SO! Cheese, cheese, cheese. And CHEESE. That about sums things up around here. Will be making more cheese again tomorrow to sell on Saturday morning. And to some local restaurants. I am reading about cheese, making cheese and thinking about cheese. OH and of course eating cheese. Am also taking pictures of cheese. (Tarragon & oregano herbed chevre and a fair trade choccy with a pinch of salt):
This is our “cheese handout”. Any critique would be welcome:
My hen & chicks sprouted even more of those crazy flowers atop a skinny noodle of leafy stem:
Don’t ever let this cute mug fool you into letting Pups lick your face. I know what he gnaws on outside. Today it was 2/3 of a dead chicken and the bottom jaw from… something. Both were significantly larger than he.
Mags is learning to drink from a sippy. Bob is a monkey.
Meeps has gone to sleep two nights in a row now with no booby in her mouth. Sound the trumpets, ring the bells. I just had to go up and nurse her for a minute, but it was only for ONE minute. Not getting too excited, since I know the next growth spurt or round of teeth will knock us back into nursing like it was 2008, but HELLO, AWESOME!
Time to go help my husband paint a sign. It might not be the most romantic way to spend an evening, but I’ll take what I can get.
PS. Thank you to everyone who reads my blog and came to buy my cheese last week. Warm fuzzies man, wow!
I love to read everything you write, you are an inspiration and have posted comments before but not often. When you ask what we think about the cheese handout, I think it would be helpful to mention if the rennet is vegetarian or not. Glad your boobs are getting a rest, DS is 2.25 and getting back to crazy boobfascinations, ugh!
I wonder how it would look with more leading on the cursive font. There were a few words that were hard for me to read when certain letters dip up or down. But my kidlet’s canines are coming in and I’m one tired mamma.
BOOBFASCINATIONS! Love it.
Thanks for the input on both. The rennet IS vegetarian and we were trying to think of a nice way of saying “doesn’t have anything to do with the slaughter of baby cows” without sounding too preachy. I guess we can just say “vegetable based rennet”. Though it’s not a selling point for everyone – we had a woman last week turn up her nose since the cheese wasn’t made from rennet from the milk filled stomach innards of a baby cow! Can’t please ‘em all!
I also find the font almost too hard to read. I just love the font.
And thank you.
did you know you can use nettle tea instead of rennet? i just learned that cause i am going to make some chevre soon as well.
also, wow on the hens and chicks flowers. i planted a bunch along our retaining wall/stairs and would love to see blossoms like that! hopefully next season?
and meeps’ outfit is so cute. i have that same KQO outfit for esmee in purple! adorable!
the one thing i found WEIRD about america when i went (im aussie) was the ORANGE cheese… like seriously… WHAT THE?
I am totally inspired by your homesteading adventures. Oddly enough, my hens and chickens bloomed this year too, prior to that, I had no idea they even flowered, EVER! I will agree, they are the cutest looking flowers.
I would have to second (or third?) the point that the cursive font is really nice, just isn’t working for this purpose, there are a few words that are too hard to read. It could be putting people off buying it if they cannot read your info and don’t want to ask you in person. Awesome job, hope this week is just as successful!
Chocolate on cheese, woza! Agree withe the font being really nice but hard to read, the logo makes me happy every time I see it.
Hey lady, that cheese looks delish, hope you save some for when we come a-visiting!
And love any and all pictures of Maggie’s legs, they’re the cutest things since..oh, ever.
Your cheese looks delicious, and I love the idea of having a cheese handout! I think the font is fine, I had no trouble reading it at all, and I think calling it ‘vegetable based rennet’ is the perfect way of describing it.
Is there any discernible difference in taste or texture between animal and vegetable based rennet?
I thought the font was a bit difficult to read, mostly because i found the bottom of one line running into the top of another. the z’s are especially hard to make out because of that. it is a cool font though, i don’t blame you for loving it!
hiya – the cheeses sound so yummy! I would also recommend saying that the rennet is vegetable based (as a vegetarian I would be interested!) I think the font would be easier to read with slightly bigger spaces between lines…It’s a nice font but I had trouble reading it.. especially when the letters merge slightly between lines
Good luck with the market!
Hey Ashley, I just posted a picture of the chocolate chevre I devoured the other day, http://www.cleverandlovely.blogspot.com/.
Those are nifty handouts. It’s a shame I do not live close enough that I could have tried out the cheese. It looks wonderful.
