By Scott “Goat Guy” Bice

Redwood Hill olives ready for pressing

This past Thanksgiving, our family gathered around more than just a dining room table.  We also gathered around an olive grove for our very first harvest of the beautiful Tuscan olive trees planted two and a half years earlier.  In Italy there are many festivals in November to celebrate the olive harvest, when family and friends gather to harvest the plump green and purple fruit by hand.  On a cold but sunny morning, we started a new Bice family tradition: picking the fruit to make “green gold”—the buttery, peppery, and s delicious olive oil.

In 2008, we were able to purchase the 10 acre property that bordered Redwood Hill Farm. This new land for us consisted mostly of old neglected apple trees. We went right to work on trying to revitalize the orchard and we enjoy our “annual cider press day” every late summer. We began to spread the goat manure in the orchard certain times of the year and it has done wonders for feeding the apple trees as well as retaining moisture for the organic, dry farmed apples. The extension to our property also gave us space for our solar panel system, which powers 100 percent of the dairy, barns,and housing around them; once again continuing our commitment to sustainability. Later in 2009, after touring some of our fabulous local olive oil producers, Jennifer along with our Dad- Kenneth, decided we should dedicate a small piece of the new property to the ancient Mediterranean fruit.

Planting the olive grove. Rich, composted goat manure at the base will feed the young tree

That winter I planned the planting of the new grove, although it was a difficult time for us because our mother Cynthia passed away after a long bout with ovarian cancer.  Like the olive trees, our mom was always strong and lived much longer than the doctors first predicted.  I am grateful that she was with us to welcome the arrival of our son Colton, who was born six months before she passed away.  The staff at Redwood Hill Farm thoughtfully and appropriately gave our family an olive tree as a memorial gift; the olive branch is a symbol of peace, and although we were deeply saddened by the loss of our dear mother, it was a relief to know that after an arduous battle, she is now at peace.

Father and Son after a hard days work

The darker days of winter turned into the renewal of Spring, and it was time to plant the young olive trees. Dad, horticulturist and drip irrigation extraordinaire, came up from Arizona to help me with the project. We purchased 35 trees of Tuscan varietal from local oil producer McEvoy Farms. Mom’s tree is a Frantaio varietal and went in first. We also planted Leccino, Pendolino, and Maurino varieties. Our orchard is composed of the famed Goldridge soil-a rich, sandy loam ideal for many fruit trees, including olives. This along with our Mediterranean climate, a south easterly sun exposure, and ample amounts of composted goat manure, was the perfect recipe for the vigorous growth of the juvenile trees.  We pinched off the tiny olive flower buds the first two springs the trees were in the ground so all the energy could go into branch growth. The third spring we allowed the buds to turn into tiny white flowers that would soon be wind pollinated and create the fruit that would lead to our first harvest.

The olive harvest crew- back row L to R-sister Shelley Mills,David Bice, sister Janet Wilcox, Asst. Farm Manager Amber Hall,Don Lipmanson,Jennifer Bice, Cristi Bice,Kenneth Bice. Front Row-L to R-The author, Colton Bice, Nicole Bice

It was nice to have harvest time right after Thanksgiving as Dad was here for the holiday and could help with the harvest of the trees he planted two and a half years earlier. The various olive varieties ripen at different times. For optimum complexity of the oil, it is best to harvest the olives when you have a good mix of green (not fully ripe) and purple (ripe) fruit. The green fruit will add more “grassy” and “peppery” notes to the oil while the purple fruit will add “floral” and “buttery” notes. Timing of the fruit was perfect as well as the weather, as the sun warmed our bodies while we plucked the fruit.  Laughter and the pleasant conversation of three generations of Bice’s could be heard as we moved down the rows. The plump fruit were gathered into buckets that later would be brought to a community press where it would be crushed into the pungent, fresh green oil. We had a contest to guess the total weight of what we picked and sister Sharon won, being only one pound off of the 160 pound total. Not bad at all for such young trees.

Nicole and Colton were excellent pickers!

We hope to one day incorporate our homegrown olive oil with our artisan cheeses. In the meantime we will enjoy the oil with our favorite crusty bread, atop salads made of homegrown greens, and with our raw milk feta cheese (see recipe below). There is an old Italian saying that “You plant an olive orchard for your grand children”. This came about due to the slow growth of trees and the many years it takes for them to reach full production. It may be true that yields will be small for now, but being seeing my children out with their Granddad, as well as there Aunties and Uncles on a beautiful morning on our special farm makes me so Thankful for all we have now. Wishing you and yours many Thankful moments for this New Year!

