cheese-to-be
As I was laying in bed this lazy drizzly morning reading my book, I stumbled across something exciting: how to make cheese.
I suppose it has crossed my mind, as I'm always excited for a chance to immerse myself in the making of my food; apple and pear cider in the fall, berry picking and canning in the spring, growing and harvesting my own vegetables, making beer. But I've been reading Pollan and Kingsolver and learning about our corporate food machine, triggering in me a more urgent search for ways in which to eat local, eat well.
The idea of living on a farm or farm-like place has always appealed to me. In fact, I did everything I could in Eugene to make my small 1/3 acre lot into a farm, though I could have found some chickens to keep as well. I love the idea of growing, collecting, cooking and preserving food locally. In fact, the idea of eating a piece of fruit I had to struggle to reach is so much more appealing to me than buying fruit in the grocery or even in a farmers market, that I rarely even think of buying fruit.
I can recall one of the tastiest meals I've ever had with vivid detail. It wasn't my grandmother's Christmas dinner, my mom's delicious sherry artichoke chicken, it was a meal cooked entirely from a friend's property in Utah, amidst a peach orchard near a spring. We ate turkey that roamed freely about the ranch, and salad collected from their amazing garden, tucked into the sandy soil against a rock outcrop. It was the most flavorful turkey and salad I have ever eaten. I wondered at the time why it was so good. I think I understand it now.
With my new perspective on food, I've been searching for opportunities to make some of the things we normally buy: bread, beans, preserves, and buying things from local sources when we can afford them.
After my discovery this morning, I searched out our local farmers' market, hoping there would be one up and running on a Wednesday morning, looking for a source of local milk. I was in luck. I stumbled around the house collecting warm waterproof clothes, then I bungied a wooden box to the back of my bike and headed to the market in search of milk.
I didn't find any, but I did find some local cheese, beets, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, onions and Swiss chard. yum yum. With my collection in the makeshift wooden bike basket, I headed home to plan a meal, find a local milk farm, and learn how to make cheese.
I suppose it has crossed my mind, as I'm always excited for a chance to immerse myself in the making of my food; apple and pear cider in the fall, berry picking and canning in the spring, growing and harvesting my own vegetables, making beer. But I've been reading Pollan and Kingsolver and learning about our corporate food machine, triggering in me a more urgent search for ways in which to eat local, eat well.
The idea of living on a farm or farm-like place has always appealed to me. In fact, I did everything I could in Eugene to make my small 1/3 acre lot into a farm, though I could have found some chickens to keep as well. I love the idea of growing, collecting, cooking and preserving food locally. In fact, the idea of eating a piece of fruit I had to struggle to reach is so much more appealing to me than buying fruit in the grocery or even in a farmers market, that I rarely even think of buying fruit.
I can recall one of the tastiest meals I've ever had with vivid detail. It wasn't my grandmother's Christmas dinner, my mom's delicious sherry artichoke chicken, it was a meal cooked entirely from a friend's property in Utah, amidst a peach orchard near a spring. We ate turkey that roamed freely about the ranch, and salad collected from their amazing garden, tucked into the sandy soil against a rock outcrop. It was the most flavorful turkey and salad I have ever eaten. I wondered at the time why it was so good. I think I understand it now.
With my new perspective on food, I've been searching for opportunities to make some of the things we normally buy: bread, beans, preserves, and buying things from local sources when we can afford them.
After my discovery this morning, I searched out our local farmers' market, hoping there would be one up and running on a Wednesday morning, looking for a source of local milk. I was in luck. I stumbled around the house collecting warm waterproof clothes, then I bungied a wooden box to the back of my bike and headed to the market in search of milk.
I didn't find any, but I did find some local cheese, beets, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, onions and Swiss chard. yum yum. With my collection in the makeshift wooden bike basket, I headed home to plan a meal, find a local milk farm, and learn how to make cheese.
posted by humble bee at 3:03 PM
1 Comments:
yum! Mozzarella!
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