We hope you are joyful this season and full of love and thanksgiving!

The cows are cozy in the barn, now, and doing very well (lots of milk!) We had an extra good load of hay brought to us from eastern Washington and the cows love it. You may be noticing an increase of cream in the milk. You are not imagining things! Although there is more sweetness and color to the milk in the summer, there is more cream in the winter...just in time for holiday baking and whipped cream! Yes, you can use the cream from the milk for whipped cream...and butter, too! The cream will not get quite as airy and fluffy as store bought heavy cream (they put in additives) but it tastes just as good or better. If you accidentally whip the cream too much, now you have butter and buttermilk. You know what to do with the butter, but don't put the buttermilk to waste. You can use it for baking as well (scones, pancakes, smoothies are just a few ideas). This buttermilk that you get is not cultured or soured, it is sweet. If you want soured buttermilk, you can set it out and let it sour on its own, or add a little lemon juice (for a quicker result). There is so much to do with the milk and cream! Don't forget hot cocoa with whipped cream on top, home made eggnog, and cream in your coffee.

If you haven't had a chance to stop in at our store lately, come check out our new gift items! We are proud to say that everything in our store is local and we are in contact with and support people we know and trust! With that said, we encourage you to shop locally and support real people. In doing so, you boost our local economy, promote and support local artists,craftsmen and farmers, and reduce fuel usage (both your own and delivery trucks to big stores).

Don't forget to shop local and healthy for your holiday meal! We offer milk, cream, bread, CHEESE, and eggs (when available). Your family will appreciate a special meal with special ingredients!

May God bless you this season and always,
Sarah Brown

PORK CHOPS COOKED IN MILK
(Adopted from Marcella Hazan's The Classic Italian Cook Book).

* 6 pork chops - use the best pork you can get, preferably from Nash Huber's Berkshire herd
* 1 tbsp butter
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
* 1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste)
* 2 - 3 cups of Dungeness Valley Creamery milk - use the best milk you can get

1. Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Brown and cook both sides of all the pork chops, turning them now and then so they get caramelized nicely. Lower the heat if the butter starts to brown.
2. Add salt and pepper. Pour in the milk gently, sloshing it around.
3. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook with the lid closed for about 45 minutes. Turn the chops now and then. The milk will turn into a lovely brown gravy. You will swoon when you taste this.

HOME MADE RICOTTA CHEESE
(Adapted from April 2006 Gourmet)

• 1/2 gallon of Dungeness Valley Creamery whole milk
• 1 pint heavy cream - optional
• 2 or 3 lemons
• fine weave cheese cloth - not the loosely woven stuff

1. Heat the milk (and cream) in a big pot over moderate heat so it doesn't scald. Stir it now and then. We us the middle setting on our electric range, and it works pretty well.
2. When the milk reaches a rolling boil, lower the heat to a simmer. Add about 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to the milk, and stir continously for several minutes until fine curds start forming. Don't panic if you do not see large curds. You are making ricotta, not cottage cheese.
3. When the milk is nice and curdy pour it through a fine cheese cloth set in a colander over a large bowl to collect the whey. Let it drain for about an hour.
4. Wrap the cheese in the cheese cloth. It is ready to eat. Save the whey which makes a great chowder.

VARIATIONS

• The ratio of lemon juice to milk is roughly one teaspoon for each cup of liquid, or one tablespoon for every three cups. If the milk does not seem to curdle, add another teaspoon or two.
• If you add the extra cream, you will get a very rich cheese, almost like a cream cheese. If you do not add cream, the texture will be lighter, more like a cottage cheese.

Draining the cheese

The left over whey

The finished cheese

HALIBUT CHOWDER

• 1 quart of whey left over from making ricotta cheese
• 1/4 lb good bacon or pancetta cut into chunks
• 8 small or 3 large Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 lb halibut, cut into large chunks
• 2 cobs worth of corn kernels
• 1/2 large sweet onion such as a Vidalia, diced coarsely
• 2 large handsful of chives, chervil and/or parsely, coarsely chopped.
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil the potatoes until they are just cooked. Don't let them get mushy. Cool and cut up into large chunks.
2. Cook the bacon gently so it cooks and renders fat, but does not get crisp. If your bacon produces a lot of fat, you probably want to pour some of it off before continuing.
3. Add the onions and cook them until they are just translucent.
4. Add the whey to the mixture and bring to a simmering boil. Add the marjoram and cayenne pepper.
5. Add the halibut and poach it in the simmering liquid. If you have very large pieces, you might want to flip them.
6. Add the corn kernels and the chopped herbs. Toss gently with a large spoon so the corn and halibut are fully cooked.
7. When the corn kernels have been cooked, add the potatoes. Toss gently with a large spoon. Season with salt and pepper to taste.