in loving memory of Carpet

Yet another tragedy has hit this morning and we realize again, how precious life is and how easily it can be taken away.

The Thurston's woke up this morning and checked on the flock and found that poor little Carpet had died in the night. We all knew he was very frail and slow and he just wasn't able to keep up with his sisters when it came time to feed. They kept a very close eye on him and were going to start bottle feeding today. We have all learned that it is very difficult when ewe's have triplets, not only is it amazing if none come out with problems but also important that the mother has enough milk for all. All these experiences are how we learn but it's still so sad.
He was the one we were thinking about buying and trying our hand at raising a few sheep. His wool was so amazing and thick, thus the name Carpet. Joel thought it would be fun to try and reproduce this wonderful wool. They may breed Gracie again next year so maybe another chance may arrive to get a black one again.

Many hands have held him and he was loved by all. Bye Carpet.

gracie's triplets

I will let the photos speak for themselves.

These are my neighbors Icelandic sheep. They have 3 ewe's; Ivory gave birth 2 days ago with 2 white rams. Gracie gave birth today to a black ram, a white female & a spotted female. We are still awaiting the arrival of Leah's lambs so hopefully any day now, she really looks miserable... maybe its my sympathy pangs from being pregnant feeling for her.

follow the rooster

For those who are interested in seeing how our cheese is made here is a brief presentation.

I took 4 gallons of raw cows milk which was milked that day and bring it up to temp. I then added the cultures and bleu mold along with actual Roquefort Bleu Cheese, mix well.

Next I cut the curd once it has solidified into a jello like consistency and stir continuously for 30 min.

Then it is drained and set into the mould to press. I then cut it again into cubes which will be placed into the mould.

Don't forget the salt.

Oolite Bleu after 4 days of aging... it's getting there!

the brilliant cookie

It has been suggested a time or two that I should sell my baked goods, so to all those who have suggested it here you go...

www.thebrilliantcookie.blogspot.com













Truffles- Homemade Raspberry Perserve, Amaretto &
Dark Chocolate w/ nuts













F-Bomb Cookies (Salted Carmel Chocolate Cookie)













Thanks for all the support!
Hey Charno, check it out and give your 2 cents.

our bleu just got famous

O.k now it isn't famous in the true sense but it is getting noticed. Joel took our cheese to be tasted by a couple of guys in the restaurant biz who heard about our cheese biz. He begrudgingly took it in one night without much confidence since it didn't turn out exactly how he wanted but knowing it was a good opportunity he headed over. They tried it, loved it and by the end of the night all the customers had sampled our Bleu. People were coming up to him to shake his hand, "keep up the good work", and so on. Joel even noticed a guy moving closer and closer to his table until they finally asked if he would like to try it, "Sure why not." Now we all know Joel is a great story teller so he went on to explain why our Bleu cheese is so unique. He let them know that this cheese is a true product of it's environment. The milk is from Mt. Pleasant and they are grass fed and hormone free cows and there are about 6 different cows that give it the unique flavor and golden color. Also, Utah weather isn't like France or even California, it's Utah... which is a desert- thus a hard bleu cheese is created not a soft Roquefort style. Well Joel sat back the rest of the night listening to his story being re-told over and over as the guys introduced the product. It was exactly what he needed, to see that this was a rad & unique product that he could be proud of. They loved it so much that they took what was left, asked for more and have since put it on their cheese plate to sell. Yes, it brought a little tear to my eye when I heard the news. Not to mention when I was there for spring break I overheard a group order the cheese plate and the guys gave us props on the cheese they were eating. Progress is a good feeling even if it's just baby steps. The guys now are now taking dibs on what ever we make from now on and they will be following the newest addition to their family... What's Her Name (or as I like to call her Mt. Pleasant Gold) they will be watching her age and get mature and soon enough it will be on a plate near you! (If you live near Costa Mesa, CA)

visit peel farm

I took a visit to the Peel farm to share some of our awesome Oolite Bleu Cheese. I always have Dale try it to let me know what he thinks. We visited there for a while in his pasture and talked sheep but the funnest part was he was right in the middle of his lambing season. He would point out mothers who were about to give birth and he had some give birth the night before, it was so exciting to be there and though I only had my lame phone camera I took the best pictures I could. In the distance were these two little lambs; one black and one white- they played together the whole time... SO ADORABLE! Any day now I am expecting a very important phone call from my neighbor when her Icelandic ewes are ready to give birth. I will be helping and this time I will bring my good camera. And she did try and milk one ewe to see how she would react and she did great, no fussing and no kicking.
Who couldn't love a face like this!

bringing the house back to life

Not only are we trying to start our cheese business but a huge part of why we moved here was for this little adorable house so we are constantly working on bringing the house back to its glorious state. We met with the Kimble Brothers and they love to do historic renovations, needless to say they were beyond thrilled to work on our little piece of history. It is really exciting working with people who have just as much passion and desire to bring it back EXACTLY how it was. What impressed me the most about them is that they were working on a porch for some folks here in Sanpete and normally you would create the first spindle and then program it into the router and have it repeated twenty times over but being the true artisans that they are, they created each one by hand as to keep each one unique and with its own flaws- that's how the pioneers would have done it so that is how they do it. We are also having to re-point the house which means to chip out the existing mortar and refill it in with a very specific limestone mortar for which we have the recipe. Not only do we need to redo the outside stone work but the basement needs to be re-pointed as well. We need to replace the window trims and replace the new door, the one the previous owners put in, with an older door. seems a bit backwards but we want a true historic home. It has been suggested that next year we may get on the home show tour since ours is the oldest here. Now if you look closely at the little shack in the back, that was the original kitchen and we are going to be basically taking it apart piece by piece and turning it inside out since the wood is in better condition on the inside. I also want to move it closer to our big pear tree so it is more visible from the street. Basically there is tons of work to be done and we couldn't be more excited about being the ones who get to do it. If anyone is ever interested in helping you are more than welcome to come and stay with us and be very well fed for your services.... ;)