Our farm was mentioned in the July 2016 edition of Carolina County Magazine
Say Cheese!
North Carolina’s cheese trail will make you smile
By Leah Chester-Davis
The growing number of cheesemakers in the state is a welcome addition for the farm-to-table scene. The world of cheese usually offers something for all ages to love, from the pickiest of eaters to those with a discerning palate. With nearly 40 artisan and farmstead cheesemakers calling North Carolina home, you’re sure to find a favorite.
Most of the cheesemakers on the N.C. Cheese Trail are located in the Piedmont and Sandhills region of the state, though High Mountain Meadows Farm & Creamery is the westernmost outlier, located in Clay County. Holly Grove Farms (Tri-County EMC territory) is the farthest east on the map, located near Mt. Olive, about an hour southeast of Raleigh. A different trail, the WNC CheeseTrail covers the Western North Carolina mountain region and foothills.
While the N.C. Cheese Trail is relatively new at about two years old, some of the dairies have been around awhile and have developed quite a following, such as the Goat Lady Dairy in Climax and Chapel Hill Creamery in Chapel Hill. Many cheesemakers along the trail are located near some of the state’s wineries, which make for an enjoyable day visit. After all, cheese and wine are a quintessential pairing.
Knowledge of two terms will be useful when exploring the trail: artisan and farmstead. Artisan or artisanal cheese implies that a cheese is produced primarily by hand, in small batches. Artisan cheese may be made from all types of milk. The cheesemaker may not be the farmer.
Farmstead cheese signals that the cheese is made with milk from the farmer’s own herd where the animals are raised. It, too, most likely will be artisanal and made in small batches.
Owners of two dairies on the trail - Buffalo Creek Farm and Paradox Farm Creamery - spearheaded the effort to organize cheesemakers in the Piedmont and Sandhills to create the N.C. Cheese Trail. Their goal is to promote cheese and cheesemaking and to help more people become aware of quality, locally produced cheese. Most of the producers are small dairies and the trail gives them an opportunity to share their story and cheese with a broad audience, says Sue Stovall with Paradox Farm Creamery, located in West End (Randolph EMC territory).
Along the trail, visitors will find a wide range of cheese flavors, primarily made from cows and goats milk (although Fading D Farm, outside Salisbury, has a water buffalo dairy herd, the only one in the state).
The N.C. Cheese Trail is part of a thriving value-added dairy industry in the state, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. While the state’s cheese business is small compared to other states like Vermont and Wisconsin, it is the largest in the Southeast, with 38 cheese makers making a $10 million impact on the state’s economy.
“The N.C. Cheese Trail is a great introduction to local food and healthy eating,” Stovall says. “One taste and you can tell the difference!”
Know Before You Go
Before setting out, take a look at the North Carolina Cheese Trail website at nccheesetrail.com, which links to individual farms. Farm hours vary and some aren’t open to the public, although cheesemakers often set up stalls at local farmers markets, with samples available to try before purchasing. Many local cheese products also can be found in stores statewide.
Our farm was featured in the 2016-17 edition of The Winston-Salem Journal’s City Guide
Say Cheese
When you spot newborn Nubian goats frolicking in the fields in late winter, you know it won’t be long before there’s fresh goat cheese in Forsyth County. We’re lucky around here to have two farms raising goats, milking them, and producing farmstead goat cheese – a truly lock product. A bonus is that both Buffalo Creek Farm & Creamery in Germanton and Once Upon a Meadow in Kernersville produce different types of cheeses than complement each other.
Buffalo Creek Farm& Creamery is owned by Johnny and Robin Blakley. Most days you’ll find Robin milking the goats and Johnny crafting the cheese. Their 34-acre farm was originally part of a former Civil War plantation that grew tobacco, and it has been a cow dairy and a fish farm before its latest rebirth as a Nubian goat dairy. The couple now produces both aged raw milk and fresh chèvre on their farm. They’re also active in agri-tourism to educate customers about local food and small farms.