Yum!

Raw Milk Feta with Olive Oil, Lemon & Pepper

Share this elegant and simple presentation of our Raw Milk Feta at your next gathering

• 12 oz. Redwood Hill Farm Raw Goat Milk Feta
• Zest of 1/2 lemon, preferably Meyer
• 1/4 c. top quality Olive Oil
•  Fresh ground black pepper

Slice or cube the feta and arrange on a plate. Brush with olive oil, top with fresh ground pepper and lemon zest. Garnish with olives and roasted red pepper. Provide toothpicks for serving.

by Sharon Bice

The winter “eating” holidays are all about sharing with family and friends. Entertaining, a house full of party guests or perhaps simply a few intimate friends. Ending a busy day of shopping for gifts with your favorite local cheese to treat yourself while writing your holiday cards. Or garnering “oohs and aahs” when you bring a platter of your favorites to a holiday potluck.

Whether you’re serving cheese as an appetizer or as part of your dessert course, have fun by using Redwood Hill Farm’s unique, delicious artisan cheeses and along with a few simple suggestions we’ve discovered over our more than 25+ years of crafting goat milk cheeses in the farmstead tradition.

Keep it simple. How about a classic platter of three or four cheeses from a single region…say Sonoma County? Use a variety of styles and textures. If offering four cheeses try a couple soft-ripened varieties, a firm cheese such as cheddar, a soft, spreadable variety like chevre or even a spreadable flavored soft cheese. First and foremost choose cheeses that you know and love as long as you have variety.

Or, a single whole cheese can be a good solution. It’s original and beautiful. With a small dinner party of intimate friends or family offer our Cameo, a whole luscious Camembert-style cheese.

When choosing your cheese, build on a theme. For example, a classic French selection. Or, you could offer a selection of American artisan or farmstead cheeses. With Redwood Hill Farm handmade cheeses your theme would be local, artisan goat cheeses crafted from Humane Certified milk. Consider hand printing the cheese name and a sentence or two about the cheese maker, cheese monger, or even the dairy goat who provided the milk!

Amount to buy? This depends on how much other food will be served. Typically a good rule-of-thumb would be from 2 to 4 ounces per person. If serving cheeses only at cocktail time and guests are hungry, up to 3 to 4 ounces per person would be ideal. Serving cheese after dinner and before a light dessert? Use a very small amount per person, about ½ to 1 ounce per person.

Present your cheese on decorative trays, wooden or bamboo boards, or ceramic platters for showcasing cheeses. Avoid silver or stainless steel, as they can alter the taste. Remove the cheeses from the refrigerator about one and a half hours before serving so as to enjoy at room temperature.

You can adorn with vine leaves, flowers and fruits. Play with colors and shapes but keep your cheeses accessible. Whole cheeses should be cut so guests can appreciate the beauty within and set out a separate knife for each type of cheese to make serving easy.

Using plain, fresh cheeses? Dress them up! Coat fresh chevre with fresh herbs, paprika, pesto, chutney or dried fruit.

Now, add a few accompaniments. Chutneys or fruit spreads are fabulous with plain, fresh cheeses. Fresh or dried fruits, fresh-roasted nuts, olives, or even a variety of cured meats are all fine pairings. Do keep it seasonal! With a winter party, try hearty, substantial cheese pairings such as pates, roast beef, nuts and cheese recipes such as fondue.

“Bread, wine, and cheese…a true French trio that wonderfully symbolizes our gastronomic heritage and history” ~Jean D’Alos, Fromager-Affineur

I just love this quote. I do agree with Jean D’Alos in his opinion that white or whole grain breads that have been baked over a wood fire as well as handcrafted sourdough can complement any type of cheese. But also try a nutty bread, such as walnut, which goes well with all cheeses. Raisin bread is a delicious option for strong cheese. Whole grain bread does very well with cheese that have light, fresh flavors. Tip: Offer a variety of breads with your cheese platter. Include whole grain bread, sourdough, raisin bread and breads with nuts, figs, etc., allowing your guests mix flavors and aromas.

