"Kidding" Around In East Goat-Shen

Meet Our Vendor of the Week 

What's the best kept secret in East "Goat-shen"??? There's your clue - - - GOATS!!! 

Here's a lovely lady!

Shellbark Hollow Farms, located on 4+ acres on Cornwallis Drive, right here in East Goshen Township, is the maker of award winning goat milk cheeses, yogurt and kefir. And, lucky you, they are available for purchase at our East Goshen Farmers' Market.

Isn't she a beauty!

Pete Demchur and his sister Donna Demchur Levitsky oversee the operations at Shellbark Hollow Farms. As if Donna isn't busy enough with operations at the farm, she is also a dedicated volunteer to the planning and success of the East Goshen Farmers' Market and we can't thank her enough!!! They tend a herd of Nubian goats and are currently milking 35 of the goats to obtain the milk they use to make their cheese. They milk the goats in pairs, twice a day - - - there's a lot of milking going on at Shellbark Hollow.

A bunch of kids just hanging around.

Nubian goats are known for producing a superior quality, high butterfat milk.

I live in East Goshen too!

So what does it  take to make a beautiful fresh goat cheese - pasteurize the milk, add rennet and an active culture to produce the curds and whey, drain the whey and compress the curds, add salt, drain some more - - - and in a week you have yourself amazing fresh goat cheese. 

A peek in the Cheese Room - some beautiful chevre finishing.

Almost all of the cheese produced by Shellbark Hollow Farms is considered "young" goat cheese - chevre - in that it isn't aged. When milk supplies allow they do produce a delicious aged tomme and a mold ripened cheese. Their product list includes:Chevre- Plain,Sharp1, Sharp 2, 10 flavored Chevre spreads including Peppercorn Melange, Sassy Bee, Sun Dried Tomato, Plain, Chive, Hot and Sweet, Honey, Provencal, Sharp, Sharp Chive, Kefir, Yogurt,Raw Milk, Crottin de Chevre, Raw milk Tomme, 4 marinated chevres in olive oil, honey biscuit, tomato nest biscuit, ricotta

Yum - oh the possibilities!!!

Speaking of possibilities - here's a great recipe from Donna  for Beet Salad with Grapefruit and Chevre - - - beets are in season from all of our veggie vendors.

Beet Salad

With Grapefruit and Chevre

2 pounds raw beets

Rock salt

Handful of thyme sprigs

1 large ruby red grapefruit

Few lemon thyme sprigs, leaves stripped

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons hazelnut oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

Pinch of super fine sugar

¼ pound chevre, crumbled

Handful of hazelnuts, toasted and lightly crushed

Preheat oven to 350⁰.  Wash beets, then trim the tops and roots, and pat dry with paper towel.  Scatter a thin layer of rock salt over a large piece of foil.  Sprinkle with the thyme sprigs, then arrange beets in the middle.  Bring up the edges of the foil and fold them together to seal the parcel.  Place on a baking tray and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the beets are tender when pierced with a small knife. (Larger beets may need an extra 15-20 minutes)

Unwrap parcel, transfer the beets to a plate and leave to cool slightly.  Peel beets while they are still warm, using a small paring knife.  Cut into wedges and divide between individual serving plates.

To segment the grapefruit, slice off the top and bottom to expose the flesh.  Stand on a board and cut along the curve of the fruit to remove the peel and the white pith.  Holding the fruit over a sieve set on top of a bowl, cut along the membranes to release each segment.  Finally squeeze the core to extract the juices before discarding.

Divide the segments between the plates.  To make the dressing, add the lemon thyme leaves to the reserved grapefruit juice and whisk in olive and hazelnut oils.  Season well with salt and pepper, adding a pinch of sugar if the dressing is too tart.

Scatter chevre and hazelnuts over each serving and drizzle with dressing.

Serve immediately.                                                                                      Serves 4

Time to leave the farm - here are the milking girls - relaxing in the shade. Donna loves talking about their goats - feel free to ask her how the "kids" are doing.

Why Shellbark Hollow for a name??? - On a 1923 map of the Radnor Hunt area the current location of the farm was referred to as Shellbark Hollow. Shellbark is the name of a hickory tree..