Done Waiting.

Last February I was reading book upon book about cheese making. If there is one craft that has held my attention for an extended period of time (4 years and counting now), it's making cheese. 

But 12 months ago, I was getting rather fed up with all the books I had. They all called for cow milk. And I had goats. What's more, I don't really like goat cheese (unless it's a fresh chevre that doesn't taste "goaty"). I like cow cheese. So I was in a pickle: I had the wrong species for what I wanted.

Then Mattie, my Jersey cow, came along in July of 2012. The lightbulb came on at her arrival. "I can make cheese now!!" Or so I had hoped... Alas, Mattie wasn't giving enough milk for me to do any serious cheesemaking, so I stuck to quick "vinegar cheeses" that were fed to the chickens. But I knew the day would come... I eventually HAD to hit the point where I could make cheese, right? I was tired of making soft cheeses; I wanted the real thing. Gouda's, colbys, cheddars, jacks, and all those other really good ones.

My cow is due to calve in 13 days. When she freshens, she will start giving 8 gallons of milk every single day. Every. Single. Day. That's 56 gallons every week. There will be milk. It is time to make cheese. It's time to pull out the red cheese wax from the cabinet, hunt down the starters that are hibernating in the freezer, and see about investing in a fridge that can be my very own cheese cave. It's time to do this. Four years is a long time to wait for something. I'm done waiting. 

Mary Katlin's book, 'Artisan Cheese Making At Home' is probably my favorite cheese making book; and I've read a lot of them. She makes even the fanciest cheese sound doable. And uh, being the photography snob I've become, I also adore the high quality pictures she has in the book. Okay, so maybe I do sometimes judge a book by its cover... Shame on me. ;)

I'm not sure what my first cheese will be yet; maybe a Gouda... Or perhaps even a Cheddar. But I want it to be something that has to age long and quietly... So that 6-9 months from now I can slice it open and smile, knowing that I'm seeing the fruits from early spring. Inside each wheel is proof that good things come to those who wait. 

Four years is a long time to wait for something, Dear Heart. I'm done waiting.

I Feel Rich

There are 2 gallons of raw goat milk sitting in the fridge as I type this.

There is also 2 1/2 lbs. of fresh chevre cheese in there.

There was a gallon of fresh whey in there earlier.

And there is a quart of cajeta also sitting next to the milk and cheese.

There will be goat meat in the freezer this fall.

There will be milk and cheese for friends by the first of June.

There is enough milk left over for me to feed Summer, and Metty's kids who are due to be born any time now.

I. Feel. Rich.

Fresh cheese!

All of this abundance is springing purely from Sombrita right now. My one milker at the moment. It amazes me that one animal can give so much, and yet be so small... I am in awe of these animals. 

This is the cherry on top for a country person. Looking in the fridge and seeing food that was jointly created between man and beast. Two species dependent upon one another to survive. 

I milked Sombrita, and got five quarts over the span of three milkings. This was placed in a pot on the stove to warm... It's temperature rose, it gently steamed, the cream came to the top. Rennet and a culture was added and stirred in. Oared over and under, over and under. Then the milk rested for 24 hours. The milk turned a peculiar green hue as proteins and fats sunk to the bottom of the pot, leaving what was now whey sitting on the top.

When a day had passed, a passing of two more milkings, there was no longer milk in my pot. Now there were two seemingly incompatible items testily sharing the confines of steel. I had cheese now. The whey was drained off and saved. It would be given to the broiler chicks as a treat later. And the soft cheese curds went into a cheesecloth bag. They were bone white with the feeling of silk... Each individual curd jiggled as I spooned it into the bag, making me think of Jello.

The curds then drained for 12 hours before being salted and put in a bowl. By the late evening, I found myself with something entirely different from what Sombrita had given me. She had gifted me with milk. With the start of food. I had finished it. I now had cheese before me. Was it perfect? No. It was a little too grainy, as the pictures will attest to. But the taste... Oh the taste.

Wildy fresh, light, creamy, a touch of salt, and a slight tang of goat... This was no cow milk cheese. It tasted awesome on Ritz crackers.

Goats will never cease to amaze me. Weighing an average of 150 lbs. they give us meat, milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, butter, kefir, whey, a means of feeding extra livestock, fiber to make clothes with, and provide a cottage business. All from a little animal that stands shorter than you and often weighs less than a large breed of dog. Such simple creatures they are in their needs... Why do they give so generously? Whatever the reason, I will never stop being amazed by their bounty.

Because of them, I feel rich.

33 Pieces Of Cheese

 I rarely win contests. Sure, I enter them whenever I can (providing I like what the prize is!), but I've only one a contest once before, and I was 10 when that happened. However, I did actually win something a few weeks ago! And it came in the mail today!!

A fellow blogger, and cheese fan, over at Madame Fromage, put four of these little, tiny books up for a drawing, and one person would get both the book and a lovely cutting board made by the author of the book.

 Guess who won both! ME!! 

This is where the majority of you just smile and nod. ;) I don't expect many others to share my interest in artisan cheeses. But I was tickled to get that little book today...

So there. I actually won something. How shocking...