“It’s something we’ve both always enjoyed and something our grandkids now get involved with,’ Johnny says of farming. “We’re hoping to have something to pass on to the next generation that’s sustainable. For the people who are out looking for local products, we’re able to fill a niche.”
Buffalo Creek’s top selling cheeses include its fetas and flavored chèvre. It will sell some seasonal flavors this year, such as onion basil. Orange cranberry was a seasonal cheese that became so popular it’s become a regular offering.
In addition to raising goats, the Blakleys also raise a few Katahdin cross hair sheep, Hereford/Angus cross cattle, and then plan to add pasture-raised hogs soon. The couple built a farm store in 2011 to sell their goat’s milk cheeses and soaps, as well as their farmstead meats and pastured eggs.
The store, which is open seven days a week, also sells a variety of N.C.-made products. It’s located at 3255 Buffalo Creek Farm Road, Germanton. You can also find Buffalo Creek’s goat cheese at Let It Grow Produce, Cobblestone Farmers Market, and Reynolda Farmers Market.
Once Upon a Meadow is a 20-acre family farm located on what used to be a tobacco farm in Kernersville. Jesse and Jon Cecil and her parents, Harold and Carol Penick, all help with the chores necessary to operate the goat dairy. Together, they raise a herd of 30 dairy goats and a varying flock of heritage turkeys and chickens. They’ve also started orchards with heirloom apples, plums, peaches, and pears, and they tend to a garden that’s stocked with herbs.
Jesse double-majored in English and biology – and had a pet goat – while she was in college. She’s put both of her degrees to work: She writes and shares farm stories to promote the farm; and she seeks to improve her herd’s genetics by crossbreeding their high-end dairy goats with a wild Spanish buck that results in hardy kids with thick wooly coats. She’s also collecting polled goats (goats born without horns) and breeding the horns off her herd. They rotate the herd through their pastures and terrace their land to reduce erosion, and their goats eat honeysuckle in their woodlands.
“I want this little spot of land to be better because I was here,” she says.
Customers typically gravitate to their plain chèvre, stuffed basil, and two olive oil marinade cheese – one that is based on a 13th century English recipe to preserve cheese and another from their own recipe. This year they’ve also added a goat mozzarella cheese. You can find Once Upon a Meadow products at Washington Perk, Cobblestone Farmers Market, King Farmers Market, J. Peppers (Kernersville), and Eclection (Kernersville).
A sample of other farms on the state cheese trail:
Holly Grove Farms is in the Grantham community near Goldsboro and Mount Olive. With approximately 1,000 Alpine, Saanen, and Toggenburg dairy goats, it’s one of the largest farmsteads and woman-owned goats dairies in the United States. The gift shop is open Saturdays and has spreadable goat cheese in several flavors including chèvre, basil, chive, and jalapeno.
Piemonte Farm in Greensboro is open by appointment. Formerly in Burlington, the farm has received a Martha Stewart American Made award. Its cheese flavors are inspired by Spain and Italy and include Old Glencoe, Homestead Cheese, Burlington Blue, Don Agustin, and Don Gabino. Varieties can be purchased on the farm, by appointment or at area farmers’ markets.
There are 11 farms on the North Carolina Cheese Trail that produce wide varieties of cow, sheep, and goat cheese. Several of them accommodate visitors and offer fresh products in their stores. The trail’s website, nccheesetrail.com, has info on each farm’s location, visiting hours, and other locations where products can be purchased.
Our Farm was mentioned in the June 24, 2016 edition of The Winston-Salem Journal
Farm tour will help consumers connect with producers
By Amy Dixon Special Correspondent
Many area residents have probably visited an area farmers market. Fresh, local products are abundant, and a visit to any market vibrantly illustrates this fact. Baked goods, tea, coffee, homemade soap, salves, berries, tomatoes and freshly picked produce are all tangible results of area craftsmen and farmers.
Why not get a firsthand glimpse into some of these local products that you’ve encountered at the market? The Northern Triad Farm Tour is happening Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. You can visit seven diverse, working farms that are helping to put food on the table and connecting us with the natural world.
