www.JackrabbitCheese.com
Barbara Kingsolver reads the first chapter of her fabulous book about her family’s quest to eat only local food. It’s available at libraries, both in print and on CD– I highly recommend it.
The United Nations FAO offers this analysis of solar-powered dairy projects. Their conclusion: It’s feasible, but not cheap. Note that, in 1981 dollars, a cheese facility of the size we’re building would cost over $150,000. That’s over $355,000 in 2008 dollars.
Using innovation, used equipment, comparison shopping, and just plain Yankee frugality, we’re putting ours together [...]
Here are two more resources for those making (or wanting to make) cheese at home:
The Joy of Home Cheesemaking Podcast: Offers two episodes so far, beginning with a recipe for Meunster cheese.
Facebook: Home Cheese Makers: Fans of home cheesemaking sharing resources and recipes.
LocalHarvest.org is a database of local food providers across the country. You can search by zip code or state for locally-produced foods and agricultural products. The database lists farms, farmers markets, CSAs (community-supported agriculture projects), and shops– and also lists farming practices (nartural, organic, etc.) as well as upcoming events.
And we’re now listed! We don’t [...]
Another resource from Google Books: A Garden of Herbs: Being A Practical Handbook To The Making Of An Old English Herb Garden Together With Numerous Receipts From Contemporary Authorities. By Eleanour Sinclair Rohde (1920).
This fascinating book discusses the hows and whys of creating an intricately designed herb garden of the traditional English style. It covers [...]
As we continue our development toward solar hot water heating for the new cheese facility, I’ve found a couple of very interesting resources:
This page tells how to make a solar water heating panel for under $5. Yes, you read that right. It’s not of sufficient volume to heat a house, but it’s an interesting project– [...]
For those not inclined to vegetarianism, Google Books has a multitude of cookbooks available, including Mrs. Hale’s New Cookbook (Philadelphia: Peterson & Brothers, 1857). Check out her recipe for dressing a lamb’s head. (Ick!)
The book is heavy on meat, but also includes churning and curing butter, making two types of cheeses, and cleaning tips for [...]
Google Book Search, a database of over 10 million printed works, offers magazines for reading online. Included is Vegetarian Times, the classic journal for vegetarians. (When I was vegetarian, I subscribed.)
Issues available range from 1980 to 2004. They are not downloadable, but they do offer online browsing– and you can save links to pages you [...]
As gardens begin to deluge us with fresh vegetables, we may wonder what to do with it all. Give it to the neighbors? Throw it out? Feed it to the chickens?
Don’t despair: one solution is to can foods in canning jars for later use. Most foods will last at least a year when canned; some [...]
Our friend Chris, who has committed to eating only humanely-raised meat, writes:
“I attended the Basque Picnic in Chino [CA] over the weekend. Watched some tradtional dances, ate humane BBQ lamb and got some cheese from cheese making relatives visiting from the Pyranees!”
We don’t always think about it, but ethnic festivals offer us an opportunity to eat [...]