navigating the greensgrow cheese fridge with katelyn repash

Note: This post was previously published here as a part of my freelance work.

Last week I had the great pleasure of sitting down to talk cheese with Greensgrow’s new Fresh Food Assistant Manager, Katelyn Repash.

Katelyn came to Greensgrow this season fresh off a line of great experience. She began to meddle in the local food scene while attending Dickinson College; from there she worked at a livestock farm in Emmitsburg, MD and spent two years apprenticing at Charlestown Farm in Phoenixville. This past winter she made the big move to Philadelphia, and found herself in a brief stint with DiBruno Brothers before coming to Greensgrow. Needless to say, this girl knows the local farm scene, and a heck of a lot about cheese.

And a good thing too because Katelyn has taken over the dairy fridge. This summer she’ll be bringing in new farms and varieties to delight our little Greensgrow senses. For all you Calkin’s and Keswick Creamery fans, no fear. She’ll be keeping the staple producers in good stock, but keep an eye out for fun new varieties such as the Keswick Wallaby, a mild aged cheese that will melt in your mouth…or on your mac n’ cheese. After bringing a few varieties home myself, I personally got excited about the new Keswick Creamery Dragons Breath. Made with three different kinds of hot peppers – habañero, birds eye, and jalapeño – it adds the perfect amount of creamy spice to set your cooking on fire. One to keep an eye out for in future CSA’s is Stoudt’s Lady Bell Swiss. The brewery turned cheese maker has smoked this Swiss variety, and Katelyn describes the flavor as, “kind of bacon-y, a little gouda-y, but not as sharp.” 

No matter which variety you’re going to try next, you’ll want to make sure you taste them at the optimal temperature. For most aged varieties, such as Ely Farm’s Washington’s Crossing or Calkin’s Creamery’s Cow Tipper, Katelyn suggests letting the cheeses reach room temperature; while fresh cheeses such as Wholesome Dairy’s Ricotta are best consumed cold or baked in an oven.

Now, let’s get to a Q&A with Katelyn!

If you were going to make a five cheese cheese plate with all of the options in the Greensgrow fridge, which would you choose, and what would you pair them with?

I typically go for sweeter, mild, and nutty cheeses if I’m eating them by themselves. If I had to build a cheese plate the lineup would be Wholesome Dairy Ricotta, Washington’s Crossing, Firefly Farm’s Merry Goat Round, Calkins Cowtipper, and a fresh chevre. These all lean towards flavors that are sweet, nutty, and/or fresh, and are the go-to cheeses if I’m building a cheese board for dessert.

Some of my favorite cheese pairings involve our classic farmstand items as well as new and occasional items. Recently, I’ve been wild about Washington’s Crossing cheese from Ely Farm. I like to eat it paired with a fruit jam like those we sell from Fifth of a Farm. I’ve also been curious about coffee and cheese pairings, and I often add a fresh cheese like quark, chevre, or ricotta to my weekend brunch spreads with some maple syrup to compliment the freshly brewed Rival Bros. coffee. We’ve also been trying out some new Epic Pickles flavors and their sweeter pickles really compliment the spicy cheeses such as Keswick’s Dragon’s Breath (pictured above).

You’ve brought some new farmers to the selection, which is one that you are particularly excited to be carrying and why? 

I’m really excited to start carrying goat’s milk cheeses from Yellow Springs Farm. When working in Phoenixville last year we were a host site for their CSA, so I have tried out many of their cheeses. I think they have some unique items. They do a lot of aged goat cheeses with very interesting rinds. This week we will have their chevre flavors as the first CSA cheese for the season, and then we’ll start stocking their cheeses in our retail fridge! They also make a goat’s milk yogurt that’s very light and fresh and we’re hoping to stock that as something new on the farmstand!

What is something that excites you about the local cheese market? How do you think it stands up against others around the world? 