The farms are located in Forsyth, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties. Featured farms include Borrowed Land Farm in Pinnacle, Buffalo Creek Farm and Creamery in Germanton, Minglewood Farm and Nature Preserve in Westfield, Plum Granny Farm in King, Sanders Ridge Farm in Boonville, Sungold Farm in Winston-Salem and Truffles NC at Keep Your Fork Farm in King.
“This is a great opportunity to learn more about where your food comes from and get a glimpse behind the gates of these seven highly regarded Triad area farms,” said Cheryl Ferguson of Plum Granny Farm. “The tour is free and all ages are welcome. This is a great event for children to experience farm life.”
I’ve visited four of the seven farms on the tour and have been inspired by the mission of each.
Borrowed Land Farm in Pinnacle produces sustainable meat, eggs, and shiitake and oyster mushrooms. This is their first time on the tour, and owners Ernie and Cathy Wheeler are excited about welcoming guests.
“During the tour, we’ll give tours of our farm and demonstrations about growing mushrooms,” Cathy Wheeler said. “We’ll have some products available – grow-your-own mushroom kits, mushrooms and rabbit meat. There will also be a kids’ make-and-take mushroom growing craft project, with a small fee to cover costs. Visitors are also welcome to walk around, relax, bring a picnic lunch or just hang out. We even have a few goats that might like some extra attention.”
Buffalo Creek Farm and Creamery in Germanton specializes in goat cheese and sustainable meat. They were a stop on the tour last year. Owner Robin Blakley pointed out that there will be a hive of activity on tour day.
“We’ve invited a local food truck, StrEat Provisions from Rural Hall, to prepare dishes using local food,” Blakley said.
StrEat Provisions will be on site from noon to 5 p.m. They will be serving goat tacos using Buffalo Creek’s meat and goat cheese, as well as other selections. Winston-Salem’s To Your Health Bakery will also be set up, sampling and selling deserts.
“From our covered picnic shelter, you’ll be able to see our dairy goats, hair sheep, llamas, miniature cows, chickens and more,” Blakley said. “For a special treat, we will have several bottle-baby, 2-week old Nubian kids for you to see.”
Specializing in black winter perigord truffles, Truffles NC at Keep Your Fork Farm will have samplings of their truffle butter, truffle honey and they will offer suggestions about using their products in the kitchen.
“Visitors can expect to see a working truffle farm,” said owner Jane Morgan Smith. “They will be able to walk the orchard and ask questions about truffle cultivation. They will also get to meet the truffle hunting dog Dazy and her new little brother Shiner. I believe that it is important for people to understand where their food comes from and how hard we all work to bring it to their place of purchase.”
Plum Granny Farm is one of two certified organic farms on the tour, along with Sanders Ridge Farm. Plum Granny will offer hayride tours, information stations on growing ginger and turmeric, topbar beekeeping, seed planting for the kids, live music, snow cones and a farmstand.
“Helping people make the connection between their food and the farm is essential, especially for children,” Ferguson said. “Too many kids think that food originates at the grocery store – that there’s nothing before that. Events like this help them understand that plants grow in the soil and that the plants then produce the food they eat.”
Each farm will offer different activities, products and opportunities for visitors to engage with a farming niche. The ultimate goal is to connect the community with their local food sources and bring to light the diversity of food options that are available.
“I think there are a number of reasons for people and local farms to connect with each other,” Wheeler said. “Having access to healthy, local foods is important in terms of community health, sustainability and security. Connecting with farms allows people to move beyond simply being consumers of food. Visitors can appreciate that growing food is a natural process that they can take part in.”
The tour is self-guided. Participants are welcome to visit as many or as few of the seven farms.
For more information, visit the tour’s Facebook page at Northern Triad Farm Tour. There is also an interactive map available at tinyurl.com/NorthernTriadFarmTour16.
Our Farm was mentioned on the June 21, 2016 newscast of WXII 12
Our farm was mentioned in the May 5, 2016 post of Townies WS
Peek Inside: Signs of Spring with The New Benefactors of Old Salem
Grilled & Roasted Chicken Roulade
Stuffed with spring spinach and turnip greens, almonds, local goat cheese topped with green garlic and herb pistou – pickled walking onions – pickled turnips.
