Idle time

My days have not been so idle. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed. The holidays are here and I hosted Thanksgiving. I brined a beautiful bird and put out a very tasty spread. I picked up some a bunch of wild mushroom and made a great stuffing with them. No cheese, but we stuffed ourselves with plenty of other food. I tried to keep things healthy this year, so we had veggies and dip, olives, and Molinari Salami for pre-dinner nibbles. I actually managed to lose weight this week! It feels good to be in control during the holidays.

My big challenge is staring me in the face. I'm going to Vermont on Friday. I'll be taking a class on Spanish Cheesemaking Practices at the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese. It is a part of the University of Vermont. I've never been to Vermont, or Burlington and am looking forward to exploring the area. This class sounds exciting, too. We'll be going over the production of Spanish cheeses like idiazabal, blue cheeses, and Basque cheese. Oh boy!


It is snowing and cold in Vermont. I'll be leaving San Francisco, where the high is 60 today and I'll be whimpering about the high of 20. The low this weekend is supposed to be around 5! Oh dear God. I hope I have enough warm clothes. I hope the clear the roads well. I hate driving on icy and snowy road. I'm a California weather wimp! And I like to worry.

Here's a photo from the last time Jim and I touched snow. Near Lake Tahoe, Jan. 2005.

I'm taking a few extra days on either side of the class so I can find some of these fine Vermont Cheesemakers and see how they do things. I'm planning on visiting Mateo Kehler at Jasper Hill Farm so I can see his elaborate cheese cave and help him make cheese. He, along with his brother, wife and sister-in-law make some of my favorite domestic cheese. Constant Bliss and Bayley Hazen Blue. Raw milk and superb. Constant Bliss is a soft, bloomy rind, dome shaped cheese that oozes when you cut into it. Sometimes it smells like warm, buttered popcorn. It goes very well with California chardonnays. Mmmmm. Dee-lish! Bayley Hazen Blue is a well balanced blue with a texture like a Stilton. The sweet milky, salty flavor with a hint of campfire smoke. It is balanced by the moderate blue veins. It is my favorite blue to sell at Cowgirl. I think it really shows off the quality of the milk and the cheesemaker. I emailed Mateo in October. I'll be paying a visit to Jasper Hill Farm on Saturday. Up-and-at-em at 6:00 A.M.!!!

Other Vermont cheesemakers I'd like to see: The Majors of Patch Farm, producers of Vermont Shepherd Tomme. They make an aged sheep's milk cheese that could be mistaken for a Basque cheese. It has a roasted nutty flavor with hints of salty butterscotch. Orb Weaver: They have a stunning cave that I'd like to see. Hewn out of the earth and decorated with stone carvings. I like functional art.
Twig farm: They didn't have farming background and now they have goats and make cheese. They've been in business since 2005 and are producing some nice aged goat cheese. I think I might have some things in common with the folks at Twig. Michael Lee, the cheesemaker was a cheesemonger at a cheese shop in Boston.
There are lots of cheesemakers, I hope to meet a few of them while I'm in the area.

Pray for good driving conditions.

Oh! Did I mention I'm having dinner at the French Laundry tonight? No special occasion other than the fact we've always wanted to eat there and we've never been. I wonder what's on their cheese plate? I'll find out in a few hours. Our reservation is at 5:30.

Harley Farms, Pescadero, California

Two miles from the Pacific Ocean is the small village of Pescadero. It is in San Mateo County and feels like a world away from the Bay Area. In reality it is just over the hill from Silicon Valley and the hustle and bustle San Francisco and the peninsula. There are three big attractions in Pescadero for those of us who like to eat. Duarte's Tavern, Norm's Market/Arcangeli Grocery Company and Bakery, and Harley Farms. The three destinations add up to a day-long feast in one square mile.

