224 Cox Ridge Road, Claudville, Virginia 24076 melanie@peacefulheartfarm.com

Farm News, Herd Share Pickups, Market Info: 9/30/2021

by | Newsletter

Hello beautiful peeps,

I know I missed last week. Sorry about that. Life is very hectic these days. I’m stilling canning something every week. This week it was spiced pear jam. I love this stuff. I learned it from my mother. A nice subtle blend of ginger do not overwhelm the cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s fabulous if I do say so myself.  

INDEPENDENCE MARKET: No word yet on my place for tomorrow. No doubt I will be in a similar location. This is the second to last market. After October 8th I will be switching to Wednesday. That is to support the online market and Herd Share Pickups will also happen on Wednesdays. Also, I will be there for both Christmas Markets. I don’t have those dates right at hand but will keep you informed. 

HOMESTEAD UPDATES

Sheep and Mack

The vet was out to preg check the cows and we had her look at the sheep as well. It was as good thing. That growth on the ewe was really big and gross. She fixed her right up and that ewe is nearly healed. Lambert, the ram was a different story. He was having problems with his hooves. She checked that out and recommended we give him foot baths. We did that two of three times. Actually all of the sheep got the foot baths, just in case.

We also took time to worm them all. It has been several years since we had to use a chemical wormer. However, the stress of the coyotes and dog attacks must have weakened their systems. All had some worm load and Lambert was in really bad shape. He is still weak. Hopefully, he will turn the corner soon and be back to normal. The worms made him extremely anemic. We don’t like to use chemicals, but there are times when the life of the animal depends on it. This was one of those times. 

Cows 

The vet has preg checked all the girls and we had mixed results. Six were artificially inseminated and three are pregnant. A fourth, Cloud, was pregnant but miscarried. The vet said not to worry. If it was a late-term abortion there could be a problem. But early on it is common to abort if the fetus is in the least compromised.

Buttercup got some pain meds for her injured leg. She is not pregnant and is going to need to be replaced. The vet says she is overweight and as she ages it is less and less Likely that she will conceive. At this point she is already 11. Cows begin to wind down after 10 or so years, though they can continue to have calves past 15. It depends on the cow.

Claire, Butter and Luna were all positive for pregnancy. Everyone is healthy at the moment and we look forward to the spring births. We don’t milk through the winter. The cows need a break to make calves and we need a break from milking everyday, seven days a week. However, we are considering breeding Rosie for a fall birth next year. She did not take this time round and perhaps we will try what is called calf sharing with her next fall.

Calf sharing is when the calf gets to drink milk all day. Then we separate them (they can still touch noses but no nursing) overnight. In the morning, we get the milk and put them back together again for the day. It’s a lot more management but we may try it as an experiment. As long as the calf is nursing, we can even take a few days off and not milk at all. The calf will get all the milk, day and night.   

Quail

Remember last time I was saying we had the the quail eggs. They will be hatching on Saturday. I’m excited as usual to have babies again. It is a little late in the season. The weather is much cooler. However, these birds are hardy and will be fully feathered after two weeks and completely capable of handling the cold.

We are starting to get lots of eggs. We get the normal amount from the breeding crew but are now getting eggs from the group in the penthouses. We will be keeping as many as 20 hens from that group. So lots of eggs are coming. When the babies from the current incubator set are two weeks old, we will have to rearrange everything. I have no idea how that will look. It depends on how many chicks hatch on Saturday.

Creamery and Scott’s Other Stuff

Scott radiation treatments are going well. He is starting experience side effects. The doctors warned him about all of this and there are various treatments to assist him throughout the process. He usually takes a nap every day. We are about two and a half weeks into the process. All is going as planned.

Scott has determined that he needs to put up some waterproof panels in the milk room. The are held in place with glue. He needs to get them installed before the weather gets too cold for the glue to hold well. Also, he noted that before putting in conduit, there are some walls that need to be painted. That also needs to happen before it gets too cold.  

The electric plans are forming in Scott’s mind. He is watching lots of YouTube videos and making plans. Over the winter we hope to make significant progress there. We shall see. 

Garden

My garden is finishing up. The peppers revived with the rain we got. However, I am so done with peppers. They are actually blooming again. This is typical for peppers. They are a perennial plant in Mexico. Here they just keep going until the frost takes them. I have a 5-gallon bucket full of pepperoncini peppers. That is a task for next week. More pickled pepperoncini. Anybody need that special Christmas gift for the person who has everything? I have lots of pickled pepperoncini to help you out!!

The basil is still waiting for me to cut it and hang it to dry. The parsley also needs to be harvested and dried. It really took off again after the rains. The oregano and thyme are in my strawberry patch. I will want to cut some of that and dry it. Herbs dried at the end of the year are wonderful for restocking my spice jars.

That freezer full of tomatoes is still waiting on me. .

That’s it for farm news. Now on to the farmer’s market update. 

INDEPENDENCE AND WYTHEVILLE FARMER’S MARKETS

I will be at the Independence Farmer’s Market on Friday 9 – 1 and at the Wytheville Farmer’s Market on Saturday 8 – 12.

ITEMS OF NOTE AT THIS WEEK’S MARKETS: Mild and Medium Hot Salsa in pint jars, sweet and sour pepper relish (also in pint jars), and the spiced pear jam I mentioned above. And I have pickled quail eggs in 1/2 pint jars.

I still some have apple pie filling, peach pie filling and blueberry pie filling. A deep dish pie requires 48 oz of filling. I’ve got you covered. Two 24 oz jars or a quart and pint jar.

The pickled pepperoncinis are in pint jars. I have a variety with red pepper if you like a bit of spice. And there is one jar of pickled banana peppers. Those are great on sandwiches (think Subway).

As far as jam, I have pepper jam in 1/2 pints. I also have strawberry jam and apple pie jam in pint jars. Again, these are great Christmas gifts. 

I will have quail eggs by the dozen and quail meat in 1 lb packages.

We have ground goat (approx 1 lb), grass-fed ground beef (approx 1 lb) and ground lamb (approx 1 lb). I also have a very limited amount of lamb cuts. Loin chops, rib chops, stew/kabob meat and two lovely petit legs.

Herd Shares

Herd Share Peeps, no word yet on my location at the Independence market. I shouldn’t be too hard to find 🙂 — look for me in any of my previous places.

I’ll see you in my usual location at the Wytheville Farmers’ Market.