Our farm was featured in the March 29, 2016 edition of Winston Salem Monthly
Say Cheese!
We’re sampling farmstead goat cheese produced at two local farms – Buffalo Creek Farm and Once Upon a Meadow.
By Kathy Norcross Watts
When I spot newborn Nubian goats frolicking in fields in late winter, I know it won’t be long before there’s fresh goat cheese in Forsyth County. We’re lucky around here to have two farms raising goats, milking them, and producing farmstead goat cheese-a truly local product. A bonus is that both Buffalo Creek Farm & Creamery in Germanton and Once Upon a Meadow in Kernersville produce different types of cheeses that complement each other.
Buffalo Creek Farm & Creamery
Buffalo Creek Farm & Creamery is owned by Johnny and Robin Blakley. Most days you’ll find Robin milking the goats and Johnny crafting the cheese. Their 34-acre farm was originally part of a former Civil War plantation that grew tobacco, and it had been a cow dairy and a fish farm before its latest rebirth as a Nubian goat dairy. The couple now produces both aged raw milk and fresh chèvre on the farm. They’re also active in agri-tourism to educate customers about local food and small farms.
“It’s something we’ve both always enjoyed and something our grandkids now get involved with,” Johnny says of farming. “We’re hoping to have something to pass on to the next generation that’s sustainable. For the people who are out there looking for local products, we’re able to fill a niche.”
Buffalo Creek’s top selling cheeses include its fetas and flavored chèvre. It will sell some seasonal flavors again this year, such as onion basil. Orange cranberry was a seasonal cheese that became so popular it’s become a regular offering.
In addition to raising goats, the Blakleys also raise a few Katahdin cross hair sheep, Hereford/Angus cross cattle, and miniature Zebu cattle, and they plan to add pasture-raised hogs soon. The couple built a farm store in 2011 to sell their goats’ milk cheeses and soaps, as well as their farmstead meats and pastured eggs.
The store, which is open seven days a week, also sells a variety of N.C.-made products. It’s located at 3255 Buffalo Creek Farm Road, Germanton. You can also find Buffalo Creek’s goat cheese at Let It Grow Produce, Cobblestone Farmers Market, and Reynolda Farmers Market.
For more info, call 336-969-5698 or go to buffalocreekfarmandcreamery.com.
Photo by Andrew Dye
Once Upon a Meadow
Once Upon a Meadow is a 20-acre family farm located on what used to be a tobacco farm in Kernersville. Jesse and Jon Cecil and her parents, Harold and Carol Penick, all help with the chores necessary to operate the goat dairy. Together, they raise a herd of 30 dairy goats and a varying flock of heritage turkeys and chickens. They’ve also started orchards with heirloom apples, plums, peaches, and pears, and they tend to a garden that’s stocked with herbs.
Jesse double-majored in English and biology-and had a pet goat-while she was in college. She’s put both of her degrees to work: She writes and shares farm stories to promote the farm; and she seeks to improve her herd’s genetics by crossbreeding their high-end dairy goats with a wild Spanish buck that results in hardy kids with thick wooly coats. She’s also collecting polled goats (goats born without horns) and breeding the horns off her herd. They rotate the herd through their pastures and terrace their land to reduce erosion, and their goats eat honeysuckle in their woodlands.
“I want this little spot of land to be better because I was here,” she says.
Customers typically gravitate to their plain chévre, stuffed basil, and two olive oil marinade cheeses-one that is based on a 13th century English recipe to preserve cheese and another from their own recipe. This year they’ve also added a goat mozzarella cheese. You can find Once Upon a Meadow products at Washington Perk, Cobblestone Farmers Market, King Farmers Market, J. Peppers (Kernersville), and Eclection (Kernersville).
For more info, call 336-772-8734 or visit onceuponameadow.com.
