Little Tomme -- Vegetables

I cut into the little Tomme this past Friday night. I'm very pleased with it. It is just a mild little cheese. I thought it would be a little softer, but it's nice and firm with a nice rind as you can see in the picture. It never developed any mold at all, so I never put vinegar on it or oil. It simply sat on my kitchen counter for three weeks. I've wrapped it in wax paper and put it in the fridge now to keep it from aging any more.

To the left see the assortment of vegetables grown right here that I used for our main meal today. The turnips I picked in the field behind our house. Eddie's uncle actually grew those. They've been in the root cellar with the carrots. The green, red, and purple sweet peppers are from the freezer. It's kind of like having a grocery store right here at the house!

Today's Menu:
Breakast: Quiche, Sage Sausage, Yogurt (yes, yogurt -- I've run out of frozen gogurt) with blueberries
Main Meal: Chicken Fajitas, Glazed Turnips and Carrots
Evening Snack: Beef Brisket with homemade mayonaise, apple with peanut butter, dark chocolate, and wine

Ingredients from Sweet Garden Farm: eggs, cheese, and milk in quiche, peppers and cheese in chicken fajitas, turnips (see note above), carrots, and eggs in mayonaise

Little Tomme

I made a little Tomme on January 27. It's been drying/aging on my kitchen counter since then. It's developed a very nice rind and a lovely delicate aroma. I plan to cut into it the end of next week, or at about 3 1/2 weeks of age. I'm hoping that it is just a nice mild cheese.

I don't have any goat milk right now so I used two gallons of Trickling Springs milk that I purchased at Whole Foods. It is gently pasteurized, and not homogenized at all.

The Tomme hasn't developed any mold, probably because it is so dry in the kitchen. It is February after all, and we have a wood fire going all of the time in the room. I'm so anxious to taste it! Of course, even if it turns out great, it will be different using my own raw goat's milk. But, it would be nice to know that I have the process right.

Today's Menu
Breakfast: Apple Gouda Sausage, Pumpkin Breakfast Bake, Gogurt with Blueberries
Main Meal: Country Fried Steak, Steamed Green Beans with Sweet Oil and Vinegar Dressing, Pecans, and Shredded Ricotta Salata
Evening Snack: Salami, Cheeses, Melon, Wine, and Dark Chocolate

Ingredients from today's menu produced on Sweet Garden Farm: Chevre, eggs and milk in breakfast bake, gogurt, milk in gravy, ricotta salata and melons (all but the eggs were from the freezer). The green beans were picked at the farm next door last summer.

February 6, 2010 Blizzard

We had about two feet of snow here in Maryland with the big snowstorm yesterday. Happily for Tigger and Una, Cousin Carrie dug pathways through the snow so the girls could move about. Tigger is six weeks from her due date, Una is seven and a half weeks from hers. I can hardly wait to have new babies and fresh milk!!

Just like last year, Tigger looked really big early, but she doesn't seem to be getting any bigger now, so she probably has triplets in there again. Una is definitely bigger than last year, so I'm still hoping for twins.