The most exciting thing, to me about the local cheese market, is the wide variety of styles being produce within a radius of 150 miles. In any given week, we’re able to bring in local goat, sheep, and cow’s milk cheeses in nearly any style we could imagine (from classics like cheddar and ricotta to inventive alpine and brie styles). Some farms have their own signature cheeses developed specifically for the milk they are using. Since we’re not known for a particular cheese regionally, there’s a lot of freedom to try new things and there’s always a customer base looking for unique dairy items.

Which cheese in the fridge is your personal favorite, and what is the best way to use it?
My favorite cheese in the fridge right now is Washington’s Crossing from Ely Farm (pictured above). Lately I’ve been shredding it finely to add to sauces or roasted vegetables. It adds a creamy, subtly sweet flavor when blended into sauces. Over the weekend I made a dish with leeks and pancetta in a white wine cream sauce, and I threw a half cup of shredded Washington’s Crossing in at the last minute to melt – it was perfect!

So what’s the wild card – the one that people might hesitate over, but absolutely need to try?
The wild card in general is anything with a bloomy rind (brie and camembert style soft cheeses). We rotate which ones we bring in and try to only have one or two at a time because we know customers are hesitant without sampling them first. Bloomy soft cheeses can be a gamble because they have a strong flavor. I’d still encourage people to try them – it’s a worthwhile risk. Two that we’ve stocked recently which I really enjoyed were Noblette from Calkins Creamery and the Merry Goat Round from Firefly Farm. I’m hoping to bring them back soon. They are great cheeses for entertaining, and we’re always happy to pass on the backstory about our farms to our customers – they both have a story to go along with them!

Thank you, Katelyn! And thank you, Greensgrow, for letting us explore the cheese fridge!

weekly scenes & a little reflection

As we get older, we all have to learn: life is not always going to be easy. 

You won't always get to spend as much time together as you wish. 

You'll work too late.

Your phone will break.

You car insurance will be overdue.

You'll get frustrated with yourself.

You'll feel all alone.

You'll have to put up with unhappy situations.

You're schedules won't line up.

You. Just. Won't. Know. What. To. Do.

At some point, I don't care who you are, you're going to feel all of these things. Myself, I'm not immune to it. Last week I found myself bawling because life just felt too overwhelming. I didn't feel like myself, I felt so silly for being upset. And the worst part was that I couldn't figure out how to make myself feel better. I had no action plan for happiness, and so I dove even deeper into sadness.

The only thing I knew to do was to go to every yoga class I possibly could. After the first class, I felt a tiny lift in emotion, but still, life was walking through a haze, going through the motions, unclear of a vision. With each practice I felt a little more optimistic, and then I found myself in a class where the teacher prompted with exactly what I needed.

"Today, use your practice to rid your body of all the emotions and memories that are no longer serving you. Wring them out, and leave them behind on the mat."

I felt a fire.

I sweat and pushed more than ever. I felt strong, balanced, flexible....I felt confident for the first time in a week. This sadness, it wasn't serving me. I decided right then and there to grow up.

And I'm not saying that I'll never get down about life ever again. Life is a pendulum. But I think that part of becoming an adult is accepting that it won't always be easy. We want someone to hold our hand and make it all ok, but only we can do that for ourselves now. Let go of what isn't serving you, and embrace what will.

And now, to focus on the positive, some weekly scenes of all the GOOD things that have happened lately...

A visit to Kinfolk in Brooklyn.

My first Rockaway taco

Custom Power Ride shredin it up at Connie's Ric Rac and a good night with new friends.

Hanging with Free People's Open Call winners in Brooklyn & shooting behind the scenes.

Working with Adam to write a review on our favorite new brunch spot

Hanging around Greensgrow way too much.

A tasty recipe post I had the opportunity to write for the fine blog over at Everyday Minerals

Learning about Aromatherapy and connecting with inspiring women in my own community.

everyone meet: shelby robinson

Today, millions of people meet each other on the internet, but myself, I'm a novice. I've never tried internet dating, or joined a chat room. I never thought it was a way in which I should meet people. Now, I'm finding out that it in fact can be a great way to open new friendships.