Our farm was mentioned in the March 9, 2016 post of Townies WS
A Peek Inside: Heart of The Community Truffle Dinner
Harrison and I have found so much joy in volunteering our time and talents to help raise money for important causes through good food. A few weeks ago, through Five Loaves Catering, we had the honor of helping Jane Morgan Smith of Truffles NC do just that through her Heart of The Community Truffle & Wine Dinner.
This special meal featured four-truffle laden courses with local wine pairings. Jane donated thousands of dollars worth of black winter truffles and Raffaldini Vineyards donated the wine for each course. Harrison volunteered as chef crafting a decadent locally-sourced menu that was executed beautifully. I helped to serve and snapped photos.
I also devoured leftovers.
Together, with the help of family and friends, we raised $3,000 for The Children’s Law Center of Central North Carolina.
The Children’s Law Center provides legal advocacy to children who are victims of domestic violence or high -conflict custody cases and enables them to become emotionally healthy adults. The amount raised through this event will cover the expense of three cases from start to finish. By extension, we now have a part in these children’s cases and their lives.
Our farm was mentioned in the February 11, 2016 post on Cuisine and Screen
NC Truffle Dinner
Is there such a thing as too many truffles in one sitting? I did the research for you readers, and the answer is no. I’m talking about the truffle mushrooms, one of those special ingredients that when I see them listed on a menu, my eyes immediately dart to that dish. Truffles are exotic, rare, and…right in our backyard? Yes, Truffles NC is a truffle farm in King that you can visit, and even purchase goodies like truffle salt, truffle honey and truffle white chocolate (HELLO!) I was thrilled to attend a dinner featuring these truffles, benefitting the Children’s Law Center of Central NC. Truffles and a good cause? Sold.
Chef Harrison Littell of Five Loaves Catering really outdid himself with every detail of this meal. Each morsel was executed to perfection. He and his wife Andrea are behind the blog TowniesWS. It’s always fun to meet fellow Triad bloggers and dine with other local foodies. We took our seats and noticed pats of truffle butter, topped with more shaved truffles at each table. But where was the bread you ask? It was utter torture waiting for it to arrive.
The evening began with a Chocolate Truffle-making demo, to keep with the theme, while we indulged in Truffled Deviled Eggs. My guest said these deviled eggs were the best she had ever eaten, and they were certainly delicious. My egg was purple, from beet juice, which didn’t alter the flavor. A yummy mustard and mayonnaise filling is made extra special with truffles, and is piped into perfectly cooked egg whites (or egg purples). Homemade creme fraiche and Atlantic Sturgeon caviar top it off. It had a great mouthfeel. Raffaldini Vineyards kindly paired each course with a wine, and we enjoyed the Pinot Grigio with the eggs. I could already tell it would be a fabulous evening.
The description of the first course had my mouth watering the moment I read it: beautiful ribbons of homemade Tagliatelle pasta is topped with shaved truffles, goat cheese, browned butter (a FAVE) and a sprinkling of parsley for color. The aroma was irresistible. This dish had a perfect salty bite, and the combination of browned butter and truffles truly sent it over the top. The noodles were a nice al dente and it paired beautifully with Raffaldini’s Sangiovese.
I was tickled when the second course featured a slightly sweet note, thinking it was an early dessert! It was a sweet and savory flavor marriage that was pretty ingenius. A Fig Gallette combined roasted figs (which look a lot like shaved truffles!), boursin cheese, truffles, micro greens and a hazelnut whole wheat flour crust. A drizzle of a fig reduction rounded out the dish. The crust was nutty and slightly crisp, and I admit I spread a bit of truffle butter on the last bite! A dry rosé was a nice balance to the sweetness of the dish.
Finally, a basket of warm sesame bread arrived, and we all reached for the truffle butter at the same time! We were soon distracted by the gorgeous plate of Snowy Grouper that was placed in front of us. The grouper was actually caught the morning before in Southport, NC, and Chef Littell even told us the name of the boat that caught it and the name of the captain! I was so impressed with the emphasis on local throughout the evening. The poached fish was accompanied by an exceptional Sweet Potato, Yukon Gold Potato and Truffle Gratin and roasted root vegetables like radishes, carrots and beets. The truffled beurre blanc that was drizzled across the plate was so rich. It was like Chef melted the truffle butter and added some heavy cream and a squirt of lemon juice. Sensational! The wine was a white Vermentino, comparable to a Chardonnay.
