Capri!

It's like Christmas come early around here! On Friday, when I ordered my kefir grains, I also ordered a couple of bulk teas - an organic Gunpowder green and an organic whole-leaf Koslanda from Ceylon. Those arrived yesterday. I ordered a few books for work, which I haven't received yet. I ordered some cheese salt and some pH testing strips from www.cheesemaking.com. Those arrived Monday. And then, to top it all off, I ordered a baseball cap from a cheesemaking outfit in Central Massachusetts.

Westfield Farm in Hubbardston has been making all-natural goat and cow milk cheeses since 1971. Chevre is the name of goat cheese - French for goat. Capri is the name for the goat cheese made by the good folks at Westfield Farm. They make between 900 and 1,500 pounds of handcrafted cheeses every week. They are very busy. Their cheeses have won many awards.

I first came across their Capri logs in the dairy section of the local farm market in the town where we used to live. The market sold milk from their own farm cows and cheeses and other dairy products from other local producers. I fell in love with Capri.

Since then I've seen Capri logs around in a few other small-scale dairy stores and some of the larger natural food grocery chains, like Whole Foods. You can also order all of their cheeses online. www.chevre.com.

So, anyway, I decided awhile back that I wanted to do my small part to help publicize the great cheeses of the New England region, so I did a search for small-scale producers that sold t-shirts or baseball caps that I could wear about town. I mean, the Red Sox don't really need my help. You know what I'm saying? And of all the cheesemakers, Westfield Farm was the only one! Which is just as well, since I'm such a fan.

On Friday, at the end of my ordering spree, I went to their website and ordered a cap. $8.99 plus shipping. A good deal. And in the comment section of the order form I wrote a little message about how much I loved their cheese and how I'd like to help advertise for them by wearing the hat around.

And guess what. Yesterday a little box arrived. Spread across the top of the contents was a note written on a big strip of shipping paper in black magic marker, all in capital letters that said:

"[MANCHEGO]-
GLAD YOU LOVE THE CHEESE.
THANK YOU. HERE'S ANOTHER CAP
IN CASE YOU WANT TO MIX IT UP.
WARMLY, BOB@WF"

And sure enough, under the note, not one, but two caps! Isn't that kind?

So, I'll be wearing one or the other all the time now. If you see me on the street, be sure to say, "hello." And in the meantime, be a pal and order some cheeses from Bob! They make great Christmas Gifts. They're great for holiday parties. Great for birthdays. Great just to have around. And best of all, you'll know that you're supporting a nice local guy who is skilled in the art and science of cheesemaking!

What a friend we have in cheeses, indeed!