Each and every week I share my beliefs, my photography, my interests, and peeks into my life here on Numie. What I do serves the same purpose as a diary, and at times I don't even notice that it reaches other people. I do it for myself - to document moments, gather inspiration, and to work out thoughts. That bubble of ignorance has kept my work genuine, and slowly but surely, like-minded people have taken notice. People that I in turn, am also inspired by. 

And that, is how I met Shelby. 

Shelby and I have been fans of each other's work for some time now. It started with little comments on each other's blogs, developed into hearts on Instagram, and then turned into emailing. Finally - oh finally! - it became a meeting in person. Shelby came to Philly, so we decided to meet up and go where I find myself almost every weekend: Queens Village. We grabbed lunch at my favorite cafe, Redhook, shopped Philadelphia's best boutique, Moon & Arrow, and then grabbed some quick blog supplies at the independently-owned health & grocery store, Essene. 

Although we live hundreds of miles apart, I'm so happy to have met this girl. She oozes with a creativity that I find fresh and inspiring, and has exciting experiences to share in conversation. If it weren't for Numie - for putting myself out there - I never would have met her. I must thank the internet and social media for introducing us. It opens my eyes to the beauty of blogging - the beauty of being genuine and finding others who are as well. 

But enough blabbering, let me introduce you to this lovely girl! Everyone, meet Shelby.

Shelby, my love, you just graduated college, what is next?

Yes! Right now I am trying to soak up all of these good feelings and discover the next adventure that’s pulling me its way. I am exploring a few opportunities to teach English abroad, specifically in Asia. I have this deep desire to fill up my passport so going abroad to learn and grow feels so right.

We’re both souls bitten by the travel bug, and immediately connected over that. What places top your list to visit in the next year?

I have always enjoyed connecting with people who have the same desire to travel. Two places I am really looking forward to exploring this year are Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (Lake Superior is unreal in the summer) and Asia (Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan) as I mentioned before. There’s something so culturally different and intriguing about Asia that draws my heart in.

 In talking with you, I kept getting glimpses of what a rad lady your mom is. Tell us a bit about her, and what your upbringing was like. How do you think it has shaped you as human being?

My mom’s creativity, selflessness and kindness are the things that inspire me the most about her. When I was younger, there were always small projects going on at our home, from painting and fixing up old garage sale finds, to decorating with fresh-cut flowers and building forts in our woods. Exercising your creative spirit was always encouraged - as well as taking time to connect with nature - and I am so thankful for that. I think this ultimately made me realize the importance of nurturing your creative soul and also why I chose to go into a creative field.

It seems like you’re always working on cool creative projects. What is one that you’re focusing on right now?

I recently got a DianaF+ lomography camera as a graduation gift that I have been playing around with. Film photography is so different from digital photography! It really allows you to get back to the basics of what photography is meant to be – simple and powerful. Once I get the film developed, I plan to create a small book to remember some of my favorite memories of summer. Artifact Uprising has these beautifully designed books that I am obsessed with and must get my hands on!

And what is one that you’ve worked on in the past that you’re really proud of and would love for people to check out?

The creative outlet that has been the most powerful and meaningful to me is Instagram. It’s just one big, ever-changing project, and I am so amazed by the beauty of the Instagram community. To me, it’s a collection of positive and talented and beautiful people from all over the world just trying to share good vibes. I am so blown away by how much I’ve learned and how my creative spirit has expanded. An ever-changing and growing project, in a way.

In a snapshot, what does your perfect day look like?

An early morning filled with yoga and a yummy breakfast with French-pressed coffee would be so ideal. I would spend the rest of the day exploring some of my favorite places around me, either on Lake Michigan or further north in Charlevoix, taking photos and walking the beach. I live for simple days like this: my camera, good people and the outdoors.

Lastly, I’d love to know, who’s playing on your headphones these days?

I have been revisiting a lot of classic rock lately! Tons of Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles and James Taylor, as all of these jams remind of me of summer and road trips headed north. My good friend Katie also just introduced me to Sylvan Esso’s latest album….and I am totally hooked.

Thank you, Shelby!

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Be sure to check out Shelby's blog & Instagram!