Chef Littell had his creativity cap on when he planned the dessert course: Truffle and Duck Egg Creme Brulee is about the most indulgent thing I could have ever imagined, and one of the tastiest. Duck eggs have a yolk to egg white ratio of 60:40, as opposed to a chicken egg, which has 40:60. So the custard was extra creamy and rich. A gorgeous, gooey block of sticky honeycomb was oozing out all over the top of the burnt sugar, and was even better when it oozed out in my mouth. I would be remiss not to dwell on the Hazelnut Truffle Shortbread which accompanied the dish. It was an excellent cookie. The La Befana dessert wine was a wonderful sweet note to end on.
I was so totally satisfied after this meal. The food, the conversation, the cause – everything was wonderful. Chef Littell and Five Loaves Catering are doing tremendously creative work, and anything we as a community can do to support Truffles NC and the Children’s Law Center is important. My truffle addiction is getting out of control. Here’s hoping my truffle oil will do the trick until I can afford some real ones!
Our farm was mentioned in the November 23, 2015 edition of The Stokes News
Small Business Saturday set for Nov. 28
Ten small local businesses plan to set up outside Buffalo Creek Farm and Creamery’s Farm Store on Nov. 28, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. as part of their annual Small Business Saturday event. In addition to Buffalo Creek’s farmstead goat’s milk cheeses, customers will be able to sample and purchase products from Sweet Mornings Farm (jams, jellies and baked goods), Tyson Farm (honey), Running Pine Herb Farm (herb blends, flavored vinegars, simmering potpourris, jam and jellies), Piemonte Farm (artisan cow’s milk cheeses, jams and jellies), and Crooked Run Vineyards (muscadine grape juice). In The Screaming Radish food truck, Chef Kevin Reddick will be cooking up delicious cuisine with products from local farms and family owned companies for customers to purchase and enjoy for lunch while relaxing on the farm. Long Family Farm’s soaps and lotions, VineWorks’ kudzu baskets and wreaths, Shady Creek Farm’s goat’s milk laundry detergent and soaps along with hand crocheted items, Dinner Time Chimes’ spoon wind chimes and more, and a variety of food and gift items in the Farm Store will round out the items available to Saturday’s shoppers. Coolers are available for those frozen and refrigerated purchases!
Visitors to the Farm Store are typically able to view the farm’s livestock (goats, sheep, zebu cattle, chickens, turkeys) from the parking area by looking out into the pastures that border the Farm Store. While shoppers browse the selection in the Farm Store, they are able to watch a virtual tour of the farm to take a peek behind the scenes of where the goat milk cheeses are produced. Buffalo Creek’s owners, in addition to the owners of each of the local businesses, will be available to answer questions and to explain more about their products.
The local business owners are gearing up for Small Business Saturday and hope that everyone continues to Shop Local and Shop Small this holiday season.
The Farm Store is open daily (Monday-Saturday 9-6; Sunday 1-6) throughout the year. They offer a variety of local foods and gift items, including products from the vendors who will be joining them on Small Business Saturday.
Our farm was mentioned in the November 2, 2015 edition of the The Winston-Salem Journal
IN OTHER AREAS
Buffalo Creek Farm and Creamery of Germanton was among top winners in the 2015 N.C. State Fair’s Cheese Competition. The farm entered seven types of cheese in the competition and won one first place, five second places and one third place based on technical and aesthetic merits using the American Cheese Society’s point system. The winners are: brined feta, first place; unflavored chevre, orange-cranberry chevre, red bell pepper and roasted garlic chevre, marinated garlic feta and queso fresco, second place; and St. Philip’s raw milk aged cheese, third place.
