Lemoncello and Lemon Curd

Our Meyer lemon tree is full of ripe tangy fruit. Today I promised myself I was going to do something with them. After consultation with my firends, it was decided that I would make lemon curd and lemoncello. The lemon curd is a custartd

The Start of a Winery-living the dream

I have always dreamed of owing a winery...I love wine...everything about it. The taste, the color, the smell the

Recipe for Cedar Planked Salmon

1 wild salmon fillet
1 bunch of scallions
Glaze:
Zest from 1 lemon
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1C maple syrup
1 T Dijon mustard
2 T grated gingerroot
4 T fresh lemon juice
4 T soy sauce
2 T of Chinese 5 Spice of the jar variety or 1 t of the dry
3 large cloves of garlic grated
1 cedar board

Soak the board in cold water for about 2 hours
Combine glaze ingredients in a saucepan and reduce by half…
Spread 1/2 of the glaze on the salmon fillet and let sit for 15 minutes and reserve the remaining glaze
Remove board from water…dry off and spray with olive oil.
Cut the scallions in 3 inches strips and place across the board.
Place the salmon skin side down on top of the scallions
Heat BBQ. When hot place the board with the salmon on it on the BBQ. Close the lid and cook for about 15 minutes.
Remove from BBQ.
Plate the salmon….remove the skin and discard the scallions..... brush with remaining glaze.


A group of us got together to watch the Academy Awards the other night. Since most of us were trying to eat healthy and low fat, we were instructed to bring an appropriate dish. After several hours of going over my recipes, I decided to adapt an old favorite. The result was a maple glazed salmon fillet grilled on a cedar plank.

You can purchase the cedar planks at most cookware stores or you can make them from untreated cedar board.

Making Chevre

The curds are wrapped in cheesecloth and left to hang for two days to remove all the whey

Mix the warm goat milk with the rennet and the culture and let sit for 18-24 hours

When using using molds, spoon the curds into the molds and let them sit for two days over a rack placed in a pan

Making Chevre is so easy to do and it tastes better than any artisan cheese you can buy . This cheese tastes unbelievably fresh and it is such a fantastic feeling to sit down to a salad that you have grown topped with Chevre you made from fresh goat milk.. Once you make a batch you will never buy it again...

All you need is:

2 gallon fresh goat milk
2 drops liquid vegetable rennet
2 packets of Chevre starter ..but if you don't have this 1/4 cups live cultured buttermilk will work

cheese cloth or molds

a thermometer that goes down to at least 70 degrees

All equipment must be sterilized before you begin

You can get the starter and molds online from the New England Cheese Supply Company

Heat the milk to 86 degrees. Remove from heat and add the starter and the rennet. Mix well and let culture sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

The curd will separate from the whey and you will have a large mass of curds.

Using a slotted spoon, spoon the curds into the molds. If you do not have molds, line a sieve with cheesecloth and spoon the curds into it.

Once the molds are filled cover them with foil and place them on a wire rack that is set over a pan that is about 2 inches thick. As the cheese sets it will loose a lot more whey and the whey will go into the pan. If you are using the cheesecloth method, lift the bundle out of the sieve, tie a string around it to make a bag and hand the bag over a bowl so that the whey can drop into the bowl.

Let the curds sit for two days either in the refrigerator or on the kitchen counter.

After the whey has drained the curds will have shrunk by about 50 percent. Unmold the cheese. Season with -salt, fresh herbs or pepper...it is now ready to enjoy

The cheese will last about two weeks covered in the refrigerator.....