LINDSEY MCCLAVE: So, in this episode, we went to SLAK Family Farm and got to learn all about milking a cow and what it is to work with raw milk.

MAGGIE KEITH: Kenya is a farmer.

She is a relationship farmer so she knows how to really connect people with her land.

I'm Maggie Keith, and I'm the farmer.

And I'm Lindsey McClave, and I am the foodie.

So, we were able to watch Kenya create labneh from the raw milk and that was a brand new experience for me.

What is amazing is the transition it goes through.

So, basically, you take the raw milk, and you first create a yogurt, and then you take that yogurt another step further to create the labneh.

And it's amazing, the simplicity of the process, and how you're just sort of letting nature happen and every part of the milk goes to use in some way.

Watching her create the labneh out of the milk, it was neat to see that transformation process happen, but also, the history she has behind these different products.

And also just to learn the importance of the relationship between the farmer and the farm's family and the animals, and so, you could really see the bond that they had with these cows.

There was a lot of spirituality throughout that farm and you could feel it walking around and just a very, very deep respect and gratitude for the land and the animals.

That was really special.

Kenya, thank you so much for welcoming us to the farm today.

We have just had the most fantastic time seeing your property, and also Brownie and Marigold were just so generous.

MAGGIE: Yes, they were.

LINDSEY: Yeah, and very excited to give us their milk and we're so grateful.

KENYA: They are very giving cows.

I am so glad you came and have the opportunity to stop by and see everything that we do here.

And now we can show you how to make yogurt and also, labneh.

So, we're going to put our milk in here and so you're going to need to shake this milk.

- Okay.

- Shake it really good.

And raw milk, there's a lot of cream in it.

And so we'll have a cream top yogurt from this.

That's good enough.

And so, usually, like your milk, if it had been refrigerated, it would have settled all the cream at the top.

We are starting with milk that's already 92 degrees.

And so when we cook this milk, we don't want to pasteurize it.

So you don't want it to go over a 100 degrees.

It's raw, we want raw yogurt, and we want raw dairy product in anything we do, and so, pasteurizing destroys everything inside that.

We don't want that to happen.

We want to maintain this thickness.

So we can go ahead and pour that in if you want to.

- So, this is 1 gallon of milk.

- Okay.

And so, it takes about a half a cup of a starter culture to add to that.

And so, once we get this going, we could, literally, right off the cow, you could put this yogurt in and start it.

- Okay.

- At 92 degrees.

And that's the natural temperature That's the natural temperature off the cow.

So, you could make cheese from that.

When we have our cheese class, we instantly take that milk off that cow and we just make the cheese right away.

Now, if that was at home in your refrigerator and you took your milk home today, you want to do this again, you're going to need that milk to get to a 100 degrees, but no more than a 100 degrees.

And so, I have a cup of our yogurt that came from yesterday's yogurt and so we're going to put that in here.

And there's something -- So, you use yogurt to make yogurt?

Yes.

You have to have a starter culture.

And so, this culture right here would go in, and you just pour it in.

I sometimes put a little bit of milk in with the yogurt and kind of get it soft if it's clumpy.

And you can do that and then put it in to there and you're going to just stir that.

It's already warm enough, and once it's all mixed in good, then you can actually turn the heat off.

We'll put a lid on this.

It's got to stay warm for at least 12 hours.

Okay.

If you want to really sour labneh, you can leave it for 18 to 24 hours.

The longer you leave this yogurt to sit and make itself, it's going to get more sour.

And some people -- I think 12 hours is just that sweet spot and so, we just leave it for 12 hours.

I'm old school.

Some people use an Instant Pot to make yogurt.

I just get old blanket and wrap our yogurt in a blanket.

So, this is just how we do it.

We take that off the stove and when I do it in the house, it's just sitting behind my couch where the kids can't knock it over.

But it'll just sit like that and you can put more blankets around it and let it stay for 12 hours and that's literally all you have to do.

Okay.

So, the yogurt has been -- or the milk has been sitting and becoming yogurt?

- Yes.

- And now what happens next?

So, now, we have yogurt right here in this lovely pot.

And so you can see the whey that's on the yogurt, there's a lot of whey that comes on it, but also there is a ton of yogurt inside of there.

