Category Archives: Commentary

Revisiting My New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on April 6, 2012 by AnnieRie

Well, it has been three months since New Year’s. I revisited my post made on the 30th of December to see if I actually am doing what I said I wanted to do this year.

Resolution #1:

I do resolve to be more creative and expand my culinary boundaries to include more baking, and more ethnic foods outside our European heritage. I do intend to continue being more and more of a locavore, and use up as much processed stuff in the pantry, and not replace it.

Well, the Dark Days Challenge was a way to expand what I eat locally. I haven’t been baking much, unless you count those black bean brownies a few weeks ago.

And, the pantry is still pretty full of processed stuff, because I am eating mostly CSA and local meats. I need to continue to clean out what is in there, and not replace it with more of the same.

As for ethnic foods, haven’t done much there either. I will challenge myself from the spring/summer CSA to use those Asian vegetables in ethnic dishes, not simple stir frying, but really trying something new. Not chicken chow mein with the bok choy. And, I resolve to not swap the peppers, like the habanero or jalapenos we get. Make my own salsas. Attempt a mole sauce, too.

Resolution #2:

I intend to can more things, pick more veggies and fruits, and process them. I need to get a freezer and buy something at the fair, from the 4H’ers. Maybe lamb, or goat, or part of one of the steers or hogs. Our friends’ children raise animals to bring to the auction. We want to support them more by making it worth their efforts.

Not there yet. This is a summer time thing. I do need to get off my butt and buy a freezer if I want to do this. Larriland for strawberries isn’t that far away. The auction at the fair is on our list to do this year as well. Last year we just observed.

Resolutions #3 and 4:

I want to build a cold frame. Will I find the time?

Not gonna happen, due to my health changes. Recovery from surgery got in the way of doing these. Plus, I need to make sure we don’t have problems with predators, and research the best coops to buy. We have a new addition to our predator community.

Not the best picture of the red fox who has been hanging around. I took it through the screen so as not to spook him. He was hunting something in the meadow and paced back and forth many times. Yesterday I wasn’t fast enough to grab the camera as he ran through our yard carrying something large in his mouth. I think it may have been one of my neighbor’s chickens. It was just before sunset, and if you leave the chickens free range too late in the day, they become dinner for the fox.

As for the cold frame, it will get put off until fall.

Resolution #5:

We still need to clean out the stuff we accumulated at our jobs, which sits in boxes in the attic and garage. That is a priority.

We are making some progress here. The shredder is working overtime. And, at Greenfest I will be getting more out of the house and garage. I have been going through old pictures and keeping those I want by scanning them into the computer. Less paper around here will be a good thing.

The Summary:

do new things including expanding what I do in my volunteering, like geocaching and giving presentations. Another priority. Looks like I have enough to do, and I’ll see how it turns out in my second year of retirement.

There are numerous programs at the Conservancy this fall where I will be doing presentations, and where I will be using the geocaching skills I am learning.

All in all, not a bad start to doing what I want in 2012. Putting them down in writing here in the blog makes it harder to ignore them, or lose them. Let’s see if I do more in the next three months.

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Posted in Commentary, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, miscellaneous, Retirement and tagged cooking, hobbies, hoco loco, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, real food, retirement. Bookmark the permalink.

Anniversaries

Posted on April 1, 2012 by AnnieRie

Today is a special anniversary for me. Two years ago, on April Fool’s Day I got up and went to work for the very last time. That was it. My thirty year and one day anniversary of Federal employment. I would have reitred the day I was eligible but adding one day gave me the total, including unused sick leave, needed to add another month to my pension calculation.

I always said I would only work thirty years and then walk. I wanted to work, but no longer needed to, once we got our town house paid off. We were lucky that we bought our town house before the crazy real estate market in Maryland. We were smart to keep cars for 12-15 years, and never buy on credit.

We saved like crazy to buy this place we wanted for our retirement, so we could enjoy it and our hobbies, away from the traffic and the noise. The view from the front porch alone is worth it, most sunsets are spectacular.

I know I am lucky to be retired so young. I was 57 when I retired. I started working in 1968 when I was 15 1/2, in order to afford Catholic schools. Worked through college. Became a teacher. Met my husband, and at 27 fell into a mathematician job that had me coding computer models and traveling the world. I loved what I did back then. Of course, 30 years later, I was tired of bureaucracies, but the early years were fun.