Add on as you desire. Yogurt, milk and all cheeses and butter are at your service. Looking forward to seeing you on Friday, Saturday and/or Tuesday. 

You can pickup at the Independence Market on Fridays between 9 am and 1pm, the Wytheville Market on Saturdays between 8:00 am and 12:00 noon, at the farm Saturdays 3 pm to 5 pm or Tuesdays 10:00 am to noon. Email me to let me know if you want anything extra this time. 

I still have raw milk cheese shares and a couple of milk shares available. Contact me via email (melanie@peacefulheartfarm.com) or phone (276-694-4369).

Please go HERE to learn all about Herd Shares.

Let’s Get Together

As always, we love meeting you in person.  You can find us at the Wytheville Farmers Market on Saturday from 8:00 am to Noon. We are at Independence Farmers’ Market on Fridays from 9:00 am to 1 pm.  

As always, you may visit us at our dairy farm in Claudville, Virginia Tuesdays from 10 am to 12 noon and Saturday afternoons from 3 pm to 5 pm. Find out how we raise our animals and why you will love the taste of tradition that is inherent in all of our products. Herd share holders will be able to see up close how their cows are cared for and the cheese operation and where it is stored. 

Peaceful Heart FarmCast

In this week’s podcast I’m giving you details on getting the two cows to freezer camp. It was quite the fiasco with the neighbors calling at 9:15 at night for us to come and get them out of their yard. “Homestead Update and Health Update” also has more information about Scott and I as we journey through cancer treatment.  

Free Downloads

I want to follow up on my previous FarmCast, The Taste of Cheese where I talked about developing your expertise with using descriptive words. The FREE downloads of Classifying Cheese by Type and Category and Expand Your Cheese Vocabulary are still available at our website. Please stop by and get your FREE resources. 

You can LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE. Or, if you have an Alexa device, just say: “Alexa, play podcast Peaceful Heart FarmCast.”

And don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to the Peaceful Heart Farm podcast on Apple Podcasts, Android, TuneIn, Stitcher or Spotify

Homestead Update and Health Update

by | Farm Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 26:48 — 18.4MB) | Embed

It has been a while so how about a homestead update and health update. I republished a couple of podcasts. I hope you got a chance to listen for the first time or relisten if you were interested in the topic of cheese.

It’s going to be close, but I think I can get this podcast published today. Let’s hope all goes well and I am able to accomplish it. If it doesn’t, I am likely to abandon the effort for another week. My life is topsy-turvy and I only have so much time each day to take care of any given task. When things don’t go well, they get pushed to the next day. It’s my method of reducing stress. Let’s pause a moment.

I want to take a minute and say welcome to all the new listeners and welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving regulars who stop by the FarmCast for every episode. Thank you for hanging in there with me. I appreciate you all so much. Let’s have a homestead update and then a little info on the status of our health here at Peaceful Heart Farm

Our Virginia Homestead Life Updates

The cows are coming up first.

Cows

Last night at about 9:15 we got a call from the neighbors across the street. Two of our cows were in their yard. Who could they be? There were two groups of cows with two animals. I knew it was most likely the two that were scheduled for freezer camp this morning. Sure enough, those two guys were out there wreaking havoc in the neighbor’s yard and trying to get into the pasture with their cows.

It was a little harrowing to be trying to work with two very large boys in the dark. However, all of our cows are fairly docile. They were upset and confused of course. I believe that I’ve mentioned before that a cow does not like anything out of the ordinary. They want things to be the same all the time. Routine, routine, routine. So needless to say, everything about this situation was out of the ordinary.

Perrin is Secured

Nearby, just 20 or 30 feet down the driveway, was a gate to a paddock. Scott opened that gate and Perrin almost immediately went inside. Rocketman was a different story. He went back and forth in front of that gate at least three or four times, never venturing inside. Finally, he started down the driveway and Scott herded him that way and away from the neighbor’s cows. I followed with the car. Of course, once we got him down the driveway the next challenge was finding a way to get him into a pasture.

Scott chased him up and down one fence a couple of times. I opened up a couple of gates. One was a gate back to where he escaped. The other was into the field with our nursery girls. It was a little risky letting him in there, but we needed some way to get him into some fence somewhere. Once he was back inside our perimeter fence, there were many options as to how to move forward.

Rocketman is Secured

Rocketman eagerly went through the very wide-open gate into the pasture with the girls. The girls themselves were way out in the field. We needed to get him contained before he joined with them. That would be a disaster if we had to single him out from that crowd in the dark. Scott quickly contained the girls in paddock number one. Perrin was in paddock number two. And Rocketman was in the travel lane that joins with all paddocks.

The goal was to isolate both boys in the small holding area just inside the gate I opened for Rocketman. He had already walked most of the way down the travel lane toward the other paddocks. Scott met him coming the other way while herding Perrin down the travel lane toward the holding area. I was over in paddock number four which runs directly alongside the travel lane. I wanted to be close but not in the travel lane. That would have just confused everything and possibly herded them back out into the field in an attempt to get away from me.

Chasing Cows Around Paddock Four

Now for the next debacle. There are two gates at the bottom of a hollow. One opens into paddock four where I am and one opens or closes the travel lane where Scott and the boys are walking. I’m a little way up the hill in paddock four, just monitoring how they are moving. Everything looks Ok. Scott is coming down the travel lane headed toward the holding area. I just happened to mention that the gate into paddock four is open and they might come in there instead of continuing up the hill into the holding area. And you know what? That is exactly what they did. Now we are reduced to chasing them around paddock four, still trying to get them to go back through the gate and up to the small holding area.

All Ends Well

At some point I went down and closed the gate to the travel lane. No sense in letting them run back up that way. Now all we needed to do is get them to go through the other open gate out of paddock four and into the holding area. Somewhere along the way in this process, I noticed that part of the problem we were having is that they would go wherever the light was shining. Our headlamps and flashlights were actually confusing them. As Scott brought them back down the hill for the third or fourth time, I had just finished latching that travel lane gate. I shined my flashlight in the exact place I wanted them to go. It worked. Right through the gate they went. The travel lane gate was closed and now the gate into paddock four could be closed.

Whew what a trip. It lasted about 45 minutes. Shortly after 10 o’clock we were back inside and grateful for it.

The Girls

The girls continued to happily exist up in paddock number one until the next morning. After loading the boys into the trailer, he opened the paddock gate allowing the girls access to the pond for water and cooling baths.