So, what we're going to do is put that right here inside of this cloth, which we have a basket that we've lined with a catch at the bottom and that catch is going to grab all the whey that we can use later to feed our chickens, or anybody else.

So, this'll go in here, and what I usually do is I just pour it on in.

It's a little bit splashy.

LINDSEY: And at this point, how warm is it?

- It's cold now.

Yeah.

- It's cold now.

Okay.

I refrigerate it after that 12 hours, I go and put it in my refrigerator if I'm not going to use it right away.

I usually let it cool down quickly so it doesn't continue to ferment.

Okay.

And that's part of sealing in the flavor that you want right then.

That's right.

It's stopping the process.

So, raw milk goes into process.

Any time it's warm, it's going to continue to want to go into curds and whey stage so the yogurt would continue to ferment and go into more stage, so it just stops it from doing that.

So, then you have it inside, and you can cover it.

What we do, just cover it.

And so, we'll leave it here for about 24 hours and then tomorrow, which, yesterday, we did the same process.

So, here is what you would have.

- Oh, it's gorgeous.

- The following day.

So, this is day two, which is almost turning to labneh.

There's still some whey inside of here.

I scrape my sides of the cloth just to allow it to free itself and more whey will drip out.

But you can see inside, the bottom of this, how much whey we've gotten.

- My goodness.

- From that yogurt.

And this is all from 1 gallon?

- Yes.

Yes.

- Of cow's milk?

So, we salt it at this stage.

It helps it dry and bring out the whey and so, I'll do sea salt.

So, that's that.

Oh, I just got a lovely whiff of it.

- It smells so good.

- Can you smell that?

And so, we're going to taste it because I have some that would be in this third basket that we've already refrigerated and it's ready to go.

Oh, yes, please.

I would love to taste.

I have some really good starter and some jam preserve and olive oil.

- Nice.

- Pita bread.

Please.

LINDSEY: This looks delicious.

I am so excited to try the labneh.

And I want you to tell me a little bit more about exactly what labneh is.

Where did it originate?

Raw milk, as I told you, it constantly wants to go into curds and whey.

And if you think about it, we have refrigeration now, but our ancestors did not have refrigeration.

I've always explained to people that this product is actually not supposed to be refrigerated.

It's been drank and eaten for thousands of years without refrigeration.

The people that we are walking in their footsteps now, they had a process for their milk.

So, every day, they would have their animals, they herd their animals, nomadic people in the deserts in different regions with the hottest places on the earth.

They would drink fresh milk every day.

The next day, they would be making that milk in there.

It's making itself into something else.

And so, there's your yogurt, and then the next day, there's your labneh.

But every day, it's fresh milk.

It's raw milk from that cow, you can ball it up into a ball and store it in little serving size balls into a container and you fill that container to the top with olive oil, that olive oil will seal it and it stays shelf stable for months.

You crack open that jar, pull out one little ball of labneh and there's your spread.

I tell people all the time she goes both ways.

You can have it sweet or savory because it complements anything.

You can have it with meat, labneh will -- you can have a savory meal with it.

You can marinade your meat, do different things with it.

But also, it's really good, like what we have today on our spread, we have some preserve with blueberry organic jam and also, that's a four-berry jam over there, dates and za'atar spice.

And so you take your pita bread and dip it into your oil and into each one, or however you like, but that's basically...

Fantastic.

The best way for breakfast, or anything to have your labneh.

So how did you get into raw milk?

What was your vision in the beginning?

In the beginning, I never cared much for dairy at all.

However, my children -- when I had children, I knew that I wanted them to have raw milk.

When I learned about the benefits of raw milk and all the beauty of the product, I wanted that for my kids for sure.

And for myself and for my husband.

So, we used milk as a way to heal ourselves and we have built a community with our herd share and that's what this is about.

This is, you literally come here and you board these animals.

You pay a monthly boarding fee and you support this farm and we do all the work, and we do everything that's required to keep our commitment to be aboveboard with our standards; our sanitation, our process.

Also, I expect our herd share owners to keep their commitment and support us every month.

I love what we do, and for me, it brings you into relationship with who's on your dinner table.

You know that came from Brownie, you know the cow.

When you're eating that cereal, or when you're eating that labneh you know who's on your dinner table.

Same with our chickens and anything else; you know them.

