Today

Preparations for my new cow are well underway. I spent a large portion of the day clearing out all the junk that had accumulated in the milk room over the past two years and pressure-washing the stall and milk room.
And just in case I have trouble milking 10 gallons of milk per day by hand, I pulled out the milk machine (not touched in six years), took everything apart, scrubbed and sanitized it, and reassembled it with all new tubing and inflations. I just hope I don't need it!

And I also made a small batch of oatmeal, milk, and honey soap (with vanilla and cinnamon). It's been a while since I last made any, so I accidentally added the lye too fast and the milk immediately curdled and burned. Yuck. The second try turned out a little better! These bars should be ready in four weeks. I plan on making a lot of milk soap in the coming weeks and selling it. If you're interested, just email me!

My mom and I have been riding a lot in preparation for a 12.5 mile competitive trail ride on Saturday. Yesterday we rode through the trails and on the roads to the beach - 10 miles. The sun came out as we reached Tramp Harbor, and by the time we were galloping down the beach it started to get fairly warm. So it was quite refreshing when we turned around, and started riding in the water. The horses went in almost to their bellies, and we could watch the fish swim and crabs scuttle around. A couple times I had to steer Cheerio out of the path of a jellyfish. What a great time!

Got One!

I found a cow!
We'll be picking her up next Monday.
She is a registered Jersey, not even 5 years old yet. She calved in March, and is pregnant with another calf due February.
She's sweet and very friendly, doesn't kick and doesn't mind being milked by hand.
I just hope my hands don't fall off the first week she's here! It's been two years since I last milked a cow. Or worse - we drown in a flood of milk. She's giving a lot of milk - more than I ever dealt with before - on the scale of 10 gallons per day. But hey - more milk equals more cheese!







She needs a name. Any suggestions?

Wine and Beef

Today we spent a lovely evening with our friends, sampling many a bottle of wine, grilling beef and eating too much.

First: sliders.
When you want to make sliders, do them right! Homemade brioche buns. Homegrown, grass and milk-fed, dry aged Shorthorn beef, grilled. Bacon, caramelized onions, and aioli. Sorry - no pictures! They were too good and gone too fast.







And more of that excellent Mac beef - New York steaks. Each steak weighed over a pound.













Some happy vegetables:



And dwindling wine:



Peach shortcake and late harvest Sauvignon Blanc.

Hooray for Marmot!

Finally, Marmot made a calm appearance at a horse show! In fact, he was almost comatose - no doubt because he chose to run for an hour in the hot sun yesterday. But he was a great boy, and my mom was super happy with him!

Iris

Still cute as ever!

Cow Quest 2010

The search for a new cow continues. At some times of the year there are cows for sale everywhere you look; now they're quite sparse. But I'm waiting to hear from a farm - hopefully I'll be bringing home a cow next Sunday! In preparation of the cheesemaking to come, I'm setting up two fridges in my room (dorm-size) for aging. My plan is to have one for harder wheels and cured meats, the other for soft, mold ripened cheeses. My biggest obstacle with making cheese in the past was ripening. A wheel of cheddar will grow a multi-hued patchwork of mold - which is just fine because it can just be trimmed off. But a piece of cheese such as camembert needs an exact temperature and humidity. Otherwise the delicate mold will grow inconsistently, or dry up, or just die. But even the hard cheeses will benefit from a better environment. With enough airflow and the proper temperature and humidity, the mold will be more manageable, able to be brushed down to form a thin natural rind.



Here is the new and improved fridge: I bought a switch timer, so the fridge turns on and off in 30 minute intervals, keeping the temperature at an average of 55 degrees. Two computer fans provide air circulation. And I'm taking it for a test drive with an experimental piece of charcuterie. On the 4th of July I smoked a bunch of meat over a wood fire - most of it barbecue for that night's dinner - but when the heat died down I cold smoked a flank steak (courtesy of Mac...). This I cured with salt, sugar, juniper, rosemary, and thyme. After four days of curing I dried it off, rolled and tied it, and moved it into the fridge. Only time will tell!

Graduated!!!

I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America on Friday, June 18!!!


(I'm on the left)

I am now back home on Vashon Island, looking forward to a long summer of cooking, horse-riding, cow-milking, and teaching cheesemaking classes.

And I actually plan on keeping up with my blog - so check back soon for more adventures from the CIA, as well as tales from our farm and kitchen!