Im back peeps

I haven't posted in a while but I can explain, I swear. I believe this gap in posting is due to a recent lack of blog worthy material in my life as well as some good old fashioned procrastination. Anyway, I have continued to take pictures since my last post and I have some interesting things to share.

In June I will be going to Spain with my school for a food, wine and agriculture trip. We will be doing site visits every day of different food producers and vineyards. In preparation for the trip, we are doing some site visits local to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. This week's visit, Sprout Creek Farm in Poughkeepsie, NY. Sprout Creek Farm is a small non for profit organization founded by 2 nuns. They have animals ranging from cows to chickens to goats. They are mostly known for being a creamery that produces incredible cheeses, which I had the pleasure of sampling. Here are some photos of my day on the farm.

                                                    Freshly made cheese, unripened

 Cheese being brined in a bath of salty whey. I believe they said it had a salt concentration of 24%

 Some bloomy rind cheeses, the gooey stuff, ripening away. Plus me!

The ripening room, quite a smell!

The basin where fresh milk from the farm is turned into curds and whey.

A baby hamburger, I mean um, cow.

The friendliest kid I've ever met

These sheep don't bathe, it was obvious.

The boss man of the chicken coop

I had a great time at Sprout Creek Farm. Everyone there is really friendly and the tour was really interesting and interactive. The cheese from this place is on par with french cheese. They have over 20 kinds that they produce from both cows and goats milk. As for the animals, they really made my day. At one point I was cornered by 4 goats who chewed on my pockets and butted their heads at me. I was laughing very hard. Thanks Sprout Creek Farm!