When you have that balance of different animals and everybody contributes in a different way, that's what we wanted.

We wanted to have a diverse little place.

We only have 12 acres here, so it's not like we can -- sometimes, we're a little too big.

Like right now, we're a little too full with the numbers we have so I've got to cut back.

And I feel like, walking around, I definitely felt some buzz agricultural words pop up for me.

Like, this looks very much like regenerative agriculture, maybe even like organic based, or inspired.

Do you have a philosophy that you follow?

When you say regenerative, or when I think of regenerative, or even sustainable, I think of my children.

I name this farm SLAK and then people are like, "Where in the world does that name come from?"

Like, SLAK, but we're definitely not slackers, - that's for sure.

- [laughter] But SLAK is the initials of my children's names; Sabeal, Laila, Aiya, and Kathem.

and we named this farm behind our kids because that is the regenerative farmer, that is the sustainability is that my son takes this if he wants and he wants, but he takes this and we are trying to build a place for them.

And so, being African American and an African American farmer and not having -- I didn't come from a farming family, so to say, but any African American, you will shake their family tree and a farmer's going to fall out.

And so, that being said, it's more of a calling back to my ancestors, but I want my children to find that same love.

And so, that's the philosophy.

We try to do everything in our life to be halal.

Halal just means permissible, the way that God wants you to do it and so, we want a halal production.

How we raise our animals needs to be halal not just how we handle their end-of-life care, and so, we have to hold a balance and responsibility to our animals and how we raise them and how we care for them.

So, is it organic?

I'm not certified organic.

I've thought about going after that, but at the same time, I just don't feel like I need anyone to tell me, or like a label.

I try to stay away from labels a lot and so, I don't know.

I know that you have to trust as my herd share on there.

There has to be a level of trust with your farmer and so, therefore, we are not the system that everyone's so scared of, or that everyone's constantly running for.

I quit eating meat because they're doing this to these animals and they're right.

I thought about being vegan at one time in my life.

They're right.

However, where's the trust?

So, when you come here, there's trust in what we do and that's what's important.

I need you to come here and be my health inspector.

I need you to come here and walk these fields and tell me what you see wrong.

Tell me what you'd like to see change in and build that relationship.

That's what I tell people I do is relationship farming.

Okay.

So, where do you find hope in the future of food and agriculture?

I find hope in looking at our younger kids who know better and want to do better.

I find hope in knowing that God is all-knowing.

He's the best of planners, and no matter what anybody does, no matter what happens, whether we have a pandemic, or we have all these issues, we just have to know that we have to find our roots, tap into that and get back to that and to stay focused on that.

I tell people all the time, "With focus, it's fixed on change until success," and so, just keep your focus, and don't allow anything to get in the way of that and, God willing, the creek don't rise.

[laughter] - We'll get there, right?

- Yes.

What a great time meeting Kenya.

Oh my gosh, she is just a world of ideas and inspiration.

I felt like in every -- she's just so passionate about everything she does and what a magical place she's created.

Exactly.

And she really taught me a lot about relationship farming.

I'm part of her herd share and feed her milk to my children and my family and absolutely love it.

And she really taught me the importance of building those relationships and having that be how you get the whole menu on your plate is by finding a farmer that does every little thing.

It was inspiring.

And I feel like there was such spirituality in her farm.

Like in everything she did, there was a purpose to it, and I mean, she had us at one point, she said, "Just come hug the cows, settle into them," and for me not being around cows all the time like you, it took a minute, but it really spoke to the relationship and the respect and dignity shown to these animals and just the love that they give them and then, I think, it comes out in their milk and their products.

And one of the most delicious things that comes from that milk is labneh.

Yes.

So, she shared with us, one of her favorite things about labneh is that it goes both ways-- sweet and savory.

So, we're going to take inspiration from that today in the kitchen and also borrow her cheesecake recipe.

- Ooh, yum.

- Yes.

So, this is her labneh, which we both got to have there at the farm.

- Oh yeah.

- It is so good.

She kept talking about it as a living organism and that was fascinating to me, and really, I appreciate that.

So, we're going to use this amazing labneh to make a delicious cheesecake.

So, I've gone ahead and made the crust, and it's just almond flour, brown sugar, and butter.

- Oh.

- And could not be easier.

You melt the butter.