Last week we had our vet and AI tech out checking to see who is and is not pregnant. There was good news and bad news. Three are pregnant and three are not. We are going to roll with that for the spring.

Buttercup

The vet gave us health information on the entire herd. Buttercup did not conceive. This is two years in a row. The vet talked to us about her weight. Too much fat is not a good thing, especially in an aging cow. I won’t go into the details, but her opinion was that, not only had she not conceived, but it was going to be harder and harder for her to conceive as she ages more. She will need to be replaced.

Cloud

Cloud was pregnant but miscarried. The vet was not too concerned about this. A late term spontaneous abortion would be a different story. But aborting early in the process is not so uncommon. We decided against trying to start over with any of our girls. Cloud is also marked to be replaced. Not because of her miscarriage, but because she kicks so much that we cannot milk her. Due to her strong angus genetics, she is also not really ideal as a milk cow. She simply does not produce as much milk as the others. Not by a long shot.

Claire

Claire appears to be pregnant but the vet could not 100% confirm it. She did mark her as pregnant but noted that she could not move the uterus to a position where she could know for sure. However, the fact that she could not move it was a good indication that Claire is pregnant. We shall see. Claire is also marked for replacement as she is getting on in years and is prone to mastitis. Her udder is in bad shape. She produces enough milk for her calf and not much more.

Luna

Now on to one we will keep for a little while, though we may offer her up to anyone looking for a family cow. Luna is pregnant. She is a heifer which means this will be her first calf. We do not expect her to produce lots and lots and lots of milk. Her mom is Cloud and Luna exhibits a lot of the angus coloring traits. We don’t really know how much milk she will produce, but it is likely that it will be substandard for what we are looking for in a milk cow. However, it may be perfect for someone looking for a little milk for their family and a good beef calf every year. We shall see. At this point, her fate is still up in the air.

Violet

Just a brief note on Violet. She did not make it into the rotation for artificial insemination. And we did not expose her to the bull. She is not pregnant and will remain open for the coming spring birthing season. In June next year, she will make it back into the breeding rotation. Violet has really good Normande breeding genetics. She has the BB kappa casein genetic trait that we want for cheesemaking. I asked about her weight and the vet said that even though her belly is really big and round, she is not overweight near her ovaries and therefore does not have Buttercup’s issue with weight. She’s a keeper for now.

The Jerseys, Butter and Rosie

Now on to the Jersey girls. Butter is a champ. She is pregnant and looking good. No issues there. Rosie, on the other hand, is not pregnant. The vet had already warned me that this was the most likely issue with a heifer having a calf when she was so very young. Getting pregnant again might take a little time.

Scott and I were just discussing this morning that we might want to have one cow that gives birth in the fall so we have some milk year-round. Right now, we dry them up in November and have no fresh milk products until March or April the following year. Rosie might be an ideal candidate for a fall delivery. We shall see. There are still a couple of months ahead of us before we would need to make that decision.

Special Cheeses

Any cow that gave birth in the fall would be completely out of the rotation for making cheese. Do we really want to give up that milk? It’s still under consideration. It would be nice to have a very small amount of milk to make cream cheese and yogurt throughout the winter. And perhaps a bit of camembert, reblochon or other cheese that we might make in smaller quantities for personal use.

Calf Sharing

If we decide to do that, we would do what is known as calf sharing. That means the calf stays with mom. Anytime we want to have milk, we simply separate them overnight and milk in the morning. For any of you thinking about having your own milk cow, this offers tremendous freedom. Normally, cows get milked twice a day. But if you are calf sharing, the calf takes care of the milk during the day. Overnight mom makes lots of milk and we get to keep that part. The calf rejoins mom and gets all of the luscious milk throughout the day. As I mentioned earlier, even Luna would produce enough milk to make this work. And if the day comes when you don’t want to milk at all on any given day, just leave calf and mom together for the entire day and night. It’s a win-win situation. The calf really appreciates the extra juice and the homesteader gets a break from milking every single day, seven days a week.

Well, that was a lot of cow updates. On to the sheep. I won’t be as long-winded here I promise.

Sheep and Mack

Mack is doing a good job of protecting the few sheep that we have left in the flock. We had one ewe that had an abscess on her chest. The vet drained it and gave us instructions on how to care for it. She is nearly healed already. Lambert, the ram had deeper issues. We don’t really know the cause but he had some pretty severe hoof issues. The vet seemed to think it was perhaps related to running around trying to get away from predators that precipitated this issue. His feet were really sore. She tried trimming his hooves but there wasn’t really much there. We treated all of the sheep for hoof scald and hoof rot. This is a problem that we are aware of but have never encountered. It usually happens when their hooves are not in top shape and they are exposed to a lot of water. And it appears, that lots of stress on the hooves can caused problems.

Worms Again?

In addition to the hoof problem, Lambert also had an enormous worm load. He had lost lots and lots of weight. He is still actually quite weak. The worms suck the blood out via the stomach. The animal becomes very anemic. It does take some time to heal. Hopefully, Lambert will turn the corner soon and regain his weight and strength. He was pretty far gone and his health is still up in the air.

The remaining two seems to be in relatively good shape. We wormed all of them just to be sure. Lambert’s worm overload was also likely precipitated by the enormous amount of stress they all endured during the predator attacks. Stress can weaken their systems enough to give the worms the window of opportunity they need to begin to multiplying uncontrollably.

It has been a good long time since we had any issues with worms and we may have been a little lax. Going forward we will be keeping a closer eye on these guys. Hopefully, they will all stay relaxed and continue to live peacefully on the homestead.

We are also still looking to add a few more ewes to the flock soon. Rebuilding will take some time and we want to get started on that process. Two more dogs are lined up to help us out as we rebuild from the disastrous spring and summer. More on that later.

Personal Health Update

Before closing today I’ll give a brief health update for both Scott and myself. Scott is doing very well with treatment. He is two and a half weeks into seven weeks of radiation treatment. No chemo, thank the Lord. He drives an hour each way to receive the treatment, Monday through Friday. I will be accompanying him in the coming days.

He is managing the treatment very well. A sore throat makes it more and more difficult to eat. There are lots of treatments to help with that as well. Taking daily naps is a way of life for him. Sometimes for a couple of hours, but yesterday for only a half hour. We are still fairly early on in the treatment so we will see how he progresses.

