Trying New Things

I am a creature of habit of the highest degree.  If I find something I like, I stick to it.  Places, people, eggs...all the same.  Sometimes I over-play things and they get dull after a while, only to be rediscovered six months later as the best (soft boiling).  I believe myself to be a fairly decent cook, but I stick to the same things and make variations on the same tired recipes over and over.  So for the month of April I've decided to throw some crazy in there and mix shit up.

Tonight I'm going to try my hand at marinating some tofu (never cooked with the stuff before) and throwing together some Pad Thai.  The ingredients are purchased, the kitchen is clean.  We'll see how we do.

In other news I've been working my tush off over at Fraga.  Last night I helped Steve do some cheese-making and packaging.  We strained and hung the Feta and pressed the Rio Santiam (similar to cheddar).  Packaging takes a lot of time over there, every wheel has to be cut into pieces and then vacuum sealed and labeled.  It's fun to take the time to make each package look nice by arranging the cheese just so in the package before it's sealed and carefully placing the labels on so they are straight.

Last night I ended up working til close to midnight milking the gals so Jan and Larry generously offered that I could sleep in their yurt with my evil little dog (not actually evil or small).  We curled up in the big bed and slept for a solid 8 hours before wlking up and doing it all over again.  Milking that is.  When I was packaging last night it occurred to me how cool it is that I get to wear so many hats at work.  I am involved in just about every aspect of the farm, handling the goats, feeding them, milking them, pasteurizing the milk, making the cheese, packing the cheese, selling the cheese.  Oh, and did I mention cleaning?  Yeah, that.

After milking I had some coffee with Jan and her friend and talked about horoscopes.  Went over to the horsey farm and clean up all the doodies.  Now I'm home with the rest of the day to myself.  Going to put the tofu on to marinate, do some laundry and take my animal for a long sunset hikey.  Hey! The sun just came out.  Peace and love amigos.