From left, Johnny and Robin Blakley of Buffalo Creek Farm and Creamery of Germanton were among the winners in the 2015 N.C. State Fair’s Cheese Competition.
Emma is the official greeter at Buffalo Creek Farm and Creamery of Germanton, which was among winners in the 2015 N.C. State Fair’s Cheese Competition.
Our farm was mentioned in the October 12, 2015 post on Loaves and Dishes
Lamburger Gouda Mac by Wendi Spraker
Occasionally, dinner time around here resembles an episode of “Chopped”. We had one of those nights this week. Halleluiah and DANG! Sometimes those mystery ingredients can turn out a pretty darn good dish! Let me introduce you to Lamburger Gouda Mac.
I know, I know. You might be under the impression that we eat like royalty for every meal. (Laughing). I guess that is true, if royalty eats hot dogs and pizza about once per week.
This week, the fridge is nearly empty and no one has been to the grocery. Someone didn’t even do the dishes last night. I’m not pointing any fingers or anything. The kids are complaining, “There isn’t anything to eat around here”, but somehow the sink fills up with dishes every day. How can that be?
I don’t know – you probably don’t have those problems like I do.
So, anyway, it is time for dinner and I have NO idea what we are going to have. The contents of the fridge look like that game show I mentioned before. Let’s see, what can we make out of a pound of ground lamb, a half a block of cream cheese, the remainder of the parmesan cheese container, a stick of butter, some half and half creamer, a piece of smoked Gouda cheese and a 1 lb box of noodles?
HELLO LAMBURGER GOUDA MAC!
This dish came together in about 20 minutes and it fed FIVE HUNGRY TEENAGERS and TWO HUNGRY ADULTS with a little left over. I managed to scrounge enough green stuff together to make a salad and BOOM! Like Magic – we have dinner!
Besides that, it was GOOD! So good, in fact, that I am going to share it with you as if it were a dish I slaved over creating for weeks and weeks and weeks. You would believe that, right?
With that, I’ll leave you with some Lamburger Gouda Mac. And YES! You can use Hamburger instead of Lamburger and it will be delicious!
As always, shop locally. This Ground lamb came from our local farmers and you can check out your local lamb producers at American Lamb. My local producer is Buffalo Creek Farm in Germanton, NC. You can find them HERE.
Our farm was mentioned in the October 10, 2015 Press Release by the N.C. Department of Agriculture
Winners chosen in NC State Fair Cheese Competition
RALEIGH – BoxCarr Handmade Cheese took top honors in the North Carolina State Fair Cheese Competition sponsored by Whole Foods Market. The dairy’s Cottonseed cheese won Best of North Carolina and Best of Show, in addition to winning a first place for Mixed Milk Cheese. BoxCarr Handmade Cheese also won a first with it’s Campo smear Ripened Cheese and ribbons in the Feta, Open Soft Ripened and Open Hard Cheese categories. The Best of Show and Best of North Carolina receives a Platter, a Rosette and a $100.00 check from the Whole Foods Market. This year there were 11 North Carolina cheese makers competing and submitting 44 cheeses!
The Judging took place Oct. 9. A team of six judges rated the cheeses on technical and aesthetic merits using the American Cheese Society’s point system: first place, 93-100 points; second place, 86-92; and third place, 80-85.
