Meme from Ysabella_dolfin
Meme from Ysabella_dolfin
Leave a comment saying ":D" and:
-I'll respond by asking you five questions to satisfy my curiosity.
-Update your journal with the answers to your questions.
- Include this explanation and offer to ask other people questions.
Her questions:
1} Why did you guys end up moving away from the West?
This one is a bit complicated. Kirk/Timothy had been working for a think-tank in Napa, it was very small and very specialised and was doing theoretical work 15 years or so ahead of what we could do with today's technology. He was the only employee that did not have a PhD and the guy that owned the company was a tenured professor with UC Davis. While he learned a lot he ended up doing less research and was more of a research assistant and data security expert for the company. There was no way to move up within the company and he had to deal with his boss's moderate case of Tourettes Syndrome. The closest company that specialised in his area of work was either in San Diego or at Ft. Meade, Maryland - where we are now. He was ready to move after we'd been in Napa for 3 years, but we had to wait due to my health. I had my kidney transplant on March 7, 2006 and six months later, after I was cleared for travel, we moved to the Ft. Meade area. Kirk is now the go-to algorithms guy for his division of his company and is working on his Master's degree in Applied Mathematics.
2} What is the easiest cheese for a beginner to make and how do you make it?
My absolute favorite cheese for a beginner to make is cream cheese because it requires only a couple of steps and turns out *so* much better than the stuff you can buy in the grocery store. It does require a small amount rennet, an ingredient that few beginners have on hand, but if you can get it then it makes a world of difference. http://www.cheesemaking.com/ is a great source for hobbyist cheesemaking supplies.
Take 1 gallon of whole milk and add 2 cups of heavy cream. Bring to 78 degrees F. I leave it in a bowl on the counter to come to room temperature in the summer. Take 1/4 cup of room temperature non-chlorinated water and add 2 drops of rennet, stir. Add this diluted rennet mixture to the milk/cream mixture and stir gently for one minute. Cover and allow to sit undisturbed for 12-18 hours. Drain through cheesecloth, linen tea towel, or pillowcase - tie the corners together and hang until it drips only a few times a minute. Remove from the cloth and season to taste.
3} Do you play actively in your new home?
Yes, we try to be very active. We participate in as many Barony activities as our schedules permit, but my new work schedule is going to impact our attending events. I have to plan pretty far in advance to get Saturday's off. I took my first apprentice in October 2008 and he is researching medieval technological devices.
We don't get outside of the northern part of the Kingdom that frequently, but it's mainly because there are a lot of activities going on up here. Also, with my anemia we find that daytrips are easier to handle.
4} How did you and your husband meet?
I was working with a friend of his, they were both in the SCA. She said she "had the perfect guy" for me and arranged for us to meet at my first SCA event. We've been together ever since, it's been 15.5 years and we just celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. :) He's still my best friend and I realise every single day just how lucky I am to have him in my life.
5} What is your background and education and... why cheese?
I graduated with a B.S. in Interior Design and worked for architecture firms specialising in corporate interiors until we moved to Napa. Then I discovered that there was no work for an interior designer even if I commuted into SF, it was right after the dotcom bust. I had started making cheese a few months before and so, when I started flipping through the want ads and saw an ad for a trainee cheesemonger I was intrigued. I was hired by John Raymond (Raymond & Co, Cheesemongers) in Nov. 2002 and that started my work with cheese. John and I hit it off from the start and his curiosity and interest in cheese is infectious. I've been fascinated by it ever since. If you ever make it out to Glen Ellen you need to drop in to his shop, you would love him. :) So my interest in cheese has led me to purchase two dairy goat kids, I have been a member of the American Cheese Society for several years, and have helped several small production cheesemakers perfect or tweak their recipes. When we moved back here to Maryland I was going to open my own aging facility or shop, but with the economy it just didn't make sense. I went to work for an architecture firm and was the designer for the healthcare and senior living divisions until they closed shop permanently last October. Then the cheese shop opportunity with Wegman's happened and I jumped at the chance to do something I enjoyed again, I don't find design all that fun anymore.
And Kirk encourages my interest. I have to admit, though, that if I didn't have health issues I probably wouldn't be this immersed in it. Because I have them I know that while I'm feeling good I need to do things that interest me, because if I'm tied to a dialysis machine in the future it's going to severely impact what I can do with my life. I'd rather live it now than regret not doing so in the future.
