Caromont Farm

Virginia Home Grown #1004: Goat Cheese from Community Idea Stations on Vimeo.

Would like to share this blog with everyone. Hope you enjoy it!

http://www.growcareercoaching.com/2010/06/goat-heaven.html

If you haven’t seen the latest Edible Blue Ridge, you missed their first Local Hero Awards, which included Caromont’s Gail Hobbs-Page as the Food Artisan winner. Check out the web edition here: http://www.ediblecommunities.com/blueridge/spring-2010/edible-notes.htm

Gail was also a part of a recent article in the Raleigh News and Observer about Magnolia Grill. You can find her quote and read the article here: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/food/more-about-the-magnolia-grill-chefs-family-tree?storylink=misearch

I’ve been paying too much attention to Caromont’s Facebook page lately — today I promised recipes on this blog, and I have been trying to process some serious recollections on this years hog killing. Time literally has been flying, and we’re almost in full production now. That means cheesemaking of some sort (raw or pasterized) every day, including Sunday. We’re almost done with kidding with less than one dozen does to go. We have sold almost all of our babies, including some that haven’t even been born yet, keeping the best of the best for the future. First fresheners have been “broken” to the milking machine and are “on line” giving over a gallon of milk a day.. As of this Saturday, Caromont will be at TWO farmers markets, City Market in Charlottesville, and Nellysford in Nelson Country this coming Saturday. We’ve started making new “market cheeses” that aren’t available in stores and hopefully will create a little suspense on market day. I will post the weekly selection on the FaceBook page.

 We all survived hog slaughter 2010…I think it was the best one yet. Although a little late late this year (snow, schedule mixups, etc), we were  thankful that the brief bizarre March hot spell passed and the mornings  were chilly and frosty as they should be this time of year. We vowed to  hit the ground running, and we did. Ben and Tim kept us very very organized and although a smaller group, a much more efficient one. Proscuittos are now hanging, pates are made, sausage is stuffed, and pork chops are in the freezer. Thank you to all who participated. You kicked ass and took names–we got it done.  Sara Aducci took “rock star” photos in the early morning light. Take a look at those photos, please. Spring added a new green dimension to simmering vats of water, scalding tanks and cast iron pots rendering lard. What a gift to have her here wielding that beautiful camera.  However, days such as this strike a somber note that pierces  directly through the  heart of producing your own food. This very personal rememberence of  the exact moment of slaughter has been the stuff of our Caromont dinner conversations lately – IF you love bacon, pancetta, hams or anything attatched to two Tamworths named Copper and Penny, then you had to witness the moment the shots rang out. John, an accomplished hunter, was swift and accurate. Thank you John!  We all  made ourselves look. Nobody said a word. Then almost at the same moment, all 10 of us collectively went into action. It  became mandatory, a mission if you will–  to make the next hour go as swiftly as possible, and we did. I hopped on the tractor to lift them out of the pen, Ben began the bleeding process, Tim and Daniel prepared the scalding tank. Rebecca and Matthew worked concurrently on the precise timing of the Boudin Noir. Amelia and Jennifer kept the ice coming and ferried pork cuts to coolers as the heat of the day became a threat.   This is the reality of field to fork, folks.  It is not a party, it is not a historical reinactment or  something you tell your friends you did because local food is cool…  Quite simply, it is life changing. It is  the essence of eating.   Copper and Penny had to die to become pork chops with morel cream, and all the wonderful things we made out of every single part of them.  The Caromont does gave birth and I made cheese out of their milk that made whey, liquid protein that made those two pigs grow like weeds. The oak trees   shed their leaves and acorns had to fall to the ground, a gourmet treat for a piglet. Bill our neighborand accomplished brewmaster brought over spent pear and apple peelings which got gobbled up and quite frankly made them a little drunk on several occasions! Copper and Penny lived well, ate well and died well. And now they pass that along to us. Reality? Yes! A reality that I never take for granted and am thankful for everytime I prepare a meal for family and  friends.  New piglets have been ordered, and we’ll start the journey all over again.

  As for recipes and goat cheese — I’ll post on the recipe page. Also open houses will resume May 1st. 10:30 to 2. See you at the Markets! Support your local farmers!

Only one week since my last post — (I promised your daughter I would post more often, Michael Magistrali!) Amelia, Erica, Daniel and myself are knee deep in all things Caromont.  The greenhouse is re-plasticized after it’s implosion during the first snowpocolyspe, the garden is “working hard”, and we’re bracing ourselves for another round of freshenings. Our scheduled hog slaughter is very close and we’re gathering vats, tents, and  barrels in anticipation of the big day. (thank you to Ben Thompson of The Rock Barn.) Every 8 months or so we raise two little piglets on whey, an acitic septic tank destoying liquid. Turns out that it’s pure protien and the very elixer that makes parma ham sweet, nutty and soft. Get it? Parmesan cheese, parma ham– aka procuitto. This will be our third batch of  pigs– two 275 lb. Tamworth guilts, and as ususal we have assembled a wonderful cast coming from all over the country to process this meat.  Ben and Brent from “The Meat Hook” in Brooklyn, Chris Mattera of The Belmont Butchery, Ben Thompson from The Rock Barn in Nelson County, as well as Matthew Finot from King Family Vineyards. Matthew helped with our first slaughter and made his native Burgundian Boudin Noir. Quite delicious if you could get over the fact that it was actually blood in the blood sausage. (which I had no problem doing.) Are we a pig farm? NO!  Will we ever be? NO!–, but in an effort to make the cheesemaking more efficient and sustainable, I say why not? It is the untimate in food security to have a freezer full of pork, and also  the ultimate tribute to the pork to have such skilled folks gather here and make delicious food.  And really, aren’t we all bacon lovers? I’ve yet to meet a person who can look me in the eye and honestly say…”I hate bacon.”

