The Artisans - III
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Southern Roots
Ann Clarke with a Virginia drawl shares her garden plot amidst the pear trees and views of The Enchantments. Growing over 30 varieties of different heirloom tomatoes, peppers, herbs and other produce, her greenhouse stuffed with 1200 plants waiting to be transplanted into the garden when weather temperatures are more stable. She smiles as she admits her gardening project is for her relaxation. She sells only through her roadside stand to locals, tourists, and supplies local resurants, catering chfs, and private kitchens of local residents.
A short walk reveals blueberries, justaberries, chickens, cameo apples, golden delicious, all sweeter varieties, she jokes about not being able to win a pie contest without tart apple choices.
The roadside stand is on North Road, the most beautiful drive one could imagine, tree blossoms fragrant, dramatic mountains rising close by, wineries on either side, just outside of Bavarian Village, Leavenworth Washington.
Discover Heirloom Cuisine guests will enjoy the selection her garden provides during the summer harvest.
Alpine Lakes Cheese
The Alpine Lakes farm is nestled in the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range in Washington State. Snow melt from the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area provides the irrigation water, hence the dairy's name. They raise and sell lamb, tan and sell lambskins, and have 80 trees of Anjou, Bartlett, and Bosc pears. They give several cheese making workshops each year, and weekend workshops for those interested in the experience of hand killing their own meat, skinning and tanning a sheepskin.
Alpine Lakes makes four unpasteurized raw milk cheeses: Mountain Tomme, Creamy Bleu, Camembert, and Ottonese. These are Farmstead Cheeses, which means they are made from start to finish on the farm, from their milk. If you enjoy raw milk dairy and the special richness of sheep milk cheese, you're in for a treat.
It all started with a taste for good cheese, which Catha, the cheese maker, acquired while growing up in Vermont. Catha and her sister knew 100 cows by name back then, but since those days a new breed of dairy animal has become very popular with cheese makers. The dairy sheep. Sheep produce much less milk than cows or goats, but their milk is higher in fat and nutrients, making richer cheeses with a mild flavor of the milk. Dairy products made from sheep's milk are more easily digested than either cow or goat products, and are gaining a loyal following in the United States. It may sound strange to milk a sheep, but most people don't realize they've already eaten imported sheep cheeses like Pecorino Romano or Roquefort Blue.
Make Cheese! Our travels lead to the Alpine Lakes artisan cheese makers this week...baby lambs, spring flowers, and the smell of the mountains. It was the first day for the new mothers, and baby lambs to taste the lower pastures, with pear branches as their shade. Of course all this luxury changed atmosphere, as it was time for the daily milking. Treats were awaiting them as they lined up 6 at a time to munch while the creamy milks were saved to make delectable cheeses.
Alpine Lakes Farm is only 7 acres tucked into the mountainside along Blewitt Pass of North Central Washington, off Hwy 2 between Leavenworth and Wenatchee. Along with daily care of sheep, sheep skins hang drying to be sold; Eric's talents extend to his music he pursues in evenings and weekend gigs, along with becoming market manager for new community farmers market in Leavenworth for the 2009 season.
Catha, the cheese maker, shared samples of "Mountain Tomme" and "Belora" Camembert style made from her sheep's milk. Not too sharp, dry, not too pungent....and always the best tasting at room temperature instead of refrigerated. Her day includes milking the sheep with husband and partner Eric, along with their farm apprentice, Kevin enthusiastic of learning sustainable lifestyle farming. She smiles continuously obviously loving the lifestyle they have chosen, cuddling with the lambs who hang around for the extra attention and bottle feeding. She describes the process of keeping the cheese dry as they cure. The blooming of white mold and bacteria which is a good sign for cheese makers. Piles of day old bread mixed in with the whey to feed the pigs, they love it!
As she prepares her weekly Saturday classes, the different stages are prepared for. Farm guests will create their very own soft cheese, maybe blue cheese, and fun flavor options will be part of the days event, grilling squash blossoms, or place herbs and soft cheese in the cusinart...and of course eating LOTS while you work. They will go home with a much clearer picture of farm life and lots of cheese making or eating tricks to do at home, along with 2 different souvenir samples.
Daily 20 + sheep are milked, with only 5 gallons of milk to play with, and so she makes cheese 3-4 times weekly. Sheep's milk is much smaller in quantity then goats or cows, but much higher in fat content, and naturally homogenized. Makes more sense to understand the higher retail prices.
So, come and make cheese, see the sheep, smell the mountains..we will partner with Alpine Lakes through Discover Heirloom Cuisine, and have our very own exclusive classes midweek. Only 12 weeks to choose from...register early Discover Heirloom Cuisine.
Read about more of our artisans...
Be sure to view Artisan Producer Gallery
Photo gallery of fruit, farms, and heirloom cuisine
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