Luscious Little Cheese Balls
These luscious little goat cheese balls with lavendar honey were my late afternoon snack at BarnDiva in Healdsburg.
Laura Chenel goat cheese is mixed with dices of heirloom tomatoes, rolled into balls, breaded with panko, then popped into the deep-fryer and salted when they came out. The outside was crisp and crunchy and the inside warm and creamy – and light pink thanks to the tomatoes.
They were the perfect bite – sweet and salty, crunchy and creamy with a lovely presentation on a rustic board with lavendar honey and scattered blossoms.
mkmtCOOK | Comment (1)Harley Farms
For years I’ve had this romantic notion of living on a farm with small animals – goats, sheep, chicken, maybe a pig; eating fresh eggs and making soap and cheese. So when the opportunity presented itself to take a field trip and tour the Harley Goat Farm I was in.
Harley Farm has been putting out award winning goat cheese for the past 10 years. Located in Pescadero, CA the goats live a simple and stress free life wandering around their ten acre pasture eating a blend of several types of grasses that have been refined over time and contribute to the smooth and mild flavor of the goat cheese.
The land was originally a dairy farm and 20 years ago Dee Harley bought it after moving to the area from the UK. She didn’t know what she was going to do with it and through a series of serendipitous events she is now a passionate goat farmer who practices sustainable methods and treats her goats with love and care.
The two hour tour is informative and lets the guest walk around the pasture and interact with the goats – they like a good head rub and ear scratch, test their hand at milking a goat – just like squeezing a pastry bag, learn the process of making goat cheese, make a herb and goat cheese round then enjoy the cheese in the top of the bard overlooking the farm with fellow visitors.
There are three categories of goats on the farm and they are kept in separate parts of the pasture. The kids who are born between Feb-March frolic and play with each other growing up and getting ready to be bred. The milkers have the babies and produce the milk and the retired milkers spend their twilight years well fed and taken care of. It is a good life no matter which category as everyone is well fed and watered and has ample room to roam.
The milking goats are milked twice a day and the yield is one gallon of milk per goat which translates into 1 pound of cheese. With 100+ goats in the milking category, making cheese is a full time job. And Harley makes several from a traditional plain smooth goat cheese, to ricotta and feta (personal fave), and then several herb and garlic infused varieties.
This goat farming business is a demanding 24/7 job, there’s nothing romantic about it other than the notion that is fading from my head. For now, I’ll pass on the farm but will seek out the Harley and have vivid memories of the process involved from goat to table that produces these scrumptious cheeses.
mkmtEAT, mkmtGO, mkmtLIVE | Comments (2)Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland
The line for Voodoo Doughnuts that Sunday morning at 10am went around the block.
It was a dilemma to stand in line for 20-30 minutes for a doughnut which I certainly didn’t need after a weekend of eating… oh yeah, and just having breakfast….
But there we were in the line, not able to say no to what some doughnut aficionados consider to be the best doughnuts around. Plus, the fast would begin on Monday so why not fill my pie hole with a doughnut.
The line moved quickly and before we knew it we had entered the inner sanctum and would have to order within minutes.
The pressure was on; there were so many options.
I selected the namesake voodoo doughnut, a doughnut in the shape of a person covered with chocolate, filled with cherry goo with a pretzel poking out of it’s belly button.
My travel mate and buddy, Beemer selected the Arnold Palmer, a cake doughnut covered with lemon and tea powder with a fruit loop in the center.
They say that the doughnuts must be eaten immediately so we popped them in our mouths and were silent. In less than a minute, they were gone and there was a consensus that our doughnut diversion was indeed a good idea.
mkmtCOOK | Comment (1)MKMT Cookbook Club Does Brunch
The next MKMT cookbook club will be on November 1st and will be taking a break from our traditional format. After several years of meeting at 4pm on Sunday afternoons and cooking from a single book, we will meet for brunch at noon.
Everyone has been challenged to bring their favorite brunch recipes to share along with the book they are from and copies of the recipe for everyone. In the end we will have a collection of the best of the best brunch recipes; ready to head into the holiday season armed to serve the best brunch ever to friends and family.
The change in format has been so well received that several people have already weighed in with what they’re planning to bring. And let me tell you, people are cooking to impress… while there may be a fruit salad and a scone or muffin, I have a feeling that most of the dishes will be creative and competitive.
At this point, I’m hoping to come across a fabulous, must share recipe on my trip to France. If that fails, two cookbooks that I have recently added to my collection are A Table in the Tarn and Celebrating with Julienne. Both have brunch recipes and while they’re not tried and true to me, they might be given a try.
Cheers to brunch!
mkmtCOOK | Comment (0)