Great Gifting: Class Acts

One of the best gifts I ever gave Dave and, by extension, myself, was a cocktail-making class with Lucy Brennan, Portland's Queen of Cocktailiana. He learned basic skills like shaking, muddling and mixing and came home with recipes for a classic martini and other Brennan-devised specialty cocktails. Which, over the years, has made for lovely evenings spent in the company of Messieurs Negroni, Sidecar and Manhattan and even Madame Corpse Reviver. Lincoln restaurant has a series it calls Bar Camp, a class that introduces non-professionals to the history of cocktails. Just think how nicely a gift certificate for a class would be tucked into set of martini glasses!

Details: Private cocktail-making classes for groups of 8 with Lucy Brennan at Mint/820: check the website or call 503-284-5518 to inquire about general classes. Bar Camp at Lincoln: check the website or call 503-288-6200.

* * *

Whether your giftee is gifted in the kitchen or not, a cooking class can expand an existing repertoire or give confidence to a novice. And it doesn't have to cost a fortune. My friend and fellow blogger Katherine Deumling of Cook With What You Have has a series of classes coming up in January on stocking your pantry that includes a dozen new ideas for quick weeknight dinners. She also does private classes for a reasonable price that can range from baking to quick meals for your family. Another option for bakers is a pastry class at SweetWares in Hillsdale, which has a full schedule of classes featuring breads, cakes, pastries and even gluten-free options. And if your cook wants to explore new horizons, I can't think of a better way to add some international flavor to your table than a class with Sophie Rahman of Masala. My post about her class is here, and I can guarantee your gift will be appreciated!

Details: Cooking classes with Katherine Deumling of Cook With What You Have: check her website or e-mail Katherine. Baking classes at SweetWares: check the website or call 503-546-3737. Indian cooking classes with Sophie Rahman of Masala: check her website or call 503-233-1966.

* * *

And how could I leave out the cheesiest gift of all? I couldn't! So if your beloved goes weak in the knees over washed-rind cheeses or gets all gooey for gouda, a cheese-making class might be just the ticket. Some of the best in the area are offered by Chrissie at Kookoolan Farms in Yamhill, who brings in artisan cheesemakers from around the area to do everything from soft, fresh cheeses to Port Salut, Muenster and Tallegio. Another option for the not-so-hands-on recipient would be a cheese tasting class, and I can think of none better than those offered by Luan Schooler of Foster and Dobbs in Northeast Portland. With classes on styles of cheese (think goudas or goat), the cheeses from a single cheesemaker (Mt. Townsend Creamery or Vermont's Jasper Hill) or pairing cheeses with wine, you can't go wrong.

Details: Cheesemaking classes at Kookoolan Farms in Yamhill: check the website or call 503-730-7535. Cheese tasting classes at Foster & Dobbs: check the website or call 503-284-1157.

If you know of other cocktail, cooking or cheesemaking classes that offer gift certificates, please let me know in the comments section below!

Check out the other gift suggestions in the series: Book by Book, Classic Design, Not Dead Yet! (food magazines you'll love) and Giving From the Heart.

Land of Milk and Honey

It's kind of like that PBS show "Connections" with James Burke, whose comb-over was third in line to that of "Guns, Germs and Steel" author Jared Diamond and former Portland TV newsman Boyd Levet back in the Mt. St. Helens days. But I digress.

The connection I'm talking about is the one between the price of farm-produced raw milk and the vacation schedules of middle-class Portlanders. Got it? Well, as explained by Chrissie Zaerpoor of Kookoolan Farms, it has to do with the reduced demand for the milk her cows produce due to the fact that many of us city folk go on vacation in July just as the cows' production is peaking. This makes for a glut of milk for not enough buyers, which causes her to lower her prices to compensate.

So if you're a lover of raw milk, you can make an appointment to pick up a gallon or ten from her farm store in Yamhill. And what to do with all that milk? Well, for starters, if you're the DIY type she has local cheesemakers teach classes at the farm (and sells cheesemaking supplies, as well), and she also has recipes for making your own butter and ice cream from the milk (see below).

Also, if you're feeling particularly motivated and you're interested in starting your own herd, she's selling two of her best producers, Token and Glitter, to good homes. For milk or the cows it comes from, get in touch by e-mail or by phone at 503-730-7535.

Farmer Chrissie's Best Ice Cream

To make ice cream, combine 3 cups cream; 1/2 cup sweetener such as sugar, Rapidura, honey or maple syrup; four raw egg yolks; and 1 tsp arrowroot powder in a blender. Add whatever flavoring you desire, such as 1 tsp. vanilla extract. Then process in your ice cream maker. Variation: replace sweetener and flavoring with one jar of Ayers Creek berry jam. Homemade ice cream keeps well in the freezer for up to a year. 

