25% OFF Fragrance Free Facial Creme for Dry, Wintery Skin
January 8, 2013 Written by LaurenJ
Is this cold winter making your face dry and irritated? Try our fragrance free goat milk facial creme which does wonders for sensitive skin.
Raw Goat Milk Now Available at Lassen’s Natural Foods
October 14, 2011 Written by LaurenJ
My Mom called me this afternoon and exclaimed “Lauren, I have great news!!!”. ”What? What?” I asked, thinking maybe she had won the lottery based on how ecstatic her voice was. ”Lassen’s is selling raw goat milk! Can you believe it?”
Ok, this was not as exciting as winning the lottery, but comes pretty darn close. Up until now, it was nearly impossible to find raw goat milk in California. Sharon Palmer of Santa Paula used to supply raw milk to Rawesome in Venice, CA, but since the August 2011 FDA raid, this is no longer an option. People ask us all the time if we sell our raw goat milk, but we do not.
Luckily, now there is a supply: Claravale Farm raw goat milk is available at Lassen’s in Thousand Oaks (2857 East Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362; (805) 495-2609) … and perhaps at more of their locations (please comment if you find it elsewhere). The milk is a bit pricey at $7.29/quart, but since it’s practically liquid gold it’s well worth it.
Let’s all raise our glasses to Lassen’s and Claravale Farm!
More coming soon on the benefits of drinking raw goat milk and the “What’s all the fuss about (raw) milk?” event I recently attended hosted by the Weston A. Price Foundation.
Milking Goats on the Chivas Farm
September 14, 2011 Written by TaylorH
Photo credit: Coral von Zumwalt Photographs. If you would like to find a higher resolution version of these images for print, please visit our Flickr account or contact us.
Chivas featured in Abe’s Market Video on “How to Get Started with Goat Milk”
September 14, 2011 Written by LaurenJ
Join us today on Twitter to ask goat milk expert, Starre Vartan of EcoChick, all your burning questions about goat milk.
(Video Link: http://www.abesmarket.com/intheknow)
Click here to learn more about the Santa Rosa Valley soap we made in this video.
Not Familiar with Abe’s Market?
Here’s how they describe themselves: “Abe’s Market is the online marketplace for great natural products. We connect buyers seeking amazing natural products with the people who make them. There’s no need to prowl the Internet for a broader natural product selection than can be found at your local natural market. At Abe’s Market, you can get all your natural product buying done in one place.”
Basically, you can always buy a selection of Chivas goat milk soaps, cremes and lip balms, as well as other natural products, directly from AbesMarket.com
We’re Happy About This Goat Candy
February 4, 2011 Written by TaylorH
We LOVE goats and all things goat related, which is why we are so excited to share with you Happy Goat Candy!
Happy Goat Candy is based in San Francisco, California. They make all their caramels in small batches using only the finest ingredients, like goat milk and organic sugar. They use 100% all-natural grade ‘A’ quality goat milk from free-range goats that are Kosher certified. If you are interested in trying Happy Goat Candy’s Vanilla Bean Goat Milk Caramels, click here.
Photo credit: foodzie.com
“Get The Goat!” from Say Cheese: For Cheese Lovers Magazine
September 20, 2010 Written by TaylorH
In the Summer 2010 edition of Say Cheese: For Cheese Lovers they feature our favorite cheese… goat cheese! In the article “Get The Goat” they talk about goat cheese and we wanted to share some of the information with you!
” August is National Goat Cheese Month and if you need a reason to fall in love with this family of cheeses- for the first time or all over again– this is it. Flavors that range from fresh, clean, milky to sharp, assertive and endlessly expressive ensure that there’s a goat cheese for every palate.”
Obviously, we love goat cheese! You can find tons of original goat cheese recipes by clicking here. You can also check out Dory Foard’s Goat Cheese Cookbook. This cookbook is filled with mouth-watering goat cheese recipes.
