Farm Focus for November will be Good Old Gouda from Cobb Hill in Hartland, Vt.

Regularly $22.99 per pound. Sale price is $19.99/lb. Save $3.

Sale price is $12.95/pound.

Cobb Hill is an intentional co-housing community in Hartland Four Corners, begun by Donella Meadows, renowned founder of the Sustainability Institute. Cobb Hill is comprised of people learning to live lightly on the earth and building community among themselves and with their Hartland neighbors. The intention of sustainability underlies the living, farming, land stewardship, learning and teaching activities across all components of the community. The community bought the 260 acres in 1997, and by 2002 it had completed construction of 23 homes.

Cobb Hill cheese is made from raw milk that comes from pastured Jersey cows that are bred and raised at Cobb Hill by their dairy enterprise partners Cedar Mountain Farm. From May to September the herd grazes on pasture maintained without artificial pesticides or fertilizers. During the non-pasture season the Jerseys eat a small amount of grain as well as hay that is grown on the fields of Cobb Hill and neighboring farms. Good Old Gouda is based on a Dutch Gouda recipe, and is a washed curd cheese that is extra-aged 9 to 10 months. It has a rich and intense flavor with hints of toffee and butterscotch. A real crowd pleaser!

Cave to Co-op for November is Herdsman from Parish Hill Creamery in Putney, Vt. 

Regularly $25.99 per pound. Sale price is $15.99/lb. Save $10.

Parish Hill Creamery produces seasonal, handmade, raw milk cheeses inspired by the traditional cheeses of Italy. Peter Dixon brings over 30 years of cheesemaking experience and he is joined by his wife Rachel Schaal and sister Alex Schall. The creamery is the culmination of Peter’s years of making cheese, teaching classes, solving problems, and imagining possibilities. Peter, Rachel and Alex love making cheese. They make cheese traditionally, simply, as near to home as possible, and with the highest quality ingredients and results that can be had.

Parish Hill gets beautiful milk from Elm Lea Farm at the Putney School, just up the road from the creamery, and the milk is the result of healthy animals grazing on lush pastures.  Protein and fat are balanced ideally for the cheeses produced, and the cheese changes subtly throughout the season, reflecting the growth and maturation of various pasture plants.

Their starter cultures are made from the milk of 4 individual cows. Helga, Abigail, Clothilda, and Sonia were chosen for their health, their components, and their disposition.  As a result, Parish Hill makes mother cultures that are truly an articulation of their milk and the resulting cheese is a revelation of that milk, the cows, the pastures, the water and the land.

Whole milk, long-aged Asiago-style Herdsman is made when the cows are grazing on hillside pastures and aged at least 12 months to develop a full, slightly sharp flavor with hints of pineapple and hazelnuts.  The supple interior becomes granular as the cheese ages beyond a year. The straw-colored edible rind is scrubbed weekly when young. Try it in the Roasted Fennel with Herdsman and Thyme recipe below.

Roasted Fennel with Herdsman and Thyme
serves 4

2 large fennel bulbs
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1 t minced fresh thyme
4 ounces grated herdsman

Position a rack in the top third of the oven, put a large heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet on the rack, and heat the oven to 500°F. Trim the fennel, quarter each bulb vertically, and trim away most of the core, leaving just enough to hold the layers intact. Slice each quarter into 4 wedges.

In a medium bowl, toss the fennel with the olive oil, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and quickly spread the fennel on the sheet, with the largest pieces toward the edges of the pan. Roast until the fennel pieces are almost tender and the bottoms are lightly browned, about 18 minutes.

Flip the fennel, sprinkle with the thyme and then the Herdsman, and continue roasting until the cheese is melted and golden, 3 to 5 minutes more. With a spatula, transfer the fennel and any lacy, golden cheese bits to a serving dish.