eG Foodblog: Varmint - A Southern Stay at Home Vacation

[Rachel Perlow]

We started by visiting my new neighborhood pastry shop, Hereghty (danger, over-the-top but essentially useless website alert).

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That website really is a waste of bandwidth. And I'm sure they paid a lot of money for it too. You couldn't even skip past the graphics or turn off the music. Then at the end, all there is is their address and email. No pictures of goodies or other useful information. Not even the shop's hours! Wow, they got ripped off. I'm not yelling at you, Varmint. You warned us. It just pisses me off that these two small business owners probably think their site is fabulous. If they just did a cheap do-it-yourself site and included a few pics and a pricelist, it would be much more useful to their business. OK, rant over.

Sounds like y'all had a great day at the beach. Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

[jhlurie]

Gotta love cheese fries where you can hardly see the fries.

[kiliki]

I think I saw tiny Parisian macarons in that patisserie picture...

I love that there is a dish that incorporates both "fried" and "salad." I don't think I've ever seen that.

[Malawry]

Salads topped with fried chicken are a Southern classic that have been co-opted by a lot of national chain restaurants (places like Applebee's).

I was especially enamored of the Lance captain's wafers alongside Varmint's salad. I ADORED those crackers as a kid and would eat them until my parents made me stop so I'd have room for some salad and maybe some form of protein. They were on tables everywhere in Greensboro, NC, where I grew up (90 minutes or so from Varm's place). I haven't seen them in many years. Now I'm craving some. Keebler Club crackers aren't the same, but they're probably the closest analogue available in mainstream grocery stores across America.

Needless to say, Varmint, I'm really enjoying this blog. Love to you and the li'l Varmints and of course Dr. Mrs. Varmint.

[Daddy-A]

Southern Poutine. Mon Dieu y'all!

Arteries cloggin' as I continue to read this blog ...

A.

[Varmint]

Today was a BIG adventure day, so breakfast and lunch were spartan. Most of us had some locally grown canteloupe, which was outstanding.

Lunch was worth writing about, as we were out of time and needed to get to Wayne County, North Carolina to visit Holly Grove Farms and their retail branch, Holly Grove Cheese. What is Holly Grove Cheese? Well, it's a goat dairy farm, with nearly 200 does (they're only milking about 108). This operation is owned by our own eGulleteer, John Lichthardt and his partners, Ron and Debbie Craig. This goat farm is run by livestock farmers who have discovered a great niche in the making of goat cheese. The bulk of their operation focuses on making high quality chevre. They sell the bulk chevre to other operations for repackaging, but if you want to get some fantastic simple chevre at a rock bottom price, I suggest you visit their site right away. The site is in its infancy and has a simple design, but their cheeses are out of this world. The chevre has just the right amount of tang and creaminess. They have a Camembert-style cheese that I could have eaten all day. My eleven year old (he of the cheese fry fame) thought that it would make an excellent grilled cheese sandwich. Yes, it would! They also have a Summertime Blue that is made with both cow and goat milk. If you enjoy a hearty blue cheese, I recommend you get some of this.

We were so warmly welcomed by these fantastic people. Ron Craig has made his name in the hog industry, and he and John Lichthardt recognized that most of the goat dairy farmers are extremely small operators that focus almost exclusively on the retail, artisinal business. They also knew that the demand for chevre in the U.S. has increased dramatically, such that the majority of chevre curd consumed in the country is imported from France. Trying to get a jump on the market, Ron and John have ambitious plans to increase their output of bulk chevre while developing their own private label artisinal cheeses. Based on what I tasted today, I think they're doing pretty damn well for being in business only 3 months now.

Of course, the highlights of the day focused on my children and the goats. They played with the goats, helped feed them, and did quite a bit of milking. The L'il Varmints came away today with a lesson in food production and how hard a life it is. They have a newly found appreciation of farming in general and cheese specifically. Most of all, they had fun. They will always remember this day, and I can't thank Ron, Debbie and John enough.

For the most part, I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Ron Craig in the cheese room.

John Lichthardt showing the kids the French cultures they use to make their cheese.

John opening some fantastic aged cheese. They had intentionally packed this in an air-tight package to see how it would respond to anaerobic conditions. The rind had that off smell, but the cheese itself was mind-boggling. All of us raved about this.

Where the 108 lucky "milking" does stay.

I thought shirts give goat milk an "off" taste.

When goats chew on shirts, they also spit on shirts (look at the bottom).

