Lehman's Country Life

Have you ever dreamed of making your own delicious cheese, but been too afraid to try it? (I know I have!) Boy, do we have an upcoming class for YOU:

Learn how to make savory, mouthwatering cheeses - right in your own kitchen.

What: Basic Cheesemaking Class, led by our favorite local organic gardener and home cheesemaker, Karen Geiser

When: Thursday, April 1, 2010 from 6-7:30 p.m.

Where: Lehman’s in Kidron, Ohio

Who: Anyone! This class is TOTALLY FREE and advance registration is not required. Just come!

More Info: Watch as Karen demos basic cheesemaking techniques, including tips for making a simple soft cheese and cottage cheese plus a demo of a batch of Farmhouse Cheddar. You can ask questions, chat with Karen and afterwards, explore the cheese shelf and find some goodies to take home to start your own delicious experiments.

Lehman’s is located about an hour south of Cleveland in the village of Kidron. Get directions to Kidron here.

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Feta cheese in its infancy (all photos by Jennifer Shue).

It’s an ancient art that’s making a huge comeback: making your own cheese at home.

“Whoa – hold on there!” you exclaim. “I can bake bread. I know how to use a canner. But cheese making? That sounds pretty complicated … even dangerous!”

Take heart, greenhorns (or green cheeses): like many things, making your own cheese is not nearly as difficult as you think. Depending on what type you want to make, you probably don’t need a lot of fancy, expensive supplies -  just a few necessary ingredients, patience and time.
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I grew up in the city, so coming to live and work on the World Hunger Relief farm in Waco, Texas is one great big learning experience for me.  Since my arrival a few months ago, I have learned so much, from where eggs are kept in the pantry, to where we keep the sawdust for our composting toilets, to how a community of 25 organizes itself for a day’s farm work, to how to milk a goat. Though the composting toilet certainly merits elaboration, the last is perhaps the most colorful story for a girl who grew up far removed from her food.

The WHR farm is a Grade-A raw goat milk producer. The pasteurization and homogenization process that milk from a supermarket goes through means that it loses a lot of valuable enzymes and proteins as well as a lot of its flavor.  Raw milk, on the other hand, is incredibly fresh–I was astounded that it took only about an hour from milking to lining up the bottles in the fridge, ready for sale.
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Ohio Arts and Crafts members had such a great time last fall and winter interacting and demonstrating in the Buggy Barn at Lehman’s they will be back again starting next week until the end of the year.

You can go to Lehman’s Events calendar and see who is scheduled so far and the themes of the various demos.  We are inviting a wide variety of artists and crafters to share their skills and knowledge with you for demos sure to please all ages!  Expect to see woodworking, mural painting and farm animal art, hands on crafts using recycled materials, wool rug hooking, spinning and weaving, fiber arts and pottery to name a few.

Check back often or sign up to be notified when an event is entered on the calendar.  You can plan your trip to Kidron knowing what demo is scheduled that day.  Stop in the Buggy Barn and be inspired!

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Fiber Arts

As the temperatures dropped this week and a definite chill set in many of us found ourselves reaching for a nice, cozy sweater.  Soon it will be time to  buddled up in scarves and mittens, thick socks and hats as the snow begins to fly.  When these items are made with natural fiber it becomes a real treat to bundle up rather than a chore.  Natural fiber is luxurious as well as practical.  It is timely then the Ohio Arts and Crafts Guild Demo this week features natural fiber from a local farm that raises alpacas and angora goats .  If you are a knitter or just enjoy learning new things you’ll want to stop by and meet Angela Seymour of Longhedges Fiber Farm.  She will be at the Kidron store demonstrating the steps needed to take to take the raw wool from her animals to a finished product.  Learn about the animal and unique qualitites of different fiber as you are shown how the process unfolds. 

In our high tech world this down to earth activity of taking something from the farm to produce something with our hands has the ability to not only calm and soothe but to comfort as well.   Its no wonder fiber arts are so rewarding and popular! 

The events calendar on the top of this page list similar educational and entertaining demonstrations now until the end of the year.

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Northeast Ohio is home of some of the prettiest farmland in America…and the fattest flying thing in the world.A few days ago we heard the loud buzzing that could only be caused by one thing:  Killer bees on the attack or the Goodyear blimp flying overhead.    Since we were pretty sure it wasn’t the bees, we rushed outside to watch it float by.  We’ve seen it before, but a sight like that never loses its appeal.

