If you’d’ve told me last year, that not only would I be going to a Goat Farm BUT actually look forward to it, I would’ve laughed and thought Funny Farm maybe but not a goat farm! But I did!! And we went!! And then I started thinking how this came to be…
I can truly blame this series of events on the Ftira!! Because if it weren’t for the Ftira, I would not have met my dear dear friend Ivy of Merci Chocolat, who in turn would not have gotten me to try making French Cheeses! And that is how I got interested in making Goats Cheese other than Gbejniet!
When Kevin’s boss recommended a visit to Harley Farms Goat Dairy at Pescadero, I knew we had to go and, this week, I finally booked a tour. We went there yesterday and I have to say, that even with the looong two hour windy road trip we had to take to get there, it was definitely worth it!
We checked in at the Shop and had a look around while we waited for the rest of the group to show up. They had all sort of merchandise for sale all goat related…from lotions to goat hair blankets to rakes and shovels and gorgeous hand made pottery!
There were about twenty of us taking the tour of the farm which was led by a young and very knowledgeable girl who took us through the mustard path to the goat pen where there were about a hundred female pregnant goats just lapping up the beautiful sunshine and one very proud male goat!!! Two Llamas also roamed the vast field like kings in their castle!
We were told the history of the farm and how Dee Harley, the owner, came to the States from Yorkshire, fell in love with the place and started making her own Goats Cheese which is sold in stores all over California. We were then taken to where they milk the goats twice a day and were told that each goat produces a gallon of milk each time they get milked. It is quickly harvested and turned to cheese and it is the freshness of the milk that results into the creamiest and delicious cheese ever.
Of course, I had to ask if it was possible to purchase some fresh goats milk but was told that unfortunately this was not possible as they needed a special permit to sell. So that was the only bummer of the day but I quickly got over it when we got to see how the cheese was made and also tasted all the cheeses they had available at the store! It was pretty hard to choose my favourite because they were all so darn good but I think the Monet topped the charts.
So now I want to try making my own Chevre with my own herbs and my own edible flowers and dried fruit combination. And who knows…we might NEED to go back and meet the baby goats!! So stay tuned…
