Veldhuizen Cheese

Sharp Shooter wins First Place!

connie — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:05:50 +0000

We’ve added a new belt buckle to our collection! Our Sharp Shooter Cheddar won first place at yesterday’s Best Bites Competition at the Houston Stock Show & Rodeo. Our Gruyere won the honor last year, so we’re super excited to add Sharp Shooter to the bragging roster. Give it a try and let your tastebuds share in Blue Ribbon bliss.

Thanks to Houston Dairymaids for representing us so beautifully in the Houston area!

“Judges eschewed chocolate in favor of fruit and cheese in the Two Stepping Bread/Cheese/Dessert award giving Ooh La La Dessert Boutique’s blackberry pie bars a second place honor. Veldhuizen Cheese once again impressed with its raw milk artisanal cheese, nabbing a first place win.” Read the rest of the article here …

And another great mention …

Posted 2/20/12

Our Family!

connie — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:17:45 +0000

As we head into our tenth year of making cheeses, we’d love to say a big thank you for all of the support you’ve given and joy you’ve brought to us. So … THANK YOU! Three generations of our family are proud to make quality, real food for your table.

Back Row: Caleb, Josh, Stuart, Connie, Eli, & Bob
Front Row: Jared, Jesse, Chelsey, Rachael, & grandbabies Elisha, Gilbert, & Wilberforce
Not pictured (yet!): Grandmom & Grandpa

Super Bowl Special!

connie — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:01:38 +0000

It’s game time again! Score big with a special on our Sharp Shooter Cheddar!
$3 off per pound, no limit, at the shoppe or online.
Valid now through Game Day, 2/5/12.
(plus tax & shipping, if applicable, of course)

Whether you’re rooting for the Giants or the Patriots, we can all agree on cheese!

(The online discount is good through 2/5, but to receive your cheese in time for kickoff, please order by 1/31.)

Give Local. Give Artisan. Give Cheese.

connie — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 03:12:22 +0000

‘Tis again the season for giving gifts. Our raw milk cheeses are perfect in so many ways for holiday gifts and also holiday parties. Choose from three gift basket options online, or give us a call at the shop to create your own customized basket. We ship nationwide. Local orders can be picked up at the shop Monday through Saturday. Order by December 21st to ensure Christmas delivery.

2nd Annual Family Farm Day this weekend!

connie — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:23:54 +0000

Join us this Saturday, 11/19/11, for our 2nd Annual Family Farm Day!
10am – 4pm

Admission is free; food and drink will be available for purchase.

Hay rides & tours, prize drawings, activities for the kids.
Hourly demos at the cheese shoppe – learn how to make yogurt,
spreadable yogurt butter, mozzarella, and the art of cheese pairings.

Local speakers every hour:

The Beauty & Benefits of Raw Foods
Clean Labeling of Products
Intro to Classical Homeopathy
Risk Assessment in Pregnancy
10 Reasons to Drink Your Milk Raw
Benefits of Chiropractic Care

Urban Acres & the Slow Food $5 Challenge

connie — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 05:13:40 +0000

Slow Food USA sponsored the $5 Challenge this past weekend and it was a beautiful success. They encouraged families to share a fresh, healthy meal that cost less than $5 per person – the average cost of a typical fast food meal.

Our friends at Urban Acres in Dallas hosted a meal for their community and we’re delighted that they chose to use our Bosque Blue cheese in the recipe. We hear it was a huge hit and we’re thankful to be part of good eating everywhere. Enjoy the recipe!

Chef Sean’s Bosque Blue Cheese Cole Slaw
Ingredients:
2 carrots, julienned 
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
 1-2 heads cabbage
 1 cup mayo
 1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
 1/2 cup Bosque Blue cheese (from local Veldhuizen Farms) 
1 Tbs Sriracha hot sauce
Directions:
Mix together wet ingredients and add to dry ingredients and mix. ENJOY!

And the winner is …

connie — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:40:01 +0000

At long last, we’re pleased to announce the winners of our cheese naming contest: Damon & Laura Farrar from Benbrook, Texas! Stuart spent many hours crafting and perfecting this cheese, now known as …

Dublin Karst

Named after a geologic formation, our Karst is gravity pressed. This technique gives the cheese a more open texture which remains smooth on the palate. The Karst is a semi-soft cheese with the same basket weave outer rind as our Bosque Blue. Subtle hints of buttery sweet cream begin the flavor. The taste builds from there into a sharper bite, while remaining mild overall.

Come by the shop to try some Karst and experience it’s beautiful sparkle of flavors. We think you’ll be as delighted with its taste as we are with its name. Thanks again to Damon & Laura for such a creative and fitting entry into our contest!

Thank you, also, to everyone else who entered. We received lots of great suggestions – names such as Rhapsody in Blue, Sidewinder, Queen’s Blend, Hallalu, Yellow Rose, and Belle Star. We’re thankful for your support and enthusiasm!

