Butt*r

Can you name a naughty 6 letter word which expresses beauty, greatness and all the pageantry of a buxom lass lost in the rolling fields of New York State?  It’s butter…or perhaps I should say Butt*r.  In this, our first installment of Butt*r magazine we find our model Kassi roaming about the countryside looking for her heard of goats in a field of wildflowers, goldenrod kissing her calves as she fearlessly and desperately longs for a reunion with the missing milk makers.  Not only is she afraid the wolves might get her special friends, but what would happen to her booming soap and cheese business?

Wait; hold up…what booming soap and cheese business?  And what is this Butt*r business anyway?  Well, it’s a charming idea Brian, Kassi and I thought up while on our road trip to Sharon Springs (in upstate New York) over the past weekend.  The drive from our house up toward the Catskill Mountains is a freaking bounty of pastoral fields, old red wooden barns and big open skies edged by purple mountains in the distance…I feel a patriotic song coming on.  It was the kind of road trip that allows you to breathe deep and reminds you why it’s good to be alive.

As a little back-story, Brian and I have been watching a show on Planet Green called the Fabulous Beekman Boys.  The show is about two “gentleman” farmers that have moved from Manhattan to the country in the hopes of returning to the land and getting out of the rat race of the city.  One is a creative director in advertising as well as author, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, and the other, Brent Ridge, worked with Martha Stewart for many years.  Without going into too much detail (you should watch the show) they acquire a herd of goats at their weekend home near Sharon Springs, lose their “real” jobs in the financial crisis of 2008 and start selling soap and cheese made from the goat’s milk under the brand Beekman 1802.  Much of the journey is recounted in Josh’s most recent book The Bucolic Plague, which I highly recommend, but the show takes place during the second year they “worked” the farm and all the trials and tribulations they went through as a couple trying to start a business.

I’ve followed Josh Kilmer-Purcell for several years.  He is a hilarious writer and his second book, I’m Not Myself These Days, is a memoir detailing the period in his life he spent working as the drag queen Aquadesia in NYC (the book is laugh out loud funny and really poignant at the same time).  His costumes had plastic fishbowls “sewn” in as breasts, complete with live goldfish swimming in them…genius.  Anyway, when I heard him talking on a podcast about his new book and the new television series I began to get very excited. 

Brian and I have watched the 10 episode series, and at the very end of the last episode they open up a shop on Main St. in Sharon Springs, NY selling a wide range of products from the Beekman 1802 brand.  Beekman is the name of their farm and the historic mansion situated on their property.  We decided it might be a fun weekend getaway to visit the town and stay at a bed and breakfast called The American Hotel (it’s also featured on the show and looked adorable).  After finding out they were pretty much booked up every weekend for the summer we almost gave up on the idea, but when our friend Kassi, the Harvest Goddess herself, decided to come up for the weekend it seemed only fitting to go for a long drive and buy some soap. 

I have never driven three hours for soap I must admit, but it was sure a lot of fun.  As I said, the scenery was amazing.  The further we went, the more mountainous and sparse the land became.  We passed through some very charming old towns, some looking to have been given a recent facelift, and some still looking a little worse for wear.  It was as if a magic spell had been placed on the day and it was perfectly sunny with bright fluffy clouds, 75 degrees with no humidity and a whole day at our disposal to stop, dawdle, take pictures and really appreciate the scenery rolling by.  That’s where Butt*r comes in.

After you see a few attractive people out doing their farm chores, painting a building or riding along on a tractor it just makes sense to have a magazine about them.  I’m not sure why anyone hasn’t thought of this before, but leave it to us with our scattered creative ways to come up with a seductive farming magazine flaunting a title which could also house delectable photographs of loosely clothed baked goods.  Kassi is our first model and I certainly think she did it justice.

Rarely do I get a chance to ride along in a car, see something beautiful I would like to photograph and then actually get to do it.  Brian and Kassi were very patient with me as I requested to stop and take pictures of sunlit fields and run- down churches, groves of trees, roadside BBQ joints (hilariously called Rubbin’ Butts) and even a “mom and pop” place serving ice cream along the side of the road.  But, we were all rewarded with surprisingly good smoked sausages, brisket, pulled pork, coleslaw and hot fudge sundaes.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to stop for that?   I need to remember to plan days with less specific agendas much more often.

As far as actually baking something as opposed to just being suggestive on the topic, I thought it might be fun to make something inspired by our shopping trip for soap.  When we arrived at Beekman 1802 some of their goats were out front playfully chomping on leaves and appearing to have a lovers quarrel over who was going to get the bigger branch.  They really took a shine to Brian, licking and rubbing like sweet natured pets (which I’m sure they are).  With centerfolds like these, how could you not go into the store and see what they were selling?

From the moment we opened the door herbal scents wafted out to greet us.  Beekman 1802 has a line of soaps featuring monthly fragrances, all based on what’s in season during that particular month on the farm.  You know I loved that!  The month of August happens to be lavender, and it occurred to me then and there I should bake something with the fragrant dried flower buds.  Beekman 1802 has a wide range of products, soap and cheese not withstanding, so we spent a great deal of time pondering what to buy.  When you drive that far, it only seems reasonable to hang out and ponder other purchases, plus we got to see Brent when he came out of the office to field a cheese question.  

I’ve experimented with lavender in whipped cream before as well as using it in a chocolate tart.  It’s generally used to infuse a liquid, such as heavy cream, with its lovely perfume.  The recipe I found online (for this week’s dessert treat) called for mixing the dried buds with sugar in a food processor, pulsing until the buds were tiny and evenly distributed before adding it to the batter.  The site refers to the dessert as lavender cake, but I’m calling it Lavender Bread because you make it in two loaf pans…seems sensible, right?  This site also contains several other recipes featuring the seasonal herb, but since we were having a birthday breakfast for my boss last Monday loaves of bread seemed more fitting than cookies or a tart.

I think lavender is a love/hate thing for most people.  Either you love it, or it reminds you of soap or cheaply made candles that really don’t make you hungry as an initial response.  I won’t lie about this one, the lavender flavor is very present, and I loved it (and thankfully so did the boss).  The recipe tells you to drizzle the “cakes” with lavender infused icing once they are cooled, but I decided the batter itself was so strongly flavored that it might become overpowering.  Instead, I made the icing (confectioner’s sugar and water) without it and topped the loaves with fleur de sel.  The salt played off the sweet bread very nicely and gave it a depth I think it otherwise would have missed.  I’m certainly very fond of lavender and grow many varieties in my garden, but I don’t want to feel like I’m washing my mouth out with soap either…I want a delicate, fragrant and buttery bread to snack on with my morning coffee and that is exactly what I got.

I cant’ convey strongly enough how good “getting away from it all” can be.  I knew it would be a fun day-trip, but I didn’t realize that it would be downright amazing.  I get so caught up in destinations that I forget to enjoy the ride.  Yea, it’s cliché, but when it’s all said and done I don’t remember the last time I spent 6 hours in a car and had such a great time…all because I was okay with being in the moment, seeing the sites and was busily planning the next cover for Butt*r magazine in my mind all the while.  I know I’m not in a position to leave the city and start a successful business from a goat farm, but I’m glad someone did.  If nothing else it proves it can still be done even in these less than concrete times we’re living in.  It’s hopeful, and as the show says, they “make farming fabulous”.  I know if I ever have a farm it will be fabulous too.  It’s just who I am.