My job took me cool places, so that now people say “Are you going to travel?”, and I say “No, not for a while.” Been there, done that, as they say. I spent so much time on the road in the 1980s and 90s, I was glad to take a headquarters job at the Navy Yard and stay in my office. Working for the Navy meant cool travel. Hawaii, San Diego, Bremerton, Port Canaveral, Ft. Lauderdale, the Bahamas, Newport RI, the Arctic, and the UK. Bath Iron Works in January stunk, but the rest was pretty amazing.

Add to that, the cruises and trips with friends while we were unencumbered by a mortgage and we have hit four continents and about 60 countries.

Later, when we are finished enjoying the nearby attractions, we may go places again. Now, it doesn’t seem to matter if we hang around here for a while. We have done all sorts of projects, like the roof and the siding.

I just like staying home and tending my gardens.

Cooking up a storm.

Going to the Conservancy a few times a week.

Taking day trips.

Visiting wineries.

Whatever strikes us as interesting. Driving to Chicago for a week, for example. Or, taking trips to markets.

My recent surgery and the extended recovery is a wake up call as well. Health is something we should never take for granted. Putting off retirement if we have the means to do it is risky. I have so many old coworker friends who had health problems soon after retiring. All those years planning and dreaming, then endless doctor visits, surgeries and treatments. Life is precious and not predictable.

Today, one of our closest friends retires after almost twenty five years at the hospital. She is six months younger than I was when I walked. She knows she is lucky to get to do what she wants. She also started working at 15, and like me, worked at one place or another for 42 years. Never taking a break.

I wish her well, and hope we all have years of good times to come. Taking that big step into retirement is scary, we know. Those last few weeks test you as you keep wondering if it is the right thing to do.

I know it was for me.

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Posted in Commentary, miscellaneous, Retirement, Travel, Volunteering and tagged commentary, health, photography, retirement, travel. Bookmark the permalink.

Dinner in the Dining Room – Not Just for Holidays

Posted on March 31, 2012 by AnnieRie

We eat in our dining room most nights. I don’t remember what prompted the change from sitting at the island in the kitchen, to setting the table and relaxing over dinner in the dining room. But, it has definitely influenced us. We spend more time sitting and talking and less time watching TV. Not a bad thing by any means.

Using the good napkins and not reserving them for company …

Using the fancier wine glasses, and the Dansk Bistro dinnerware. Inexpensive, the way we did it, but over the years, we ended up with enough to entertain. We found the glasses at Iron Bridge. They would order you a set of four for $40.

When we first moved into our town house, after one of the 1983 blizzards, our cul de sac of twelve houses (23 people) started getting together for a pot luck or themed dinner every other month. You entertained once every two years. The Dansk has been accumulating from years of scouring the outlets on the Eastern Shore, or in PA. Our set is mix and match, but still nice and festive. Somewhere along the way, years ago, I put the stoneware in the donation bags and decided that using the good dishes should be something we did for us. Don’t we deserve to eat off the good plates?

Flowers on the table. I always bring in some of my flowers from around the outside of the house. Before living here, I used to buy flowers at Giant, because they just made me smile. Now, having a variety of flowers all summer long gives me this sense of accomplishment in my garden.

I have to say, now that we moved away from Columbia and don’t eat out as often, the dinner time ritual here has created a transition from working all day long on something to relaxation and conversation.

Do you take the time to sit and enjoy a meal with your family? Do you only eat in the dining room on holidays? Do you have date nights? Like dinner and a movie on Friday night.

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Posted in Commentary, Family, Food, Gardening and tagged cooking, family, Food, gardening, spring flowers, traditions, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

So What is National Local Mom and Pop Business Day?

Posted on March 29, 2012 by AnnieRie

Is it just another Hallmark holiday, or what?

I had a draft post I was working on for weeks, that had this time stamp on the draft that sent it to March 18th, when I hit publish. Still need to figure out some of the quirks of WordPress, but I was working on telling the story of using small businesses for most of what we buy. Services and supplies, from people in the county, not from national and international chains.

It is here. Those who subscribe did get it. To update it even more and include food in the mix, I am posting tonight about the local sources of dinner from small, family owned businesses.