Dee Harley is English. Umpteen years ago, she married a member of the Duarte family and settled in Pescadero on a nine acre farm. Today, with nine employees she makes a stunning array of fresh goat cheeses from her herd of 200 goats. Her make room is small. It has a bulk tank, a square pasteurizer, a cheese draining rack, a work table and storage shelves. Not a lot of room to crank out the many varieties of award winning fresh chevre, feta, and ricotta. Her cheese is distinctive as well as delicious. Many of them are covered with edible flower petals. They are edible works of art.

Jim and I drove to Pescadero with our friends Jim and Ali. We spent two hours on a Saturday, touring Harley Farms with one of Dee's employees, Shar. Shar let us spend time with the does. Since it is autumn, the fragrant bucks are cosying up to the girls and anyone else who would dare touch them. Some of our group learned how stinky bucks can be the hard way. The bucks are just as friendly as the does. The does are clean. The bucks are damp with their own urine and, uh, male essense. Shar answered questions about the goats and their care. The goats have nice, lush pastures and a good size loafing barn in which to live. The goats of Harley Farms are extremely friendly, and move from person to person, nuzzling them and wanting to be petted. They're great ambassadors for the dairy goat world. Most of them were quiet, too. I miss hanging out with goats. I know I don't want an entire herd to milk, but a couple as pets would be nice...and you can't beat the taste of fresh milk....

We moved into the milking parlor where we got to milk one of the does. The farm dog joined us and early awaited her afternoon treat. Lucky dog gets fresh goat milk with every tour! When it was my turn at the udders, I reached up, grabbed on to the udder, and got a good stream of milk right away. "You've done this before, apparently," commented Shar. "Yeah. Once or twice," I replied. This girl was calm and easy to milk.

The tour continued into the restored dairy barn. We walked through the sales area and into the "make" room, where cheese is made. We donned hairnets and washed our hands. Gathering around the pasteurizer, Shar explained how they make their fresh chevre. Many folks asked lots of questions. Shar handles the business affairs of Harley Farms, so some of the more technical questions she struggled with. Things got really exciting when she moved us around the work table and made a small, petal covered goat cheese. It was fun to watch her compose the disc. Petals were placed in the bottom of a small pie tin lined with plastic wrap. Shar then worked the cheese like it was play-doh and pressed it into the tin. A layer of dried herbs was spread over cheese and then it was topped off with more cheese. The plastic wrap then enveloped the disc, and viola! A work of tasty art! The group moved into the hayloft of the barn and we ate the freshly prepared cheese with fresh ciabatta bread. This concluded the tour and we were free to wander downstairs to sample and buy cheese. Dee was downstairs tending to the retail shop. She spotted Jim and I and came over to say hello. She asked how things were going. We told her about our plans to move to Oregon and my experience at Goat Lady Dairy. She lit up when I mentioned GLD. She wanted to hear all about the Dinners at the Dairy. They're an example of diversification that others want to emulate. She's still very supportive of our efforts and wants to see us make cheese, too! Harley Farms is doing really well and is getting lots of press these days. I'm really happy for Dee. Oh, and we bought some chevre and ricotta.

Dee Harley makes picks up her ciabatta bread from Norm's Market in Pescadero and serves it with her samples of goat cheese. Talk about eating local! Fresh local goat cheese on local bread that is still warm from the oven. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

Downtown Pescadero is about two blocks long. At one end is Norms/Archangeli's Grocery. Across the street at the other end of Main Street is Duarte's Tavern. Norm's/Archangli's is a local grocery store that has a bakery in the rear of the market. They bake Italian style bread all day long (every two hours I was told.) They also make their own line of condiments, salsas, mustards, and cioppino We struggled, trying to decide which delicious bread to try for our afternoon snack. An employee pulled up to the bread rack with a shopping cart full of artichoke herb bread, straight from the oven. Sold! I grabbed a warm, crusty loaf and put in into my basket. We also grabbed some olives and some cinnamon bread to take home. We took our bread, cheese, and selves and drove to Pescadero State Beach. We spread out our nibbles on a picnic table overlooking tidepools, a sandy beach, and the Pacific Ocean. The bread was still warm as we all tore into it. Big chunks of artichoke hearts emerged encased in crisp, chewy bread. OH MY! Perhaps the best bread I've ever tasted. A wonderfully balanced flavor, slightly salty with a dusting of herbs on the crust. I'm glad I don't live near this place. I'd overdose. We spread fresh chevre from Harley Farms on the bread and had an even more amazing fiesta on our tastebuds. We blissfully ate our bread and cheese while watching seals play in the surf and brown pelicans fly overhead.

