Today I welcome the wonderful, Camille Storch. She lives with her husband and two kids in an off-the-grid, tiny
cabin in rural western Oregon. She cooks up the most amazing things on her outdoor barbecue and also makes and sells beautiful cutting boards {perfect for holiday gifts}!
5 QUESTIONS: CAMILLE STORCH
Camille's blog.
Red Onion Woodworks shop.
{all photos by Camille Storch}
THE QUESTIONS
1. What is your favorite thing to make for
breakfast?
Both
of my kids (ages 3 and 5) started preschool just over a month ago, and in an
effort to streamline the getting-it-together-and-getting-out-of-the-house
routine, I’ve been making simple oatmeal with raisins for breakfast nearly
every school day.
When the weekend rolls around, I’m ready for something a little
more exciting. If
I’m cooking breakfast, I often turn to sweet, bread-y things: pancakes, French
toast, popovers, etc. I think my favorite in that category would have to be
homemade crepes (though mine are far from perfect). Because we have both
a small flock of chickens and a dairy goat, our fridge is nearly always stocked
with plenty of fresh eggs and whole milk, making for extra rich and delicious
crepes.
We’ve
more or less given up on expensive maple syrup even though we love it, so
instead we slather everything in homemade fruit jam or honey from my husband’s
beehives.
Though
I would never specifically make a pie to serve at breakfast, leftover pie (with
leftover whipped cream) has to be my all-time favorite thing to eat in the
morning.
2.
What is your favorite thing to order when you go out to breakfast?
We
don’t go out for breakfast nearly often enough (mostly because we live out in
the boonies), but when we do, it makes me so happy. I tend to order savory
dishes, particularly egg-sandwich-type things or eggs and toast with some
greens. Also, I love good homefries, all salty and crispy on the outside, something
I can’t seem to reproduce at home.
3.
What is your favorite morning ritual?
Every
day from May through November, I start my mornings off by milking my Nubian
dairy goat. I first sanitize my jars and milk bucket in our cabin kitchen. Then
I bring my goat Minnie out of the barn onto her stanchion and give her a little
grain while I brush her and thoroughly clean her udder with warm, soapy water
and an iodine spray. Finally, I do the actual milking, rhythmic and meditative
with the pling pling of the milk hitting the bucket and quite
morning-in-the-forest noises as “musical” accompaniment to the ritual. I bring
the milk into the house all frothy and warm and pour it into glass jars.
Sometimes I make fresh cheese or yogurt with it right away. Other days, I save
it in the fridge for another use.
4.
Do you have any current food obsessions?
My
husband grew a bunch of fava beans (broad beans) this year and let them dry
before harvesting them during the summer. Though it’s easy to find recipes for
fresh favas across the interwebs, there are very few recipes out there for
dried favas, so we’ve just been experimenting with them in lots of different
dishes. They’re kind of a pain because you have to slip each bean out of its
tough outer skin, but once cooked, these big beans are tender and mild and go
well with almost any seasoning.
About
a month ago, I made my first batch of really good goat-milk feta, and I’m happy
to report that I’ve successfully reproduced it several times since. That means
we’ve been eating feta on pretty much everything. Life is good.
5.
Have you read any interesting food-related books you would like to share?
I
just got a copy of Rohan Anderson’s Whole Larder Love. I’m a big fan of his blog,
showcasing his self-deprecating humor and quasi-self-sufficiency ethic. I
haven’t read through the whole book yet, but from a design and photography
standpoint, this book is beautiful, and the recipes look pretty intriguing
(especially if you can get your hands on fresh wild rabbit or river trout).