Mags footwear in the last picture is adorable. Did you or someone make them? Or did you purchase them somewhere? Would love to get a pair for future baby!
The slippers are made by Padraig, they are based in BC. Cannot recommend enough, we keep buying pairs as they grow out of them. They wash BEAUTIFULLY as well. I got a pair for mothers day and they are my favourite slippers!
I currently live in Denmark, otherwise I would have loved to stop by the market and said hello!
I agree on the font being hard to read in spots.
I am so curious about your cheese. I wish I lived close enough to try them all. I don’t know of places that I can get cheese like yours (I am so sure there are, just haven’t thought to look for them). I am a chicken when it comes to trying new things…..
I love reading your blog and you have so many great ideas and share wonderful stories. The kids are looking so grown up from when I first started reading your blog (and it’s really only been 4-5 months).
Oh, how is Meeps and her stuffiness? Has the HEPA filter helped her sleep and could that have helped with the “minute” of nursing?
I too share your excitement when Hannah doesn’t nurse like crazy at night.
~M~
So… you may have already mentioned this but, where do you get your rennet? Does that rennet only make certain types of cheese? I understand you have worked with Sheep’s and Goat’s milk. Does that rennet work equally well with both types of dairy?
hey you – cheese looks so awesome! we’re hoping to get some goats and sheep and try cheese-making too. somedaaaaay. cute kids!
your cheese looks delicious! oh and 2 days ago we found lula gnawing on a very large cockroach carcass in the corner of the office… ugh.
P.S. Got a $5 chunk of new mozzarella (and other stuff) at the Farmer’s Mkt near where I work. It’s like cheese-candy.
Michele – my rennet comes from Hoegger Supply. It has worked equally well with sheep and goat for me, but I have yet to make cheese from cows milk. It is my basic understanding that cows milk cheeses require slightly more rennet.
Cockroach! Ay!
I need to hit the lottery so I can fly up there each week to buy your cheese from the market
Or mabye I’ll drive and bring up the woodsplitter and cut wood in trade for cheese 
I can’t get over how sweet your dollies always look. I’d say it was due to some magic wand in some fancy program, but after meeting them irl- I know its not true. So, so sweet!
After you let me know those were hens and chicks, I looked em up online and have decided to plant WADS of them next spring. I’ve always liked the appearance of the plant, but my gosh- the little flowers make my heart pittery pat!
ps. You make me crave cheese and Puppers is gross!
I liked the font, I thought it felt “personal” like you were writing it to ME. =D
looking at all of your cheese photos had put me on a major cheese binge. chevre, aged swiss, mobay, havarti and munster curds… that was just last week. no wonder i’m suddenly five pounds heavier. if this continues i’m going to have to start working out again.
=)
That chocolate chevre looks like absolute heaven – flying half way around the world to buy cheese would be slightly excessive right?
mags is always dressed so sweetly! where did you find the booties she’s wearing in the last picture? or her adorable little leggings and dresses?!
Jaime — um, I’d take the log splitter and feeding you until you explode with cheese option if I could. Haha.
Holly — only SLIGHTLY!
Donni — Slippers are Padraig Cottage (http://www.padraigcottage.com/), her clothes are often Kate Quinn Organics (http://www.katequinnorganics.com/), PleaseMum, Sckoon Organics, Speesees Organics, and lots of handmedowns.
And her leggings are Baby Legs (http://www.babylegs.net/) we must have a dozen pairs if we have one. Bob wore them too and still does, they fit for YEARS! Love them.
I found the ‘how to store your cheese’ section a touch too long – although it’s good info. I think I would prefer to read the do’s and why; not do’s, don’ts, why and why not.
I have easy access to raw goats/cows milk (via Amish dairy stalls at the Reading Terminal Market in Philly) and would like to try my hand at cheese soon! I really want to make chevre try it on grilled pizza with Arugula…
Love your kids outfits – too cute and cozy!!!
twy, any suggestions for books on cheese-making and/or goat-raising and/or chicken-raising? xo
The writing was honestly a bit too hard for me to read. I think perhaps a printed front would work better. I look forward to sampling your cheese soon!
BOOKS!
Margaret Morris The Cheesemakers Manual; Storey’s Guide to Raising Goats; Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens; Joel Salatin’s You Can Farm; Salatin’s Pastured Poultry for Profit.
you da best. thanks!