Cheddar Styles: 1st Ashford Cheddar by English Farmstead 2nd Old Drovers Road by Looking Glass Creamery
Swiss: 1st Swiss by Chapel Hill Creamery
Mozzarella: 1st Fresh Mozzarella by Chapel Hill Creamery
Feta: 1st Brined Feta by Buffalo Creek Farm Creamery, 2ndMarinated Feta and Garlic also by Buffalo Creek, 3rd Flint Ridge Fat Mixed milk by BoxxCarr Farm, and Goats Milk Feta also by BoxCarr Hand Made Cheese
Flavored Soft Cheese; 1st Smoked Round by goat Lady Dairy, 2nd Wolf River by English Farmstead, 3rd Fig and Honey Chevre Log by Goat Lady Dairy
Smear Ripened Cheese; 1st Campo by BoxCarr Handmade Cheese and a 1st for Hickory Grove by Chapel Hill Creamery 2nd Lissome by BoxCarr hand Made Cheese
Open-Soft Ripened: 1st for Smoked Round by Goat Lady dairy and a 1st for Carolina Moon by Chapel Hill Creamery, 2nd for Rosie’s Robiola by BoxxCarr Hand Made Cheese and a 2nd for Ellington by Looking Glass Creamery, 3rd for Hickory Creek by Paradox Farm
Open- Soft and Spreadable: 1st for Fromage Blanc by English Farmstead Cheese, 2nd for Pumpkin Spice also by English Farmstead Cheese, 3rd Garbo Serendipity by Celebrity Dairy
Open- Semi-Soft Cheese: 2nd Queso Fresco by Buffalo Creek Farm Creamery
Open Hard Cheese: 1st to Calvander by Chapel Hill Creamery, 2nd Bear Wallow by Looking Glass Creamery, 3rd Lindale Extra Aged by Goat Lady Dairy and a 3rd for Alessandra’s Aged Cheese by BoxxCarr Hand Made Cheese
Goat’s Milk Fresh Chevre Cheese (Flavored): 1st Pimento Chevre by Holy Grove Farms and 1st for French Kiss by Celebrity Dairy, 2nd for Balsamic Fig and Honey by Holy Grove Farms, 2nd Herbal delight by Kilby Family Farm, 2nd Firey Jalapeno Kilby Family Farm, 2nd Orange Cranberry Chevre by Buffalo Creek Farm Creamery, 2nd Red Bell Pepper and Garlic Chevre by Buffalo Creek Farm Creamery
Goat’s Milk Fresh Chevre Cheese (Unflavored): 1st Plain Chevre by Kilby Family Farm, 1st for Pure Chevre by Celebrity Dairy, 2nd Unflavored Chevre by Buffalo Creek Farm Creamery, 2nd Fresh Chevre by Holy Grove Farms
Goat’s Milk Aged Cheese: 2nd Silk Hope by Celebrity Dairy, 3rd St. Philips Raw Milk Aged by Buffalo Creek Farm Creamery, 3rd Blue Chevrolait by Prodigal Farm
Sheep & Mixed Milk Cheese: 1st and Best of Show Cottonseed by BoxCarr Hand Made Cheese
American Originals Open Cow or Goats milk: 1st Field of Creams by Prodigal Farm
All cheeses in the contest are on display in the Education Building in the Cheese Contest Coolers. Many of these cheeses will be available for sampling and sale at the “Got to be NC Dairy Products” tent during the State Fair, Oct. 15-25. The tent is located between the Jim Graham Building and the Water Fall.
Our farm was mentioned in the October 1, 2015 post on Loaves and Dishes
Chili-esque Bean Soup by Wendi Spraker
I Made My Chili with LAMB! I DID! (if you don’t have lamb, use hamburger)
The chili-esque bean soup that you see in these photos is made with ground lamb. I’m not kidding. It is DELICIOUS! I told you that I went to Seattle last week for the International Food Blogger Conference. I attended a session on Lamb done by the American Lamb Producers. A Seattle chef shared with us how he prepares lamb while a professional butcher showed us how to butcher various cuts of meat. The chef and the butcher had prepared Pate and some type of wonderful steak. It was so delicious that I can’t even remember what it was called! I am going to include some of those photos here – so if you are a vegetarian or even squeamish at all – please just scroll quickly through the photos.
Anyway, I was so PUMPED about lamb that when I got home, I searched for a local producer using the American Lamb Website – you can find that HERE – and was astonished to learn that someone VERY LOCAL to me sells her own farm raised lamb at her very own shop! I visited Buffalo Creek Farm and Creamery, LLC on Saturday and bought some ground lamb. Please just consider looking for and trying some lamb. Please buy local – I promise, it will taste better. I will be posting more recipes in the future, today, I was just trying the lamb in place of the hamburger. It was GREAT!