Treatment Side Effects

At this point in the treatment, the worst side effects start to manifest. I already mentioned the difficulty in getting food down due to the pain in his throat. Add to this that his taste will change. Doctors have let him know that everything will begin to taste horrible. Their experience has shown that the taste issue will continue for a month or two or even more past the time when the treatments are complete. As you can imagine, this adds insult to injury. He already has trouble swallowing. How much worse will it be when he has to force himself to even put anything into his mouth?

Scott is a trooper. He is a stoic individual. I fully expect he will plow through this just like he does any other issue that presents itself to his world. I am here to support him in any way that I can.

My Health

My state of health is stable. That is the best way I can describe it. The time prior to the treatment starting was more stressful. I can say that at this point. Who knows what the future will hold? I could be off-the-scale stressed next week. The uncertainty of what the future would hold, one appointment after another in preparation for treatment and my own insecurity about whether I was mentally and emotionally up to the task of caring for Scott was wreaking havoc on my normal schedule and making me a little cray-cray. Now that we are settled into a routine, I am handling it much better. I feel much more relaxed and confident in my ability to respond to Scott’s needs as they arise.

We are blessed to have all of you praying for us. Thank you so much. Please continue to pray for us and we will pray for you.

Final Thoughts

That’s it for today’s podcast. I know the cow updates were long and perhaps too detailed. I didn’t even get to the quail. Well, too late now. I need to get this podcast published and then on to the evening chores. It’s time to wake Scott up from his nap so he can start on his evening routine. The regularity of routine is a life saver when your life is topsy-turvy.

Again, thank you so much for your prayers.

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Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

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Farm News, Herd Share Pickups, Market Info: 9/16/2021

by | Newsletter

Hello beautiful peeps,

We are doing well and hope you are as well. I’m getting lots of things done these days. I still have a long way to go but this week I canned pepper relish, salsa, and cream. It seems like there was something else I canned this week but I am not recalling at the moment. I still have a freezer full of tomatoes. I’ll be canning lots of salsa in the coming weeks. I’m also looking to make some spiced pear jam. It was a favorite recipe of my mother and we loved it as kids. I can’t wait to pass it on to all of you.  

INDEPENDENCE MARKET CHANGES: I’m still waiting to find out my place for tomorrow. Perhaps I will be in the same place three weeks in a row. We shall see. On another note, we have just 4 more markets including tomorrow before closing for the season. The last outdoor market will be October 8th. I will be moving my products to the online market just ahead of that. Herd share folks, I will continue to meet you in the same general area even though there will be no other vendors. 

Sheep and Mack

I was wrong about the sheep with a growth. It is not really a growth. It looks more like a bag of accumulated fluid. The vet should be here tomorrow to drain it and give us her opinion on what is going on there. Everyone is still hanging in there. Coyotes just showed up on the game cameras — again. I’m sure Mack has this under control.

Cows 

When the vet comes tomorrow another of her tasks will be preg checks on all the girls. I’m so excited to find out who is and is not pregnant this go round.

Buttercup has injured one of her back legs. Likely she got it stuck in the mud by the pond and sprained it while pulling it out. Goodness knows I have trouble keeping my boots on when I walk back there. The mud sucks onto the boot and out comes my foot while the boot stays firmly stuck in the mud. I carry a walking stick to lean on to keep from falling face first into the mud. Anyway, the vet will take a look at Buttercup’s leg as well.

The rest of the crowd are doing very well. The steers are really growing. I’m amazed at how much they’ve grown. Princess was born first but is smaller. She is a Jersey and the others are Normande. The size difference is to be expected. Still Princess is nearly as tall as her mom, Rosie. Remember Rosie was very young when she had Princess and therefore quite small. She still hasn’t grown much. She may always be small. The early pregnancy may have stunted her growth. We shall see. Violet had a calf nearly as young as Rosie and she turned out to be quite large. She is so large that I call her fatso. Being a cow she doesn’t take offense. She likes being big and round.   

Quail

Last time I was Debbie Downer about not getting the new genetic stock for raising quail. Just goes to show you, patience is a virtue. I got a notification on Monday that the eggs were on the way. We got them yesterday and I immediately put them into the incubator. That thing is humming along nicely right now. A little over two weeks from now we will once again begin hearing the cute peeping sound.

I’m looking for the first eggs from the youngest group currently hanging out up there in the penthouse. Over the next few weeks we will be inundated with eggs. I’ll be making lots of pickled eggs. Look for them at the market. I’ll be bringing some pickled eggs to the market from earlier in the year.

Creamery and Scott’s Other Stuff

Scott has started his daily radiation treatments. All is going well. He is getting into the routine. It is an hour each way to drive into Winston Salem. Besides the time cost there is the cost of gasoline. We never paid much attention to our personal use of gas, only the business side. It was eye opening. We are estimating this additional cost to be about $100 per week. In the old days — the days before we stopped working for someone else — we never gave a second thought to the amount of gas we went through driving back and forth to coastal South Carolina. These are the seasons of our lives.

The electric plans are about to be put down on paper. Scott was talking about it just this morning. He is ready to make those drawings. I can’t wait to see his artistry with this task. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned the beautiful structural drawings he created. Over and over again he drew out on paper the plans for the barn, milking parlor, creamery and commercial kitchen. He’s really very good at it. The detail is exquisite. 

Garden

My poor garden is drying up. We haven’t had any rain for weeks. The pepper plants are starting to droop. I’m not too concerned with because I’m so done with peppers.

The basil has gone to seed. It is past time to cut those down and hang them up to dry. I’ve also got some parsley that needs to be cut and dried.

That freezer full of tomatoes is still waiting on me. I cleaned out a lot of the onions and green peppers to make the salsa and pepper relish. But those tomatoes are still sitting there. Currently I’m using fresh tomatoes from the stash I still have on the ripening shelves in front of the windows next to the wood stove. I’ll need to make another batch of salsa with those before getting into the freezer.

Scott cleaned the tomato plants though they haven’t made it to the compost pile. There are piles of tomato plants in between the raised beds. The only other thing to be left growing in the garden is the crowder peas. They put on a bumper crop and it will be a couple of weeks for all of those pods to mature.

That’s it for farm news. Now on to the farmer’s market update. 

Independence and Wytheville Farmer’s Markets

I will be at the Independence Farmer’s Market on Friday 9 – 1 and at the Wytheville Farmer’s Market on Saturday 8 – 12.

NEW ADDITIONS TO THIS WEEK’S MARKETS: Medium Hot Salsa in pint jars and sweet and sour pepper relish, also in pint jars. And finally, I have pickled quail eggs in 1/2 pint jars. There are three flavors; curry, sweet & sour and pickling spice blend.