In the following article titled, ” Who’s Counting?” they examine the calories of different cheeses compared to other foods we snack on. This list of foods included milk chocolate, potato chips, trail mix, and twenty types of cheeses. Fresh goat cheese was the least caloric at of all of them! At only 70 calories per ounce, fresh goat cheese seems to be the best choice. This is just one more reason why we think goat cheese is the best cheese!
Guru Goat Shares “Secrets of Longevity” from Dr. Maoshing Ni
August 20, 2010 Written by TaylorH
Dr. Maoshing Ni shares his secrets in his book, ”Secrets of Longevity- Hundreds of Ways to Live to be 100.” Guru Goat started reading this book and wanted to share some of his secrets that she found most pertinent to natural health and skin care:
Secret #2: Gone With the Wind
” Common colds and flus can turn into serious respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, which claims many lives among the elderly. Eastern medicine sees colds and flus as “wind” disorders… Western medicine calls them adaptogens, which increase the body’s defense mechanisms and help the immune system work better in times of stress. They can be found separately in health food stores or in a formula called Jade Screen in Chinese pharmacies. In addition, wash your hands frequently with soap and water and inhale vapors from eucalyptus, oregano, and lavender tea, which are antibacterial, antiviral, and decongesting.” (page 129)
When washing your hands, try using one of our soaps made with these specific essential oils: eucalyptus, oregano and lavender. Not only will these soaps keep your hands clean, soft and moisturized, but the pure essential oils in each of them will also have a light aromatherapeutic effect.
Lavender Pine Chamomile goat milk soap: with lavender and eucalyptus essential oils, as well as pine, spruce needle and chamomile
Santa Rosa Valley goat milk soap: with lavender and eucalyptus essential oils, as well as orange, grapefruit and rose geranium
Lemongrass goat milk soaps: with lavender and eucalyptus essential oils, as well as lemongrass, tea tree and peppermint
Lavender Oatmeal goat milk soap: with lavender essential oil, as well as rosweood, rose geranium, and grapefruit
Note: We do not have any soaps made with oregano essential oil because the scent is quite pungent and not really pleasant for body care in our opinion. Inhaling the vapors from this oil is still very effective.
Secret #1: Keep Cool on the Outside…
” Experiencing extremes of temperature can endanger one’s health and even one’s life. To strengthen the body and make it more resistant to environmental temperature changes, I recommend taking cold showers. This constricts the blood vessels at the surface and extremities of your body, driving tremendous blood flow into the internal organs to increase oxygenation and transport waste away from these vital body parts. If you are not used to the practice, however, acclimate yourself gradually. Begin by scrubbing your body with cold towels. After a few days, run your shower or bathwater at a slightly cooler temperature than you are used to, and use less hot water each week until you can switch to a completely cold shower.” ( page 246)
Of course, we recommend taking your cold shower with our one of the goat milk soaps mentioned above.
Book Information: ” Secrets of Longevity- Hundreds of Ways to Live to be 100.” by Dr. Maoshing Ni. Published by Chronicle Books.
Gourmet Goat Adds Goat Cheese and Goat Milk to a Classic… Mac & Cheese!
July 14, 2010 Written by TaylorH
Gourmet Macaroni & Goat Cheese
Ingredients:
Pasta Mixture:
- 2 cups raw elbow macaroni pasta
- 2 ½ Tablespoons salted butter
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 2 cups Goat Milk
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon rosemary
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon parsley
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 4 ounces herb goat cheese
- 8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 3 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese
(note: if you can’t find goat milk you can use regular milk)
Bread Crumb Mixture:
- 1 loaf Sweet Hawaiian King Bread
- 1 ½ ounces shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 ½ Tablespoon salted butter
Directions:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Follow package instructions and cook macaroni pasta. After draining the pasta, rinse it quickly with cold water and then set aside.
