May 07, 2005

Forrest and Nancy Pritchard of SmithFresh Meats just had a baby boy - Linus Owen - last week. Mom and baby are both fine. Stop by to say congratulations.

Update on Parking. Reminder that Neighborhood Day is May 14th. The surface parking lot will be closed. There are two FREE lots nearby that you can use.
2009 N 14th Street, behind the Arlington Executive Building, (next to the Police Station) OR
2100 Clarendon Blvd. under the county offices and movie theater.

Learn more about neighborhood day at http://www. arlingtonva.us/nd2005/NeighborhoodDay2005.aspx

Blue Ridge Highland Dairy is in its second year at the market, having been with the market all winter. Their herd is 20 cows, about 2/3 are Jersey and 1/3 are Holsteins. The cows graze in pasture, with no growth hormones used on them. The milk is bottled on the farm, and everything is inspected and graded. Customers return the glass bottles, which are then washed and reused, reducing our individual contribution to the trash stream.

Blue Ridge Highland Dairy milk is not homogenized, so the cream will rise to the top. Shake the bottle if that happens, to mix it all back together. The milk is vat pasteurized at a lower temperature and for a longer time then other pasteurization methods. Owner/manager Adam Cook says “I think it gives a better flavor.”

Adam owns everything on the dairy, except the land that’s been in his family for generations. Dad and Granddad work additional acreage of fruits and vegetables.

The butter is made from pasteurized milk. What you see is its natural color which may vary with season depending on what the cows are grazing. You can also satisfy your cheese needs with Herb Garden Cheeses made with their milk and market fresh herbs.

Joining the summer market for the first time is the family owned and operated South Mountain Creamery. They milk and bottle themselves and do not use bovine growth hormones on any of their animals. They raise their own animals as well as the grains the animals consume, and so “take great pride in the fact that we control the food supply that we sell to our customers.” They have whole, 2 % and skim milk, plus chocolate and Mocha flavor milk.

South Mountain Creamery also offers butter, farmers cheese, buttermilk, yogurt and fruit flavored yogurt drinks, plus eggs from their own egg hatchery. The beef products they sell are from culled cows that have stopped giving milk.

Visit their website http://southmountaincreamery.com to learn more about the farm. Their 4th Anniversary Festival is coming up, May 14 and 15th in Middletown, MD. There will be hayrides, a petting zoo, ice cream and butter making.

South Mountain Creamery offers a half dozen recipes on their website that use farm fresh ingredients. The Buttermilk Eggs in Tomato Shell looks simple but fancy, and the Colorful Frittata, or “Cow”puccino Milk Punch sound delicious. See for yourself at http://southmountaincreamery.com.