Coming to a theater near you: "Attack of the Baby Goats"

Ron getting ready to milk the first two dozen goats. They have a very slick operation here. It took us about 50 minutes to milk 108 goats, with 3 of my kids "helping" them along the way.

Debbie helping load up the goats.

My son Everett attempting to "strip" the teats, getting them primed for the milker.

Milking is done. Time to get those goats back to their "bubble."

Feeding time.

We then got to sample some very fresh goats milk. Two of the kids (and their parents) couldn't get enough of it. If you've never tasted goat milk, it's incredibly rich and slightly sweet. I'd gladly drink a cup of this a day.

Something tells me, however, that this trip may have compromised my ability to serve goat at the pig pickin'. "Memo to self: Do not take the children to a pig farm."

As we headed down the driveway to head back to city life, Everett yelled out from the back seat, "That was awesomely fun!!!" He was right. Thanks again to John, Debbie and Ron.

On the way back home, we did hit a barbecue restaurant, but it was not Wilbers, which was 40 minutes in the other direction. We stopped at one of my local favorites, Stephenson's Bar-B-Q.

Some hush puppies to start.

A pitcher of sweet tea, of course. Notice how they provide you with extra ice, as the tea is on the table when you arrive.

My dinner: barbecue, brunswick stew, barbecued potatoes, and green beans.

Barbecued chicken with barbecue. Notice that the fries are fresh cut and are cooked properly. By the way, Stephenson's does a great job with their barbecue.

Fried chicken.

And some banana pudding to finish off the meal.

What a day! I have no clue what tomorrow will bring. We have no true plans, so we'll play it all by ear. Thanks for reading along!

[donk79]

This is an awesome report. I was really suprised (though I feel foolish for it) at how similar a modern goat dairy resembles a modern cattle dairy. I've never had goat milk, but I'm looking forward to trying it. I have some friends who are trying to live as self sufficiently as possible, and they have a small herd of dairy goats. I have had ice cream made form the fresh milk, but I've not yet sampled the milk itself. I now recognize this as a tremendous oversight that must be corrected as soon as possible. Thanks for sharing!

[Pan]

Varmint, I'm really loving your pictures! I know it sounds trite, but I really do almost feel like I was there, too. I can empathize with the obvious enjoyment on your children's faces.

[tommy]

oh my goodness. that's, so, um, JERSEY!! i thought that cheese fries were a jersey diner thing. usually ordered post midnight. although, now that i think about it, "gravy" is usually included along with the cheese (called "disco fries" in some parts of jersey, i'm sorry to say). but the bacon, now *that's* a good idea.

[snowangel]

Thanks for the photo essay. Made me think about Shepherd's Way Farm up here in Minnesota and the January tragedy.

But, to happier thoughts. Please talk more about the BBQ and the pulled pork.

Is banana pudding a down south thing?

[rjwong]

My dinner: barbecue, brunswick stew, barbecued potatoes, and green beans.

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Yum-yum. Do you use Pistol Pete in your barbecue? Did it taste vinegary or sweet? Do you prefer your barbecued meat chopped or sliced? What was all in that Brunswick stew?

[jackal10]

I'm concerned about all that fried and sweet food, though none of you are obese. How do you do it?

[Varmint]

I'm concerned about all that fried and sweet food, though none of you are obese. How do you do it?

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I'll start here with Professor Depression --

Jack, this isn't really representative of what we eat during the year. We are on vacation (even though we're staying at home), and we have relaxed the rules tremendously. For example, the children never EVER get soda, but they've had it twice this week. They always have a vegetable and a fruit with every meal, but we haven't concerned ourselves with it. Part of the fun of a vacation is forgetting about the rules a bit and acting somewhat decadent. Come Tuesday, it'll be back to the routine of carrots and beans and apples and peaches. But until then, stand back.

One more thing: one of us is obese, but in the beach picture above, he managed to hold his daughter in front of him to conceal that!

[Varmint]

Please talk more about the BBQ and the pulled pork.

Is banana pudding a down south thing?

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Oh, my, don't get me started about barbecue. I've talked more about barbecue than many people want to know. Here's a story about Allen & Son, north of Chapel Hill. Here's a journal from a day of Western style barbecue joints spent with Mr. and Mrs. Fat Guy. And here's a chronicle of an afternoon visiting Eastern style barbecue restaurants.

And by the way, did you know I'm throwing this little pig pickin' in September to raise money for the eGullet Society? Come to this and you'll learn lots about North Carolina barbecue.