The most wonderful thing that  happened this week will seem really boring to all of you, but to me it’s a gigantic event. The grass is green and growing here at Caromont Farm. The girls are out of the barn and have spent the day acting like ingenues in Central Park– rolling on their backs, kicking up their heels and nibbling all day. All are relaxed and I can see the stresses of winter melting away.  It’s quite simply the day they have  been waiting for.

The first  chevres of the season are as much a rite of Spring as morels mushrooms or a perfectly sauteed set of shad roe. (with bacon!)  Spring browse and super nutrient rich grass produces sweet milk (literally) with alot of butterfat and a rich round taste. Fresh Chevre will never taste in summer like it does now.  Pleaseeeee try it with eggs, fresh pastas, peas, risotto’s, or asparagus.  Warning– You’ll skip the cracker aisle in the store if you do.

Everyone wants to know about the babies, so look for a new movie coming out soon about them. Also we plan to profile the people of Caromont Farm, starting with me.  And oh yea! we’re on FACEBOOK now.

It’s finally Spring, and we have survived the hardest winter that Central Va. has ever seen with over 44 inches of snow. Our farm was glazed in ice from the week before Christmas until February. Only one structure collasped, and I held my breath every time my husband Daniel got on a roof and shoveled snow. All of my Caromont Gals were pregnant  and we’ve had some losses due to stress, falls on the ice, howling sub zero winds and bad luck.  Some of my beloved Maple Hill foundation stock had to leave us and it was tough. First of all thank you to my veternarians at Piedmont Vet Service for always returning my calls and coaching me through some goat emergencies. (Old Green Mountain Road had not been plowed and not even a Hummer could have gotten through. And also to my fellow farmers who brought me hay when no one could get through. (Thanks Martin!) But hope springs eternal when the grass is greening up and there are baby goats running around everywhere. I’m looking hard for the first hint of  redbud bloom– their arrival makes winters misery  a distant memory and you are thankful for every gentle breeze that you’re lucky enough to catch. My Mom would say “Now, THERE’s the blessing!”

 Caromont took a bit of a winters nap, which is what we’re all preprogrammed to do. We’ve been thankful for the short days, long nights, and the time to plan, rest, think, and sleep.  But as of last night the clock took a leap forward  and the coffee is strong. And the cheese is coming! And so are the orders! Thanks to all our supporters who understood that seasonal food is just that. Who else is longing for that first arugula,(not the tasteless California crap that merely makes you mad that it could even be called arugula) sugar snap peas, asparagus, morels! (All fabulous with goat cheese, you know). Our new season promises to be a good one. We have plans to be at more farmers markets. We will be sharing a space with our dear friends at Vintage Va. Apples at the City Market on Saturday’s in C’ville, and of course Daniel will be selling in Nellyford enjoying the mountain views and the weekly local music. For those of you interested in Cheesemaking, Caromont is pairing with The Charlottesville Cooking School and I will be teaching classes on all things cheese. The schedule will be posted on the C’ville Cooking School website as well as ours. We are launching our country store blitz this month. I refuse to give up on the folks who are making local food available in the middle of nowhere. We will start in Caromont’s own back yard – Country Blessings in Scottsville with an afternoon of Caromont food. I’m gonna hop in the kitchen and shake a few skillets and we’ll conjur up the ghosts of Jackie Groves in the old Skippy’s and enjoy the renaissance and rememberance of  all things past. Who knows? maybe I’ll re-create a few of the old Cafe Bocce dishes. I’m probably the only one left in Southern Albemarle County that remembers them. (except of course Erica M.) We  plan to particpate in the SurLie Foundation’s Back Yard Revolution in May at Devil’s Backbone with a cheesemaking demonstration. Adrienne Young is using her strong beautiful voice to bring attention to  the most fundamental human challenge– living well on what you have. How fortunate we feel to have her in our very own “backyard”.

With the help of Amelia, our returning Middlebury intern, we’ve launched a new FaceBook page. There are movies, events, photos, and who knows what else. Erica, our Oklahoma gal is also tending our herd, making cheese, and wielding a tiny camera.  Wake up everybody!  Time to eat!

In case you missed the local CBS news broadcast last week, Steve Russell from Edible Blue Ridge talked about goat cheeses and Caromont’s Alberene Ash and Green Peppercorn Pyramid were featured! Here’s a link to the Edible Blue Ridge page with the video clip. Enjoy!

http://www.ediblecommunities.com/blueridge/videos/cbs-19-segments.htm

Hey All! Amelia, the new intern here, well new as of last month. I’ve volunteered to add a new post to the blog, and I figured what better way to share my experience on the farm so far than to post a video. For those of you who have never been to Caromont, this is a brief introduction to the goats, some other farm critters, and, unavoidably, me. I hope you enjoy and perhaps (if this works) I’ll post more videos in the future.