The Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay was formed over 11000 years ago. Native American tribes centered their world around Chesepoic - the country of the great rivers. The Boardwalk existed as early as 1930 which was just two blocks long in those days. It was rebuilt many times after being destroyed by hurricanes. The present one is about half a mile long and is a meeting place for the local residents. I found the best time to click pictures was during sunrise.

People having their morning walk, some jog while others take their dogs for a morning walk.

Fishing enthusiasts would turn up early in the hope of making a catch.

There was a band (The Winstons) playing in the evening and I captured a part of their performance.

The young (and the young at heart) were shaking a leg to the wonderful music.

I found the energy level of the performers quite high as can be seen in the video. Found a peculiar type of tree opposite the boardwalk. Was it a creeper or was it some sort of parasite on the tree?

Earlier we had dinner at the Vaughan Cheese, run by Megan and Tyler. It was an experience in itself especially regarding the different forms of cheese.

Found a few birds along the bay like the Royal tern.

Trying to identify this bird

There were man made platforms specially erected for the Ospreys for their nesting season.

More on the Ospreys and its nesting habits in the next blog.

Earlier we had been to Annapolis and spent half a day there. The memorial that I saw at the city dock is the only memorial in the United States that commemorates the actual name and place of an enslaved African, Kunta Kinte. It reminded me of all that I read (about four decades ago) in the book "Roots" by Alex Haley.

Did some window shopping there.

Here were some recycled articles made from old cans in Madagascar, Africa, for sale.

Now to work on the Osprey video.

La Ferme Cheese

When wifey told me that she wanted to stop over at a cheese making factory I pictured it as some great factory with lots of machinery and many employees working in it.

My imagination worked overtime and transported me to the world of  Tom and Jerry my favorite  cartoon movie series. I imagined those slices of cheese with huge holes in it and Tom chasing Jerry who was trying to get away with a huge piece. I pictured myself waving back at Jerry when he would look at me cheekily through one of those holes and wink. (Sigh!)

But all these were just my imagination.

The La Ferme Cheese factory at Pondicherry was a simple little place. It is not far from Auroville Ashram and is  run by Mr Benny who was kind enough to  show us around, despite being held up for his lunch. Benny hails from Netherlands and stays with his family in Auroville.

I was impressed by the simple sign board at the entrance.  A slice of wood on which the name was painted in white paint. No fancy stuff.

Outside I saw these huge black structures, which was the Bio gas plant. He told us that the gas that was used in the kitchen were from these Bio gas plants.

As for the Tom & Jerry affair, he told us that they were the Swiss cheese with ‘eyes’ The larger the eyes, the more pronounced its flavour will be.

There are so many types of cheese, like the Provolone cheese, the Govda cheese, Farm cheese, Blue cheese, Cheddar cheese.

Among the hard cheese are the Parmesan, Gruyere, Romano.

All these sounded Greek to me, and talking about Greek, the Feta cheese is cheese actually from Greece. It is made with a combination of Goat and sheep milk.

(that is cheese with goat milk)

I was impressed by the way Benny kept his place neat and clean. He gave us a tour of the place which included sections where the milk was collected in huge containers ,the  processing of cheese , testing of samples and the storage of the finished product was done.

He went to great details about the shelf life of each variety and  gave us samples to taste. 

carving out a slice for tasting

Though most of the cheese were made with cow’s milk, they also  made goat cheese. Despite having their own cattle , the milk for the cheese was also sourced from the nearby farms , to meet the demands of their ever increasing clientele .

The cheese  products are available to customers in the local markets and also in Auroville outlets. Though they do not sell the Cheese at La Farme, Benny was kind enough to make an exception for us ........ as  my wife  was so keen to buy the Parmesan cheese, that she kept  persistently requesting him.

(some of the tools for cutting the hard cheese)

I saw these colourful soldiers all lined up on a shelf and was wondering what they were doing up there. When I picked up one to examine it, I realised that they were the number stamps used to mark the cheese.

While we were there , a prospective client dropped by to meet Benny  to discuss  an order that he wanted to place. This was my cue to move on as I could see that Benny was going to be even more late for his lunch.

He was happy that I was taking photos of his place. When I told him that I will be writing a blog on La Ferme Cheese, his eyes brightened up and said with a smile “do send me the link”  

PS: After we send the link to Benny, this was his reply:

Hello Marie and Joe,

Sure I remember your visit, but what a nice surprise to see and read the article. Great pictures and a very nice story.

Thanks! This really more than makes up for a late lunch ;-) and looking at the pics I don't think I was so hungry anyway :-)

Best Regards,

Benny

Welcome to my Kitchen

Benvenuti nella mia cucina.

That is how Ricardo Costa greets you. The two things that I like about this guy is his body language and his flow of words.  (sigh. . . wish I could talk like that)

Yes there is a slight hint of an Italian accent but that is very slight and negligible.

Benvenuti nella mia cucina simply means “Welcome to my kitchen”. 

I don’t usually write blogs on cooking and recipes (unless it’s something made at home) but I like Ricardo’s point of view. He says that we don’t have to always go out for a date. The thrill of preparing something at home right in front of your girlfriend is something different. And then he actually goes ahead and shows you how to put together a delightful Cheese & Basil Pasta.  In his own words “it is not a big and grand dish, it is a simple vegetarian dish”  (does that mean vegetarian dishes cannot be grand?) 

Some words sounded familiar to me like the ingredients: Mascarpone cheese, Sundried tomatoes, Swiss cheese, Gorgonzola cheese, Parmesan cheese and Pecorino Romano cheese. These are some of the words that my wife throws around when she gets excited about cooking. So I was all ears . . . . . . .   maybe I can get hold of some new words and throw it back at her.

"You know Orson Wells once said: the Swiss are good for two things, the cheese and the cuckoo clock”  If you are wondering how Orson Wells came here, that is what Ricardo rambles on in-between his cooking. I also came to know that Basil juice is a good antidote for Scorpion bite. He also has some advice about how to buy good quality pasta.

Well, coming back to the cooking, first let’s start with some sauce, we simmer some milk on a low flame…. I think it is better that you hear it directly from Ricardo – click here.