We did do one thing today using a mom and pop business. That is, if Cavallero and Company count. My husband has been getting his hair cut by Vince’s shop, from the days they were Rex’s Place. First, Arnold. Now, Wayne. No one else is trusted to cut his hair. Since the late 1970s, I think is when he started with them.

As for the rest of today, I celebrated with a grazing meal tonight. Almost everything on the table was small business.

The salad. Beets, onions and orange from CSA — the oranges come up from a small farm in Florida. Fennel from Roots. Lemon olive oil from St. Helena Olive Oil, CA. USA olive oil, not imported. Woman owned business, that I support wholeheartedly year round.

The cube steak came from Wagner’s in Mt. Airy. The flour from Union Mills. The cole slaw I made using cabbage and carrots from the CSA. The accompaniments were from Cava in Rockville MD. Harissa and tzatziki. Bread from Atwater’s. Butter from Trickling Springs. Wine from Elk Run. No big businesses here. It can be done with just a little effort.

For me, I want to support these businesses all year. Not just for one day. By the way, the wine was awesome. Thanks to Fred and Carol Wilson, who started their winery in the 1980s. This wine, a cabernet, is from 2002. It is ten years old and still full of fruit. Not brown or fading. Just luscious. MD can make really good wines. Supporting people like the Wilsons is something I believe in. They started the very first all vinifera vineyard in MD. Hats off to them for making this lovely wine.

hocoblogs@@@

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Posted in Commentary, Community, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, People, Wine and tagged commentary, community, Food, hoco loco, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Customer Service

Posted on March 21, 2012 by AnnieRie

Keurig – Pass
Kitchen Aid – Fail

Recently I had the pleasure (?) of dealing with appliance suppliers again, this time Keurig, after our machine decided that 3-4 ounces of coffee was what it would give us, no matter what setting you used.

After a less than satisfying go round with Kitchen Aid a while back over a constantly cracking ceramic insert on a not inexpensive crock pot, I wasn’t feeling like resolution of the Keurig problem was going to happen, but my husband proved me wrong.

He called and they walked him through the process with them hearing the pump making really bad sounds. They told us to send back the black K cup holder from inside the unit, and they would send us a new one free. Really!! Free!!

It came in two days and the old one is history. The empty box for the new one, and the old dead Keurig, ready to send to the landfill.

A full mug of coffee!

This is customer service. Not only did they solve the problem caused by an inadequate pump, they came through even better when I registered my replacement unit and got the promo for two free K cup boxes with an order of two.

As for Kitchen Aid, they let us down big time last year. I had an original crock pot. It looked like this.

It isn’t big enough to do chickens or large roasts, so I bought a new one at Macy’s in the mall. A very fancy Kitchen Aid. Less than a year later, about six or seven times of use, the ceramic insert cracked and the dinner leaked out. Calls to Kitchen Aid resulted in their sending us another insert, which proceeded to crack after only four uses. Another call, and all they wanted to do was send another insert. After internet research, I found out that this problem was universal. The ceramic unit overheated and cracked. No one got anything other than replacement inserts which would crack after use.

No satisfaction, so I said the heck with it, and went out and bought another Rival. Way less fancy. Not expensive and working like a champ.

Kitchen Aid failed in the service department, which annoys me since I have many Kitchen Aid appliances. Keurig came through with flying colors.

Getting Organic in a CSA

Posted on March 19, 2012 by AnnieRie

Is it cheaper than shopping organic stores? What does it buy me? And, why do I care about organic? For me, step by step, I am replacing processed and treated foods to limit my allergic reactions to the preservatives. The summer and fall Sandy Spring CSA was a large contributor to that switch. For 33 weeks, between the summer and fall CSAs, I ate almost 100% organic vegetables and IPM or organic fruit. Sandy Spring, the largest CSA delivering to Howard County at the Conservancy and in West Columbia off Cedar Lane on Thursdays, is my source for organic veggies.

Continuing into a winter CSA helped, but the winter Zahradka Farm CSA is not certified organic. They are the only year round CSA in the area. They sell at Glenwood Market. A quote from their web site.

“Our farming practices are modeled after the Certified Organic guidelines for Md. as often as possible. If we are having problems with our crop we resort to IPM (Integrated Pest Management), and we are always open about what is going on with our farm to our customers.”

