We show love to the people in our lives in many different ways. Last weekend, when my mother-in-law sat down next to me at my daughter’s volleyball game, she handed me a small bag with a smile on her face. Turns out, that bag was filled with a great deal of love. I opened it to find four varieties of Washington goat cheese from Mystery Bay Farm: Floret, Thyme & White Pepper, Chives, and Rosemary & Lemon.
Cheese: Chèvre: Floret, Thyme & White Pepper, Chives, Rosemary & Lemon
Producer: Mystery Bay Farm, Nordland WA
Purchased from: Chimacum Corner Farmstand
She had visited Chimacum Corner Farmstand the day before and couldn’t resist picking up all four Mystery Bay chèvre varieties for sale—a perfect contribution to this project. Needless to say, we’ve been enjoying this abundance of artisan goat cheese from Jefferson County ever since. (Thanks Ellen!)
About Mystery Bay Farm
Mystery Bay Farm produces goat milk cheeses using only milk from animals on their farm. According to their website, they started the farm as a way to connect food production to ecological systems, and they are committed to a triple bottom line of ecological, economic, and social sustainability. This mission resonates with me deeply, and is a key reason I started this site to highlight cheese producers and farmers in Washington State.
We’ve been enjoying all four of the chèvre varieties in many ways: with oat crackers, on sandwiches, and on pizza.
Tasting Notes & Pairings
Everything has been delicious. The plain goat cheese is tangy and has a clean taste, reminding me of a crisp spring day. It creates a perfect backdrop for the added herbs, spices, and flowers. We’ve served Floret to dinner guests on a cheese plate with oat crackers – it’s a plain goat cheese decorated with edible flowers. Visually stunning while offering a clean, tangy taste.
We’ve used the Thyme & White Pepper and Rosemary & Lemon on sandwiches with crunchy red peppers – the tang has come through nicely and the creaminess and seasonings have added depth and flavor to the sandwiches.
And, for pizza night on Friday, we used the Chives cheese + roasted beets as toppings. The chive flavor was subtle after baking the pizza, but the goat cheese stood up well to the heat, offering a creamy note to balance the sweetness of the beets.
All of these pairings were delightful, because they offered something sweet and/or crunchy to balance out the tang of the goat cheese. Beets and chèvre is a pretty standard pairing, and rightly so. The red bell pepper and chèvre pairing was new to me, and something I’ll be going back to again.
The oat cracker pairing was recommended in a book I’ve been turning to often since starting this project: The Complete Cheese Pairing Cookbook by Morgan McGlynn Carr.
I tried making my own oat crackers and was moderately successful. Eating the crackers I made with the goat cheese helped me understand the pairing recommendation. The nutty sweetness of the toasted oats works well with the tangy goat cheese, and I’d like to bring out more of this in future crackers I make. Do you have a recipe for oat crackers you enjoy? Share your favorite with me, especially if it includes a touch of honey!
On a cheese plate:
Pair any of these varieties with something crunchy and sweet, like oat crackers, red bell peppers, or roasted beets.
Where to buy Mystery Bay Farm Chèvre
Mystery Bay Farm sells at locations throughout Jefferson County, including Chimacum Corner Farmstand.
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