Creelman Farm Creamery, Vinalhaven, Maine: Goat Cheese

Vinalhaven Island, Maine--Creelman Farm Creamery makes fresh tasting goat cheese. This farm is located on an island 12-miles east of the northern Maine coastline. It raises Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats for cheese making.


Pasteurized fresh goat cheese from Creelman Farm Creamery, Vinalhaven, Maine

Back in August, at the Saturday Morning Vinalhaven Farmers and Flea Market, I met the cheese maker of Creelman Farm Creamery. I have never been a huge fan of goat cheese because I find it too musky. But the cheese maker insisted that her chevre was different and many people who didn't like goat cheese liked hers.

I took two crackers, one for the cheese, and the other to clean my tongue in case the cheese taste turned out to be too musky. I spread the smallest possible amount of cheese on the cracker and slowly ate it. It was surprisingly sweet and devoid of muskiness. I loved it and wanted some to take home.

Unfortunately, the last piece of cheese had been sold while I was taste testing the chevre. The cheese maker said there would be more at the following weekend market. That was great except I was leaving the area that day.

If you ever get a chance to visit Vinalhaven, Maine, then check out the cheese from Creelman Farm Creamery. It is worth the trip. Or you can go to their web page to order some cheese at http://www.vinalhavenfarm.com/Home_Page.html
 

Easily Assembled Florida Chocolate Mousse By Chef Chris Pawlowski

Floridian Chef Chris Pawlowski shows how to assemble a gourmet Florida dessert. He says, “It’s easy,” to a group of Slow Food Gold & Treasure Coast members at Endless Summer Vineyard in Ft. Pierce. Chef Pawlowski is the owner of Palm Beach Organics, an organic food buying club located in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

 

Chef Chris Pawlowski showing off chocolate mousse, Ft. Pierce, Fla.

Step one: Hire a chef to make your dessert. No, that’s just me saying this.

Chef Pawlowski spreading liquid chocolate over paper,
Ft. Pierce, Fla. 

First, cut up long strips of parchment paper, approximately 2” x 8” in size or enough to wrap around a pre-made cylinder of chocolate mousse that is waiting for you in the fridge (made earlier by you or a chef friend).

 

Then take some melted chocolate, made by melting chocolate medallions in a double boiler, and spread it thinly on the paper. Once the paper is covered set it aside on a cooled baking sheet.

Chef Pawlowski rolls chocolate mousse in sheets of chocolate,
Ft. Pierce, Fla.

Next, take out the cylinders of chocolate mousse and roll them along the chocolate side of the paper strips.

Resting chocolate wrapped chocolate mousse by Chef Pawlowski,
Ft. Pierce, Fla

Rest them upright on the cookie sheet to set the chocolate around the mousse.

Chef Pawlowski makes squiggly chocolate decorations, Ft.
Pierce, Fla.

As the chocolate sets around the mousse, start working on your decorations. Put some more liquid chocolate into a pastry chef tube and squeeze out some squiggly lines on more parchment paper.

Chef Pawlowski swirls homemade Florida grown strawberry 
sauce around dishes, Ft. Pierce, Fla

Take some chocolate sauce and swirl it around the edges of a plate. Follow it with a swirl of homemade strawberry sauce (again made by you earlier or your chef friend), made with Florida grown berries.

A table of easily assmbled Florida inspired chocolate mousse
dessert by Chef Pawlowski, Ft. Pierce, Fla.

Assemble all the components that will also include fresh cut Florida grown strawberries, powdered chocolate, and white chocolate squiggly line decorations.

 

And voila! A strawberry covered chocolate mousse fancy enough to serve at a restaurant. If you don’t have the time or you don’t want to do this then contact chef Pawlowski directly at his company www.palmbeachorganics.org/wordpress

Wild Foraged Applesauce Made The Old Fashion Way

Northeastern Maine—Wild foraged heirloom applesauce is easy to make but hard work. It takes about half a day to make this style of sauce. First find wild apple trees on land you have permission to harvest. Then taste the fruit of each tree because not all apples are suitable for applesauce. Many wild apples are a mix of crab apple and domesticated apple varieties and are better for making cider.


Young wild Heirloom variety yellow apples on tree, Northeastern Maine

Once you find edible apples, gather twice as much as you think you need because once you peel, core, and slice them the volume will reduce by half. Then boil them, in just enough water to cover the fruit, until they are soft and mushy. If the apples are sweet enough they will not need any sugar. 

Small wild heirloom apples in bag, Northeastern Maine

But if they are as tart as the wild apples I picked in Maine last month then add sugar to taste. I added just enough sugar to take the pucker effect out of my sauce.

Applesauce made from foraged wild heirloom apples,
Northeastern Maine

Continue cooking for a few minutes longer, as you add the sugar so it has time to dissolve. The sauce will be quite runny when it is hot. Rest the pot on a counter for an hour before putting it in the fridge to cool for another hour before serving.

Wild foraged heirloom applesauce over pancakes, Northeastern
Maine

You can eat it straight or pour it over pancakes as I did during my New England vacation. I picked 100, half-dollar coin sized, wild heirloom variety apples and got just over one quart of applesauce.