A few weeks ago Bloomingdale’s had a photo shoot at the cheese shop.  It being such a glamorous place and all…

we stood around and gawked while the models and photographers made love to our window displays.

(See pages 12-13)

It is also rumored that our darling Amy has been featured in a past issue of Nylon Magazine that none of us can seem to get our hands on- June or July 08.  If you have a copy, please bring it in!

http://bloomingdalesbymail.shoplocal.com/index.aspx?pagename=flash&fsid=8440337e-dc77-415a-a85c-a9549740c8c5&pagenumber=1&circularid=13899

      We have the Vermont Shepherd!  An aged, raw sheeps milk cheese from Putney Vermont.  The farm has about 250 sheep and they make this aged alpiney/pecorino wonder from the freshest, best milk in the land.  The cheese reminds me of the Flixer that we get from Rolf Beeler crossed with some saltier Southern Italian pecorino.  In 2001 this cheese won Best In Show at the American Cheese Society competition.  it is sweet and savory and even a bit barnyardy and full of lovely sheepy fat. 

     This farm operates a self-service cheese stand and pretty much embodies the spirit of Vermont that is missing from Brooklyn life.  (Although I guess one shouldn’t expect Vermont values everywhere….)  The cave the Major family uses is shared by their cheesemaking neighbors as well.   I have brought this cheese all over the place this past weekend.  It goes well with beer and with sparkling whites.  It is a favorite of sophisticated cheese lovers and hungry friends.  So as always I’m back to the glory of sheep.  They get a bad rap in all of the metaphors, but I don’t find them to be any weaker in character than the goat or the cow, maybe just less understood.  In fact, I have met some pretty obstinate sheep in my day, sheep who would plow you down to get to a feed bucket or to defend their young.   In addition they just make some of the best cheese and they are so cute and useful in many ways, beyond their dashing good looks. 

…just like Robert Frost once said…(?)

        One of our favorite regulars brought us about five pounds of green beans and ten or so massive cucumbers from his garden upstate.  Needless to say I ran home and started cooking.  For the rest of the week I brought greenbeans and cucumbers everywhere, feeding the vegetable deprived cheese-lovers the world over.  We actually have a big jar of them in the back fridge here at the shop; they are sitting in some spicey pickle brine for a few more weeks before we devour them.

We inspired The Hold Steady….

http://stereogum.com/archives/hold-steady-loves-oasis-sort-of_011315.html

Each time I take a trip to the Greenmarket I feel more and more compelled to move out to the country and raise some sheep, the world’s most amazing animal (more on this later.) Inspiration hits me even stronger when I am confronted with people who have actually done this….and are successful at it! A number of years ago an American woman and a German man met in Brazil and decided that neither of them wanted very much to leave. Both being ardent environmentalists they began to make the most of the land, organic farming came naturally to them and soon they were helping other farmers in the area to convert to organic production. The town where they are located is in the state of Rio de Janeiro and is an old mining community.

I like fruit pastes but this is something different, this tastes like actual fruit. It comes in fig, peach and guava. With some salty sheep’s milk cheese and a bottle of something cold and white, or some Spanish cider you really have an entire afternoon planed for you.

Tomorrow will break my two week non-cooking spell. I moved into a new apartment and it has taken this long to get someone from the gas company to come and turn on the meter. (If they don’t show up I will find a way to turn it on myself.) Over the past two weeks I have done some creative, though tiresome, raw cooking. There have been coountless experiments in salads, beans and canned varieties of fish and there has been more cheese than usual. By now all I want are casseroles and cassoulet, roasts and lasagna - but there were a few glorious and lactic days where cheese was the main dish. I don’t think I have eaten this much cheese outside of work in a while. Each dinner I prepared was so varied almost based solely on cheese selection. It began with the fresh mozzarella and the tomatoes and basil growing on my roof. Then things became a bit more serious. There is an amazing semisoft goat’s milk cheese from Consider Bardwell Farm in Vermont called Manchester that the whole cheeseshop has been fawning over all week. This barnyardy cheese on some sesame bread is pretty good, add some mustard greens for some spice and some sardines on the side and most major nutritional needs are covered. Then came the Flor di Capra over white beans and tomato with a touch of cilantro. My trip to the farmer’s market only further complicated things. I’ve recently become obsessed with Dancing Ewe Farm run by Jody and Louisa Somers up in Granville, New York. Sheep being my favorite farm animal and Italy being my favorite cheesemaking nation, Dancing Ewe makes very traditional Italian cheeses in the US- even the equipment is Italian. And I may never tire of a baguette with fresh sheep’s milk ricotta and some honey. My recipe list goes on and I cannot wait to see the Keyspan guy arrive tomorrow, but for one more night it is all about queso. It has been tasty but tiring and it sort of makes me feel like this guy:

These goat’s have such a better life than the flock down the  block… or ok, at least from the chickens; I am not so sure there are any goats.  Lately, I have been wanting to get back up north; living in Vermont for five years changes a person for good  (as most people here will attest by shouting “hippie” in my direction every time I wear clogs.)  But really, there is something distinct about Vermont cheese.  In the most recent issue of Slow, Slow Food USA’s Journal, they feature an article about the terroir of Vermont Maple Syrup.  The different kinds of bedrock affect the flavor of the syrup.  Sure, it isn’t exactly the same concept as cheese, but it reminds us that the cows at Consider Bardwell Farm in West Pawlet, aren’t eating the same grass as the goats in West Cornwall.  The flora around Lake Champlain, in Addison County, are some of the most diverse in the state- whether this is due to climate change, pollution, or changed land use… has yet to be determined.  Summer in Vermont is humid and sticky and buggy and all those diverse grasses might give you a rash… but it feels healthy up there and the air is good, as is the cheese.  There is a saying: “Vermont- The way life should be.”  Maybe this is a ploy by native Vermonters, but I think they have a point and it goes not only for lifestyle, but for food production as well.  Vermont has one of the longest lasting agricultural traditions in the Northeast; the animals and the people seem happier.  Ok, I am going to go water the plants on the stoop.  Close enough?

Summer is quieter on Bedford Avenue; a lot of lucky souls are out in the Hamptons or Martha’s Vinyard, but for the rest of us a sunset over Manhattan is as good as it gets.  The hot weather is making everyone hungrier for cheese.  It’s about that time of year when a light dinner of cheese, bread, olives and wine replaces all of that hearty American cuisine (aside from the Barbeque of course).  Somehow eating cheese outdoors is nearly always a romantic act and I do wonder if this is something distinctly American to be saying…?  It could just be that the concept of artisinal cheese is still so fresh in our minds, sitting on a roof overlooking the Williamsburg Bridge feels like Paris in ‘68.  It may also be my choice cutlery, a classic Opinel pocket knife, that always makes me feel like I am roughing it, at least just a little.  Either way, I look forward to dinner tonight- on said roof, with a bottle of crisp, even metallic white wine and a hunk of the Twig Farm’s Goat tomme.  See, it does seem idyllic.