I have apple pie filling, peach pie filling and blueberry pie filling. A deep dish pie requires 48 oz of filling. I’ve got you covered. Two 24 oz jars or a quart and pint jar.

I’ll have the pickled pepperoncinis in pint jars and a couple of jars of pickled banana peppers.

As far as jam, I have pepper jam in 1/2 pints. I also have strawberry jam and apple pie jam in pint jars. 

I will have a couple of dozen quail eggs and definitely will have quail meat in 1 lb packages.

We have ground goat (approx 1 lb), grass-fed ground beef (approx 1 lb) and ground lamb (approx 1 lb). I also have a very limited amount of lamb cuts. Loin chops, rib chops, stew/kabob meat and two lovely petit legs.

Herd Shares

Herd Share Peeps, my location at the Independence market is still unknown, but I will be there — somewhere close by some of my previous places I’m sure.

I’ll see you in my usual location at the Wytheville Farmers’ Market.

Add on as you desire. Yogurt, milk and all cheeses and butter are at your service. Looking forward to seeing you on Friday, Saturday and/or Tuesday. 

You can pickup at the Independence Market on Fridays between 9 am and 1pm, the Wytheville Market on Saturdays between 8:00 am and 12:00 noon, at the farm Saturdays 3 pm to 5 pm or Tuesdays 10:00 am to noon. Email me to let me know if you want anything extra this time. 

I still have new raw milk cheese shares and a couple of milk shares available. Contact me via email (melanie@peacefulheartfarm.com) or phone (276-694-4369).

Please go HERE to learn all about Herd Shares.

Let’s Get Together

As always, we love meeting you in person.  You can find us at the Wytheville Farmers Market on Saturday from 8:00 am to Noon. We are at Independence Farmers’ Market on Fridays from 9:00 am to 1 pm.  

As always, you may visit us at our dairy farm in Claudville, Virginia Tuesdays from 10 am to 12 noon and Saturday afternoons from 3 pm to 5 pm. Find out how we raise our animals and why you will love the taste of tradition that is inherent in all of our products. Herd share holders will be able to see up close how their cows are cared for and the cheese operation and where it is stored. 

Peaceful Heart FarmCast

In this week’s podcast I’m re-running a previous podcast I did a couple of years ago. “Cheese Makes You Happy” is all about the brain science surrounding cheese. And yes, it can affect your mood. It is a fascinating look at how this age-old food helps maintain the brain.  

Free Downloads

I want to follow up on my previous FarmCast, The Taste of Cheese where I talked about developing your expertise with using descriptive words. The FREE downloads of Classifying Cheese by Type and Category and Expand Your Cheese Vocabulary are still available at our website. Please stop by and get your FREE resources. 

You can LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE. Or, if you have an Alexa device, just say: “Alexa, play podcast Peaceful Heart FarmCast.”

And don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to the Peaceful Heart Farm podcast on Apple Podcasts, Android, TuneIn, Stitcher or Spotify

Farm News, Herd Share Pickups, Market Info: 9/9/2021

by | Newsletter

Hello beautiful peeps,

We are doing well and hope you are as well. I’m still lost when it comes to time. I’m trying to review my week and determine what I have and have not experienced in the last 7 days. There have been more doctor’s appointments. All of that went well. Tasks on the farm keep getting done. I spent most of the day canning peppers and getting ready to can salsa. Scott has been out and about around the farm, still bush hogging the fields. We have 14 paddocks that need to be maintained. He spends a lot of time in the summer bouncing around on the tractor. 

INDEPENDENCE MARKET CHANGES: I’m not sure where I will be in the market arrangement tomorrow. My thought is that I will be in the same place as last week. We shall see. 

Sheep

Scott talked to the vet today. One of the sheep has a very large growth of some kind protruding out from the brisket area and upward. The vet will be here next week for lots of animal care. She was not too concerned about it. Per her experience, she indicated that most of the time it doesn’t bother the animal and is not usually dangerous. It may drain on its own or we may lance it and drain it manually. In any case, I’m glad she will be here soon to take a look at it. 

Another of several tasks she will be doing for us is getting Mack up-to-date on his heartworm meds and a booster shot for something I’m not recalling right now. Maybe rabies? Scott knows what it is but he is not here at the moment.

Cows 

Scott is introducing Mack to the milking girls. Butter does not like or trust him. Whenever she sees him, she lowers her head and acts like she is going to charge. Scott stays between the two of them. Mack does not seem too concerned. He is often distracted by various sounds and smells. Violet just stands there looking at him, completely unconcerned.   

Quail

Well it looks like we are not going to get our new genetic stock. I put in an order, but have not heard anything about when these eggs will be shipped. It is late in the season to get fertile eggs. As the amount of sunlight decreases, the fertility of the quail also decreases. Likely when we do hear from the shipper it will be to say that they do not have any fertile quail eggs available for shipping. Well, there is always next year.

In the next couple of weeks, the newest crop of birds will begin laying eggs. In the end, we may have as many as 35 quail eggs daily. I will begin to make pickled quail eggs again. That is always fun and they look so cute in the jars. Scott loves them.

Creamery and Scott’s Other Stuff

Scott mentioned today that he want to complete all of the bush hogging so he can get back on track with the electrical plans for the creamery. When I look at his computer screen, there is always one video or another on something electrical that is queued up and waiting for him. 

Garden

We are winding down the garden. There will be no fall garden. We didn’t have one last year either. There is just too much to do with harvesting and preserving what we already have stored all over the place.

I have an entire freezer full of tomatoes. If you have visited me at the Wytheville market, it is a freezer the size of the one I have there. I think it is nine cubic feet. There are some frozen peppers and onions in there as well. All of that is going to come together into salsa. I’ll be canning and canning and canning until I run out of tomatoes.

Scott and I will be cleaning up the remains of the tomato plants and adding them to the compost pile. A few days ago, we picked all of the green tomatoes. We are done with growing tomatoes for this year. 

I still need to cut the basil and hang it up to dry. I also have some parsley out there that will need to be cut and dried. I love my fresh herbs. In addition to those herbs, I will also cut some oregano and thyme. There is so much available  I don’t have to worry about running out. I will toss last year’s dried herbs onto the compost pile and replace them with fresh stuff. The smell is always so amazing. These days, I always have robust dried herbs. Let me know if you are interested in having some wonderful freshly dried culinary herbs. I’m hoping to package some up for the market as well. It’s hard to say when I can fit that into my preserving schedule.