As far as my dinner is concerned, Stephenson's is an eastern NC-style restaurant, cooking their pig over a mix of charcoal and wood. It's a better than average barbecue, with a mix of light and dark meat that isn't overly sauced and a light touch of smoke. I'm usually pleased with their barbecue. The Brunswick Stew is a better version than the cloying glop served in most barbecue restaurants, as it's thicker, less sweet, and has lots of corn and lima beans in it. The green beans are average and the barbecue potatoes are just white potatoes boiled with some Texas Pete! Stephenson's is in McGee's Crossroads, not far from I-40.

Banana pudding is THE dessert of NC barbecue. Perhaps the best restaurant version of banana pudding I ever had was at Crooks Corner in Chapel Hill (see here for a brief review). Some people want their banana pudding to have lots of vanilla wafers, but I actually like to see lots of bananas, for goodness sakes!

[johnnyd]

I've been using some Goat Milk Yoghurt for my Raita lately. Really good stuff. Fabulous photos of the farm, thanks!

[bavila]

Well, I am majorly bummed that I won't be able to make the pig pickin' after reading this blog and the News Observer write upof the last one. Of course I'll have a newborn by that point, and probably won't be bummed at the time!

The fried shrimp salad reminds me of a similar one served at a restaurant where I worked in NO. Another waitress and I called it the "fry ball salad" -- basically a ball of "popcorn" shrimp on a salad. It was wildly popular, but one of those dishes you get sick of even laying eyes on, especially considering it added to the fry ball smell of your uniform. Good thing you have a magnificent hood in that new kitchen, Varmint!

Keep it coming!

[Varmint]

I'm poaching a chicken to be used later today, perhaps for some chicken salad or chicken and dumplings. I've also taken lots of photos of the kitchen and where everything is located to give you an idea of how it flows.

We still don't really have plans today, other than making a birdhouse or two to donate to the child care center where all four of the kids have gone. Our youngest has one more week there before going to YWCA camp the rest of the summer, and then -- egad -- kindergarten!

[Chufi]

what a great blog. and thanks for sharing the visit to the goats.. I love goats!

Your home-cooked dinners look very kid-friendly and your children seem to enjoy your cooking very much.. It looks like you have a very happy family there (and not just food-wise).

I was wondering if you always cook like this, for the whole family, or do you sometimes do a children's dinner and then a more adult version for you and mrs. Varmint?

[Varmint]

always cook like this, for the whole family, or do you sometimes do a children's dinner and then a more adult version for you and mrs. Varmint?

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During the work week, Mrs. Varmint feeds the kids, as I rarely get home before 6:30 or 7. I then make something for the 2 of us, which would not be generally considered to be "child friendly." Some of the kids will eat what I make, but not all the time. Our younger children are in bed by 7:30, so there's really no time for me to get home to eat with the family.

I'm still trying to sort out what's for dinner tonight.

[Varmint]

Here's my ultra-difficult, luxurious breakfast this morning:

Sometimes all you want is a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee. That's what I got. My 9 year old daughter, Ryan, on the other hand, wanted her weekend traditional breakfast that she call's "RBB" for "Ryan's Big Breakfast." It's a slice of toasted Italian bread, grits and scrambled egg. It's rather disgusting -- not just because it's an ultra-heavy breakfast -- but because she actually prefers (Gack) instant grits over good ol' fashioned slow cooking grits. Please have mercy on her, y'all! Give her time as she'll learn.

For lunch, I'm thinking chicken salad. I'll poach some local chicken.

Someone said I needed a pot filler on my stove. As you can see, I don't need no stinkin' pot filler -- my prep sink is but one step away.

[lexy]

Thanks for the photos of the goat farm - it looks like your kids had a great time, and now I've got a powerful craving for some goat cheese! Great blog!

[bavila]

Your close-up of the chicken tag reminds me of a thought I had in Whole Foods the other day. If these poultry/meat producers can really say that their animals are never administered antibiotics, then what happens to the occasional critter that gets a nasty bug? Is it slaughtered? Sold off to someone who will give it antibiotics? Anyone know?

[Mayhaw Man]

I'm poaching a chicken

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Keep an eye out for the farmer protecting the henhouse with a shotgun.

[little ms foodie]

love the goat farm!!! so awesome!

question for you, what is the difference between stromboli and calzone??

Also do they kick people out of the south for not liking sweet tea? can you order it strong and dry??

If your family isn't the spitting image of 'the happy american family' I don't know what is! you guys are sooooo cute!

[Daddy-A]

My dinner: barbecue, brunswick stew, barbecued potatoes, and green beans.

Ummm ... barbecue potatoes? Explain please 'cuz they look really good!

A.