I can remember getting up early just to help the Milkman deliver his cargo to the whole neighborhood. In return he'd give me a big-ass carton of chocolate milk, since then I've been hooked on the stuff. Little did I know that it would lead to the hard stuff, I'm talking cheese of course.

For the past month I've been really interested in cheese, I've even made some Mozzarela. Today I had some left over wood scraps from fixing my mom's deck, and with a little ingenuity and pics online I've cut some pieces to build a Dutch Cheese Press. Arranging the pieces made me feel like I was playing with grown up lincoln logs. I can't wait for tomorrow, because I'm going to go to Ace's and pick up some bolts and screws so I can put it together.

Just imagine, maple smoked Gouda made from Lynden Washingon's Twinbrook Creamery milk, that's 100% jersey cow milk. It's got higher butterfat and protein content than you'd find in typical milk, and it yields more cheese. Plus, it tastes the way milk should. It's not homogenized, so it's extra creamy, and the low pasteurization temp means that the milk is not completely denatured. I'm going to age it for several months.