Our favorite cheese and wine pairings? Always choose a wine that suits the occasion, ambiance and mood. Cheeses generally make great partners for flashy young wines full of vigor and flavor. The earthy, robust flavors of aged goat cheese make the tannins of young red wines settle down, showing off the fruit flavors to greater advantage. Click here for specific wine pairings we like with Redwood Hill Farm artisan cheese.  http://www.redwoodhill.com/recipes/cheese-wine-pairing

Cheese and beer? Yes! We recently had a fun, very informative beer and cheese pairing evening at the creamery and I discovered once again that certain cheeses can really complement a beer and that absolutely a particular type of beer will bring out exciting flavor notes in a cheese that just makes your mouth sing! What I loved from that pairing was the “Chimay” ale, creamy, fruity & floral that complemented our Three Pepper Chevre beautifully. Also excellent paired with our Plain Chevre, was a sour wheat beer “Telegraph”, out of Santa Barbara. Of course pairings can be subjective but one we all agreed was superb was the Saison style “La Merle” from North Coast Brewing out of Fort Bragg—excellent with Plain Chevre and our California Crottin and was very good with Redwood Hill Farm Bucheret. Click here for more cheese and craft beer pairing suggestions to try… http://www.redwoodhill.com/recipes/cheese-beer-pairing

Are you entertaining in the next few weeks with family, friends, or simply want to treat yourself? Redwood Hill Farm artisan cheeses are always available online! Order by Mon., Dec. 24th for delivery in time to ring in the new year! For our blog readers, use promo code BLEAT BEAT at check-out and receive 15% off your order through the December 30^th!

Lastly, put out the cocktail napkins and eco-friendly plates for your guests and voila…you’re ready to celebrate the season!

By Sharon Bice

Thanksgiving is upon us…

and right on cue are blustery days, intense fall colors, and a sprinkling of rain showers to green up the fields on the farm. Recently on an extraordinarily fine day, I spent the afternoon with Jennifer and we made pie. Jennifer and I share a passion for cooking, along with Scott, David, Shelley and a few other siblings! As a large family growing up together on Redwood Hill Farm, cooking with fresh goat milk and seasonal produce from the garden each year became a natural part of our life. Now, some 45 years later, we all have favorite recipes when it comes to gathering for holiday meals and this pie is very special.

Jennifer heading up Apple Blossom Lane to select a Sugar Pie pumpkin

The farm is beautiful right now. The apples have long been harvested and though “apple blossom time” in the spring is spectacular with the white and blush pink clouds of blossoms covering the 350+ trees in our organic orchard, fall is really my favorite time on the farm. The tomatoes are now finished after the recent rains, along with most of the warm weather produce. The farm’s figs, pears, and apricots have all been harvested as well. But the chard is red, beautiful and resurging in the cool fall weather. The kale is thriving too…dinners have taken on a new taste and texture these past few weeks.

Scott's daughter Nicole in her backyard farm garden. Who let the goat out?

Scott, the Redwood Hill Farm manager has a beautiful garden in the backyard for his growing family. He was planting garlic in a new raised bed on the day I was taking pictures. As I watched him work and admired the beautiful greens and butternut squash ready for harvesting, I asked him about his favorite fall greens to grow and prepare. “The Dinosaur kale has exceptional flavor, and I really prefer it, even over the chard.” In the photo above, Dinosaur kale is the deeply textured leafy greens.

Selecting a beautiful Sugar Pie pumpkin from one of the "free range" vines

Scott composts heavily on the farm (as I do at my Forestville home). Scraps from the kitchen, zucchini that quickly grew out of control, and of course the manure from barn cleaning, all gets heaped into the compost pile to let the earthworms and other insect composters work their magic. Each spring there is finished “black gold” to mine from the piles and use in the gardens, both for planting and mulch for newly sprouted vegetable seedlings. This year’s composted Halloween jack-o-lanterns will emerge next season for yet another delicious crop of Sugar Pie pumpkins.

Of all the kids in our large family, Jennifer was the only one who never left the farm; she couldn’t conceive a life without her precious dairy goats. She has harvested many a pumpkin over countless seasons…

Cleaning the cut pumpkin to bake for puree (and roasted pumpkin seeds)

Back in her beautiful farm kitchen Jennifer launched right into preparations for pie. It’s a bit of work to prepare the pumpkin but oh so worth it…the fresh puree lends a fantastic dense texture and full, fresh, pumpkin flavor to this pie. I learned something new from my big sister on this day: She soaks her cleaned pumpkin seeds in sea salt water for 15-20 minutes before roasting them. It imparts a lightly salted crunch to the finished seeds…

The Sugar Pie pumpkin is ready for roasting. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, roast for approximately 40 minutes or until fork tender. While the sweet aroma of baking pumpkin warms the kitchen, prepare your pastry.

Do you have a drawer like this? All your "gadgets" in one place!