As I mentioned before, Duarte's does seafood, soup, and pies right. Their cioppino features an entire dungeness crab with mussels and a white fish served up in a tomato, celery and herb broth. They give you a nut cracker, bib and basket full of sourdough bread. Yes we ate it. Yes we loved it. Yes, we took home a piece of pie. We were too full to eat it there.

updates and ass kicking

Delays are a part of life. If you've ever tried to fly into or out of San Francisco, you learn that fact each an every time.

Finding our new home is subject to delays. We haven't found a place after months of searching! Yes, I'm frustrated. Yes, I'm disappointed. Yes, I'm impatient. I just want to get going. I'm ready to go mentally and physically. For whatever reason, the right place has not made itself known to us. What's a girl to do? She gets physical!

I'm not a Cowgirl too often these days. I worked a couple of shifts this week but that's not the norm, lately. Since I've got all of this time on my hands, I need a project. If I don't have a project I go stir crazy. My current project? Me! I'm working on my body, strengthening, toning, and dropping the extra pounds that have been clinging to my frame for a few years. I want to be in top shape for making cheese. Cheesemaking is back-breaking work, literally. If my back and body are strong, I won't injure myself as easily. If I'm hurt, I can't make cheese. If I don't make cheese, I don't have cheese to sell to the masses. That's bad for business and the bank account.

I need help getting fit, strong, and lean. I walked into Golden Gate Fitness a couple of months ago and signed up. It is a small gym down the street from my house. Everyone in there lives in the neighborhood. It isn't glamorous, they don't have a pool, the don't have yoga classes. They have instruments of torture - a rack, an iron maiden, iron weights, etc. They have lots of machines and mirrored room for stretching and doing mat exercises. What fun! I have a lot of natural strength thanks to the Eastern European peasant blood in my family yet I lack coordination, motivation, skill and tone. To get over these hurdles I hired Al Garza, a personal who works at Golden Gate Fitness. I see him twice a week and he willingly kicks my ass in the nicest way possible.

Al's great. He's a firefighter/EMT for the San Francisco Fire Department. He's a fitness trainer on the side. An SF native (very rare these days,) he actually grew up in the neighborhood. As local as can be. He's a fitness freak. While the other firemen like to cook up big, heart-clogging meals like lasagna, Al will be stir-frying veggies with shrimp. He's a big fan of feta cheese. It seems to be a weakness of his. He says he can eat a whole block of it in one sitting. Perhaps I'll make some feta and give him some for Christmas. I'd like to practice my feta making. Al has been great, motivating me to push my limits and makes me work up a sweat within seconds. I leave the gym tired, but feeling really good. He's got a very positive approach for which I am most appreciative. Sometimes I'll watch myself do these silly squat maneuvers and look completely ridiculous. I can't help but start giggling, grow weak, and have to stop. Al's good and keeps his composure. The harder I work, the more I'm seeing results. My clothes are baggier. This is good.

Not only am I working out regularly, but I'm taking a belly dance class. Why? Because it is fun, and I should be having fun while I'm embarrassing myself in front of four other women. I'm not the most coordinated of people. When my instructor says pick up your left foot, I usually go for my right. I've taken two classes, so far. It is a great work out for your abs, legs and arms. I'm usually sweating after about five minutes. This week we had the added bonus of an earthquake during class! Did I feel it? No! 5.6 magnitude on the Richter scale and I totally missed it! I came home and Jim has the details pulled up on the computer. He's amazed that I didn't feel it. I lasted for 20 seconds. That's a moderate earthquake by any measure. I guess the earth under Glen Park is very stable. No damage around here. The local TV news crews had fun going to grocery stores around San Jose looking for broken wine bottles, pickle jars, and loose items scattered across the floor. Mostly rattled nerves it seems.