I also buy at our farmer’s markets in the county. Breezy Willow Farm is certified organic. It is the only one at the farmer’s market that is certified so far. They also offer a CSA for those who want a regular organic source of veggies, bread and eggs. I buy what I need from them weekly to supplement my CSA delivery, particularly their homemade breads and their eggs. If my Thursday delivery doesn’t include something I need, I turn to Breezy Willow as my first source. The picture below taken of Breezy Willow with South Mountain Creamery in the background from Glenwood, is courtesy of the Howard County Farmer’s Market Facebook page.

I created a tag, value of CSA, that will track what I get weekly in my organic CSA, and compare it to the cost of buying organic veggies at the local supermarket and/or coop. Since much of what I get is pretty mundane, places like Harris Teeter will include many of the veggies in my box, but Roots, David’s or The Common Market will be more likely sources for tatsoi, mizuna, sunchokes, garlic scapes, and the other more exotic veggies. I may use Breezy Willow’s pricing as well, since I go to the Glenwood market most weeks.

Last year’s summary tables tell me I got 124 different items over the course of the 25 weeks. That could be difficult to track, but I am trying. Here is a list of a typical delivery from our summer CSA last year, from September.

1 Head Green Leaf Lettuce – Certified Organic – Green Valley Organics
2 Large Eggplant – Certified Organic – Farmdale Organics or Windy Hollow Organics
1 Bunch Green Mustard – Certified Organic – Maple Lawn Organics
1 Bag Baby Mixed Sweet Peppers – Certified Organic – Organic Willow Acres
1 Bunch Cherry Belle Radishes – Certified Organic – Pine Hill Organics
2 Small Heads Red Butterhead Lettuce – Certified Organic – Riverview Organics
1 Bag Sweet Candy Onions – Certified Organic – Crystal Springs Organics
2 Delicata Squash – Certified Organic – Green Valley Organics
1 Bunch Tatsoi – Certified Organic – Hillside Organics
1 Bag Sweet Potatoes – Certified Organic – Pine Hill Organics
1 Bunch Curly Parsley – Certified Organic – Noble Herbs
1 Butternut Squash – Certified Organic – Soaring Eagle Acres
1 Package Portobello Mushroom Caps – Certified Organic – Mother Earth Organic Mushrooms

This CSA cost us $30/week, and every week there were 10-14 items in the box. The week above yielded 13 items. Therefore, doing the math, buying 13 organic items that averaged $2.33 each would show you the value of this particular season in the CSA. Some years may not be as productive, depending on the weather. 2011 was a very good year for Lancaster Farm Fresh Coop, the parent non-profit supplying Sandy Spring CSA.

A pic from an August delivery:

The list:

Monday, August 8 – Full Share

12 Ears Sweet Corn – Certified Organic – Organic Willow acres or Sunrise Ridge Organics or Soaring Eagle Acres or White Swan Acres
*Corn is one of the most difficult crops to grow organically. If you should find a worm in any of the ears – don’ panic! Simply cut those areas off and enjoy the rest.

2 Yellow Straightneck Squash – Certified Organic – Echo Valley Organics
1 Bag Yukon Gold Potatoes – Certified Organic – Echo Valley Organics
2 Pints Mixed Cherry Tomatoes – Certified Organic – Farmdale Organics
1 Italian Eggplant – Certified Organic – Farmdale Organics
1 Bag Red Tomatoes – Certified Organic – Plum Hill Farm
1 Bag Jalapeno Peppers – Certified Organic – Millwood Springs Organics
2 Heads Small Red Butterhead Lettuce – Certified Organic – Riverview Organics
1 Cantaloupe – Certified Organic – White Swan Acres
1 Bunch Curly Parsley – Certified Organic – Noble Herbs
3 Green Bell Peppers – Certified Organic – Maple Arch Farm
1 Bag Red Onions – Certified Organic – Deer Hollow Farm

Twelve items this week. $2.50 per item average. Again, all organic including the cantaloupe. Two pints of heirloom cherry tomatoes counts as one item. Where could you find a pint of heirlooms for $1.25? A dozen ears of organic sweet corn. At least $4 a dozen, I recall from seeing it at Roots last year, and thinking what a bargain we were getting.

