Dear Friends,

Morning chores are done and I get to kick off my boots, sit by the fire and write to you for awhile to let you know what is going on here at Cranberry Creek Farm. The first exciting thing I would like to let all of you know is that we have a baby on the way. Its a boy and he is due to come into our lives in just a few weeks! We are overjoyed and can't wait to meet him. Mary-Jean has been busy making a wonderful nursery for him and has made a very impressive stack of cloth diapers to use. We received many great gifts at the baby shower and we think we have everything that we could possibly need. 

We have another new addition to the farm this year. His name is Paul Lawler and he is our full time cheesemaker extroardinaire. He has been here the past couple days cleaning, taking inventory, helping with this year's first batch, and moving his things into the farmhouse. He plans on continuing and perfecting our tomme, gouda, and chevre cheeses as well as developing some new cheeses like a washed rind tallegio, and a leaf wrapped bloomy rind cheese. We have also been planning a project involving a special bleu cheese to be aged in a spring house here on the farm. Paul has been working with cheese as a cheesemonger in retail cheese shops as well as completing a cheesemaking apprenticeship with Keswick Creamery, and most recently working as a cheesemaker at Cricket Creek Farm in Massachusetts. We can't wait to see what he brings out of the cheese cave here at Cranberry Creek!

We are now planning on dropping the organic certification. We feel that we can produce a better product without it because it is much easier to find higher quality feed stuffs that are not certified organic. It was also cost prohibitive being that all organic hay and grains are typically twice the price of conventional feeds, and we use a lot of feed. We can now buy our feeds locally as much as possible. We are still committed to buying only non-gmo feeds. Genetically modified organisms are crops that have been genetically altered to develop certain traits that can be beneficial in industrial farming models like being able to withstand high doses of herbicides and pesticides. We do not agree with that because that type of farming is not good for the land, and the food produced by it is not good for us. We still plan on never using antibiotics, and everything that we grow here on the farm is always organically managed. 

Our farm store will be open soon and we plan on stocking it full of wonderful things this year. Some of the things we are planning on having available for purchase (besides our products) are some other local cheeses from Calkins Creamery, some lacto-fermented products like kim chee and sauerkraut, fire cider, apples, meats, cheesemaking kits, heirloom garden seeds, non-gmo chicken feed and bulk goat manure compost to name a few. Please spread the word and stop by whenever you can to see what is new here at Cranberry Creek!

Jeffrey & Mary-Jean

Cranberry Creek Farm

112 Henry's Crossing Rd

Cresco, PA 18326

570-595-7748 (cell)609-923-0308

Nestled in the woods of Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountain region, Cranberry Creek is home to a gang of playful Alpine, Saanen and Nubian goats who browse seasonally on what our forest has to offer. The farm tends carefully to their health to produce to quality yogurt, as well as both raw and pasteurized cheeses. Jeff and Mary-Jean Henry are not only dairy farmers but run a diversified operation. Whey-fed pigs roam the woods (lightly patrolled), goats are raised for meat, there is a small laying flock, heirloom Vegetables are raised seasonally and the latest additional are a few lovable Highland beefers.

Cranberry Creek is looking for a Cheese Intern to join us June through December, this 2013 season. This is an opportunity for the right person to learn the world of value-added goat dairy processing! Join us during an exciting time of development for this growing family farm.

Learn cheese processes; pasteurizing, safety protocols, handling the curd, basic milk/cheese chemistry and attuning your senses to judging and grading cheeses. Plus the crucial art and labor of affinage. Work side by side with the farm's cheesemaker and owners every day. See playful goats every day in the woods of the Poconos.

Intern will learn not only aspects of making cheese but gain skills in the direct-marketing and how-to wholesale dairy. Attending farmers' markets is required most weeks. Expect that a few opportunities to visit other cheesemakers for learning purposes will be provided.

While much of cheesemaking is endlessly fascinating we wish to be upfront here – much of it is hard, long hours on your feet scrubbing. It's also important to note this isn't gastro-tourism or some kind of farm stay vacation. Much of it is repetitive and mundane. Sanitation is key. Meticulous, detail oriented personalities are therefore a plus.

Though no prior cheesemaking experience is required, experience with food prep, cheese work or familiarity with farm life is encouraged. Passion for cheese is crucial. If you are not thrilled and excited to be learning about and making cheese, this opportunity is unlikely to fit you.

Small stipend, some food and housing is provided. Intern will have one defined day off and if slow times allow, a second day on occasion. Time off is difficult on a working farm, but we will work with you to accommodate reasonable requests.

Still interested? Let's talk. Email your resume and a description of yourself and interests to paul1lawler@gmail.com A farm visit to get to know you will likely be required if we find you a compelling candidate.

It is a beautiful snowy morning here at the farm. The goats are nice and cozy on their bed pack which is already 2 feet deep. The chicks are in the greenhouse where it is always warm. The pigs are nestled in their steamy nest. Our 2 highland calves are still in the field grazing through the snow to get to the green grass underneath. The calves refuse to go back inside and would rather be outside no matter what the weather is like. These Highland cows have been bred over centuries to be hardy and adaptable to some of the most rugged conditions. Well we felt like we have a little bit of that rugged kind of terrain here and decided to give it a try. We could not live without cows (and beef) anymore. The calves have been easy and enjoyable to watch so far...

