May Days

"What potent blood hath modest May." Ralph W. Emerson

The garden is awash in blooms: roses, sweet peas, foxglove, sea lavender, nigella, calendula and nasturiums!   The tomato seedlings started in February and transplanted in early April -- albeit with the use of the Wall-o-Waters -- are 4 feet high and laden with blossoms.  A few tiny clusters of cherry tomatoes have formed. I still have a week or so to harvest the remaining artichokes & asparagus and there is plenty of arugula for salads to stave off hunger.

Inspired by Georgeanne Brennan’s book “A Pig in Provence," recounting her early days in Provence establishing her farm and learning to make goat cheese, I tried my hand at making a simple Farmer’s Cheese with goat milk using a variation on a recipe provided by the Fabulous Beekman Boys.   It was delicious & simple to make.  

Farmer’s Cheese with Thyme

Ingredients: 1 gallon of organic goat milk, 1 pinch of salt & the juice of one large lemon

Directions: Pour the goat milk into a stock pot, and whisk in the salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  As soon as the mixture begins to boil, turn off the heat & stir in the lemon juice. The goat milk should begin to curdle within a few minutes. Pour the mixture through a sieve lined with cheesecloth.  Squeeze out the liquid (whey) and tie the cheesecloth bag to a wooden spoon suspended over the sieve to allow more of the whey to drain off from the curds. After the whey is drained off, mix in a tablespoon of chopped thyme.    

I plan to serve the cheese with arugula, artichokes & asparagus from the garden and some crostini with ham from Iberica, courtesy of The Spanish Table.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!