Yogurt Month
The other night, around 10 pm, I found myself back in the dairy, taking yogurt down from the bags it had been hanging in, all in preparation for our CSA’s Yogurt Month.
The effort was a culmination of what already felt like a super long day—we start milking around 6:30 am, and so usually by about 6 pm this cookie is d-u-n, done. As a family, especially, we’re ready to “shut down” the dairy and focus on each other.
But alas, yogurt (and cheese) waits for no man. When it’s time to “do stuff” you just gotta suck it up and do it.
This time, though, I wasn’t put out about the long night, because I knew what waited at the end of it…
Goat Yogurt.
And not just any goat yogurt.
Goat yogurt that is delicious and creamy with all the beautiful and clean flavors that only come when goat milk is handled really well and contains no fillers. It’s rare to get goat milk to turn into yogurt like we make because, frankly, it’s a lot of ding dang work. If you started breaking down what your hourly wage is making yogurt you might actually sink into a pit of despair.
But for us us, yogurt isn’t about the hourly wage (that’s what chèvre is for).
Yogurt is about the incredible little community this farm has been cultivating over the years in the form of our CSA.
Every Spring, about when the babies are born, we do a 3 month Cheese CSA. Pickup is once a month and showcases some of our best products. Chèvre, Yogurt, Drinkable Yogurt, Hard Cheese, Ricotta, Halloumi, Feta…since we pretty much only sell chevre in grocery stores now the CSA has turned into a reunion tour of all our favorite cheeses.
Simultaneously, the CSA has turned into a reunion tour of all our favorite humans—some who have been supporting this farm back before it was even Lost Peacock Creamery. Year after year we are delighted to see so many of the same families sign up for our CSA—Never does this farm feel more like a community farm than when it’s a CSA weekend. I love all the micro interactions that I have with members throughout pickup weekends but even more I love that all these different heartbeats, from all walks of life, are woven into the fabric of this farm.
This past weekend one small human mentioned to me how it was crazy how much the baby goats had changed. She wasn’t wrong of course…our members usually start seeing babies when they’re super fresh (only a few days old to a few weeks). They watch them go from total noobs, where goat milk is their primary food source and they spend most of their day sleeping (often on CSA members laps) to wild and rowdy younglings thriving on browse and alfalfa. Its like National Geographic, in real life.
And then of course these same members go home with cheese that was only made possible because of the birth of these critters. When you talk about being close to your food source…this is as close as it gets.
It’s a special feeling indeed to think about so many people being a part of this journey we call dairying—it certainly makes it feel less isolating.
This farm, this beautiful little space that we carved out of rocks and thistle, is feeding our community with pure and simple ingredients—goat milk from the girls living their best lives right here, on our farm. Our CSA has kept us motivated and inspired throughout the years—in fact at times it is all that has kept us going.
Which is exactly why I have spent so many of these late yogurt nights in the dairy feeling not just grateful, but blessed. You see, we haven’t just been making food for customers…we’ve been making it for our friends. As someone who is fluent in the love language of food, this, is very special indeed.
We’re doing a Summer CSA!!
For the first time ever we will be doing a Summer CSA. If you would like to join, even if you have never joined a CSA of ours before, this is your chance! As a CSA member you are able to come to the farm, pick up your cheese, and romp around with the this year’s babies. This is also how you get access to the CSA Fridge which often has fun add on options—freeze dried feta, special cheeses, eggs…The Summer CSA will only run for 2 months (July and August). If you’re worried about your travel plans and missing your pickup window check in with me! We will make sure you get your cheese :)