I'm having a good time getting fit and remembering what it feels like to feel my body move. I've got a lot more energy and with the help of Weight Watchers, I'm losing some weight, too. Yee haw! Cheese is not a low calorie food, so being in shape will help me in many ways.

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I've been busy. Stay tuned for upcoming posts: Class Reunions, Field trips, and more educational opportunities.

A Field Trip, a Book and a Soap Box

Jim and I are taking a trip down the coast of San Mateo tomorrow. We're getting together with our friends Jim and Ali and we're touring Harley Farms, a goat cheese producer in Pescadero. Dee Harley is from Yorkshire, England. She came to the Bay Area years ago and stayed. She's makes beautiful, fresh goat cheese and is winning awards for it. Her signature cheeses are little discs covered with edible flowers and dried fruit. She makes a tasty, goat milk ricotta, too.

I can't wait to hang out with some goats again. Harley Farm milks American Alpine does. Oh boy! Jim and I wandered into Dee's farmstore about a year ago. We spent an hour talking to her about cheese and getting started in the business. Dee was really supportive and encouraging. I love meeting folks like her. I'm always nervous about telling other cheesemakers what I want to do. Sometimes I get a very cold reception. Dee was the exact opposite. I'm eager to go and see her place again.

After the tour, we're going to eat at our favorite roadhouse: Duarte's Tavern. (Pronounced DOO-arts) I can't wait to get a big bowl full of their cream of artichoke soup. Creamy, silky, and slightly tangy. AAA's VIA magazine published a recipe for the soup several years ago. It is close but not the same. You can tell it is full of cream and artichokes. Lots of artichokes grow in the area. They like the coastal breezes and sandy soil. Duarte's seafood is local and super fresh. Right of the boats in Half Moon Bay. They also make great ollalieberry pies. Second only to Linn's pies in Cambria. BTW, an ollalieberry is a delectable cross between a blackberry and a raspberry. They make excellent pies and preserves.

Tomorrow is going to be a fun day.

Book tip: I picked up a copy of The Vermont Cheese Book by Ellen Ecker Ogden. It is a book documenting the artisan and farmstead cheesemaking explosion happening in the hills of Vermont. She writes profiles of each cheesemaker, their cheeses, where you can buy them, and if and how you can visit them. She covers thirty-three cheesemakers along the Vermont Cheese Trail. I'm looking forward to sinking my teeth into this tome. I see a good road trip in my future with this book as my guide.

Stepping onto my soap box:

Raw milk cheeses are under scrutiny by the Feds: Janet Fletcher wrote a very informative article in Wednesday's San Francisco Chronicle about the government seeking to redefine the rules of manufacturing raw milk cheeses and the response by cheesemakers. As someone who loves flavorful cheese, this threat is not good. How can hundreds of years of traditional cheesemakers be wrong? The government seeks to minimize risk of exposure to pathogens like listeria. That's great. But sometimes their actions do more harm than good. Plus science can't always explain why food is good when it should be lethal. Just look at the ducks hanging in the windows of Asian markets. The ducks hang without refrigeration. They hang all day long in the open air. They should be rank by the time you eat them. But they're not! The skin is crispy and delicious. It is a cultural thing. The Chinese have eaten like this for centuries. They're not getting food poisoning. I have not been poisoned. Eating shellfish or cold cuts are far more dangerous than raw milk cheese, in my opinion.