Two nights later, I attended a business association dinner where I met the woman who schedules blimp flights.  She knew which blimp it was (the Spirit of Innovation) and told me it was fleeing bad weather in Florida.  She also knew enough about the flight plan to know about where I lived in Wayne County!

With apologies to everyone else who lives in an area of beautiful farmland with regular blimp fly-overs, I have to say that Kidron must be just about the greatest place in the world!  How cool is it that I get to see horse-drawn vehicles, blimps and rolling hills covered with spectacular autumn leaves every fall?

This is the best time of year to visit Wayne County!  And, here are a few of my favorite spots (in no particular order):

Great locally owned inns: The Amish Door, Carlisle Inn and Inn at Honey Run. For RV’s, try Evergreen RV Park.  If you’re flying in, use Akron Canton (CAK) or Cleveland Hopkins (CLE).

Great shopping: Coblentz Chocolates, Homestead Furniture, P Graham Dunn, Walnut Creek Cheese

Fun activities: Rolling Ridge Ranch, Yoder’s Amish Farm, The Farm at Walnut Creek

Kidron attractions: Nut Tree Furniture, Kratzer Furniture, Eastwood Furniture, Kidron Auction, Hearthside Quilt Shoppe, Shisler’s Cheese, Kidron Town and Country

Northeast Ohio attractions (1 hour or so from Lehman’s): Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Inventor’s Hall of Fame, Football Hall of Fame, Living Bible Wax Museum

(This list is not all inclusive…if I missed your local business, I’m very sorry!)

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Someone recently asked ; although I can’t remember who as forgetting names is one of the quirks of aging ; should they buy a beautiful doe eyed Jersey whose only obvious flaw is she had a leaky teat ?

They also wanted to know why teats leak and is it harmful to the cow?

The answer to the first question is a resounding NO! Never buy a cow , goat or any livestock which has anything that is apparently wrong unless you just want to feed one for a pet and not breed and milk her.
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Enjoy the beauty of the Kidron area landscape thru the eyes of local artist Dennis Lipp. On July 12th, during Lehman’s Local Artisan Festival, Dennis can be found in the cafe and book area painting a scene from this area. So grab some lunch, coffee or ice cream and have a seat to enjoy seeing the creative process at work! Dennis, along with 13 other local artists will be participating in live demonstrations and offering their artwork for sale. Make a day of it and enjoy! Stop by www.kidronarts.com to read artists profiles and see a preview of artwork and demonstrations.

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As part of Lehman’s Local Artisan Festival on July 12th, Sue Steiner will be at the store doing a painting demonstration and offering artwork for sale. Sue’s farm animal murals can be seen at Lehman’s in the Buggy Barn as well as in the outside eating area of the cafe. You can have your picture taken by Sue’s most recent mural, Rex and Roy, the life sized team of Amish work horses that was painted this winter. She’ll also have on hand more ‘Rex and Roy’ equine art as well as an assortment of Amish, farm and farm animal art. For more information on Sue go to www.suesteiner.com as well as www.kidronarts.com to read about the other local artists who will be participating in the art festival.

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I am an artist living in the Kidron area. I have the very fun job of painting farm animal murals in Lehman’s Buggy Barn. In the photo above you can see me as I am working on the most recent mural of a the family cow. I choose a Jersey because they are often used by the Amish for that purpose and besides, Jersey’s have the most amazing faces! I love their dished profile and beautiful big, brown eyes. In this photo I painted the faux finish wooden stall earlier and am now about 3/4 of the way thru the cow painting. I would like to paint a barn cat lapping up some milk to go along with this picture. I liked the idea of painting a family cow also because Lehman’s has such a wide selection of products related to the home dairy. You can make all the cheese, yogurt, soap, ice cream and butter you’d want with the milk from your family cow with Lehman’s products! They also have fun things like milking stools, old fashioned milk cans, butter churns, old fashioned wooden butter molds to name a few.

I am having fun with the cow but the big project will be on the back wall. I am planning on painting a couple of belgian draft horses tied to a hitching post. I came across just the right pair to use as a reference a couple days ago at the hitching post across the street from Lehman’s. The horses were positioned just right so I got several photos and even got to talk to their Amish owner and learn their names, Roy and Rex. The Amish often use the belgians for their field work and to pull big wagons. They are quite impressive animals! One of my favorite sights in the spring is to see the teams of work horses plowing in the fields. So check back often so you can see more works in progress of the murals.  When you are in the Kidron store make sure to stop in the buggy barn to say hi to all the critters! To see more of my artwork go to www.suesteiner.com  Thanks for stopping by! 

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