Homestead Heritage, Waco and Meridian Volunteer Fire Department, Texas

I am doing well and having fun visiting with my friends at Homestead Heritage in Waco, Texas. I have been helping at the Brazos Valley Cheese Shop, and also at the Homestead Gristmill. Also, I’ve been visiting with friends I’ve made here over the years. I visited here in October 2011, November 2011, and October and November 2012, using these links you can read about those visits.

During my time here, I have been taking pictures, including many of the cheese making process. The cheese shop gets fresh milk early in the morning, from local dairies right after the cows are milked. The cheese making process begins upon delivery of the fresh milk. There are several vats used to make cheese. The largest is a round steel tub that holds up to 400 gallons of milk. My first day at the cheese shop, there were 350 gallons of milk which would produce about 330 pounds of cheese that afternoon. I took pictures and some videos of the cheese making process, and I also got to taste some of the fresh cheese curds. Salt is added after the curds are drained. It was my first time eating curds and surprisingly I really liked the taste, they also squeak when chewing them. When the whey is drained from the curds it goes down a drain into a tank where it is collected and then pumped into a tank that goes back to the dairy and fed to the cows. The whey has lots of nutrients so it is used in beneficial ways, such as feeding it to livestock and watering vegetable gardens. There is a large window from the retail portion of the cheese shop, so that visitors can watch cheese being made.

After the cheese is put into the molds and pressed into the cheese wheels which are approximately 15 pounds each, they are brought to the cheese cave that was built a few years ago. Since it’s so hot in Texas in the summer, a cheese cave was built about 16 or so feet below ground where it stays cool and is climate controlled, and it has pine shelves to hold the cheese while it ages. Various cheeses have different aging periods. Also, the different cheeses require a specific PH factor in order for it to become a specific type of cheese.

Over the past several years, the Brazos Valley Cheese Shop has won first, second, and third place ribbons from the American Cheese Society for several of their cheeses. You can see the ribbons in several of the pictures. I remember when Rebeccah who was the first one that started making cheese called me many years ago to tell me she was now making cheese at home. I don’t think any of us imagined that it would turn into such an amazing business and that the cheeses would win such prestigious awards. I’m so proud of everyone here that is involved in this process. I’ve been able to watch and realize the progress and growth of this cheese business.

I learned a few years ago from one of my visits here that in order for a cheese to be called cheddar, after the whey has been drained from this particular cheese, the solid curd slabs are placed into a metal cutter which cuts the solid slabs into sort of french fry looking pieces, then the salt is added. Without going into all of the details of why, it has something to do with the PH factor and the absorption of salt into the cheese.

I also learned that in order for Swiss cheese to have the holes in it, in addition to the natural enzymes that affect the PH factors for this cheese, temperature plays an important part. The pressed curds have to cure at about 70 degrees for 3 weeks before it can be put into colder temperatures to continue to cure into the Swiss cheese final product.

Everyone here is busy getting ready for the fair held during Thanksgiving weekend. One of the items we are making in the cheese shop is marinated feta cheese. In two days we processed about 30 dozen jars of marinated feta cheese, and we have many more dozen to do. In the cheese cases, I saw that there are several wheels of cheese that were sculpted into different shapes, such as cowboy hat, boots, a mouse, and a cheese tray with fruit shapes.

The Gristmill has been grinding grains constantly during the day to keep up with the demand.Three mills operate using the water wheel, and 3 operate using electricity.

Now that gluten free products are in more demand, the Gristmill is building a new facility to grind the gluten free grains and make various mixes. Having this new building ensures there is no cross contamination between gluten and gluten free products. One day I got to watch the frame of the new building going up.

On Thursday evening the firefighters at the Meridian Volunteer Fire Department about an hour away from here came and picked me up and took me to their fire station for a cookout. It was great to meet the firefighters and several of their wives. They showed me the equipment that I bought their department, some of which is blue fire hose that they said is used at every fire. They gave me a department patch and also one of their t-shirts which has a really cool graphic designed by one of their firefighters. One of the fire departments in New York state gave me the nickname of fire equipment angel, it was a few days before I was at the Meridian fire department, so when Meridian gave me the shirt after dinner, I chuckled to myself because the graphic on the t-shirt I was given has angel wings. I noticed a decal on their fire trucks and the wall in the fire station that I liked.

There are several new types of gardening being done here, one is Aquaponics. I’ve heard of Hydroponic gardening, but not Aquaponics. The difference is that Aquaponics uses fish, and here they are including using soil in addition to the water to grow the vegetables. It’s very interesting how this method of gardening is being used. I will add more about it shortly, it will be in my November Homestead Heritage story. Internet is intermittent here so I update this story as I can.

On Saturday morning Betty who is a former city clerk friend of mine that lives near Austin, she brought her sister Carol and their friend Lori, I showed them around and we had lunch together, and caught up on life. My friend Kim that lives here joined us for lunch and then invited Betty, Carol, and Lori back to her house where she showed them her garden and gave them some jalapeno peppers and other vegetables. On Monday afternoon another former city clerk friend Linda and her daughter came to visit with me, so I got to show them around and have dinner together.

One day I picked jalapeno peppers and Kim and I put them in jars, added brine, and canned them. It was so cool to pick the peppers in the morning and within hours they were processed into jars of peppers. As the vegetables are maturing and reaching their full growth, we pick them and in many cases freeze or can them so they can be enjoyed all year long. There is a very old and large pecan tree near where I am parked. I’ve been collecting them for the family I’m staying with so they can eat them all year. I hear them falling on my camper, and theses are easy to collect. I’m trying to get them before the squirrels get them for their winter storage. I’ve also seen many roadrunner birds around these grounds. They are really interesting to watch, and I was told they eat snakes so they are good to have around. They run and then stop to look around and their large fan shape tail raises and lowers, then they run on to another spot and stop and do the same thing.

I’ve been alternating my time between working at the cheese shop and gristmill. To fill in other time, I’m visiting with friends here, and helping out where I’m needed. We are making many foods for the fair. A couple of days I helped make Malawach, pronounced sort of like Ma la wok. The dough is flour, gluten, cane sugar, water, and oil. It’s rolled into 5.4 ounce balls, they rest about an hour and then are rolled out and butter is spread on them, then they are folded into a small square and rolled out again. They are then cooked in a skillet until golden brown. We cooked a few to taste, it was so delicious and very flaky because it’s folded and then rolled out again so it has layers in the dough. I definitely could get hooked eating these. I will probably buy some of this mix so I can make them when I get home.

When I work at the cheese shop and we package the cheese, there are always small pieces of cheese left, and the people at the cheese shop are really nice to me and let me take some with me so I can snack on them in my camper. The cheddar cheese and horseradish pecan cheddar are my favorites.

I’ve also been invited to dinner at people’s houses where we get to eat together and then talk for a few hours afterward. It’s great to get to know each other better and share stories about our lives.

I’m making time each afternoon for a nap and I’m trying hard not to do too much so I don’t strain my body. I have to say that wherever I’m working, the people there make sure that I’m not overdoing it. I’m doing pretty well, my shortness of breath seems to be gone for the time being, thankfully. I’m still controlling my pain with medicine, some days I have to take more breakthrough medicine than on other days.