Gouda with Pesto

[Tiarella]

The chives I put in the cheese I put first in a frying pan and seared them a bit.  You could do that with fresh herbs to kill off much of what is on them?  Or you could use cheese making as an opportunity to practice equanimity.     I'm tired.....off to bed after freezing today.  Very cold and very windy all day.....  here's a photo of me frozen after evening chores....just after taking my hat off....photo taken of reflection in antique mirror.

[qdog1955]

I'm no expert on botulism----but I know that it is rare in semi hard to hard cheese----do a search on here and Sailor and Linux talk about it. I do know that botulism can be a problem for sausage makers---especially smoked sausage---therefore the sodium nitrite and a required internal temp about 143 degrees.
Qdog 

[Danbo]

Tiarella:
Yes - I need to be better to live with bacteria. ;-) After all I would die without them... Nice image! Here in Denmark we have a very mild winter without extreme cold. No much use for our woodburning stove this year... :-)


Qdog: Thanks - I'll do a seach in the forum. :-)

[Tiarella]

Mild winter in Denmark???  Simply not fair that we are getting everyone's winter in one place here.  It is also true that many of the US places that normally have a cold and snowy winter are also mild while we seem to get it all.  At least I am in western Massachusetts and not in the Eastern part which got hammered by even more snow which is particularly hard in cities.   

[Danbo]

It has snowed a couple of times and that's it... :-)

[Stinky]

It never snows here.

Typically stays above 45 or so.

[Tiarella]

It was about -10 F last night and the barn pump lost a bearing so I had to take it apart this morning and fix it so that I'd still have water at the barn.  We have had snow storms about twice a week for the last 2 months and our drifts are easily over 5 feet tall.  My fencing is only about a foot above the snow line and it's 5' high so that gives you a sense of how deep the snow is in the main field.  I'm ready for milder weather.

[Al Lewis]

Been clear skies and 60° here in the pacific northwest.

[Kern]

Been clear skies and 60° here in the pacific northwest.

Stay tuned, Al, the 6-10 day forecast for the PNW is below average temperatures, rain with some sun, lows in the low 30's and highs around 45.   

[Danbo]

Tiarella: Minus 10 F.... That's minus 23 C... Brrrrrrrrrrrrr... That's cold! Here this evening it is around 4 C / 39 F.


The coldest day in Denmark (since 1874) was January 1982: -31,2 C / -24 F
The warmest day in Denmark (since 1874) was August 1975: 36,4 C / 98 F


:-) Danbo

[Schnecken Slayer]

If you made your own pesto then you could substitute cream for the oil and it would mix well with the milk.

[Danbo]

Sounds like a good idea... :-)

[Tiarella]

Tiarella: Minus 10 F.... That's minus 23 C... Brrrrrrrrrrrrr... That's cold! Here this evening it is around 4 C / 39 F.


The coldest day in Denmark (since 1874) was January 1982: -31,2 C / -24 F
The warmest day in Denmark (since 1874) was August 1975: 36,4 C / 98 F


:-) Danbo

Although this winter is colder than is our recent normal it is not as cold as it used to be every year. We used to have two weeks of -34 F every single night and not above 0 during the day. I'll always remember having the splashed water freeze on my cheeks as I used a sledge hammer to break the river ice so the cows could drink. In those years we had more sun than we've had this year and we had a real January thaw which we haven't had this year. I can remember standing outside in the large hay feeder forking the old hay over the edge wearing just a tank shirt and jeans because it was sunny and about 40 F. 

This winter has been different than usual and while as farmers we have more shoveling to do I think we still have an easier time than most in our area.  Most businesses that rely on customers arriving are suffering badly because of so many bad travel days and even outright travel bans.  Cities have no where to put the snow and business people with city offices that rely on their customers being able to find parking are very hurt by this. Google "parking in Boston" and you'll see some amazing photos. I think they've had about 10 feet of snow so far. Roofs are collapsing and many other houses have leaks inside the walls from ice dams forming at the edge of their roofs.

[Danbo]

Sounds a little rough to be a farmer during the winter. How do you manage all that creative cheesemaking etc.?

[Tiarella]

Sounds a little rough to be a farmer during the winter. How do you manage all that creative cheesemaking etc.?

Well, right now there's no milk so no cheese making which is good because I'd be hard-pressed (pun intended) to find the time for cheese making!  Laundry never gets folded and I'm behind on paperwork but otherwise everything is mostly getting done.  Sunny today and almost 30 degrees so it feels lovely.

check out Boston's snow.  They are 3 hours east of us....we got a bit less snow each storm.
Here's some links:  http://ohiostate.scout.com/forums/3159-the-nut-house/13662303-boston-snow-pics
http://www.dogonews.com/2015/2/24/boston-residents-tackle-severe-winter-weather-with-good-humor-and-a-little-insanity