That’s it for farm news. Now on to the farmer’s market update. 

Independence and Wytheville Farmer’s Markets

I will be at the Independence Farmer’s Market on Friday 9 – 1 and at the Wytheville Farmer’s Market on Saturday 8 – 12.

I have apple pie filling, peach pie filling and blueberry pie filling. A deep dish pie requires 48 oz of filling. I’ve got you covered. Two 24 oz jars or a quart and pint jar.

I’ll have the pickled pepperoncinis in pint jars and a few jars of pickled banana peppers.

I’m out of blueberry and blackberry jam but have lots of really fine pepper jam. I also have strawberry jam in pint jars. 

I will have a couple of dozen quail eggs and definitely will have quail meat in 1 lb packages.

We have ground goat (approx 1 lb), grass-fed ground beef (approx 1 lb) and ground lamb (approx 1 lb). I also have a very limited amount of lamb cuts. Loin chops, rib chops, stew/kabob meat and two lovely petit legs.

Herd Shares

Herd Share Peeps, my location at the Independence market is still unknown, but I will be there — somewhere close by some of my previous places I’m sure.

I’ll see you in my usual location at the Wytheville Farmers’ Market.

Add on as you desire. Yogurt, milk and all cheeses and butter are at your service. Looking forward to seeing you on Friday, Saturday and/or Tuesday. 

You can pickup at the Independence Market on Fridays between 9 am and 1pm, the Wytheville Market on Saturdays between 8:00 am and 12:00 noon, at the farm Saturdays 3 pm to 5 pm or Tuesdays 10:00 am to noon. Email me to let me know if you want anything extra this time. 

I still have new raw milk cheese shares and a couple of milk shares available. Contact me via email (melanie@peacefulheartfarm.com) or phone (276-694-4369).

Please go HERE to learn all about Herd Shares.

Let’s Get Together

As always, we love meeting you in person.  You can find us at the Wytheville Farmers Market on Saturday from 8:00 am to Noon. We are at Independence Farmers’ Market on Fridays from 9:00 am to 1 pm.  

As always, you may visit us at our dairy farm in Claudville, Virginia Tuesdays from 10 am to 12 noon and Saturday afternoons from 3 pm to 5 pm. Find out how we raise our animals and why you will love the taste of tradition that is inherent in all of our products. Herd share holders will be able to see up close how their cows are cared for and the cheese operation and where it is stored. 

Peaceful Heart FarmCast

In this week’s podcast I’m re-running a previous podcast I did a couple of years ago. “Cheese Makes You Happy” is all about the brain science surrounding cheese. And yes, it can affect your mood. It is a fascinating look at how this age-old food helps maintain the brain.  

Free Downloads

I want to follow up on my previous FarmCast, The Taste of Cheese where I talked about developing your expertise with using descriptive words. The FREE downloads of Classifying Cheese by Type and Category and Expand Your Cheese Vocabulary are still available at our website. Please stop by and get your FREE resources. 

You can LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE. Or, if you have an Alexa device, just say: “Alexa, play podcast Peaceful Heart FarmCast.”

And don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to the Peaceful Heart Farm podcast on Apple Podcasts, Android, TuneIn, Stitcher or Spotify

Cheese Makes You Happy

by | Newsletter

Podcast: Download (Duration: 31:53 — 22.5MB) | Embed

How Cheese Makes You Happy!

Today’s Show

  • Homestead Life Updates
  • Cheese and Nutrition
    • Nutritional content
    • Cheese tastes good
    • Facts about fat content
    • Lactose intolerance
    • Why cheese makes people happy
  • Cheese Fondue Recipe

Homestead Life Updates

Scott is working hard on getting the creamery built. Every day that does not bring adverse weather sees him out there building the walls. There are also lots of other odds and ends and details he adds in there that breaks up the monotony. I’m am so blessed to have such a wonderful life here with him. Our life has purpose and meaning as we both work hard to bring you the benefits of traditional hand-made artisan cheese.

The winter drags on. Seems like a long one this year doesn’t it? Every year winter is the same 13 weeks on the calendar but the weather conditions during that period of time alters our perception of time, I think.

There is a common winter ailment called seasonal affective disorder. I’m sure some of you know of what I speak. It’s a type of depression that’s related to changes in the seasons. Symptoms can begin as early as the fall and continue into the winter months. Occasionally, SAD causes depression into the spring or early summer, but that is rarer. Spring usually brings a rush of relief.

I experience SAD every year. This year is different. I’ve significantly changed my diet and it shows. While I can still feel the effects of this winter season, it is muted compared to previous years. I feel kind of heavy sometimes; slightly weighted down by life in general.

As an aside, I generally just suffer through it. However, there are things you can do. Light therapy or phototherapy is the most common treatment. Some schools of thought attribute the issue to reduced vitamin D from the sun as there is less light due to the length of the day. More severe cases may require medication or psychotherapy.

The symptoms may start as a minor issue such as having trouble sleeping or a general loss of interest in doing anything. Low energy, feeling sluggish or maybe agitated for no reason. As the season progresses, the symptoms get worse and worse. In the past it has seemed overwhelming to me. And then, poof, spring arrives and it all evaporates like mist.

Let’s talk about how cheese might help with that. Did you know that cheese has nutritional properties that stimulate our happy hormones? First, let’s cover the basic nutrition in cheese.

Cheese and Nutrition

Cheese is a delicious and tremendously efficient source of nutrition. It supplies many valuable nutrients, including proteins, sugars, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. A 4-ounce piece of solid farmhouse cheese, for example, supplies more than half the adult nutritional requirements for protein, fat, calcium, and phosphorus as well as significant portions of vitamins A, B2, and B12. If you compare the nutritional content of a 3.5-ounce chunk of a hard, aged cheese such as Cheddar or Emmental to an equivalent amount of chicken eggs (two eggs are about 3.5 ounces), the cheese contains about twice as much protein and one quarter the cholesterol.

The miracle of evolution has ensured that milk is an extremely nutritious food. After all, without it how would mothers, down through the eons, have guaranteed the survival of their babies? Cheese concentrates the nutrients in milk. It’s a highly efficient method of getting vital nutrients for our bodies.

Another advantage to cheese is that its nutrients are “predigested” by bacteria and enzymes during cheesemaking and aging. That means the process of breaking down the proteins, fats, and sugars began before it was savored on our palette and began the journey to our tummy.