Farmer Chrissie's Best Butter

To make butter, let cream set out at room temperature for about six hours to warm up and ripen, then mix it in your food processor until butter comes together in granules. Drain off the buttermilk for use in biscuits or pancakes. Rinse the butter granules in ice-cold water until the water runs clear, then use a damp towel to press out the excess water. Salt the butter if desired, roll into logs, wrap in clear plastic wrap and freeze almost indefinitely. Raw butter spoils very quickly in your refrigerator or at room temperature because hand-processing does not remove all the casein from the butterfat, so keep frozen until ready to use.

Thoughts On: Birth and Death on a Farm, Pt. 2

Chrissie Zaerpoor of Kookoolan Farms continues the series (part one is here) about trade-offs, transitions and new beginnings on their farm in Yamhill:

It always seems that just when you think you have everything figured out and under control that nature reminds you otherwise. Earlier this spring, we were milking cows one morning and one was missing. After almost an hour of searching, we found her drowned in our little creek.

Chrissie in her farm store.

The cows have had continuous access to this creek for more than two years and have never had any trouble with it; the water was not particularly high; it's a very small creek, only six feet wide or so and no deeper than boots for most of its length, but it does have one deep swimming hole in it. Poor thing, if she had found her way a few feet up or downstream, she would've been fine.

But finding a pet cow dead is just the beginning: hauling a 900-pound carcass out of a creek is a serious engineering challenge requiring heavy equipment and almost a whole day's work to remove her body, bring it up the hill, dig a deep hole, and bury her. Thank goodness for good neighbors and their backhoe. We replaced her with a new cow, "Token," who is just a lovely, lovely, gentle cow. We wouldn't have met Token if not for the other drowned cow.

We have built two very large greenhouses (top photo) with our own hands: 30 by 144 feet, and 30 by 98 feet, and have had Mother Nature crush them both, first by wind and then by snow. We thought we needed the greenhouses for hay storage and for meat chicken shelters; instead, we replaced the greenhouses with an irrigation system that uses our gray water from the milking parlor and poultry processing plant to irrigate our new 100-tree mixed fruit orchard that we planted this spring. We wouldn't have the orchard if it weren't for the end of the greenhouses.



Similarly, some of you may remember our dreadful behemoth first delivery turck, the Snap-On Tool truck. This truck cost $4,000 when we bought it, had only one seat and seatbelt, no heating, no air conditioning, and numerous mechanical problems and failures that cost over $5,000 to repair in the first year and added nothing to its value.

Deciding to retire the dreaded beast and purchase a much nicer and newer Isuzu NPR commercial truck with three seats and seatbelts, heater and air conditioning, and a 14-foot delivery box, felt very scary in October, 2008: nobody was buying cars or trucks then, remember? But the new truck has been wonderfully reliable, and when we filed our taxes we were surprised to find we had been "stimulated" to the tune of being able to write down 50% depreciation the first year for a business vehicle purchase.

That stimulus bonus funded the stainless steel wall remodelling of our poultry processing plant, hopefully opening up the possibility of having it licensed half of the year for poultry processing, and half of the year as a winery for meadmaking: this became a big factor in making our biggest "new beginnings" decision of all: to transition away from Cornish cross chickens.

Top photo by Frederick Joe, The Oregonian.

A Trio of Holiday Gift Suggestions

There's nothing better than a self-liquidating gift. One that doesn't hang around or, heaven forfend, need to be dusted. Which explains the popularity of the calendar as the perfect practical gift. It's useful, doesn't take up much space and you can recycle it when the year's up, yet while it lasts you can enjoy a new piece of art on your wall every month. This year's edition of the Artisan Cheese Calendar from our friend Tami Parr at the Pacific Northwest Cheese Project is made to order for the cheese lover on your list, with its new, larger size (13.5" by 9") and great photos of Northwest artisan cheeses for only $28.99. Order it online, and note that 25% of all profits from sales benefit the Oregon Food Bank.

* * *

Though I was never able to convince my mother of the idea, I happen believe that a gift certificate is the ideal gift. These little slips of paper (or plastic as is often the case these days) allow the giftee to choose the object of their desire rather than what the gifter thinks they want. So if you've got a foodie friend who's been pining over classes in making cheese or artisan meats, Chrissie Zaerpoor at Kookoolan Farms in Yamhill has just announced a virtual laundry list of upcoming classes from Basic Soft Cheeses to Blue Cheese to Charcuterie for Beginners. I've attended a class and they're informative, not to mention tasty, even for those of us who are more interested in consumption than production. Check out the list of classes, or call 503-730-7535 for more information.

* * *

And, last but not least, what better way to let someone know how much you care than giving them the gift of health? Kristin Jackson of Take It Outside Fitness is offering gift certificates for group classes, personal training, or lifestyle and weight management either in her studio or outside in the fresh air. I've taken her classes for awhile now and found them not only affordable but downright fun. She's able to gear the workout to your ability level, so if you're fit or not you'll get a good workout and have fun at the same time. To quote The Monkees, "I'm A Believer." Check the website for gift certificate details.