Shepard's Pie

After buying groung veal this weekend, I was craving a meat pie. So I made a twist on a classic recipe. My mom always made Shepard's pie without a crust, but I wanted a crust without a lot of trouble. I made the JOC quick rolled biscuit recipe, and this was a perfect crust. I put in a layer of meat, cooked with garlic and onions and herbs, a layer of sauteed mushrooms, and a layer of mashed potatoes (the little blue potatoes from the farm). The crust puffed a bit, and the potatoes became golden on top. It was a very edible winter meal. Connie joined me and we both had seconds!

Yogurt maker!

In keeping with our dairy theme, I made yogurt for the first time this weekend. It was really easy, and the yogurt is tangy and a good consistency. I used Brown Cow whole milk yogurt as the starter, and incubated the yogurt for ten hours. Tasty!

Katia, the farmer from this weekend, used to work for Seven Stars yogurt. She said she makes yogurt without a store bought yogurt maker. After heating the milk and adding starter, she put a big container in a warm water bath in a cooler, closes it up, and monitors the water temperature occasionally.

Milk Mania!

Misty Brook Farm sells milk in half-gallon glass jars. They require a depost the first time, then customers just return their old jars when they come for fresh milk. It seems like it will be easy to skim the cream from these jars. After our farm tour and all of all farm-store purchases, it seemed fitting to have lunch at the Crystal Spring Dairy Bar, where two people can have drinks and lunch for less than $10, easy.

Misty Brook Farm in Hardwick, MA

Today we drove to central Mass to check out Misty Book Farm, a certified organic farm that sells raw milk, grass fed beef, poultry, pork, eggs, etc. The food is for sale in a self-serve honor system store at the front of the farm. The farmers, Brendan and Katia (their first baby is due in 2 months!), invite visitors to wander around and see the animals. So we did. Katia gave us a tour and told us about their farming experiences and the animals' stories.

The cows are beautiful and clean. Many of them were born on the farm, and they have several calves (destined to be milk cows, steer, or veal) in and outside the barn. Katia let us in the chicken coop to see the hens and roosters -- they have a sunny loft! They let the ducks out, and the ducks flew all about and were terrorized by the tiny dog running around the farm. It was a perfect winter morning.

We bought milk, ground veal, steaks, potatoes, and chicken eggs (they have duck eggs, too). Check back soon for pictures of the dinners to come!

Breakfast

I was about to post without a picture on dinner last night, but Connie beat me to it! See her comment below to read about our tasty dinner. Never travel without a digital camera, as food will go undocumented.

Instead we get today's breakfast. I made an omelet (sort of) with two eggs from a local farm. They yolks are bright and rich, more orange than yellow. I am running low on veggies, so I added sauteed onions to the egg mix, and put some mild gouda in the omelet. With toast and chopped tomatoes, it was a great breakfast. Lately I have been using a french press instead of my drip coffee maker. The clean up is easier, no filters, and it makes good strong coffee. Although it gets cold since there isn't a hot plate under the coffee. So drink up!

Burgers! Fries!

Guest Chefs! Sarah and Jim did the cooking (Sarah: fries, veggie prep, bun toasting; Jim: burgers, seasoning, DJ; MC: dancing, tasting, salting), and I just hung out and ate, pretty much. But Sarah made sensational fries and the dinner deserves a post. She boiled them first, then cooked them in a fry pan of vegetable oil, stirring and flipping the frites a lot. Her dad did some initial coaching over the phone, I don't know what he said. Jim seasoned our burgers with s and p, bbq sauce, and other stuff, but I didn't catch it all. I chopped some red peppers with the ulu. Edible!

Frothy!

I made a smoothie this morning with milk, a banana, and a handful of raspberries. The fruit was at room temperature, and the milk was cold. Usually I use frozen fruit, or put in a few cubes of ice, but I think I like it better this way, at least for breakfast. Something about the temperature (I'm guessing) made it really light and airy. Like foam. I ended up feeling really full - it was kind of a lot to imbibe first thing in the morning. I would recommend this to share with someone for breakfast, or have for lunch.

I have been craving milk like never before. When I am at work, all I want is a nice cold glass of milk. I am going back to the dairy farm tomorrow, and I stopped after work today to get some cheese for Terri, the farmer. I wanted to get her a little present since she was so nice last week and showed up around the farm. The cheese-man recommended two cool cheeses, and I got a little of each. One is a soft cow's milk cheese from Switzerland. He said most Swiss cheese is made in cooperatives of blended milk, but this is from a single farm, a dairy that wanted to branch out and make their own cheese. The second is also Swiss, a firm Gruyere make from the milk of cows that graze right at the highest pastures, right where the grass meets the snow. Sounds like a joke, right? But it is fabulous. And the first cheese is like butter, it's amazing.