Well, an opportunity...no, an inspiration fell into my lap, or rather my mind today. Inspired by a friend of mine who posted on Facebook that he believes people should stop posting pictures of food. He believes this should be a resolution for all the food lovers out there. Not sure if this was aimed at me. Don't think so, but I do have pictures of food in my Facebook albums, so I took his anti-food pictures stance a little to heart. As a joke, I was going to go through ALL my food pictures that I have stored on the computer and post and tag him in it. But...well, we like this guy. Don't want to flood his Facebook page with hundreds of pictures and have him get all ticked off at us. Plus, he lives out of state and one day we would like to take a vacation and we're kinda/sorta hoping we can crash at his place and save money.
And then I started to browse through my food pictures. So many. So many with the intentions of blogging about them. Many that I cooked and a few that I had eatened on a road trip that my family and I took last summer.
And that is where the inspiration happened. The words and pictures came together. And I realized that I needed to start this blog up again. It will be part of my commitment to writing.
So, Chuck...this one's for you!
Ok, this story begins back in July. My husband was in the midst of the economic crisis and was home. We were expecting that he would be called back to work soon, wanted to take advantage of the time he had off and take a trip. But, money was a bit low. So, we decided to make it a "mini-vacation". A road trip. One night away and squeeze as much as we could in 24 hours.
And away we went. Up to the mountains. I love the mountains. Any mountains. They are so majestic. So spiritual. So old. So natural. So earthy. I could go on and on, but you get it. I love the mountains.
We decided that we would take the kids to Howes Cavern in Upstate, New York. I mapped out the trip and something caught my eye. A little town on the map, not far from the Caverns. It jumped out at me. It screamed at me.
"SHARON SPRINGS!!!"
I gasped. We had to go. We had to find time to stop. I was on a quest and my husband looked at me like I had a million heads. Sharon Springs is the home of the Beekman Estate. And the Beekman 1802 Mercantile. The Fabulous Beekman Boys. Is this ringing a bell with anyone???? In case it isn't...let me fill you in:
You see, there is this little reality show called The Fabulous Beekman on the Planet Green Channel. Last year was their first season. They were such a hit that Planet Green gave them a holiday special. And they are coming back for a second season.
The Fabulous Beekman Boys are a citified couple, Brent and Josh, who fell in love with Small Town, USA and decided to purchase a farm: The Beekman Estate. Only problem is, neither of them knew much about farming. They have made tons of sacrifices to make this farm work, which is mainly goats, and to go back to the old ways of living off the land. If they grow it or raise it, they eat it or turn it into a product. It's a great show. Brent and Josh are hilarious as they bicker and Farmer John's love for the goats is the cutest thing ever.
From the goats they make soap and cheese. CHEESE!!! Who doesn't love Cheese???? And they sell their cheese (which is called Blaak Cheese and is dusted with black ash) at their new store, Beekman 1802 Mercantile, along with their soaps and other products from locals that are homegrown and made.
So, forget the depths of the earth in the Caverns, a Landmark of New York State. Beekman, HERE WE COME!!!
We found it. When we parked across the road, I giggled like an insane Justin Beiber fan. I gushed how maybe, just maybe Brent and/or Josh would be in the store. My husband shook his head in disbelief that I actually found the place. "We just drove three and a half hours for CHEESE???" is what he kept saying.
It was open. It was new. You could smell the fresh coat of paint and the intense cleaning that Brent put the small, old store through. It was simple, showcasing the homemade merchandise, letting the items and the people behind them be the star.
But no Brent or Josh. No goats. The lady working the store was awesome. She was so nice and seemed delighted that I was familiar with the show and the process behind the items in the store. The soaps. THE CHEESE!! Come on. Who doesn't like cheese? Not liking cheese is like...is like...well, it's like not liking photos of food. Where do those people come from?
I was informed that Brent would be back the following day and I looked at my husband with begging eyes. Couldn't we stay for one more day? But sadly, it was not in our budget. But it was in our budget for this: (quick, Chuck! Cover your eyes! It's a food picture!!)
The perfect cheese. BLAAK Cheese:
Now, I'm not saying this because I love the Fabulous Beekman Boys, but the cheese really is that good. It really was worth the trip. Even my husband admitted that. He even promises we will go back again. (SOON, I hope!! Hint, Hint, darling hubby!!)
We sampled some in the store, then bought a wedge. It is made from mostly goat's milk, but has cow's milk too. I believe the ratio is 60% Goat, 40% Cow. I'm sure if I'm wrong and if Brent ever should stumble upon my measly blog, he'll correct me in the comments section. Because, that's how Brent seems to roll.
It's a harder cheese and slightly sharp. Just slightly. It's a really nice "adult" cheese. I wish I had bought more because I would have loved to experiment with it and come up with recipes. It's delicious.
I was so stingy with that cheese. After all, we had traveled so far for it. I know you can get it at various stores in the City or you can order it, but it's not the same. Not the same as actually going on that quest and finding it where it comes from. Something about the quest that makes it taste even more delicious, if that's possible.
I saved that cheese. Until my husband pointed out that it would eventually go bad and then we will really waste the beautiful treasure from our trip.
So, on the season finale of The Fabulous Beekman Boys, I cut the cheese up.
And we, as a family, watched Brent, Josh, Farmer John, and Polka Spot the Llama. And the goats who gave us the wonderful cheese.
(big thanks to my friend Chuck. thanks for reminding me how much I love pictures of food. and how I love taking pictures of food!)
To find out more about The Fabulous Beekman Boys, Planet Green, or Blaak Cheese, please go to:http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/the-fabulous-beekman-boys/the-fabulous-beekman-boys.html
