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I have been lurking here for some time and finally decided to join in.
I live in north central Washington state and have a Jersey cow currently in milk. I have been making cheese for quite a while now, but am not at all proficient. Just this month though (well March), I decided I would make cheese at least once a week. So far so good, but I will be combing through this forum to learn all I can about different types of cheeses and different techniques.
Trisha

Hi Trisha! Welcome. I'm in Redmond

Hi Trisha, I wish I had a cow---but on second thought......I have enough to do already.
A cheese a week is a great goal, good luck.

Sam

Sam,
Having a cow is a wonderful thing, but it is a huge commitment for sure. I love it, but it is also part of my job as a homestead wife.
I am reminded of the movie "Julie and Julia" where Julie goes through a Julia Child cookbook in a year and blogs about it. Someone here posted that if you make all the recipes in 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes, you will be a cheesemaker by the end of it. I don't have that book, but it sure did put a big idea in my head 
Trisha

Hi Trisha,

We're sort of neighbors, I'm over in Moscow, Idaho, near Pullman. And I grew up in western Washington.
I envy you for being a homestead wife with a cow & making cheese... it sounds like a good life to me.

~Laurie

Hi and welcome!

I'm also in WA -- in fact I have property in North Central myself and hope some day to have a milk cow and goats!

Now if only I could make a cheese a week!  How awesome would that be?

Laurie, less than 5 hours! You bet we're neighbors! LOL Do they ever have cheese making classes at WSU? I know they make their own cheese, but don't know anything about any class offerings.
OlJarhead, I am in Wauconda (yeah the little wide spot in the road). If you are ever in the "neighborhood" let me know. We run a guest lodge www.diamondbelleranch.com Same for you Laurie...if you are ever a little closer, give us a ring!
Trisha

Quote from: Trisha in WA on April 04, 2011, 10:21:45 PM
Laurie, less than 5 hours! You bet we're neighbors! LOL Do they ever have cheese making classes at WSU? I know they make their own cheese, but don't know anything about any class offerings.
OlJarhead, I am in Wauconda (yeah the little wide spot in the road). If you are ever in the "neighborhood" let me know. We run a guest lodge www.diamondbelleranch.com Same for you Laurie...if you are ever a little closer, give us a ring!
Trisha

Really?  Wow!  I need to stop by and say hi then!  I have property less then 3 miles from you...though the drive would be about 20 unless there is a way off Frosty Creek....hmmmm,....

Trisha, thanks for the invite! Actually it's not that far, just 233 miles - I looked at your website - your ranch is gorgeous... and I googled Wauconda- interesting place! I like the story about it being auctioned on Ebay and the story about the couple who bought it. It is beautiful country. I'm down in the Palouse country which is amazing and beautiful. Yes, WSU does have cheesemaking classes. They have a link to one that is being put on by Oregon State University in April, WSU site says they usually do theirs in March. I hope to be able to attend the class at WSU eventually. Anyway, here's the link to the cheesemaking class info, and on the right of the page you'll see the link to follow to the OSU course. It looks like it's going to be a good class, and probably filling up fast.  http://www.wsu.edu/creamery/shortcourseinfo.htm  My class from U of Idaho has labs at our U of I dairy for the next couple weeks, so I'll have my first experience milking the cows there soon. :-)

If you haven't tried the WSU Cougar Gold, you should. It is heavenly.

Best regards,
Laurie

Quote from: Trisha in WA on April 04, 2011, 10:21:45 PM
Laurie, less than 5 hours! You bet we're neighbors! LOL Do they ever have cheese making classes at WSU? I know they make their own cheese, but don't know anything about any class offerings.
OlJarhead, I am in Wauconda (yeah the little wide spot in the road). If you are ever in the "neighborhood" let me know. We run a guest lodge www.diamondbelleranch.com Same for you Laurie...if you are ever a little closer, give us a ring!
Trisha

Quote from: OlJarhead on April 04, 2011, 10:33:08 PM
Really?  Wow!  I need to stop by and say hi then!  I have property less then 3 miles from you...though the drive would be about 20 unless there is a way off Frosty Creek....hmmmm,....

WOW! The world gets smaller everyday doesn't it?! You might even know us! Though we have only been up here for a year now (well next month will be a year).

Quote from: WhiteSageFarms on April 06, 2011, 06:34:30 AM
If you haven't tried the WSU Cougar Gold, you should. It is heavenly.

Best regards,
Laurie

Thank for the info Laurie. It would be so great to get to take that class at WSU. March is a slow time for us up here, so that is PERFECT!
I have not yet tried the Cougar Gold, but I have heard only good things about it. You can bet the next time I see it available now, I will be buying some.

Quote from: WhiteSageFarms on April 06, 2011, 06:34:30 AM
If you haven't tried the WSU Cougar Gold, you should. It is heavenly.

My sister bought a can of WSU Cougar Gold last Fall as a gift for my Dad and it was a big disappointment. It was crumbly and acidic. Very similar to some of my earlier cheese efforts. 

He ended up throwing most of it out. Too bad, he loves his cheese. He goes through a lot of Tillamook 2 lb blocks.

I'm not sure if there was a "sell by" or "best if used by" date on the tin, but if you're considering a purchase, I would check it out. Just an unsatisfied cheese consumer...hate to rain on anyone's parade. Forewarned is forearmed.

Hey, I'm in Parkland...a little south of Tacoma.

-Boofer-

Hi Boofer! Thanks for the heads up. I'll make sure to check the date.
We moved here from Yelm! Lived in Puyallup for a long time too. Nice to "meet" you.
Trisha

Quote from: Trisha in WA on April 07, 2011, 06:38:12 PM

Quote from: OlJarhead on April 04, 2011, 10:33:08 PM
Really?  Wow!  I need to stop by and say hi then!  I have property less then 3 miles from you...though the drive would be about 20 unless there is a way off Frosty Creek....hmmmm,....

WOW! The world gets smaller everyday doesn't it?! You might even know us! Though we have only been up here for a year now (well next month will be a year).

We bought our piece of heaven in June of '09 so we're pretty new too   But we might have spotted one another from time to time.  We're in a bit of a sweet spot with lots of state land around as well as property that is owned but not used or lived on etc...anyway, we're definitely neighbors!

I don't know how many of us "lurked around" on this site before joining (I was one of them).  All I can say is, we're probably the biggest group of stalkers around!  Welcome.

Welcome!  I was from WA (Tacoma), too, until I moved to the midwest.  It's been several years but I still feel the loss of my mountains & my Ocean keenly.  It's entirely too flat here, I tell you.  At least in central Illinois.  We hope to visit back home at the end of summer.

Hope you have a good evening!

Steff