Friday, January 27, 2012

Dark 'N' Stormy: The Cocktail



  In honor of my new rabbit friends, aptly named Dark & Stormy after my hellacious voyage to retrieve them, I am posting the recipe for Dark 'N' Stormy, the beverage. I admittedly have never had this cocktail. I have heard the name, but never knew what was in it.
  A quick Google later, I learned that D&S's are most popular in places like Bermuda, Australia, and sailing communities of the east coast. It is also the national beverage of Bermuda. The recipe is as follows:


Dark 'N' Stormy


Ingredients

2 oz. dark rum (Gosling's Black Seal is usually recommended)
3 oz. high quality ginger beer/ale
lime wedge for garnish

Combine rum and ginger beer in a highball glass filled with ice cubes and stir.
Garnish with lime.



Sounds ridiculously good doesn't it? I need to go hang out in Bermuda.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Ta Da! I give you... Rabbits!

Why Hello


  I promised new additions, and here they are! Meet the rare and endangered American Blue Rabbit. Two of them to be exact. And procuring them was no easy task! I had been on a waiting list since last summer for these guys, and Saturday was finally the day to go fetch them. I was picking them up from a lovely lady named Cathy who, along with her husband, own a farm in Elberton, Georgia called Broad River Pastures.       
  Now I am usually one for keeping abreast on the weather, but this particular day I was rushing around and failed to check. I admit it was a good thing I didn't, for had I known what was in store for me, I would have parked myself squarely on the sofa for the remainder of the day. As soon as tires hit interstate, I was met with a wall of darkness. After muttering aloud "This is going to suck.", I entered what I am pretty sure was a tropical hurricane of epic proportions gone ashore in the middle of Georgia.
  What should have been a pleasant 5 hour jaunt through the country side turned into an 8 hour hydroplaning crawl through hell. Luckily, when I finally pulled up to the farm, the rain relented just long enough for a quick peek of a beautiful rabbitry (sorry for the lack of pictures, I forget these things at 6am) and greetings from a couple of working dogs and some ducks. If you find yourself in need of  heritage breeds such as Khaki Campbell ducks or Silver Fox or American rabbits, I suggest you give Cathy a call. They really have a wonderful operation going.
  Just as I had loaded my two new bunnies into the truck, the rain came down again and stopped the tour short. And once again, I had a long haul through tornado watches and warnings and floods and every manner of bad weather. No doubt there were a few wicked witches and winged monkeys flying around out there. Ironically, the new creatures that were contently lazing around in my backseat were the exact color of all of those storm clouds I was barreling through. Though I already had great names picked out for them, I reassigned them new ones in honor of the journey. Introducing... Dark & Stormy.


busy


busy busy


busy busy busy

stampede!
Sitting still is not their strong suit



  A Brief Overview of the American Rabbit:

  The American Rabbit, which comes in white or the beautiful slate blue shown above, was developed in California in the early 1900's. During the 20's it was extremely popular as both a meat and fur rabbit. Its mandolin shaped body dressed out nicely, and the soft fur was prized by furriers. But by the 50's, interest was focused on new commercial breeds, and the rabbits came close to extinction. The American is a unique and friendly rabbit that is now the rarest rabbit breed in America. They are listed at critical status by the American Livestock Breed Conservancy, and are featured on the Slow Food Ark of Taste. They deserve a second look as a farm rabbit, as they grow out to 10-12 pounds quickly, possess wonderful fur, and are very docile and hardy. Saving breeds like these preserves genetic diversity as well a piece of our American history.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Back in the Saddle Again


NashVegas
Music City


  So, where do I begin? Let me first say, I did not die. My fingers and hands are still attached and working properly. Secondly, please forgive me fair people for my long blogging absence! What a year! 2011 was a gem, and a busy one. I will share with you a few things that went on in the last several months.
  In case you didn't notice, the holidays happened. I'm sure you all experience your own special holiday hell stress misery magic, but I will state anyway that being a cheese monger around that wonderful time of the year is...challenging.




  I did a lot of traveling in the fine state of Tennessee last year (and this one too for that matter). As a few of you may already know, that is where I hope to put roots down one day for the real Whiskey Chicken Farm. Until then, there is much driving to do. While up that way, I had the great opportunity to attend the first ever Southern Artisan Cheese Festival in Nashville, TN. In case I didn't previously mention, October is now officially National Cheese Month, so start making your plans now.



The Southern Artisan Cheese Festival
The Festival at the Nashville Farmers Market


Prosciutto
Pine Street Market Prosciutto (from Atlanta!)


These look fun
tee hee


  If you couldn't tell by those photos, it was a very fun night indeed, and packed! So awesome to see so many cheese makers, brewers, and producers out and totally surrounded by their biggest fans. I assure you I will be making this pilgrimage yearly.
  Oh, and did I mention that I got hitched while I was up there?


Done got hitched
You better believe that's Elvis back there. In a vintage recording studio no less.


  Side Notes and Plugs: If you have the chance to stumble into Nashville, do yourself a favor and visit, no, methodically hunt down The Grilled Cheeserie food truck. I don't think I need to explain this. They can usually be found at my other favorite Nashville spot, Yazoo Brewing Co. And if you get the hankering for a quickie elopement, go to the Rhinestone Wedding Chapel!



Love
The Ultimate in Honeymoon Hangover fare

  
 
  So now do you believe me when I say I was a little busy? Just for the record, my #1 New Years Resolution for the year (Happy New Year by the way!) is to blog more. I promise. No excuses.
  There a lot of exciting things to come in 2012. Stay tuned for new additions coming to the farmette later this week. But for now I will leave you with a heaping pile of cute.


All grown up
They got big, huh?