Pictured above are Damon & Laura with their winnings:
bragging rights and an entire wheel of cheese!

Also pictured is a karst formation from Minerve, France

Posted 7/28/11

Happy Father’s Day!

connie — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 05:38:40 +0000

Stuart’s parents, Bill and Audrey, have been a part of our operation from the beginning. They both grew up on farms in Minnesota. They owned a dairy farm in Woodstock, Minnesota, for 35 years until they moved with us to Texas in 1990. They have six children, twenty-one grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

Bill and Audrey are affectionately known on the farm as Grandpa & Grandma. You can find Grandpa riding on the golf cart to feed the chickens and gather eggs. He feeds the larger calves and the growing cattle as well. And you’ll also see him out on the tractor as he loves to do field work.

Grandma does a great job taking care of the baby calves, and she also runs errands as we need things. She keeps everyone happy with delicious baked goods – we all especially love her cinnamon rolls! We’ll be featuring some of Grandma’s recipes in future blogs.

Besides helping on the farm, Bill and Audrey are active in their church, love to spend time with family and friends, and love to play card games.

When you visit our farm Bill will give you a big smile and, if he has time, will sit down for a good round of chatting and recollecting. You’ll be glad you came!

Happy Father’s Day to all you Dads out there, and an especially happy Father’s Day to my Dad.

Posted 6/19/2011

A Busy Spring … and a Contest!

connie — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:34:40 +0000

It’s been a busy Spring for us so far! After we attended the Best Bite Competition in Houston, and stopped by the Capitol for an action day, we took part in the annual Spring Festival at Clark Gardens in Mineral Wells. We’ve started a local chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation, with meetings every second Tuesday of the month. Last week we were privileged to join in a dinner with Joel Salatin at Bonterra Blu in Clyde, benefiting the ACU Locavore Club. And we also were part of the “Just Food” Fair at ACU the next day. We heard Joel speak that night, and Stuart had the pleasure of being one of the panel members for the community forum afterwards.
Our cows are calving, fields are growing, the shop is staying busy, and our email list is expanding (if you’d like to be on it, just send us a message).
On top of all that, we’ve created a new cheese and it’s ready for tasting. It’s also ready for a name! Stop by the shop this week to sample the new cheese and enter your name choice in the contest. We’re accepting entries (in person, at the shop only) through 4:30pm this Saturday, 4/9. We’ll choose our favorite from among them all. The winner gets to enjoy bragging rights and will also receive an entire wheel (about 6-7 lbs) of our newest cheese for free!
Next up for April, we’ll be attending the Granbury Wine Walk on 4/29 and 4/30. Hope to see you there!
Posted 4/4/11

Help Expand Access to Raw Milk

connie — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 14:37:11 +0000

On our way home from the Best Bites Competition in Houston, we stopped in Austin for a Family Farms and Local Foods Day at the State Capitol.
The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance is a great group working to protect your access to healthy, natural, real foods. They sponsored this day in Austin so our legislators could talk to real people and put real faces and personalities into the mix.

We went into many offices that morning and spoke to several different legislators. It was a bit intimidating at first, as we had never done anything like that. But after a couple of stops we warmed up and were able to share with them our perspective as farmers and producers of wholesome food.

You might not know that Texas law currently prohibits us from selling our milk anywhere off the farm. People have to come to the farm to buy our fresh, raw milk. People do come – some of you even drive 100 miles one way to restock your refrigerators!

Two bills have been introduced which would change all that. Passage of HB75 and SB237 would allow us to sell our milk at farmers markets, food co-ops, and more, or even bring our milk directly to you instead of you having to make the long drive.

As we made the rounds and spoke to lawmakers, we were surprised to realize how many had never heard of these bills and didn’t understand their importance. It wasn’t because they refused to learn. We just saw how very many bills and documents they handle each day and saw how impossible it is for them to know about all of them.

That’s why consumers like you are so vital to the process. Unless you speak up, many bills like these get hidden beneath ones with more vocal support. If access to raw milk is important to you, please join with us in speaking up – call and write your legislators and encourage them to sign on as co-sponsors. Go see them in person. Call and write them again. They need to know what the people support and they won’t know unless we tell them.

We’re grateful for the action day – to get more involved, to learn more, to teach more, and to be part of the strong and vibrant community that insists on the best, real food for themselves and their families.

(posted 3/4/2011)

Read about the bills here:
Texas Campaign for Real Milk
History of HB75
History of SB237
These bills are currently In Committee. The list of committee members is below.
House Committee on Public Heath (reviewing HB75)
Senate Committee on Health & Human Services (reviewing SB237)
Consider donating to The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, so they can keep working to pass this legislation: