INT. Irish country bedroom. SATURDAY morning, before SUNRISE.
“Mom, time to get up! When can we go meet the kids?”
I slowwwwly, squintedly, open one eye, blink twice, then try to focus on the ebullient face of a little farmer who seems far too jovial upon waking for my fragile morning head to manage. (note to self: making homemade mead might not be a good routine to start after all)
The clock reads 6:41am.
Confused, I mumble, “kids? what kids?”
He, in his best clever clogs lilt, points out, “Not kid kids, mother… baby goat kids! Remember?”
I pull the covers over my head.
He pulls them down.
I pull them back up.
I lose.
“Your hair looks really weird mom”
Baby goats are a treat.
We don’t have them on our farm.
We want them here, but we don’t have them here. (YET)
Farm envy. It is possible.
I throw back the duvet and drag myself out of bed. As I draw open the shades I tell myself that I should always be the one who is awake first no matter what day of the week it is. Mother guilt, can’t go without a daily dose, right?
We rustle up some brekky.
And, text our goat mama friend.
FB goat mama friend.
Wait.
Weed. (highly recommend weeding while waiting, soothes anxiety)
Wait.
Wonder if..…. “Mom, let’s just turn up at their house.”
Nah, still not quite Irish enough for that yet. Need confirmation for visitations.
Wait.
Walk to our farm to feed our own babies.
Work out a plan to visit the following day with a bonus: another new kid happened!
INT. Irish country bedroom. SUNDAY morning, before SUNRISE.
“Mom, time to get up! When can we go meet the kids?”
I slowwwwly, squintedly, open one eye, blink twice, then try to focus on the ebullient face of a little farmer who seems far too jovial upon waking for my fragile morning head to manage. (note to self: making homemade mead might not be a good routine to start)
The clock reads 6:41am.
Confused, I mumble, “kids? what kids?”
He, in his best clever clogs lilt, points out, “Not kid kids, mother… baby goat kids! Remember?”
I pull the covers over my head.
He pulls them down.
I pull them back up.
I lose.
“Your hair looks really weird mom”
Baby goats are a treat.
We don’t have them on our farm.
We want them here, but we don’t have them here. (YET)
Farm envy. It is possible.
And, off we went…..
Afterwards, I couldn’t resist making some fresh cheese. (see my fresh farmer cheese method here, just swap raw goats milk for cow’s milk and use a tbsp of lemon juice instead of vinegar for creamier texture)
Followed by fresh cheesecake.
Goats Milk Cheesecake with Woodland Honey
This is a super easy, non fussy fresh cheesecake that is always a hit with family and friends. Prepare in the morning and have it for dessert in the evening. The goats cheese provides a richer, fuller flavour than cow’s milk cream cheese, and making the cheese fresh makes it even more wholesome. The honey gives it a bit of a sweetness boost for the finish. I love my father-in-law’s honey from down in the wood, it’s delicious!
Ingredients
125 grams/ 1 ¼ cup crumbled digestive biscuits or graham crackers (Bourbon
biscuits would be nice too)
75 grams/ 6 tbsps soft butter ends ingredient
300 grams/ 10oz soft goats cheese (homemade or from the market)
60 grams/ ½ cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250 ml/ 1 cup heavy cream
Honey for drizzling
Method
1. Process biscuits in a food processor until they turn to large crumbs, then add the butter and pulse again to make bring the mixture together.
2. Press mixture into a 20cm / 8 inch springform tin; press a little up the sidesto form a ridge.
3. Beat together the goats cheese, icing sugar, vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth
4. Lightly whip the double cream, and then fold it into the cream cheese mixture.
5. Spoon the cheesecake filling on top of the biscuit base and smooth with a spatula.
6. Put it in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
7. Drizzle liberally with honey and serve.