You mix it all together with a fork.

Just make sure it's well blended.

Push it into the bottom of your cheesecake pan and bake it.

This is baked at 350 for 8 minutes and then we just want it to cool.

So, it's parbaked, and now, we're going to make our filling, put it on top, pop it in the oven.

Great.

I had no idea you cooked a cheesecake.

- Yeah, yeah.

- [laughs] I think there might be versions where you don't have to cook it.

But definitely, you cook this one.

and I think it's going to be delicious.

It kind of melts all together and then cools and then you eat it.

- Exactly.

Sets really nice.

- I'm on board.

I'm ready.

Exactly.

So, we will -- and the other thing that I'm on board with about this recipe is you just put everything in the food processor, whip it up, and pour it in.

So, certainly, you could do this by hand, it would take a lot of strength, but that's what the handy dandy food processor is for.

So, we're going to start with the star: the labneh, and it calls for a cup.

And is that at room temperature, or is it out of the fridge?

This is out of the fridge for just a little while so room temperature, but it comes out very spreadable.

So, already, it's not as much like butter.

But yeah, I think a little bit softer would be a good idea.

Then about a third cup of sugar will go in there.

One farm fresh egg, of course.

Yeah, she had chickens, too.

- I know.

- With lots of eggs.

She had everything.

She did and it was fantastic.

She has a little bit more almond flour going into the batter as well in addition to some sour cream, which I think will just only enhance the sort of inherent tanginess the labneh has.

It's sort of got that -- you know how yogurt can be a little bit tangy and it has sort of a texture that made me think a lot of like a goat cheese.

Yeah, it's just a really great product.

A little vanilla, have that good flavor, and then if you want to zest a couple of these lemons.

She wants about a teaspoonful and then also a teaspoon of the actual lemon juice, too.

And then just a nice little pinch of salt will go in there.

Then it just bakes for about 30 minutes.

We definitely want to let it sit and cool a little bit as long as we can stand it.

I loved Kenya's positive attitude - towards feeding people, too.

- Yeah.

She really had the confidence to grow and grow in order to give nutrient-dense ingredients to people.

I couldn't agree more.

Kenya's hospitality was infectious.

I mean, when we got there, she went and made tea for everyone, and it was a specialty, and it was just everything about her was welcoming and she was so generous with her farm and her practices and teaching us why raw milk, the beauty of it and the magic of it.

- So, let's see for ourselves.

- Blend away.

LINDSEY: Blend away here.

So, we'll just get it going.

So, we'll stop.

It needs to be totally smooth, which it's definitely on its way.

We'll just make sure...

I've never thought to add almond flour into the mix, too.

I hadn't either, and I guess it's another binder in addition to the egg, but that was interesting to me as well.

All right, let's take a peek.

Looks pretty smooth to me.

- Yes.

- All right.

And I kind of want to take a taste.

Do you want have a taste?

Oh yeah.

Just going to get a sense, yeah.

- It's really tasty.

- It is.

So, that lemon is perfect.

It's really nice.

All right.

So, now, we're just going to transfer this into our pie crust.

Cheesecake time.

All right, well, that's that.

Here is our cheesecake.

We're going to stick it in the oven for, again, about 30 minutes and then yeah, so I don't know about you, but this makes me really hungry.

And I want to keep eating this labneh, so while it bakes, maybe we could make a little savory cheesecake appetizer.

Kenya said labneh goes both ways, sweet and savory, so maybe we'll play with some savory flavors.

- Let's do it.

All right.

- Let's do it.

LINDSEY: So our sweet labneh is in the oven, baking away, and now I thought we'd add some savory elements to the labneh.

So, I say that now, it's so tangy and lovely.

I do love the juxtaposition of the sweetness.

So, I kind of wanted to play with that - with some grapes.

- Yes.

So, I have some delicious red seedless grapes, but what I did is just toss them with some balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then roasted them at 400 for about 20 minutes.

So, the flavor of the grape concentrates, but that balsamic makes them sort of just have some really interesting characteristics and I think they'd be really fun, sprinkled on top.

- I've never roasted grape.

- Yeah.

I think grapes are great for snacking, but there's a lot of other things you can do with them.

I like the idea.

Just to kind of decorate our labneh, which we have just spread over our dish here and sort of my approach with this is it's wonderful and creamy and tangy.

