MAIZY DOATS

Celestial Girl is a star spangled goat.

Mini-Nubian Pluto looks positively angelic.

Being part of a herd does not mean giving up your individuality. Banjo likes to nibble visitors' fingers.

The way to Awee Farm is a rugged road whose potholes are large enough to swallow a small hippopotamus. There are no hippopotamuses on Cherry Run Road, West Virginia. There are, however, bluebirds, cardinals, zebra butterflies, whistle pigs and the ever present deer. The flora is that of neighboring areas of the Blue Ridge--maples, oaks, sycamores, wild cherry, sumac, Virginia creeper, wineberries. Houses are few and one could easily miss the eleven acre Awee Farm were it not for the road sign alerting one to its presence. There is where Sally Rivenburg raises Nubian and mini-Nubian goats. That is where my daughter travelled recently.

Sally is a Michigan native and a former school teacher who moved to West Virginia nine years ago. Raising goats was not one her goals until when her daughter gave her a Nubian kid as a housewarming present.

"Goats don't like being alone," she says. "They pine away unless they have company. I had to get him a companion."

This summer, Sally's herd totals twenty five gregarious goats who come running when she calls them by name. She interacts with each one of them at least twice a day, touching them and talking to them.

"This results in friendly, easy to manage animals," she says in the website designed to provide information for prospective buyers "who are interested in providing a loving safe home to these wonderful creatures."

This year, Awee Farm welcomed twelve Community Supported Agriculture shareholders. Produce from their gardens and Sally's mouthwatering chevre and yogurt make a great start point for the revival of West Virginia's slow food movement. Could quilting bees and ice cream socials be far behind?

NOTE-- It has come to my attention, thanks to the erudite main character in Chandler Burr's YOU OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU, that the correct plural of the word hippopotamus is hippopotamuses, not hippopotami. We stand corrected.

FROMAGE A TROIS

Label for gift cheese.

The beginning.

Stage two.

Stage three.

BLESSED BE THE CHEESEMAKERS

The process is ridiculously simple. First line a colander with a clean tea towel. Forget about cheesecloth. Chances are that you'd have to buy and in my experience it does not lend itself to repeated use. Go with the tea towel. You will feel green and virtuous.

Next you take half a gallon of milk, pour it into a pan that will accommodate at least four time amount. I used a Le Creuset Dutch oven, but there are those who insist on aluminum pots. The choice is yours. heat the milk to to 185F, stirring constantly to prevent burning. I recommend using a whisk for stirring. When the milk reaches 185F will be bubbling merrily and threatening to run over. Be not afraid. Gradually stir in one fourth of a cup of vinegar and continue to stir without pause for twenty minutes. The milk will separate into curd and whey, as if Miss Muffet prefers. The curds will be tiny and you might experience a moment of doubt as in,

"This is going to be cheese?"

Courage. It will be cheese and it will be good. Just pour it into the colander and let it rest for fifteen minutes. You might want to save the whey which is packed with good nutrients and it is most useful in bread making, soups, what have you. At the end of fifteen minutes, tie the ends of the tea towel and hang it above a sink or deep bowl. allow the cheese to drain for seven hours. Unwrap and salt it with kosher salt, if you wish. You might want to add fresh or dried herbs to it. You may also marinate in in olive oil to which you have added garlic and herbs. It is perfectly delicious plain.

This makes a dandy contribution to potluck dinners, picnics, tailgate feasts. In this case you might want to make a pretty label for it. I am calling mine Fromage a Trois and I am so pleased with it I intend to get me some goats milk and make some chevre.

If you are counting pennies, as most of us must these days, keep in mind that half a gallon of milk yields four ounces of queso fresco at half what the commercial products costs at the local grocery store.