happen because I think we have two new boys in the family.

MILKING IT

If you are anything like I was a few months ago, you probably have no idea how to milk a goat.  Well, if you happen to be interested in this sort of thing, this video is for you.......

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SETTLING IN

My neighbour Catherine took a couple of great photographs of the goats.

 The goats are settling in.  They are part of the family now, part of our rhythm, a part of our lives.  As I write this I am listening to their goat song, their tragic cry as they learn to be separate for a little while each night.  We are gently weaning the kids from momma each night for 4 hours to build up her milk.  Then Scott goes out and milks Cassie (the momma), and the family is then reunited for the night and all of the next day in the pasture.  It is an interesting journey into home dairying, especially being an actively lactating mammal myself right now.  I am face to face with the reality of animal husbandry.  To be in the front lines, in direct contact with the process of extracting milk from an animal and then consuming it is pretty intense.  I often wonder what it would be like if I was the mammal being kept by another animal for the same reasons.....As you can imagine, my mind then begins to wander in all kinds of interesting directions.  Suffice it to say, getting goats has been a very eye opening experience.

This first week was also a bit stressful.  We had to figure out how much to feed the goats, when to feed them, and when to milk Cassie.  Scott has also been busy building housing for the goats, as well as a goat stand. Then Cassie's pooh got all clumpy, which freaked me out because it is supposed to be like little beans or pellets.  To top it off, we then discovered she has an infestation of some sort of flea or bug.  So off I went into the city to purchase some bulk herbs to concoct a formula to rid her of those, along with some other herbs to keep her worms at bay.  I think everything is under control.....for now.  My current concern is whether she is too thin.  It's like having another child!  In a good way though.  I love having them here.  I know it was kind of crazy to get goats when I have a such a young baby to take care of too.  Our lives are definitely "full" right now....but it is also wonder"full", thought"full", and bounti"full".

Goat accommodations.

Super comfy goat accommodations.   The new wood and straw smells so good.  I could live here.

My husband Scott is hilarious.  He is definitely getting into this.  Maybe too much.  The other night he was milking Cassie in his "shop", which temporarily housed the goats.  He had the radio going, he had Cassie's udder all greased up, and he was milking her in time to the rock song on the radio.  He then proceeded to tell me about how when you stroke her in a certain way, her eyes kind of half close in ecstasy.  Oh my, what have we gotten ourselves into?

On a totally unrelated note, here is picture of our lovely turkeys.