Happy Fall!

One of my very favorite things about autumn is the cooler weather. And, cooler weather means cheese weather. This weekend alone we are making 1.5 lbs feta, 1/2 lb ricotta, 1 lb of chèvre, and  48 oz of yogurt. 

One of my current favorite desserts is a deconstructed baklava. They're pretty amazing and always a crowd pleaser. Not to mention insanely easy.

Deconstructed Baklava

Essentially you fill phyllo cups with a tbsp of ricotta. Then, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Glorious. 

Goat Milk Soap

I did it. I finally did it. After more than 2 years of thinking about it. I made goat milk soap. And, I didn't burn myself, or anyone else in the process. The only casualty was the stick blender that died in the my effort to achieve the perfect "trace".

I finally got the confidence after watching Martha Stewart (I know, cliche) and Brent Ridge (from the Beekman Boys) make a simple soap recipe. They were quite lackadaisical, and dare I say, careless? about the process. I guess working with lye wasn't that bad. As soon as M went down for her nap, I took all my tools outside and got to work. The bars should be ready around October 20th.

Updates

Since my last post, so much life has happened!

I brought a beautiful baby girl into the world in March 2012, the goats were bred in January 2013, Lola moved to a new home down the street, and we had two sets of triplets early this summer. Whew!

Life has calmed down a bit and we have found a little routine. We sold four of the six kids and we have two little bucklings left. Both girls are producing a good amount of milk and we have dusted off the yogurt maker and cheese cloth.

Making Chevre

This is the process of making the delicious bright white goodness known as "chevre."

Happy Autumn!

It is a fantastically lovely Sunday morning out here in the Southern California desert. Our friends and family on the East Coast are suffering from an unseasonably cold October...like snow storm cold.  However, we're enjoying 80 degree weather and sunshine.

I woke up at 6:50 am with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. I dressed quickly in yoga pants and a sweatshirt and headed to the ranch.  Milking had already started but I arrived in time for the second goat.  I brought pineapple, watermelon and strawberry scraps and tried to entertain the milking goat while she patiently  stood on the stand.  Turns out my goats have actually neglected to learn that they are, in fact, goats.  My fresh fruit treats were totally ignored.

Our milk production has dropped dramatically since the weather has changed and estrous has begun again.  Turns out goats in heat are focusing on other things than milking.  Here's hoping that production picks up a bit in January when the mating season is officially over. Nonetheless, we're still getting between 1 qt and 1/2 gallon per day.

Chevre

We have finally enjoyed a couple of days of sub 100 degree weather. Not only does this mean my attitude has greatly improved, it also means we can recommence making chevre! My first batch of the season came out yesterday and it looks beautiful. 2.5 lbs of wonderful soft white goodness.

I'm still playing around with seasonings but I think this batch is pretty damn tasty.  For 1 gallon I used 1.75 teaspoons of salt and 1 heaping tablespoon of herbs de provence. In  total I used 2 gallons of milk and made 2.5 lbs of cheese :) 2 lbs are traveling to Boston and Maine this weekend to be shared with friends and family on the other side of the States.

Updates

I've been quite remiss lately with my blogging.  However, we've been quite busy chez Lawyer Cheesemaker.

The goats were vaccinated...thanks Dr. Mom.
Basil was banded.
Daisy and Sage were sold and will be leaving the farm next week.
All goats still have very healthy and strong horns growing...boo!
I attempted to re-burn Lola's horns with disbudding paste.  (Do not do this. Ever. The stuff is horribly strong and the little girl cried continuously for nearly 2 hours).

I've made roughly 20 lbs of cheese including: chevre, feta, ricotta, queso blanco, mozzarella and one unsuccessful attempt at cheddar.

One of Sage's horns is growing while the other appears to have been successfully disbudding with the iron. Therefore, I correctly disbudded 1 of 6 horns.  Not good.