Posts Tagged “goat”

Lots of half-finished business (but hardly any half-finished food) here in the secret LimeCave. After last week’s cheesy post on local eating, I learned a couple of important things:

1. It’s locavore (219,000 google results), not locovore (4,000 results)
2. Via GrowCookEat, I found a list of Massachusetts farm markets, including one in Davis square

So naturally, when Wednesday rolled around, I resolved - crappy weather notwithstanding - to visit the Davis Sq farm market and buy something local. The weather was biblical, but seven or eight local farmers had set up shop in the parking lot behind Chipotle and Starbucks - a couple of herb farmers, some with radishes and other greens, a baker, a butcher, a soapmaker, Taza chocolates and a dairy farm if memory serves.

Slightly guilty for cheating on When Pigs Fly, I bought a whole wheat loaf from Breadsong Bakery in Auburndale (8.4 food miles to the limecave) and a smoked goat cheese from Crystal Brook Farm in Sterling (45 food miles.)* According to the accompanying literature, “A herd of 70 Alpine and Saanen dairy goats produce all the milk used in the cheese operation… The animals have free access to pasture and seasonal browse. Happy goats yield high quality cheese.”

No argument there. Although my <1 food mile supply of Cambridge mizuna and arugula had run out, I still made a a nice sandwich with pretty low mileage. The bread was firm and on the sweet side (containing molasses, honey and brown sugar!) but a nice complement to the smoky but otherwise super-fresh goat cheese which was a welcome twist on the classic log. If only I had a nice slice of tomato. Maybe in a month or two.

I’d been watching the vacant spot between Kick Ass Cupcakes and When Pigs Fly Bread for a while, and just last week it bloomed into the Dairy Bar at Kick Ass Cupcakes. But I’m just going to call it the Kick Ass Dairy Bar. It’s now official - Davis Square is the Paris of Somerville. We have a bakery and a cheese shop.

I popped in today on my way home and checked out the selection of “farm fresh and local dairy milk, cream, butter, eggs, cheese, hand packed ice cream and more.” They also have some chocolate and other odds and ends, but let’s be honest, I was there for the cheese. I picked up a bright white brick of Myenberg aged goat milk cheddar and a package of adorable thimble-shaped “tiny artisinal cheeses” called Hanabells from Shy Brothers Farm in Westport, MA.

With a little help from a pear, some crackers, the omnipresent loaf of When Pigs Fly pumpernickel and some mizuna and arugula from J’s garden, I put together a couple of tastings for myself. There was a Marlborough (NZ, not MA) Sauvignon Blanc in there too. The Hannabells were creamy and mild with a nice note of sea salt and barely any rind. We’ll have to see if they last long enough to get more. I bought the plain kind, but they also come in herb and spicy formulae. I think the brothers should consider a variety pack.

The goat cheddar was something I’d never seen before. I didn’t know it was possible. I think it’s successful, but have to wonder if most people wouldn’t prefer cow cheddar or more traditional forms of goat cheese. I also made a sandwich of this cheese with some greens and pumpernickel. Will have to consider this for the next cheese sandwich challenge.

Since Universal Hub tagged me with the “locovore” “locavore” label, I wondered how close this spread was in terms of food miles. I did better than average, but ultimately not that well, since the Myenberg is from California. If I had made the sandwich with the Shy Brothers cheese, it would have done — bread from Maine, cheese from Massachussets, and greens from a Cambridge garden. But the Hanabells were better taken as canapes with a cracker (corner 7-11) and a slice of pear (organic from Harvest Coop, but probably from the southern hemisphere). In any case, Locovore Locavore Sandwich is a good name for a band or a blog. You read it here first.