Farm News
July is nearly upon us; the sun is strong and hot and we’re heading into Independence Day weekend. Farming with animals, especially dairy animals, leaves little time for days off or celebrations, but we manage to find ways to mark the holiday. I love to shop the market on Saturday morning and then scheme meals on the grill with gigantic salads and fruit crisps for dessert. I plot for a swim in the pond, planning my weekend shifts in the creamery so that I can slip into the cool clean water before it gets too dark.
We might shoot some tame fireworks in the driveway, although they scare our dog Blue and our cat Eddie. Better yet, we will sit on the porch as the sun goes down, fruit crisps perched on our laps, and watch the various towns’ fireworks display. From east to south to west, our flat open vistas afford us a nearly 180-degree explosion of colors in the dusky summer sky. As the fireworks subside, nature takes over, and the fireflies perform their own (and better) version of luminescence.
Happenings this Weekend at the Farm and Beyond
FARM STORE SPECIAL THIS WEEKEND: SUMMER BUBBLES & BITES FLIGHT
In celebration of Independence Day, we’re offering our “Summer Bubbles & Bites” special again this weekend in the farm store. The cheese & bubbly flight features sparkling wines from Illinois Sparkling Co. (ISC). These amazing sparkling wines are made using the Champagne Method-both are dry and complex.
Our “Summer Bubbles & Bites” pairs cracked pepper chevre with ISC Brut, black goat with ISC Brut Hombre Rose and pelota roja with FVR100 (Terres Dorées)-a fruity and full-flavored Beaujolais sparkling wine. $25 for the cheese & bubbly flight. No need to reserve; just ask for the flight when you come to the farm store.
Farm Open Hours
This weekend (and all weekends through the end of the year) we’re open 11-5 both Saturday and Sunday. Shop our farm store and sample some of our award-winning cheeses. The weather is looking fantastic for an outing to the farm. You can even order online to pick up your order during farm open hours.
Enjoy a cheese and charcuterie board under our pavilion with a bottle of organic and/or biodynamic wine or local microbrew. Want something cool? Try our delicious goat milk gelato! Of course, there is lots of opportunity to engage with the goats—the mommas and the babies LOVE visitors.
Specials this weekend: (available BOTH Saturday and Sunday):
--summer peachy yogurt smoothies
--special gelato flavors TBD
The secret ingredient to our amazing cheeses and gelato is our MILK! You too can experience our milk in its purest form! Our milk super fresh (usually less than one day old) and clean. We are permitted to sell raw milk from the farm (Illinois Dept. of Public Health). Curious what it tastes like? We will have samples for you to try-just ask.
We’ve also got some great local products, including artisan jams, local honey, preserves and salamis. Check out the gorgeous eggs from fellow AWA (Animal Welfare Approved) certified eggs from Joyful Wren Farm. They are equally beautiful on the inside (bright orange means they are definitely eating grass) as well as the outside. I eat them every day!!
The farm is open on weekends RAIN OR SHINE! You can still visit with the baby goats inside their barn if it’s raining! We have ample seating inside our farm store if you want to stay and enjoy a cheese & charcuterie board. Our store is AIR-CONDITIONED!
From 7-12 each Saturday, you can stock up on great produce, meats, eggs and of course PFFC cheeses. Shop the market this Saturday and snag some berries (blueberries, raspberries) AND PEACHES!!! Cherry tomatoes are starting to make their appearance too as well as beautiful radishes—cheese should definitely be on your list, and you can prepare simple dishes with what’s in season alongside our cheeses, especially our chevre and feta.
PLEASE NOTE: OUR LOCATION AT THE MARKET HAS CHANGED. WE ARE STILL LOCATED ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE MARKET, BUT WE ARE NEXT TO ILLINIOIS WILLOWS (AT THE SOUTH END OF AISLE TWO).
Here's the lineup of cheeses and dairy product you can expect to find in our farm store and at the farmers’ market. Who needs fireworks when you can have fireworks in your mouth from all this gorgeous cheese!
Pelota Roja!!! Our raw goat’s milk “Spanish Style” cheese is back!! First batch of the season made with early spring milk. The flavor is sharp and nutty, the texture is firm, crumbly—perfect for shaving or grating. You can also just slice it and eat it with a big hunk of local salami and smear of local mustard. YUM YUM YUM!!
Fresh Chevre: plain, herbs de Provence, cracked pepper
Mixed milk feta in whey brine-salad season is upon us. Try crumbling feta over roasted beets and drizzle with a balsamic reduction!
Artisan Cottage Cheese: this is NOT your “grocery store” cottage cheese-rich, golden yellow and creamy-stuff some peppers and roast with melty cheese on top (like Pelota Roja!!) or make a pasta salad.
Little bloom on the prairie: Mixed milk camembert style- young this week
Black Goat: All goat ash-ripened bloomy rind; very young and mild this week 2021 NY International Cheese Competition Silver Medal Winner!
Fleur de la prairie: All goat bloomy rind with edible flowers and herbs-aging nicely 2021 Good Food Award Winner AND Culture Magazine’s Summer Issue Cheese Centerfold
Goat milk Yogurt (quart size)
Raw goat milk (half gallons or quarts)-farm store only
We will send some of our goat milk yogurt parfaits with local fruit purees to market this week. Keep an eye out for those.
Not local? No problem. You can order our cheeses and gift boxes from our online store.