Cheesemaking: Success or Failure

We are trying out a new recipe for blue cheese - well, it's not all that new. We made a batch of this about 5 years ago.


If it works this time, it will be offered at farmer's market in May. I am "bluing" one of our washed rind cheese recipes.

"Madison" did not have enough sales to keep it in the roster for 2010, so it is being transformed into another style of cheese. Cross your fingers!

Weekend Cook: Smoked Pork Shoulder

An overnight smoke on the Big Green Egg resulted in a succulent pork shoulder.

I coated the 6-pound bone-in roast with four tablespoons of chili paste and four tablespoons of turbinado sugar. I set it in the refrigerator, uncovered, overnight.

(Sprinkled even more sugar on top)

The next day, Dan started the fire early around 8 a.m., let it get too hot, and we had to wait until it cooled to 300f to put the pork on. It was around 1 p.m. when I finally started this cook. Around 6 p.m. he added 2 pints of cider to the drip pan for steam. The temperature was 250f at that point.

Somewhere around 3 a.m. the next day, the temperature alarm sounded pork perfection (195f). I pulled it off the fire, covered it in foil and a heavy towel, and went back to bed. At 7 a.m. the meat was still hot to the touch and very moist.

Pork in a rice bowl is fine for lunch, but I'm thinking sandwiches. Where's that box of wheatless bread mix?

Catching you up: We sell feed.

How has our dairy coped with record low milk prices? We sell feed.

During the harvest season, trucks go in and out of the driveway all day, bringing alfalfa and corn to the bunkers. This time of year, trucks (including this full one) go in and out of the driveways taking feed out of the bunkers.

They are not going slowly, and it's dicey to drive around the cheeseplant.

Life on the farm 030110: We revolve

The year 2010 has been turned over for a while now. Before spring work creates a time constraint, it's time for my husband Dan and I to prepare for the farmer's market season (it begins in May).

You'd think everything on the farm would revolve around the dairy - and it does - but for some reason or other, we also swirl around market like a satellite, waxing and waning as we cycle through a seasonal orbit.

At the top of the to-do list: order day-old Broad-breasted Bronze turkeys.

Dan is firmly against having a "bargain assortment" of different sizes and breeds.

>He wants the same birds that we have raised for the last few years. "Easier", he says.

The only delay to completing this task is for him to finally confirm the date he wants them to arrive.

All I want are a few smaller turkeys for our home freezer. I'm tired of breaking down 30 - 40 lb. birds and eating them one quarter at a time. We are only two people, and one leg/thigh combo feeds us very well.

I'm not that fond of turkey, anymore.

I've done the T-bird up roasted, steamed, pan fried, deep fried, breaded, poached, pulled, grilled and smoked; I've made it into sandwiches, spreads, soup, stew, hash, tamales, meatballs, cutlets, potpie, and tetrazzini. We've eaten three whole turkeys since thanksgiving. No more, please!

Note to self: Buy gigantic plastic bags for packaging humongous turkeys.

We've transported the veal, pigs and steers to Brault's Custom Processing in Troy. It's crossed off the list.

There were clear roads for the journey over the mountain, but what an impossibly rough lose-your-lunch rollercoaster ride! I am not looking forward to picking up our commercial packages.

Note to self: Defrost the freezers and divide up last year's unsold meat amongst the family.

New frozen items from the farm in 2010: half pig heads, lard, and hot Italian veal sausage.

Yes, I said "lard" and "pig heads". Lard has been one of the most requested items for several seasons, and the popularity of pig heads defies any logical explanation that I can come up with. I have to give the people what they want.

Note to self: email our clients about the availability of more sausages and give them a "heads up" on the new inventory.

Also, make two separate orders of "straight run" (male and female) Cornish hens after counting back seven weeks from the days we can process them.

I want the meat birds we sell to weigh 6-7 pounds this year, not 8-12 pounds. Like the turkeys, they have been too big to be allowed.

The remaining market chores include repairing, repainting and resurfacing the chalkboards, and sourcing a more durable toothpick dispenser. The cheese-sampling public sprung the spring-loaded one we used in 2009.

Revising all our promotional literature and sales flyers will take more inspiration and time than I have today.

I'll just tack that on to the bottom of the paper.

Easy: Sandy's Special Pancakes

These are Sandy's Special Pancakes, Dan's current favorite breakfast at the MY-T-Fine Diner in Swanton. It's a pancake fused with bacon and one egg, an off-the-menu item. Because of my allergy, I've never had one - until now.

How hard could it be to make at home? Wheatless pancake batter from the box, crack an egg, crispy bacon.

Wait until it's set, then flip.

Ooops. This would be mine.

(Dan's personal pancake came out better)

He said they were pretty good, but not exactly like Sandy makes.

This is the first time I've had them at all, and quite frankly, I've never held sweet and savory as a desirable combination. Pineapple and pizza - can't do it. Fruit salsa with fish - never more than one bite. They sit like lead in my belly.

I'll continue to put jam and whipping cream on my pancakes - and Dan can have the SSP's all to himself.

Our Little Pony: 800 Feet

Buttercup has made it to the house and back, though she usually needs the day after and some aspirin to recover before having a go that far again. As you can see, she still has "slipper" hooves, but she moves much more naturally now.

Monday Menu: Turkey Tamale

Leftover turkey, pork and beans from the last few cooks in tamale form.

I happened to have some pork fat from making pork stock,

and turkey stock as well.

I used the basic tamale recipe here, with a variation using the fat and stock above - and substituting beans for half of the poultry.

All the filling ingredients.

I added a commercial mole sauce to moisten the filling, about a 1/4 cup.

The masa batter was like cookie dough this time. I haven't had one tamale make that turned out exactly like the previous one.

Masa and filling.

This made only six tamales that were steamed for 1 1/2 hours.

Looks good!

The masa came out drier than I would have liked - perhaps the filling should have been wettter, or I could have incorporated more stock in the masa. The pork fat left behind that 'lardy' flavor, but it was far less pronounced than using commercially prepared lard. No problems that more mole and a hit of melted cheese couldn't fix.

I'm still learning.