Merry Christmas, John said as he carried two huge boxes through the kitchen door. I checked the calender, yes, still January. The milking machine had arrived. Much excitement. If Daisy the cow could have seen us staring at the bewildering collection of bits and pieces with knobs and switches, all gleaming and solid looking, she would have been swinging her head in dismay. I quite literally stood in the middle of the living area, the floor strewn with packaging materials, and boxes, the instructions clutched firmly in my sticky little hands, saying what is that bit, how do you think this works. Oo that is nice and shiny!
Later John had it assembled and the pump running smoothly and seemed to be making sense of it. Thankfully it is his job to get the wretched thing installed and keep it running. It will be my job to approach that enormous and probably reluctant cow with the contraptions, her eyes no doubt rolling in horror and not get murdered by flying hooves for my troubles. What I will do to get a bucket of raw milk.
John grew up on a wee farm that had pigs and played Bob Dylan while working on cars. I grew up on a beach with a dog and visited farms in the school holidays. Neither of us has milked a cow. That is OK, we will work it out. I believe that most things can be solved using common sense. Given, of course, that we Have the sense we were born with.
This morning we have awoken to the finest drop of gentle rain. The stock water barrels are filling again and I can almost hear the grass growing. Just the tiniest tease of January growth. I have decided that every day that it is above freezing, the brassica seedlings can go out in the sun. It will slow them down and once March rolls around they will be hardy and raring to go. We will carry them back inside in the evenings. We do this each year. This year we are about three weeks ahead of ourselves but we cannot lose anything and we might gain a crop. At the end of Feb everything is re-sown anyway. This wave is like an advance guard. A bonus.
On a wee sustainable property like this you cannot grow too much food. Everything is consumed one way or another. February will get cold though. It has to happen.
Yesterday I made the cheesecake using the last of the lemon curd. I called it:
Lemon Honey Cheesecake with a Twist of Mint!
For the base:I combined one cup of finely smashed cookie crumbs, 1 cup of finely chopped walnuts and slightly more that 4 oz of melted butter. Mix and press into a springform cake tin.
Sprinkle with finely sliced mint leaves. Roll the leaves in your hands a little first, to release their fragrance. I chose to spread the mint on the base so it would infuse the cake with mint very subtly. (I grow a mint plant in an enormous pot specifically for winter picking, at the end of summer it comes in and sits in a south window with the potted Rosemary.) Now allow the crust to wait quietly in the fridge while you assemble the filling.
The filling:
- 2 packs of cream cheese. (500 grams) I had to buy the cream cheese as the milking is over until the spring, same with the yoghurt. So yes, I cheated and bought both these items at the local store. But when we are milking (fingers crossed) this cheesecake could be made with mostly home grown ingredients.
- 1 1/2 cups lemon curd (I make the lemon curd quite tart.)
- 3 eggs ( at least these were home grown)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened yoghurt
- 1 cup honey (from my bees)
- 1 tablespoon of cornflour (cornstarch)
- a touch of vanilla (though my vanilla is about two months from being ready)
Beat this up. Pour into shell. Cook at 325 for 1 1/4 hours. Cool on a rack. Loosen the crust and cool again.
Do not cut until quite chilled. Preferably wait overnight. This is a rule I had to ignore as the light was so lovely for the photograph! But this morning I just ate a slice for breakfast (as you do) and it cut perfectly and the base did not crumble.
I surprised myself with this one as I am not a dessert maker. Nor am I a dessert eater. I do prefer to finish a meal on a savoury note. But this is tangy, not too sweet but rich. And very good. Now I am going to just gobble up the last slice, before the world awakes. Because I am like that. Sometimes I just am the Little Red Hen.
Good morning. We have another nice mild, cloudy, damp day just breaking. No cold weather worries today.
Good morning!
c
oops John just came in from his run to report that the drizzle has turned to freezing rain and the lane is a sheet of ice. Hmm I had better get to work.
PS If you would like to read a well balanced article on coyotes (there was rather lively discussion on this subject yesterday in my commnents) this is a very intelligent piece of writing on the subject.
The Kitchen's Garden 
80 responses to “Lemon Honey Cheesecake with a Twist of Mint and a milking machine.”
This really looks great. Wonderful pictures. Hope the ice didn’t hold you up too much.
It made everything go VERY FAST!!! c
Seems so beautiful and so delicious… I hope and wish you to have a nice and enjoyable day, dear Cecilia. Thank you, with my love, nia
A good read about the coyotes and the comments after it too. A problem we have heard is that a couple houses down from us leaves food out for the coyotes. That’s a big no no! We always hear them first from that direction. They can get too used to being close to humans and unafraid. I am big and ugly and assert my presence when they get close. They high-tail it away!
A delicious sounding cheese cake! I put it on my list.
Why are they feeding the coyotes. No wonder they are on your side of the street. Man that is so stupid .. it really upsets the balance of things. c
The cheesecake looks just down right delicious first and foremost. Second your animals are just gorgeous and very photogentic (sp)! Enjoy Your Day on the Farmy:)
A lovely if damp day, but lots to do in the barn!.. c
Cheesecake and a rooster? My day just got better and it was already just fine!
lovely .. c
So impressed that you will be milking your own cow! Best of luck with that 🙂 This cheesecake sounds delicious. I’m a sucker for anything with lemon curd (and, like you, am much more of a savory person).
Thank you Katherine. We start milking in May so plenty of time to panic! c
Good luck with your milking! We love learning new skills as we go along.
Christine
So do I. Makes life fun don’t you think! c
Coyotes can have the run of the land as long as they don’t come into the farm and eat our animals. We lost two calves to them last year. Not a pretty site. One was three days old. The other was coming down the birth canal into their waiting jaws.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Yes that is nasty. And once they see your farm as dinner they do need to be gotton rid of, if you can get them. Hope you can get the culprit.. Our big dog lives with the animals, he is not IN at night, sleeps in the barn and I am sure that this makes a difference. Soon we will have to get another guard dog as he is getting older. We have been lucky so far for sure. c
Mmmm….love this Cecilia. Lemon and mint cheesecake, sounds delish.
Thank you , it is a lovely fresh mix.. c
Mint,lemons and cheese cake..can this recipe get any better?!
i am working on a base made of nuts, so maybe it will get better!! c
Oh how I miss cheesecake!
Can you not eat dairy either? How dreadful. I was going to devise a nut base for the gluten free people… hmm back to the drawing board! c
I have to ask this, does your rooster crow and wake you up at dawn? I also Hae a confession – I’ve always wanted to learn to milk a cow, don’t ask me why but I always have done, plus I’ve always dreamt of having a glass of still warmed milk straight after milking! Your cheesecake looks divine! I’m not sure it’d last till breakfast in my house and leaving it overnight with my husband around is nigh on impossible!
I have never known a rooster who waited until dawn to crow, but they do not wake me. I am pretty excited about milking too, there is so much waiting when you are farming! May daisy is due, then you and I will learn to milk Noodle.. c
Lemon Honey Cheesecake just rolls of the tongue.. I think i can say that all day and still want to make it. I am actually dreaming about it right now :). Love this post
Thank you kay.. have a great day! c
Oh, good luck there. I would be of no use whatsoever. I hope your cow is compliant and well-behaved. Love the look of your cheesecake. Oh, and I loved the comment on my blog. Too funny. Yes, every time I have to take one of my boys to the hospital I take a look around the emergency ward and it’s always full of boys. All the girls are back at home doing sensible things. Great to know your son is now 28 and a survivor!
I had a daughter after four boys and it was like raising an alien she wanted to sit on the floor and draw!! c
This looks heavenly!
Good morning!! c