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The pie porch, ready for a party….
Several weeks ago, in the forum, a discussion began about a Chickens in the Road get-together for anyone interested who lived within reasonable distance and it eventually transformed into a party at the farm. (See what you might miss if you don’t visit the forum?!) It was so much fun, we’ll definitely do it again, so keep an eye out for the next one! In attendance: Kathy and Mike from the sheep farm, Missy and Pete from the goat farm, Linda and Leo from the chicken farm with their daughter, Lisa Carper Stott from the local historical society with her mom, Blaze and Kelleh (the organizer extraordinaire!), Amanda and her adorable family, Gizmo the cheesemaking guru with her daughter, and Jerry Waters, who took many of the photos in this post. (Georgia was scheduled to appear, but didn’t feel well at the last minute.) 52 was on hand, appearing live, in person! With me and my crew, the party total was about two dozen.
Some came over the hill through three creeks while others braved the river ford, all for a farm tour to the chickens and the goats…..
….or a walk in the woods….. (Left to right, Gizmo’s daughter, Amanda’s daughter, and Princess.)
….and the food! All the food! Everyone brought something and it was all wonderful. Lasagna, eggplant parmesan, salads, fruit, dips, cheesecakes, cookies, and more. (Be sure to check out the Pineapple Gooey Cake Missy brought–recipe posted in the forum on this page! And find out how to make Kathy’s Hot Artichoke Dip here!)
(Below, left, Linda and Leo. Right, Kathy.)
And Gizmo showed us all how to make cheese! (From left to right, Kelleh, me, Gizmo, Missy.)
Gizmo, right, the Happy Cheesemaker.
Gizmo is also the Relaxed Cheesemaker.
Me: The directions! The directions!
Gizmo: Directions, schmirections. Calm down, grasshopper. I’ll show you the light. And the cheese!
(I totally made up that dialogue. But it’s not far off.)
She brought gallons of her own goat milk and made two batches of ricotta. Like it was NOTHING. She doesn’t even look at the directions!
And before we knew it there was cheese draining in muslin over my sink.
And we munched on fresh-made cheese, broiled on slices of Grandmother Bread drizzled in olive oil and strewn with fresh herbs. Yum!
I made cheese once before, a few days before the party, with Missy. It was so exciting–we made mozzarella. It came out….okay. My first attempt wasn’t anywhere near perfect (maybe it was kinda bad) and I was glad to have a chance to watch an experienced cheesemaker at work. Cheesemaking is a lot like making bread. Bread is just flour, and cheese is just milk. If it doesn’t work out, try again, nobody died. As a beginning cheesemaker, I was a little nervous, too worried about being precise and examining the directions. After observing Gizmo at work, I’m ready to relax and play. I can’t wait to try again! (Full cheesemaking posts coming soon!)
And then, stuffed full, they left us…..
The Giant Puppy was quite sad to see Amanda’s youngest daughter go. Coco decided she was a toddler guardian dog and stuck by her side for much of the party. I think Coco was infatuated with her. She’d never seen a person that little before.
Coco enjoyed her generosity with the cookies, too.
Coco: Y’all come back now, ya hear?
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Come on ya’ll…share some details! Or did you all have to take an oath of silence?
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Tresh in OK
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BTW – it looks like Coco is winking at us (in the last picture)! How cute!
;o)
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Please share your new cheesemaking skills. Right now I’m knee deep in ice cream and sorbet making.
– Suzanne, the Farmer’s Wife
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THANKS AGAIN!!!!!
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By the way, search “making goat cheese” on youtube.com.
Lots of video on cheesemaking there!
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And I’m with you in the nervousness of cheese-making. I tried making fresh mozz this summer, and I (foolishly) tried to use actual cheesecloth to drain. Most of the cheese disappeared into the sink and I got about a tablespoon of hard nugget for a gallon of high-quality milk. I was profoundly discouraged by the experience, but I’ll have to try again.
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::envious::
And you got cheese! Wahoo!
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Your decorations are so pretty by the steps!!!
Yesterday, my husband and I were watching several episodes of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” on the food network channel…he loves those…and on one, from IOWA, this man cooks his grandmothers Italian recipes, in his diner and he was making homemade Ricotta cheese and the guy that does the show said it was to die for, fresh, sweet…I happened to be daydreaming at that moment, and quickly asked “how did he do that”? My husband said “he put lemon in it or something”…sigh. LOL
The cheese looks soooo yummy. I love goat cheese. Chevre? Thanks for sharing! :mrgreen:
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Blessings from Ohio…
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And you’re welcome, though I don’t think I did quite as much prep as you did with all the cleaning and fabulous decorations you had ready for us.
To everyone wondering? The food was absolutely fabulous, and I highly recommend that everyone go get that pineapple gooey cake recipe, and make it tonight. You won’t regret it! Now we just need to get Mr. Pete to give us his lasagna recipe, and we’ll be set to go!
The cheese-making was very fun. Gizmo is a true cheese master, and Suzanne is well on her way to becoming one as well!
And of course there were goats and chickens, and President Coco, and I got to hold little Nutmeg (I think?!) and she was just adorable and cuddly… and everything was just incredible.
Thank you so much for my wonderful Saturday! I’ll try to get my pictures up on the forum tonight for everyone to see!
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all day long i have thought of your sentence about if the cheese does not turn out – try again – NOBODY DIED.
wow how true – how we could use that one for so many other times too. it was a powerful statement.
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THE OLD FASHION CLOTH-LINE HAD GONE BY THE WAY OF DRYERS. NOTHING CAN BEAT THE SMELL OF QUILTS AND SHEETS DRYED ON THE LINE OUT IN THE SUN AND WIND….
PLEASE NOTE WE ARE COMING INTO THE FOREST FIRE SEASON – PLEASE TELL EVERYONE TO BE CAREFUL.
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tabbimama
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