F.O.T.M. { Organic Blackberries + Vanilla Beans + Rosemary }

F.O.T.M. = Flavor Of The Month. I am calling it F.O.T.M. (pronounced fo-tum) because it is way more fun and easy to say than the drawn out F–L–A–V–O–R   O–F   T–H–E….you get the point.

So F.O.T.M. it is.

We start Thursday Night Farmer’s Market in Downtown San Luis Obispo next Thursday night. Woohoo! (Everyone is as excited as we are…right?!?)! To celebrate we wanted to do something special, so we have decided on making a new, special flavor with in-season ingredients for each month. The F.O.T.M. will only be available at the Farmer’s Market or online (oh yes, we are launching online sales sooooooon…..!). That flavor will only be available through us and will only be available for one month…like I said, it’s special! And once it’s gone, it’s gone.

So yesterday I created the July F.O.T.M.

I was given the most delicious, sweet, and tangy organic blackberries earlier this week from a local berry farmer; this is where my inspiration began. I knew I wanted the tang of the blackberries to pair with the sweet creaminess of vanilla beans. Blackberry Vanilla Bean. And it was good. But I wanted something more interesting. Another layer of flavor, something that would give it more depth. (It had to be perfect…it is the first F.O.T.M.!!!). I was thinking about adding lavender. But I realized I didn’t have any lavender. Dang. So I went outside the creamery and saw my rosemary plant (one of the FEW things that are surviving in my garden…). And the first F.O.T.M. was born.

Lets just say WOW.

{ Organic Blackberry + Vanilla Beans + Rosemary }

And not only does it taste A-MA-ZING, it’s really beautiful. Dark purple berries, vanilla bean and berry seeds. Nice.

What I love most about this flavor is it’s complexity. When you take your first bite you immediately get the sweet vanilla. Then you get the tangy berries. And lastly you get the hint of the herby rosemary.

I may or may not have eaten half a pint of this while writing this post. And I may or may not have more of it after dinner. Or before dinner. Or for breakfast tomorrow morning. Or on top of a rosemary shortbread cookie. It’s called quality assurance people…so it’s my job?

I could really get used to this F.O.T.M. thing….

Alexis

A Vacation.

I did not milk sheep for four days straight. It’s true!

We went to Oregon.

Cowboy’s best friend Josh (who he worked with on a ranch in Eastern Oregon) was getting married. At first I wasn’t going to attend; who would watch the farm? Milk the sheep? Cuddle my puppies? Tend to the whopping 6 plants that are in my garden? (which, by the way I am extremely proud of).

Then came my intern Aimee. She was up for to the task (and she did a great job). After typing out three pages of notes on how to run the farm, cuddle my puppies and water my vast garden, I walked (actually we drove) away.

I still can’t believe I left my babies. But a quick trip was much appreciated. And it was nice to spend time with my husband; time that did not include dairy related chores and dairy related talk.

The wedding was beautiful. I of course forgot to take photos of the newlyweds….but someone did offer to take a photo of us. And any time there is a photo opportunity that includes both of us NOT in muck-boots, I’m in.

In Oregon it was really special for me to see Cowboy with his Oregon-ranching friends (most of which I had never met). They shared fond ranch memories and I could see the sparkle the reminiscing brought to his eye. We met some amazing new friends, ate lots of good food, visited the farmer’s markets, toured a dairy (I can’t help myself…I have some magnet inside of me that pulls me to them), went on a beautiful hike, and did A LOT of driving.

Of course we had to stop in for a cocktail (or two..) and pub-grub at The Black Sheep.

See those teeny-weeny white dots? Sheep! I can spy those little buggers anywhere.

But do you know what the best part was? Sleeping in. I slept in until 6:20AM. THAT was nice. I enjoyed a latte the last morning of our trip. Now you may not think that’s a treat, but boy o’ boy, it was. You see, on the farm I can’t walk down the street after waking up to go grab a latte (although I could walk down the dirt road and grab a bottle of wine at the winery…but some folks may look down on that so early in the morning…). Truth be told, by the time I am done with my chores and get to town, I would be having a latte for lunch. Unless someone wants to start delivering lattes to the dairy at 5AM…anyone? anyone?

It was perfect.

But I missed my babies. I missed my ewes, my lambs, my dogs and puppies. I missed my feeding routine, watering my garden and collecting the eggs. I even missed milking at 5:30AM (really lady? Whats wrong with you?!).

I am happy to be home. And when I got up this morning I milked, fed, mucked the barn and then made my to-do list for the next couple days. And after reviewing my to-do list I decided I might need another vacation.

Contemplating never leaving again,

Alexis

One Year Ago Today.

One year ago today, my Cowboy and I got married.

And one year ago today we had a mere four (yes, you read correctly, 4) sheep.

Today we celebrate one year of marriage. One year of sheep milking, dairy building, and ice cream making. There’s been tears, some stress (OK, lots of stress), and some meltdowns (being honest here…), but mostly this year has been filled with love. Love of our animals, love of our business and love of each other.

My Cowboy is handsome, sweet, witty, and smart. And he built a dairy. And fence. And feeders. And he helps me muck out the barn. And that’s true love.

And we are sending our love to all of you who have loved and supported us in the last year.

Where will this adventure lead us one year from today….?

Lots O’ Love,

Alexis

Chicks, Man.

We’ve got chicks, Man! (shout out to Joel McHale from The Soup on E!…love him!….anyone? anyone?).

Anyway, we received our Standard Bronze turkey chicks last week! (Why yes, we are trying to make ourselves crazy and fill up any free time we had).

These little things will be ready just in time for Thanksgiving. People often ask me, “don’t you feel bad about eating animals you have raised?” The answer is really simple. No. And here’s why….I know my animals have had a good life, been treated well, free to roam around the farm, and well fed. So in short, no. I don’t feel bad at all.

So these are the chicks, man (I can’t resist…).

Check out the look from the chick in the middle. He’s saying, “I didn’t sign no photo release, lady.”

Oh, and for the record, check out my garden. I was so ashamed I finally got my act together.

Tomatoes.

Pole Beans.

Watermelon.

Note: Please disregard the sheep turds in the upper right corner. Not super photogenic but super good for the garden. Oh, and we have sheep turds coming out of our ears….if you would like to have a crappy garden too let me know.

Uhhhh, the new lettuce hasn’t come up yet. But it’s coming???

Perhaps this is why my garden doesn’t grow.

Really dogs???

Happy Wednesday.

Alexis