Leave a comment saying ":D" and:
-I'll respond by asking you five questions to satisfy my curiosity.
-Update your journal with the answers to your questions.
- Include this explanation and offer to ask other people questions.
Her questions:
1} Why did you guys end up moving away from the West?
This one is a bit complicated. Kirk/Timothy had been working for a think-tank in Napa, it was very small and very specialised and was doing theoretical work 15 years or so ahead of what we could do with today's technology. He was the only employee that did not have a PhD and the guy that owned the company was a tenured professor with UC Davis. While he learned a lot he ended up doing less research and was more of a research assistant and data security expert for the company. There was no way to move up within the company and he had to deal with his boss's moderate case of Tourettes Syndrome. The closest company that specialised in his area of work was either in San Diego or at Ft. Meade, Maryland - where we are now. He was ready to move after we'd been in Napa for 3 years, but we had to wait due to my health. I had my kidney transplant on March 7, 2006 and six months later, after I was cleared for travel, we moved to the Ft. Meade area. Kirk is now the go-to algorithms guy for his division of his company and is working on his Master's degree in Applied Mathematics.
2} What is the easiest cheese for a beginner to make and how do you make it?
My absolute favorite cheese for a beginner to make is cream cheese because it requires only a couple of steps and turns out *so* much better than the stuff you can buy in the grocery store. It does require a small amount rennet, an ingredient that few beginners have on hand, but if you can get it then it makes a world of difference. http://www.cheesemaking.com/ is a great source for hobbyist cheesemaking supplies.
Take 1 gallon of whole milk and add 2 cups of heavy cream. Bring to 78 degrees F. I leave it in a bowl on the counter to come to room temperature in the summer. Take 1/4 cup of room temperature non-chlorinated water and add 2 drops of rennet, stir. Add this diluted rennet mixture to the milk/cream mixture and stir gently for one minute. Cover and allow to sit undisturbed for 12-18 hours. Drain through cheesecloth, linen tea towel, or pillowcase - tie the corners together and hang until it drips only a few times a minute. Remove from the cloth and season to taste.
3} Do you play actively in your new home?
Yes, we try to be very active. We participate in as many Barony activities as our schedules permit, but my new work schedule is going to impact our attending events. I have to plan pretty far in advance to get Saturday's off. I took my first apprentice in October 2008 and he is researching medieval technological devices.
We don't get outside of the northern part of the Kingdom that frequently, but it's mainly because there are a lot of activities going on up here. Also, with my anemia we find that daytrips are easier to handle.
4} How did you and your husband meet?
I was working with a friend of his, they were both in the SCA. She said she "had the perfect guy" for me and arranged for us to meet at my first SCA event. We've been together ever since, it's been 15.5 years and we just celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. :) He's still my best friend and I realise every single day just how lucky I am to have him in my life.
5} What is your background and education and... why cheese?
I graduated with a B.S. in Interior Design and worked for architecture firms specialising in corporate interiors until we moved to Napa. Then I discovered that there was no work for an interior designer even if I commuted into SF, it was right after the dotcom bust. I had started making cheese a few months before and so, when I started flipping through the want ads and saw an ad for a trainee cheesemonger I was intrigued. I was hired by John Raymond (Raymond & Co, Cheesemongers) in Nov. 2002 and that started my work with cheese. John and I hit it off from the start and his curiosity and interest in cheese is infectious. I've been fascinated by it ever since. If you ever make it out to Glen Ellen you need to drop in to his shop, you would love him. :) So my interest in cheese has led me to purchase two dairy goat kids, I have been a member of the American Cheese Society for several years, and have helped several small production cheesemakers perfect or tweak their recipes. When we moved back here to Maryland I was going to open my own aging facility or shop, but with the economy it just didn't make sense. I went to work for an architecture firm and was the designer for the healthcare and senior living divisions until they closed shop permanently last October. Then the cheese shop opportunity with Wegman's happened and I jumped at the chance to do something I enjoyed again, I don't find design all that fun anymore.
And Kirk encourages my interest. I have to admit, though, that if I didn't have health issues I probably wouldn't be this immersed in it. Because I have them I know that while I'm feeling good I need to do things that interest me, because if I'm tied to a dialysis machine in the future it's going to severely impact what I can do with my life. I'd rather live it now than regret not doing so in the future.