The gadget drawer! I couldn’t resist getting a picture while Jennifer began gathering utensils needed to assemble her pie.

Skilled hands preparing the whole wheat pastry

The base of any pie is a delicious crust. Jennifer likes to use an all-butter recipe that includes organic, whole wheat pastry flour. After making your crust, shape into a disk, wrap and chill. For ease of handling while rolling out, try using a marble slab to keep your pie dough cool and work quickly!

Delicious alternative to evaporated milk: Redwood Hill Farm Plain Got Milk Kefir

Jennifer’s recipe was adapted from Camille Glenn’s classic cookbook “The Heritage of Southern Cooking”, given to her by friend and fellow goat person, Judy Schad. I love this cookbook! After borrowing it from Jennifer countless times, I had to get my own copy. Fresh organic eggs from the farm hens are essential for this classic pie, your finest brandy, and of course the delicious ingredient that makes this pie very special, goat milk kefir.

Cooking Tip: for any of your favorite recipes that call for milk, try substituting yogurt or kefir, it works beautifully in cooking, especially in cakes and breads lending a tender, moist crumb.

After combining puree, spices, and kefir, blend well and pour into partially baked crust

Jennifer combined her ingredients and used a handy gadget that I need for my kitchen, (holiday hint to brothers and sisters reading this) a hand-held immersion blender. In no time she had creamy, smooth puree ready to pour. All that’s left is baking, cooling and enjoying! We also make Green Valley Organics Lactose Free kefir, yogurt and sour cream in our solar-powered, organic creamery located just a few miles from the farm. For an easy to digest alternative to whipped cream this  year, try this: a decadent dollop of Green Valley Organics Lactose Free Sour Cream, lightly whipped with a bit of maple syrup and vanilla. Luscious!

Select here to get the recipe: Brandied Pumpkin Pie.

We’d love to send you a few coupons to purchase Redwood Hill Farm Goat Milk Kefir, Yogurt, and Green Valley Organics Lactose Free Sour Cream! Select this link, www.RedwoodHill.com, and fill out the form with your address using BLEAT BEAT in the promo code box.

The olive grove on the farm will be harvested this Sunday

Once again our family will be gathering on the farm for a homegrown, Thanksgiving dinner. Dad is coming up from Arizona to celebrate with us and inspect the newest addition to the farm he helped plant two years ago, the olive grove. We’ve got our first olive harvest scheduled for Sunday. Similar to our day on the farm spent apple juicing last August, the harvest will be a family affair…a chance for all of us to be together again on the farm that nurtured us as children and continues to do so today.

Life is like spring weather in Sonoma County. You never know what you’re gonna get.

Yearling friends cozy inside on a rainy day

I’m sure a lot of places can make that statement for their spring time weather, but after spending much of my youth in the temperate climate of Kauai, I’m often amazed at the dynamic spring weather shifts we have here in the North Bay area.

A Santa Rosa plum in bloom at Redwood Hill Farm

We had a very mild and dry winter this year leading into beautiful, warm February days.  The temperatures were hitting the 70’s, apricot and plum trees were blooming and spring had sprung.  Our egg layers were upping production and the goats were enjoying playing in the pasture and browsing on fresh spring vegetation.  “Not so fast” said Old Man Winter and winter rain storms finally arrived. My hopes for summer tree ripened apricots were falling faster than the blossoms that were being blown from the branches of their trees. Since that first February storm, the weather report has been a roller coaster ride that has just dipped into a five day stretch of rain.

Some of our rural Sonoma county roads that lead to the farm are flooded, but we are up on a hill and the goats are cozy and dry in their straw bedded barns. Goats are like cats, they do not do rain!

Scott's doe, Mango, wishing for a sunnier day

They have ample room in their open air barns, but sometimes I can see them looking out into the rainy pasture and it reminds me of a bored child looking out a window on a rainy day, wanting to go out and play.  I can almost hear our yearling goats singing, “Rain, Rain, go away…”

And soon it will.  Although the rain and mud make work out on the farm tougher, I won’t complain much, as it is needed.  We need to replenish our wells before the inevitable dry summer, that is drawing near.  Our organic apple orchard is dry farmed(no irrigation), so more rain now equals juicer Gravenstein  apples in August. Today I can’t get the rainy day blues, because when I went in the orchard to look at the fruit trees, I saw some baby apricots(yeah, some were pollinated!) growing and I know of the summer delights that will be here before we know it.

Newborn Nubians in cuddle mode