Plants in the pasture have absorbed nutrients from the soil; the dairy animals have extracted those nutrients, packaging them in the form of milk. That’s another place that a lot of gathering nutrients has already been done for you. Your body has to devote less effort to processing cheese than it does with many other comparably nutritious foods.

Cheese Tastes Good

Cheese tastes good and satisfies us. A big reason for that is the fat. There are beneficial fats available in milk. Many of them work as antioxidants and also provide fat-soluble vitamins good for our skin and other organs. In cheese, milk fats undergo lipolysis, which breaks them down into more easily absorbed and beneficial fatty acids, some of which in turn enable us to metabolize the fats from other foods.

CLA

Cheeses, especially those made from the milk of grass-fed animals, are a good source of conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, a highly beneficial nutrient. In small studies involving animals, CLA has been shown to prevent heart disease and several types of cancer. It also appears to enhance the immune system. CLA is considered a fat-reducing fat. You heard that right. There are studies on this. Let me give you some info from one study. I’ll put a link in the show notes.

Jean-Michel Gaullier, PhD with the Scandinavian Clinical Research Group did the study. It was a relatively small number of participants. 180 men and women were followed for a year. A third got a typical off-the-shelf pill of 80% CLA. Another third got a 76% CLA syrup formula, disguised in a capsule. The last third took a placebo capsule of olive oil.

No one had to change their diet or exercise habits. All reduced their calorie intake a little bit during the study. Likely that was due to tracking with a food diary. That can really wake you up to what you are actually consuming. As far as exercise, all got about the same amount.

The results were:

  • Both CLA groups lost weight – about 4 pounds; the placebo group stayed the same.
  • The CLA syrup group had a 9% body fat loss; the CLA pill group had 7% body fat loss; the placebo group had no body fat loss.
  • Both CLA groups had similar improvements in muscle mass.

Good news ay? Losing weight was good, but I found the conversion of fat to muscle mass to be the most interesting to me.

CLA is found naturally in beef, lamb, goat and dairy products.

Facts About Fat Content

Because cheese contains fat, naturally, it raises concerns. There are some valid concerns there. Not for the fat, but for the calories. A little bit of cheese goes a long way. Real cheese delivers a lot of nutritional bang for your buck and a lot of caloric bang for your buck. The fat is the culprit there. The key is to eat moderate amounts along with your other dietary choices. Let’s talk about the fat content of various cheeses.

Contrary to appearances, hard, grainy cheeses such as Parmesan may actually contain more fat than creamy, luxurious ones such as any triple cream cheese. The rich triple cream types are labeled “75% butterfat” while a Parmigiana–Reggiano claims around 35% butterfat. The trick is that cheeses are labeled by percentage of fat in their solid materials, not in their total weight.

Cheeses retain water, even after much of it is extracted during cheesemaking. The less water a cheese retains, the harder or denser it will be. A dense cheese with, say, 50% butterfat, could actually deliver more fat per serving than a soft, gooey one with 70% butterfat.

Lactose Intolerance

Let’s talk about lactose intolerance. Well–made, aged cheeses are actually one of the few dairy products that will not cause problems for many people with this difficulty. The first and most important step of cheesemaking, alongside protein coagulation, is the conversion of lactose into lactic acid – the souring or fermentation action of lactic acid bacteria on milk. The small amount of lactose left over after active cheesemaking ends is further broken down by glycolysis during aging.

What this means is that for people who have trouble digesting lactose, it’s not a problem because the digestion has already been done for them by the cheesemaking and aging process. Give it a try. You, too, can be a happy cheese eater. Speaking of cheese making your happy. Why is that?

Why cheese makes people happy

A wonderful piece of info I ran across wherein a neurologist talks about how cheese literally makes you happy. Dr. Thomas C Morell is the neurologist. Link to the article will be in the show notes. The title of the piece is Nutritional Neuroscience. The central core of the article is using nutrition to help heal TBI or traumatic brain injury.

There is some really good information about how the brain functions along with how and why nutrition is important to maximize brain function. Later in the article he gets specifically to cheese as “the first food that will help your brain.” He cites cheese as an extraordinarily rich source of proteins and amino acids. One of those amino acids is Tyrosine. Dr. Morell’s comments on the relation of tyrosine to neurotransmitters in the brain are noted in the article.

Some quotes from the article: (again, reference in the show notes) “The body does not produce Tyrosine so it must be obtained from outside sources, of which cheese contains very high concentrations. We quickly began to realize that cheese is one of nature’s perfect foods for the body and for brain functioning! Furthermore, the pleasure of eating cheese in its multitude of varieties is not just for the sensuous pleasure of taste and smell, but actually has nutritional importance that will help the neurotransmitters in your brain. Cheese not only supplies calories for metabolism as well as being an excellent source of Calcium, but contains proteins and amino acids that are intricately associated with manufacturing many important brain chemicals.”

Then he talks about how cheese makes people happy. “Cheese can make people happy. Why? It starts with Tyrosine which is a building block for many of the neurotransmitter chemicals in the brain. It can improve mood and well-being particularly during times of stress. Tyrosine is a substrate of many well-known neurotransmitters including adrenaline, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Cheese may be one of the basic primordial foods that improved the performance of our brain, with deep connections from the olfactory bulb to the parts of our brain responsible for memory and emotions. Cheese may just be the perfect food to capture the nutritional-emotional duality that our bodies and brains need!”

I find it so refreshing that our medical profession is starting to look at food as nutrition for building, maintaining, and healing the body. “Cheese contains high levels of casein which is the primary protein found in milk. As casein is broken down and digested it is converted into Tyrosine. Casein is also broken down into the chemical casomorphin, an opioid molecule in the same family as morphine. This may explain some of cheese’s addicting qualities!”

I can relate to the addicting quality of cheese. As my diet has improved, my urge for eating too much food is strongly diminished. However, once I start eating cheese, I may overeat if I don’t pay attention. “There are many receptors for the Tyrosine molecule in the olfactory bulb where our sense of smell courses through the Central Nervous System. The Tyrosine in cheese is broken down into several chemicals. One of them is epinephrine (adrenaline) which has many positive physical and mental effects to make us more alert. Epinephrine also increases the flow of oxygen and glucose to the brain and muscles which elicits the “Fight or Flight” response to stressful or dangerous situations. Norepinephrine helps fight off depression and can improve our attention and concentration skills. Dopamine is a powerful neurotransmitter involved in mood stability and accounts for pleasurable feelings and activation of the brain’s reward systems. Tyrosine is also a precursor to levodopa which is used to replace deficiency of Dopamine in Parkinson’s disease. Finally, Tyrosine is also a precursor to Melatonin, the skin pigment that protects us from ultraviolet sunlight damage but is also associated with insulin production which regulates blood sugar levels.” How perfect is cheese? It makes you feel good with the neurotransmitter action and supplies energy and protein. All are critical for brain performance and memory retention.