Our cheese barn is closed for the season. The goats have been dried up now for about a month and they seem to be enjoying a break from milking. They will be having kids starting in mid February when we are expecting about 120 kids! We are planning on saving all of the doe kids for milkers, and we will raise all of the buck kids for chevon and cabrito. We are hiring right now for a cheesemaking position so if you know of any aspiring fromagers please let us know. It has come to the point where it is beyond myself and Mary-Jean to do everything in the barn ourselves. We still like to be farmers and not just cheesemakers, and marketing takes up a lot of time that should be spent taking care of the cheese. 

We are in the beginning stage of planning another Community Supported Agriculture program here at the farm. This time it would be a year round csa with vegetables, eggs, milk, cheese, pork, beef, goat, flour, and maple syrup. Please let us know if you would be interested in that and if you would like to help in the planning and organizing of such an endeavor. It might still be a couple years off but it is never too early to start planning! 

We have 6 hogs going to Zeiler Caruth Meats tomorrow. We still have shares available in 1/4, 1/2 or whole. You can specify what cuts and sausages you would like if you get back to us before tomorrow. If not we will still have shares available which will include bacon, ham, chops, sausage, roasts, hocks, organ meats, fresh jowl, and ribs. Sausage includes breakfast, hot italian and sweet italian. Don't miss out on this great opportunity to stock up on whey fed forest raised pork!

Your neighborhood organic farmers,

Jeff & Mary-Jean

This week we brought home lots of great stuff for the farm store! There is lots of great looking kale, swiss chard, collards, salad mix, rhubarb, shelled peas, scapes, beets, fennel, turnips, arugula, squash, green beans, celery, cherries, blueberries, and raspberries. The fruits and berries this week are from Beechwood Orchard, and the veggies are from a few farms including Down to Earth, Tom Culton Rare Varietals, Weavers Way, and Blooming Glen. We also have delicious canned sockeye salmon from Otolith Sustainable Seafood. Over the weekend we had fresh snap peas from our own garden in the store. We hope some of you were able to try them as they were delicious! There will probably be another harvest of peas in the store for next weekend. 

We hope you are enjoying this bounty of great food as much as we are! Despite the distance from which this produce has come, we still feel that it is to be considered somewhat sustainable. The reason for this is that it has not travelled any extra miles just to get here. The farms where the food is from are going to the markets either way, and we are going to the markets no matter what because that is how we make a living. So if we bring produce from Philly to the Poconos as a result of this, we haven't wasted any extra energy getting it here. So eat this food knowing that you are contributing to a more sustainable planet! And I hope you were able to follow me through this explanation!

Your Neighborhood Farmers,

Jeffrey & Mary-Jean

PS. Please welcome back Pete to the farm! He is working with us for the summer learning to make cheese and take care of the goats. For those of you who do not know Pete he is our great friend who has spent much time here working as a vegetable grower and now as a herdsperson and cheese affineur.

We have our weekly harvest in the store! This week we have head lettuce and beets from Down to Earth Harvest, garlic from Savoie Organic Farm, and beets, radish, and spring onions from Blooming Glen! All are wonderful farms who grow great produce. We also have our very own Caramel sauce made with goat milk and organic sugar along with our eggs, cheese, and milk. Stop by and take a look! Please give me a call if you have any questions at 609-923-0308.

Respectfully,

Jeffrey & Mary-Jean

Much has changed here at Cranberry Creek Farm since our market gardening days. We have a fairly large dairy goat herd, a cheese processing facility, and little to no time to be in the gardens like we used to. We have planted a modest 3/4 acre plot and plan on having a few organic vegetable items throughout the season, but nothing like we had in years past in terms of produce. That being said we have now and will continue to have wonderful organic produce in our farm store from some of the better Philadelphia area farms that we are so lucky to have at the Headhouse Farmers Market. Those farms will include Weavers Way Farms and Blooming Glen Farm. Please look them up and read about them because they are both wonderful farms that grow great organic produce. The Headhouse Farmers Market that we do is on Sundays, so our store will be stocked with produce and ready for business on Mondays. This week we have swiss chard, beets, kohlrabi, gr. onions, kale, head lettuce, turnips, bagged baby kale, arugula, salad mix, and spicy salad mix. Our store is on the honor system, everything is priced, and there is change in the jar. There is also the usual milk, cheese, and eggs in the fridge. If there is any questions please call me on my cell phone @609-923-0308. We will be in the barn making cheese if you need us! 

Your neighborhood Farmers,

Jeffrey & Mary-Jean

Take 191 North.  One mile past the intersection of 715 turn right onto Cranberry Creek rd. Go 1.2 miles and stay right onto Henrys Crossing Rd. Farm is on the right.

From Mt. Pocono:

Take Rt 940 South from the 611 intersection. Turn left onto 191 North at the Crescent Lodge. Go up the hill and make your first right onto Cranberry Creek Rd. Make your first left onto Henrys Crossing Rd. Farm is on the right.

·            3/4-1 lb. chard or kale, chopped finely

·            2 cloves garlic, minced

·            2 medium onions, diced

·            1 tsp. cumin

·            1/4 tsp. pepper

·            1 qt. spaghetti sauce

·            14 oz. ricotta or cottage cheese

·            6-8 tortillas, flour or corn

·            1 c. shredded mozzarella