I just don't get it. If you look at the recent cases of listeria that have been documented, they usually come from cheese made from PASTEURIZED milk . Often, an uncleaned valve is to blame, letting bacteria build up in the sterilized milk. Raw milk still has the natural pathogen fighting micro-organisms still in it, so it can deal with exposure to bad bugs better than pasteurized milk. The feds are looking at how long listeria lingers in raw milk cheese when raw milk cheese is intentionally exposed to the bad bugs. Right now the law states that raw milk cheese is safe to consume after 60 days of aging. The government is re-examining this time frame. The implication is that cheese must be aged longer, or all cheese must be pasteurized, effectively killing traditional, European style cheeses. The depth of flavor is lost in pasteurization. In fresh cheeses, the flavors as pronounced, but in harder, aged cheeses, you can tell the difference. Just compare cheddars. Raw milk cheddars have a flavor that lingers on the palate for minutes after eating. Cheddar made from pasteurized milk is blah. No staying power.

Somehow the government's premise seems faulty to me. I am totally for maintaining standards for public health and safety. I just want sensible oversight. If cheese wasn't safe, humans would have never made it this far. Nomads in the desert would have food poisoning from their traditional cheese. Cheesemaking is a form of food preservation. You get sick when things are dirty or not preserved properly. Dirty valves, dirty spoons, dirty hands. We don't get sick when we honor the traditional methods of production.

-Stepping off my soap box again.

Who, what, where, how, why when?

Who am I?
I'm Sarah. I'm following my dreams. I'm a cheesemaker. Do I have a farming background? No. I grew up in the suburbs: San Rafael, California. My dad owned a men's clothing store and my mom is/was a food & travel writer/poet/English teacher. I've been a cheesemonger, an land conservation operations guru, an art school fundraising flunky, a music business geek, an independent record store taste maven (read the book High Fidelity for more details,) a radio station promotions and production wizard, a concert usher, and a music and travel writer. I also like to cook, bake, and make stained glass windows. You don't have to grow up on a farm. All it takes is having a vision and the desire to do something in order to make it happen. In this case I'm making cheese. I've been blazing my own path for most of my life.

If you tell me not to do something, that's EXACTLY what I will want to do, just to see if I can do it. In high school a radio disc jockey came and talked to my class for an afternoon. Her advise: don't work in radio. If you're a woman, it is a terrible career. No job security. I didn't listen. I had to learn that lesson for myself. She was right. I have been told that if I want to earn money, don't go into cheesemaking. Cheesemaking is a "lifestyle" career. If I want to have a day off, don't go into cheesemaking. I'm not listening to the Greek Chorus. I'm making cheese. I guess the life lesson I'm learning is this: if you dream it you can do it.

What do I want to do?
I want to make my own cheese. I want to make all kinds of cheese. Fresh cheese, soft cheese, aged (firm) cheese, wash-rind (stinky) cheese, blue cheese. I will use the best milk I can buy from local cows and goats. I'd be happy to make sheep's milk cheese, too. Some cheese will be pasteurized. Some will be made with raw milk. I want a life, so I will let others milk the cows, goats, and sheep. Making cheese is enough work for several people. I have my hands full taking care of my three cats. I want to craft a product for which I am proud. I want it to be the best cheese that I can possibly coax out of the vat of milk. I want to share this cheese with those who want to eat it.

Why do I want to do it?
Because I love to make cheese. I can't see myself doing anything else anymore. Is it a calling? Perhaps. Cheesemaking has been a passion I've been harboring for years. I'm finally doing something about it. This is a very scary journey. I've been pretty comfy, enjoying my life in San Francisco, eating out, walking to the bank, riding public transportation, living in vibrant city. I'm trading this life for something more rural. We'll be moving to a small town. A place where your neighbors make eye contact with you. I can come up with all kinds of reasons why I should stay. Most of them are meaningless. The restaurants I patronize don't make me a better person. I'm not really giving up that much. I'm gaining a whole lot more. What makes me nervous is my future's uncertainty. It will always be uncertain. Why should I let my fears stop me from doing what I want to do? I've got a dream, dammit. I'm going for it. I want to live life to the fullest by doing what I love.










How do I want to do it?
I want to make a hand-crafted cheese in the Oregon wine country, using the techniques that I've learned from those willing to teach me in California, North Carolina, and England. I want to produce my own cheeses for as long as I can. I want to have a cave to age my cheese. A real cave, nestled in the earth, nurturing the young, firm cheese into delicate, rich morsels, The atmosphere of the cave bathes the cheese with the scent of the land, permeating it with its signature. My cheese will be a part of me and my land.

Where do I want to this?
I want to make cheese in Oregon, south of Portland in the wine country. We like it there. We've wanted to live there for years. We're selling our house. Anybody want to buy a beautiful, three bedroom, two bath house with a view of Mt. Tamalpias, the Marin Headlands, and a kick-ass, recently remodeled kitchen in the Inner Sunset of San Francisco? We are going to buy a house on several acres in Yamhill County, Oregon. We're still looking for that house. I know it's out there somewhere.

When will I do it?
Now, yesterday, tomorrow, as soon as possible. I'm ready to go! I want to make my own mistakes. I've got so much more to learn, and I want to learn in my own space. My business has a name. Now it needs a form. I've already got the website and I'm just taking care of the legal stuff. It's going to be an LLC. I'll post the name and the link to the proto-website once the paperwork has been completed.

Ready! Set! Go! I feel like I've been pregnant for years and I am ready to give birth to this cheese dairy NOW!

In the words of a contestant on Wheel of Fortune:

Pat, I'd like to buy a vat and solve the puzzle....

Meet Dolores

Oh my goodness! I have been so negligent! I have not been ignoring my life with cheese, but I have been taking care of many loose ends as we prepare to make a move to the Pacific Northwest. We just had our house painted. It is a beautiful blue-gray with cream trim. Once we have a place to move to, we'll paint the interior. The problem is, we haven't found a place that we like, yet.

Perhaps this weekend. We'll be back on the prowl this Friday, Sept. 21-Sunday, Sept. 23. Keep your fingers crossed. Maybe the right place is ready for us this time. I'm growing weary of the search. It is disheartening to see so many places that haven't been taken care of nor updated since the Carter administration. We'll be looking at places with 5 - 20 acres in the towns of Newberg, Yamhill, Carlton, and Amity. Some have barns. Some are on gravel roads. We'll have a lot to see and do this weekend. We've arranged a meeting with a lawyer to see if we want to work with him while we set up our small business. We also want to open a bank account and rent a mail box. We're getting serious!

This past weekend was my husband's birthday. We spent some time exploring West Marin, about an hour's drive north of San Francisco. The farmer's market at Point Reyes Station was hopping on Saturday morning. We picked up some apples, lettuce, lamb, and a dozen oysters from Marin farmers. Drakes Bay Oyster Company's oysters are some of our favorites, too. We were happy to see their booth. Saved us a drive out to their oyster farm on Drakes Bay.

After stashing our oysters, fruits and veggies in our cooler, we walked across the street to the barn of Tomales Bay Foods. Naturally we had to pay a visit to Cowgirl's "factory" and cheese counter. We took a peek to see who was working in the cheese room and there was Maureen, turning a fresh batch of Mt. Tams. She gave us a big smile and waved. A few minutes later she popped out of the make room and we filled her in on our goings-on.


Michael, the manager of Cowgirl Creamery's Pt. Reyes cheese counter gave us a warm hello. I introduced him to Jim. We talked for a little bit and he helped customers as they approached the counter. When things quieted down he asked, "Do you want to pick anything up?" I had spied a cheese that looked kind of like a Mount Tam hiding in the cheese cage. It had a white, bloomy rind with a grape leaf draped across the top part of the cheese. "It's Dolores," he explained. Cowgirl Creamery makes it only once a year for a special event. It is a lactic cheese, meaning they use less rennet to set it and it sets up more slowly. Inverness, the small thimble-shaped cheese that Cowgirl produces is also a lactic cheese. Dolores, being a special cheese made for a special event isn't a cheese that one finds for sale. I've never heard of it nor seen it at the counter during my stint at the Ferry Building. I was surprised and excited to see this new cheese. It is even rarer than the rarely seen Sir Francis Drake! There were two Dolores' hiding in the cheese gage. "Is it ripe?" I asked Michael. He gave one a gentle squeeze on the sides and nods. "Oh yeah. This one is perfect!" Sold! We walked away with a Dolores and a washed rind goat cheese called Soft Wheel from Twig Farm in Vermont. I haven't tried the goat cheese. We devoured the Dolores first.


