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Local Food
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Written by Theresa Collier
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Monday, 06 December 2010 16:21 |
I've always been a big fan of chevre (goat cheese), so a visit to Mystery Bay Farm was an eagerly anticipated event. One of my first questions was: How did this small artisan goat dairy manage to win a top North American cheese award? After sampling a newly made batch, my question was answered. Light and creamy with fragrant  flecks of fresh thyme and a sprinkling of white pepper, the chevre was heavenly. After meeting with Rachael VanLaanen, I understood how her holistic approach to raising goats could be a factor in the wonderful flavor of the cheese.
Rachael and her husband, Scott Brinton, planned and researched their dairy business for several years before starting it. Rachael has a background as an environmental educator and apprenticed at nearby Mt. Townsend Creamery for almost two years. Four years ago, they purchased acreage on Marrowstone Island, built a barn and named their new venture Mystery Bay Farm. Rachael and Scott turned the farm into a WSDA-certified Grade A goat dairy in the spring of 2009 with the help of a local investing group. Their mission is to show that small farms like theirs play an integral role in building sustainable local economies and preserving the character of rural land.
Rachael and Scott currently milk seven American Alpine goats and hope to milk thirteen goats by next year. The well-being of the goats from birth to adulthood is Rachael's primary concern and the foundation of her dairy philosophy. "To make great cheese, you have to start with great milk from contented goats," she explained. According to Rachael, "the goats are bred in the fall then have approximately three months off before kidding [having babies] in March." Rachel believes the process of bonding makes the goats happier. "The kids are born in March. I let them nurse naturally for a week to allow bonding with the mother."
 The diet regimen is also critical to their happiness and well-being. "Goats are browsers, rather than grazers," she says. Although those terms may sound similar, she said they are very different concepts. "Feed the goats like goats, not cows. If given the choice, goats prefer a variety of plants instead of just grass." Walking outside the goat barn we look out at the farm's five acres where Rachael and Scott have set up approximately 15 different rotating pastures. "We have a goal of long-term sustainability, and short-cycle, rotational grazing is the best way to maintain the pasture." Speckled throughout the pasture we see the "brush islands": plantings of roses, hawthorne, blackberries and fruit trees surrounded by grid fencing so the goats can browse through the wires. Their supplemented winter diet also includes a mixture of twelve different grasses grown on the island with occasional organic grains. "Can you taste the difference in the goat cheese with each season?" I ask. Rachael explains that there is a subtle flavor difference due to the change in diet and the consistency is a bit richer during the winter.
Rachael continues the tour and shows us the milking room. Behind a closed door are the adjoining washroom and cheese-making room which are off limits to visitors for hygienic purposes. "All of our inspections have been 100 percent to date," Rachael says. There is a separation between milking, the handling of raw milk before pasteurization and the cheese-making process, an important fact in contamination control. Looking through the glass partition, we see every room is spotless with each piece of equipment in its place.
Rachael and Scott have an apprentice, Becca Argo, who will be coming back to work on the farm when the milking process starts in the spring. "With goats, they have to be
milked every single day, once at 6 a.m. and again at 6 p.m. You can't decide at milking time that you are either too tired or have other plans."
Happy and contented goats raised on pasture and local hay earned Rachael and Scott a First Place award for Fresh Goat Cheese at the annual American Cheese Society Conference and Competition last August. No small feat considering this is only their second year in production.
Mystery Bay Farm currently retails their chevre at Nordland General Store, Red Dog Farm, Port Townsend Co-op, Port Townsend Farmers Market and Pane d'Amore in Port Townsend and on Bainbridge Island. Fresh ricotta will be available in the spring.
For more information visit www.mysterybayfarm.com
Mystery Bay Farm Chevre, Tomato and Rosemary Pizza
I made my family a goat cheese pizza last week using Mystery Bay Farm fresh chevre and they thought it was one of the best pizzas they have ever tasted. I made another pizza the following week but used another brand of chevre purchased at the grocery store. My family was disappointed because it did not taste the same. We are sure it was the flavor of Mystery Bay Farm's cheese that made the pizza taste amazing. Here is the recipe:
Important preparation tips:
• Have the pizza dough ball at room temperature; cover with towel and let sit for several hours if chilled
• Preheat the pizza stone in a 450° oven
• Sauté the garlic cloves in oil until soft, then add freshly minced rosemary and let cool slightly
• Use the oil generously on dough
Special equipment: 1 pizza stone and 1 pizza pan or baking sheet and parchment paper
1 medium pizza dough ball (purchase at any pizzeria)
2 sliced Roma tomatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
2 tsp of fresh rosemary
½ C. pizza or pasta sauce
2 tsp oregano
1 pkg. Mystery Bay Farm Chevre Cheese
1 lb shredded mozzarella
½ C. cheddar cheese
¼ C. shredded parmesan
Preheat oven to 450° with pizza stone on rack below middle.
Cut parchment paper in circle to fit pizza stone. Place parchment on baking sheet.
Sauté garlic and rosemary in olive oil until garlic is soft. Let cool slightly.
Oil hands generously with seasoned oil and using your hands, stretch out the dough into a round circle.
Lay parchment round on a baking sheet and fit dough onto parchment round.
Use finger tips to even out the dough edges.
Brush with remaining seasoned olive oil.
Spread pizza sauce on dough using the back of a large spoon.
Top with mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan.
Top with Roma tomatoes. Top with quarter-sized pieces of Mystery Bay Farm Chevre Cheese.
Crush oregano between fingers and sprinkle over top.
Using the pizza pan or baking sheet, slide the parchment from sheet onto preheated pizza stone in oven.
Bake for 10 min. or until light brown on bottom and bubbly on top.
Mystery Bay Farm
PO Box 285
Nordland, WA 98358
360.385.3309
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