As for the volume of produce here, thankfully every week included an herb, which lasted in the veggie drawer for many weeks, allowing me to use fresh herbs for most of my cooking. We did end up freezing tomatoes and canning pickles from cucumbers.

I even canned “dilly beans”. For a vegetarian or a less meatarian, having fresh produce of this quality will easily feed a couple for most meals a week. We used all the greens and lettuces in salads for lunches. The hardest thing to use up, for us, were the eggplants and squashes. Lots of ratatouille, eggplant parm, lasagna, and I started making chocolate zucchini bread to take to the conservancy.

Follow along this spring, summer and fall as I talk about what I get, what I do with it, and what it would cost to do it differently.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in Commentary, CSA, Farmer's Markets, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, West HoCo and tagged commentary, community, CSA, farmer's markets, Food, heirloom tomatoes, hoco loco, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, organic, real food, value of CSA, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Standing in a Crowded Fireplace …

Posted on March 15, 2012 by AnnieRie

… and yelling “Theater, Theater!!”. One of my favorite JK Lea quotes. For whatever reason as we approach St. Patrick’s Day, I got to remembering how great JK’s Pub was. How it was our neighborhood bar. How much JK put of himself into making it special.

This triggered the memories. I found my 15th Anniversary mug, and my husband had to have a Guiness to toast the occasion.

For quite a long time it was the place to go after work to relax and meet others. Our next door neighbors met there. Got engaged there. Married there. Quite a number of people did the same. We met a couple at the blogtail party who also married there. And, they knew our neighbors and played darts with their son. The small world of Howard County.

I don’t know if there is any place like it still in Columbia. There are bars, yes, and happy hours, but the old time, every one knows each other, neighborhood bars seem to have disappeared. Or maybe it’s just because I am getting old, and don’t frequent bars like we did when we were young and relatively free to go out many nights.

Other favorites from our past in Howard County —

Roy’s Place Too
Last Chance
The Allview Inn

As for today, it seems to us that Iron Bridge comes close. So does Victoria’s.

Others????

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

hocofood@@@

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Posted in Commentary, Community, Howard County, Local Businesses, Remember When, Restaurants and tagged community, hoco loco, Howard County, local businesses, remember when. Bookmark the permalink.

OK, I admit it! I’m a Geek!

Posted on March 13, 2012 by AnnieRie

And I am celebrating my 100th post by focusing on statistics, and why all these disparate things interest me.

No denying my fascination with things that don’t normally resonate with some women friends of mine. Things like my amateur radio license. My engineering experience. My love of taking apart small electrical or mechanical things and figuring them out. That’s why I am OK with wires hanging off my house.

So, why am I so deeply into cooking and gardening? Probably because they balance me out. But, even there, numbers and competition and a quest like here in growing purple calabash from seed to a ribbon winning heirloom at the County Fair. Seeds from Monticello bought while there on a weekend in Charlottesville.

I spent most of my 30 years working as a computer scientist, mathematician, electronics engineer, program manager for the Navy. Yeah, every job change meant more course work, a different job series and title, and new challenges. The world of the government. Working for the Navy meant I spent close to 100% of my time with men. The bad news. Minimal bathroom breaks in meetings. The good news. No lines at the ladies room.

I still get into it when we do our radio field day, but I cook instead of operate. Love watching them, but can’t sit still for hours calling “CQ Field Day”.

I haven’t lost my curiosity about numbers and facts and statistics. So, now I am intrigued by what I can get from the stats pages on my wordpress web site. Wow! Big brother is really following us around. On slow weekends, I can actually see how someone got here, where they came from, what search terms they used, and how many places they visited, plus any out bound clicks they made.

Oh, and weirdly so, I like the little world map telling me where the views are originating. South Africa! Oh yeah, they searched on “waverly hills wine farm” and ended up on my home page. I had all those terms on my half dozen posts that come up when you click on “Home”. I have no idea how someone got here with “drywall” in their search string.

Search Terms
Today Yesterday Summaries

Search
waverly hills wine farm
“cafeteria man”
mountain hills drywall

I find all this trivia fascinating. Am I the only one that finds their stats interesting?! Or, am I just bored out of my mind because I can’t drive, and can’t putter around in my garden until I get this blasted collar off!?!

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Posted in Commentary, Hobbies, miscellaneous and tagged amateur radio, commentary, heirloom tomatoes, hobbies, hocoblogging, statistics, web page. Bookmark the permalink.