So how was Dolores? Delicious! Perhaps the best cheese in the Cowgirl Creamery repertoire. When I cut into it, my knife glides right through as if I am cutting softened butter. There is a nice, gooey breakdown around a firmer center. The firmer part is light and velvety in texture, like a mousse. The smell: milky straw that's been blown around by the beach. There's a touch of salt air. And the taste is just as nice. It just pools onto my tongue. Coating it in rich butterfat. The bloomy rind give it a chewiness and adds strong mushroomy notes. The center part of the cheese body has a nice lactic tang. This is a very nice cheese. It lingers on the palette. Oh, it is making me crave a nice amber ale. Hmmm. What's in the fridge?

No cheese for you

I must keep reminding myself to have patience. Why? Because we're still looking for a place to buy in Yamhill County. We looked at five places. We saw a wide variety of places from a 1886 Victorian Farmhouse outside of Newberg to a 2005 humongous home next to the railroad tracks in Dundee. All of the places were fairly flat with 3-10 acres of land.

Our favorite place was the old farmhouse in Newberg. Why didn't we make an offer? It was a bit out of our price range, the land is overrun by blackberry canes, and it has narrow stairs. It is a two story house in great shape with five bedrooms and two baths. The closets had doors that were about 5'10" in height. In order to access the bathroom from the master bedroom one must walk through the closet. I had no problem entering the closets. Jim had to duck. I can just see him getting up in the middle of the night and wandering through the closet to get to the bathroom on the other side. I would hear a thump and he'd cry out in pain. Hmmm. Don't think Jim would do well in this place. Also the stairwell between floors appears to be narrower than 3 feet in width. Far narrower than the average stairwell. It also takes a few twists and turns before it spits you out onto the 2nd floor. Jim mentioned this in our discussions on Saturday night. Our bedroom set won't make it up the stairs! Ok. We'll keep looking. Too bad. The house is in great shape. It is also a shame that the property needs to be cleaned up. Blackberries are a devil to keep away once they get a foothold. I'd have to get some goats!

It was not a wasted trip. With every house that we see, we learn more about what we like and don't like in a property. That way when we find our place, we'll know it when we see it.

On Sunday we met the mastermind behind the Pacific Northwest Cheese Project. Tami Parr is a freelance writer who loves to write about cheese. We met her in front of the Ace Hotel and had hoped to get something to eat at their restaurant, Clyde Common. It is a new restaurant with lots of tasty looking things on the menu. It was 4:00 and they didn't open until 5:00 so we went down to Henry's 12th Street Tavern (as in Henry Weinhard) and got some decent appetizers and drinks. Tami, Jim and I talked for an hour and a half about cheese, the Portland food scene, Northwest cheesemakers, and what we're up to these days. Both Tami and I missed the American Cheese Society Conference this year. She was even a judge at last year's conference! We had a great time talking and the time just flew by. Tami's great and is a real asset to the local artisan cheese movement. It is always nice to make a new friend.


Speaking of ACS, Leelanau's Aged Raclette, my favorite cheese at last year's conference took Best of Show this year Here's a photo of their cheese from last July. You can also read my account from last year's conference. Too bad you can't get the cheese. They make very tiny batches that are only sold locally and via mail order. Gordon Edgar from Rainbow Grocery was a judge this year and wrote about his experience on his blog: http://gordonzola.livejournal.com/tag/cheese
I am saddened by the news that Goat Lady Dairy didn't do well at the show. They had some shipping issues and the cheese got too hot. They're entries didn't look good and were not judged well. They still make some amazing cheese and who knows what the judges were looking for. They still sell out every week so that's the best judge.