As a final note on the topic, have you ever wondered what those little crunchy pockets that develop in the paste of well-made aged cheeses are? Those are crystals of tyrosine embedded in the long chains of amino acids of the casein molecules. When they make your mouth water, they are not only providing cheese eating pleasure but they’re also setting into motion a series of very real and tangible benefits to your body and brain.

Let’s move on to today’s cheese fondue recipe.

Cheese Fondue Recipe

Cheese fondue can be fancy or it can be a quaint and close tradition in any family or group of friends. As an added bonus, it’s easy to make. The only skill needed is the ability to stand at a stove and stir.

Cheese fondue is a Swiss invention which became popular in the US in the 1960’s. I’m looking to revive that tradition. As its core fondue is melted cheese served in a pot over a portable heating device and enjoyed communally. It can be made with or without the official fondue set. A double boiler set up will work just fine. Using a crock pot is also an option. The key is low, slow heat. Add some wooden skewers and your homemade fondue set is complete.

How to Make the Perfect Cheese Fondue at Home

The perfect cheese fondue is rich and smooth. First, I want to go over a few tips to make it easy for that to happen for you. Stick to them and your family and guests will be transported to the Alps from their first bite.

  • Use Good-Quality Cheese. It will be more expensive but worth it. Even if you ignore all of the other tips, keep this one. Fondue truly is all about the cheese, and the quality and types of cheeses you use will have an enormous impact on the final product.
    • For classic Swiss cheese fondue (meaning one like what you would find in Switzerland), a mix of traditional, firm alpine mountain-style cheeses is best. Gruyere and Emmental come to mind.
    • We make a cheese called Pinnacle that will serve you well. There are lots of other cheeses that will also work. No need to be bound by the “Swiss” label.
    • You want a buttery, creamy cheese that melts smoothly. Cheddar cheese would work. Even though the flavor would be less traditional, it would still taste fantastic. I’ve used our Clau d’ ville Cheddar mixed with alpine-style Pinnacle and the blend warms the heart.
  • Grate – do not chop – the Cheese. Grated cheese will melt much quicker.
  • Toss the Cheese with Cornstarch Thoroughly. Cornstarch helps thicken the fondue and prevents the cheese from clumping. You don’t want lumpy cheese!
  • Classic cheese fondue does call for white wine. Use a good wine. Choose something dry and high acid, such as Sauvignon Blanc.
    • The taste of the wine directly impacts the taste of the fondue. The acid in the wine helps keep the cheese smooth and gives it an even texture. Again, we don’t want lumpy fondue.
    • You can substitute unsalted chicken or vegetable stock if you do not want to use wine.
    • For beer cheese fondue, swap out the wine with your favorite beer. Beer works really well in a cheddar cheese fondue.
  • Add the Cheese Slowly and Stir Constantly. This is SO important to make sure the cheese fondue is buttery smooth.
    • Grab a small handful and sprinkle it into the pot. Stir constantly and wait for each addition to melt before adding the next.
    • Don’t try to rush it—you won’t win. Just enjoy the moment at the stove at peace with yourself, the cheese, and the promise of a luscious fondue.

What Should You Dip?

  • Bread. Always delicious. French or sourdough cut into 1-inch cubes so that it can be easily skewered.
  • Apples. Tart apples like Granny Smith are fantastic dipped with cheese fondue. Cut the apples into cubes.
  • Cherry Tomatoes. One of my absolute favorites!
  • Roasted Baby Potatoes.
  • Steamed Broccoli. Reminds me of broccoli cheese soup.
  • Mushrooms
  • Game Day Delights:
    • Potato or tortilla chips
    • Soft or hard pretzels
    • Ham, Turkey or Beef
    • Bacon. Even better than you think it’s going to taste. Make sure the bacon isn’t too crisp or it will break off in the pot.
    • Shrimp or mussels
    • Kielbasa or hot dogs
    • Pepperoni
    • Meatballs
    • Pickles.

The choices are up to you. There are no rules there. Anything that tastes good with cheese it going to be heaven. It takes about 25 minutes to make the fondue.

What You Need

  • 1 pound (4 cups) of 2 or more cheeses of your choice – Gruyere, Emmental, Appenzeller and of course our Pinnacle
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 cup dry white wine — such as Sauvignon Blanc
  • 1 clove garlic — minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon kirsch – Kirsch is a clear colorless fruit brandy. You may substitute a brandy of your choice
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg – ground
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)
  • Assorted Fondue dippers

What to do

  1. Grate all of the cheeses. In a medium bowl, combine the cheeses with the cornstarch, tossing thoroughly to coat all pieces.
  2. In a stove-safe fondue pot or large heavy saucepan, bring the wine, garlic, and lemon juice to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add the cheeses to the simmering liquid a little at a time, stirring well between each addition to ensure a smooth fondue. Once smooth, stir in the brandy, nutmeg, and mustard.
  3. Arrange an assortment of bite-size dipping foods on a platter. Carefully pour the fondue into a fondue pot. Serve with fondue forks or wooden skewers.
  4. Dip and enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

If using a crock pot, no need to wait for the wine and lemon to simmer. Put it all in there and stir as needed until the desired consistency is achieved.

Final Thoughts

I’ve run out of words for today. I hope if you have the winter blues you are taking time out of the day to pamper yourself. And remember, this too shall pass. Enjoy some cheese to get that tyrosine going and get happy.

I hope you’ll try the fondue. You can let me know what creative ideas you used and traditions you started by commenting on the Facebook post @peacefulheartfarm.

As always, I’m here to help you “taste the traditional touch.”

Thank you so much for listening and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

Recipe Link

Cheese Fondue

References

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FARM STORE HOURS:

Tuesday and Wednesday:  10am – 12pm
Tuesday:  4pm – 6pm
Saturday:  by appointment

Peaceful Heart Farm

224 Cox Ridge Road, Claudville, VA 24076

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FARM STORE HOURS:

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Tuesday:  4pm – 6pm
Saturday:  by appointment

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