- Slice two ¼ inch thick pieces of Hawaiian King Bread. Toast the slices until they are golden brown (crispy on the outside but still slightly soft on the inside). Let bread cool for a minute and then tear the slices into small pieces. You want to have 1 ½ cups of bread crumbs. Put the bread crumbs in a medium bowl and toss in the Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
- Melt the butter at medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the flour and stir until bubbly. Then gradually add the goat milk, ¼ cup at a time. Stir constantly. Continue adding milk and stirring until the mixture begins to thicken. Add oregano, rosemary, garlic powder, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Then add all the cheeses (goat cheese, sharp cheddar and Parmesan) and stir until melted. Once the mixture is melted add the macaroni pasta. Stir until the pasta is covered.
- Grease a 9 x 12 cooking pan. Add the pasta and cheese mixture into the pan.
- Melt 1 ½ Tablespoons butter and mix it into the bread crumb mixture. Spread the bread crumb mixture over the pasta mixture in the pan.
- Place the pan in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are bubbly and the top is golden brown.
* Make this a full meal by serving this dish with green beans.
Love Goat Cheese Recipes? Check out Maggie Foard’s “Goat Cheese” Cookbook.
New Product: “Goat Cheese” Cookbook
May 10, 2010 Written by LaurenJ
We’re excited to be offering our first book on chivasskincare.com – “Goat Cheese” by Maggie Foard. It’s a fabulous cookbook for anyone who loves goat cheese – whether you buy it from the store or make your own. And not just chevre, but also ricotta, feta, gouda, manchego and more! The recipes are rather simple (usually using 7 ingredients or less) and have large photos that make you want to gobble up each one. Learn more about the book below or click here to buy.
About the Book:
“Goat Cheese” combines the recipes for foods you love with the natural goodness of goat cheese and goat’s milk. With over 70 delicious recipes for appetizers, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there is always time for Goat Cheese. Once you’ve tried the Sweet Ricotta Pancakes topped with bananas and strawberries, Cherry Oatmeal Scones with chevre or fromage blanc, Lamb Tenderloins stuffed with eggplant and feta, or the Espresso Cheesecake Brownie, you will forget that cows even exist!
About the Author:
Maggie Foard studied horticulture at the City College of San Francisco (CCSF), but she wasn’t introduced to fresh goat cheese until she went on a school field trip ten years ago with her son to the local goat farm. She simply fell in love with not only goat cheese but the whole goat farm! Incorporating goat cheese and other goat dairy into cooking was just a natural consequence, since she was already an avid chef. Maggie lives on twelve acres in rural San Mateo County of California, with her husband, Jim, and their teenage son, Eric. She raises her own chickens for eggs and has dogs, cats, goats, ducks, peacocks, and a rooster.
Reviews:
This book has received an average of 4.5 stars on Amazon.com and Google Books.
Blog:
We will be posting pictures and comments about individual recipes from this book on our blog. Coming soon!
Click to buy “Goat Cheese” by Maggie Foard.
Regular Price: $24.99 Our Price: $22.49 Save: 10%
Inspirations for our new pattern design
March 25, 2010 Written by LaurenJ
Maybe I’m not supposed to leach all the inner workings of our company, but I’m not very good at keeping secrets. So, I can’t help but share the fact that we are developing a new line of goat milk soaps geared towards high-end gift boutiques. We’ll keep our same great basic recipes (fresh goat milk, high-quality oils and butters, and all-natural essential oils) and our same great shape (ergonomically designed to fit the shape of your hand), but it will be fully wrapped in a really nice paper with a custom pattern. And since we’ve had such fun working on the design and pattern, I want to share some of the inspirations we found from others on-line. Once we’ve finalized our own pattern, I’ll be sure to post.
I’m so thrilled to have Alissa Pittenger on board as our designer and would highly recommend her to any in need of graphic design, brand development, web design, etc.
I also want to thank Amy Boe for helping us to pull these original pattern swatches, as she helped us to set the tone.
Also, please excuse the fact that I dont’ have proper photo credit above. We had pulled them so long ago and hadn’t documented all the links. I want to give credit where credit is due, so if you know the artists/links please tell me so that I can update this post.