So, let's add a lot of texture in different flavors.

So, I love the combination of the different textures and flavors and I think pistachios will obviously add that crunch, but then the green color on there.

So, I thought these crumbled up a little bit and you have a great tool for that.

MAGGIE: I love to use any sort of measuring cup, or anything heavy you have around and I just sort of squish it around and we will break them up.

This is going to add a great salty component to it as well, - which is going to be fun.

- Love it.

And really, any nut would work for this so this is where you can get creative.

You can roast lots of fruit, too.

I love roasting strawberries.

And again, adding that balsamic adds a depthness to them.

But when you roast fruit, generally speaking, in the oven, the moisture comes out, so the flavor really concentrates and it dehydrates almost a little bit.

- Yes!

- Really good stuff.

We're going to sprinkle... Let's do a nice little pistachio shower.

- Isn't that pretty?

- Yes - I think that's so pretty.

- Beautiful!

And then to finish it off, I mean, we don't want to get too complicated, but I thought a drizzle of balsamic vinegar would be nice over top.

And this is definitely one of those opportunities where you get gifts for the holidays, or for your birthday, or just somebody might have traveled somewhere, they want to give you a nice balsamic vinegar.

MAGGIE: Was that a little more balsamic vinegar than you were expecting?

I would go for that corner.

That's a lot.

This is the time I'd break out that really special bottle of olive oil, or if you've got one that happens to be seasoned with garlic, or red pepper, all the better.

Roasted garlic on here.

Oh my gosh, that would be so good.

And I can never resist finishing with a little bit of Maldon salt.

It's very flaky sea salt, so it really brings that salty punch, but oh my gosh.

It's that addictive bite when you're like, "Oh, that bite was extra good."

And a little bit of freshness is important.

So, maybe some thyme here would be nice.

Sort of add that earthy, just really -- thyme has a nice like lemon background to it as well, I think.

Oh, I can smell it just as you did that.

When you're using fresh thyme and you're going to eat it fresh, it's good.

I like how you're kind of pinching just a little because that helps release the oils without having to chop it and bruise it.

This is going to be good.

This looks delicious.

And this is what you serve it with to consume it, works just as well.

Pita bread is what Kenya served us.

Our wonderful platter of labneh so I've got some chips here for, again, more crunch.

Celery, I think, is a totally creative way to consume this as opposed to like, I think we think of like carrots or peppers.

- Why not celery?

- Yeah.

- Great, fresh crunch.

- Celery grows in Kentucky, which a lot of people don't realize.

I definitely didn't realize that.

MAGGIE: This is going to be good.

I got to get a grape on top, see it's like ant on a log, but labneh version.

[crunching] Mm.

It's really good.

There's so much going on, which I love, but the labneh is the star.

- Yes, by far.

- Don't you think?

LINDSEY: All right.

I am definitely ready for dessert.

Kenya recommended cooking down some sort of fruit and like a really nice syrup to add to the top, and I think that will be the most perfect complement.

So, we had some blueberries that are fresh right now and just cooked them in a little sugar and honey and I'm going to spoon those over top.

MAGGIE: Beautiful color, too.

LINDSEY: Yes.

And speaking of color, maybe some fresh mint will just really finish this.

We have chocolate mint here, which is even better for a dessert.

I love it.

How appropriate.

All right.

This is just absolutely beautiful, and I think very rustic and natural, but also, super classy, and that just speaks to me everything that SLAK Market Farm is all about, and Kenya.

So, we appreciate learning all about that.

The first piece is always a challenge, but we got it the second round.

All right.

There we go.

Perfect.

Gorgeous.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

All right.

- Cheers.

- Yes.

Cheers.

Beautiful.

- Hmm.

- It's delicious.

And the texture is so creamy.

The crust lends a nice sweetness, too, to the tangy labneh.

Definitely not overly sweet though, which I so appreciate in a dessert.

It's sweet, don't get me wrong.

- Yeah.

- But it's a balanced sweetness.

The blueberries are such a good addition and I love to have this recipe.

- This is perfect.

- Yeah.

I like the fruit on top.

I do, too.

And the fresh mint, can never go wrong with that.

- Well, cheers.

- Cheers.

To a lovely milk adventure.

Yes.