Coming Full Circle

Posted on March 12, 2012 by AnnieRie

A return to real food. When I was young, my mother always cooked from scratch. That was pretty much the only way to cook. The 50s were a time before supermarkets contained aisle after aisle of packaged and processed foods. It was a time you ate seasonally, and you followed the family traditions. Fish on Friday. Hot dogs and beans on Saturday. A chicken or roast on Sunday. Leftovers made into soup for Monday.

Those were our family traditions. Including one of my personal favorites when I was little. Scrambled eggs and scrapple. My husband won’t eat scrapple so I would get my occasional fix at the cafeteria at work, or when I went to see my parents when my husband was on travel. When I was little, scrapple came from the Lexington Market in Baltimore. Freshly made.

Somehow along the years we all became enamored of packaged meals, canned foods, TV dinners, and the frozen food aisle was a major source of what came home to be “cooked”. OK, but not as satisfying as those foods I remember from childhood.

What else made me think hard about how I ate, and what it contained and where it came from? You see, my dad and I share quite a bit genetically and otherwise. Stubborn Germans, both of us. Still, I thought he was the best.

We shared the same allergies, too. Yes, allergies. It turns out that my dad and I share an aversion to some of those additives put into foods to keep them fresh longer. He sneezed every time we went out to dinner. I started doing the same when I got to be in my 40s. After much messing around to find the triggers, it seems the additives in the ultra pasteurized half and half put on the tables in restaurants was one culprit.

We used to tease dad that he was allergic to the check. But, the cream in his coffee was most probably the source of his allergic reaction. For me, salad bars were always a problem. Can’t do them without a fit of sneezing. Bagged lettuce mixes brought home to make dinner quickly became named as contributors. Other foods were added to the list and avoided.

For the past seventeen days, while recovering from surgery, I ate almost exclusively simple organic soft foods made by myself or my husband. Never sneezed once until the night we had no other salad dressing in the house but one he picked up the other day. I usually make my own. This refrigerated jar of ranch dressing sent me into a sneezing fit. Thankfully, I am far enough along in recovery not to have had a problem, but still unwelcome.

I can go to restaurants where I know I won’t sneeze. Where they cook mostly from scratch. Real food, not reheated defrosted processed foods. Places like Iron Bridge never cause a problem. Bombay Peacock every time caused an outburst. I learned to navigate menus and avoid items all over town.

Today we went to Iron Bridge for lunch after a very good neurosurgeon visit. Celebration. The lunch specials.

Calamari to share. Flatbread for him.

Quiche for me.

Nary a sniffle.

I know I have to concentrate on avoiding as much processed food as I can. I do pretty well because of the CSA and the local farmers. More and more, I have to read labels, buy individual ingredients, make my own, and not rely on processed products.

And, Eat Real Food.

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Posted in Commentary, Family, Food, Real Food, Remember When, Restaurants and tagged family, Food, real food, traditions. Bookmark the permalink.

Howard County Farmer’s Markets Launched A New Web Site

Posted on March 10, 2012 by AnnieRie

Today while I was out visiting TLV Tree Farm, Jen mentioned that recently a dedicated web site was launched that will include information about the Howard County Farmer’s Markets, which begin their season in May.

I think we are fortunate to have a market somewhere in the county five days out of the week. Some of the vendors come to the market in more than one of the locations, and some are unique. I hope this year that there are even more vendors as I have watched Glenwood grow from 5 or 6 vendors to last year’s ten. That’s a respectable number for one community site. I also found it to become a meeting place, where a number of us met there so many times, we were discussing recipes and favorite flavors of South Mountain’s ice cream.

Previously, I used to go to HCEDA to look for market info. I am hoping that this web site gives us up to the minute information on what is available, and on the individual vendors. I was always impressed with how some other counties had dedicated web sites.

It also seems to me that there is a younger generation of farmers out there. Last year I purchased veggies from Love Dove Farm at the hospital market. They are new and growing. Bowling Green Farm is the only dairy left in Howard County, and I love their cheese spreads. They come to the Friday market at the hospital, and I buy there or go out to TLV or Breezy Willow, who also sell Bowling Green Farm cheeses. Their web site states that they now are producing butter.