Watermelon Boy!
Our first of many watermelons! Who would have thought they can overwhelm a family… luckliy we found some victums….I mean people to take some of them! YUM. We also found out they are great dried. Can you see the tomato sauce freshly done on the counter!
Ok, I have been a little overwhelmed with Goats Milk. Mostly because of a tragedy stillborn loss concerning the birth of one baby goat… which left me as the goats “kid” suddenly plunged into milking twice a day rain of shine! The first milk I gave to the Chickens… HAPPY DAY.. they love it. and the fact that no one…even though through taste tests..claim is tastes as good or better than the walmart milk.. no one will drink it.
I bought a little milking machine that greatly helps… it is air tight so nice and clean.
Then I made some goats milk soap… the cold method with scary lye. It is curing. But smells great. Lavendar Honey Oatmeal Goats Milk Soap. At Whole Foods it goes for 15.00 a lb!
Now to the cheese. My first cheese was feta… I made a mistake but it seemed forgiving and we have a 1/2 gallon jar with feta curing. Now came the cream de la cream.. Mozzarella Cheese. Well I made a really nice bowling ball. Happy Chickens again.. ( good thing I have them)
Sad week for me and felt frustrated but not defeated! I will make this work!
Next week I tried again with a new recipe… It takes me about 4-5 days to get enough milk to make cheese almost all the recipes call for 2-3 gallons~ At a little more than half gallon a day….it takes a couple of days to build up.
Well I MADE mozzarella!!!
It is a a difficult cheese to make This guys Video inspired me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vymXC0Cnxw He made it look so easy. I was able to make 3 bricks… of which one is left! I had to make a few recipes that called for it! But am going to make as much as I can and freeze it!
I also made yogurt… I have made alot of yogurt with the reg. milk and I have to say this goats milk yogurt turned out fantastic! So on to more soap ( does anyone got a clue yet as to what you may be getting for Christmas? ) cheese and more!
Canning
Well I have been canning straight for almost a month now.. .hence the neglected blog. My tomatoes took their sweet time turning red.. but when they did watch out!! Holy smokes must have gotten about 60 lbs of them… all nice roma paste type tomatoes.
Made:
Catsup
Roasted Tomato Sauce
Diced Tomatoes
2 Kinds of Red Salsa
Also canned:
Green Beans
Green Salsa Verde
Peaches
Pineapple ( was on sale for 1.00 each!)
Plum Jam
Pickles
Still have to do apples… but they are just looking at me…and I am looking back.. My cupboard is PACKED to the gils. My refrigerator is full of pickles, goats milk and homemade root beer. Can you say I need another refrigerator!!
We also froze all that nice corn!
I found this recipe ( and modified it a bit) while trying to use up alot of Cucumbers and Tomatoes! Very Good!
Tomato & Cucumber Salad
Slice tomatoes into wedges, being careful not to crush and lose juice. Place tomatoes, olives and cucumbers in salad bowl and sprinkle with sea salt or kosher salt.
Whisk dressing well and pour over vegetables
Original Recipe here http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1758,129188-248196,00.html
I have had this book for about a bazillion years..I think it came from my mom, but every time I pick it up, it is like a new friend. Need to get her more current version. Mine is old from 1977 with a green cover!
If you don’t have a copy, get one! She covers everything… from children, to chickens, goats, to gardens… All spiced in with her thoughts on life and spirituality.
I recently read this and it really stuck with me, It was in the hay section.
She starts of talking about trading labor and machinery….
“Concerning trades or helping neighbors <sic>…. they don’t make a big deal out what they are going to get out of it. It’s more like a giving contest. ” I can do more for you than you can do for me ” It’s a good game that works to the benefit of everybody, but it really baffles some people. They have notions of capital and labor and how they’re supposed to be at each others throats. I’ve seen people out here <the country> and be given a job more out of charity than because they were needed, and they turn around and act vicious because they thought they got paid a few dollars less then they should have been.
Then they wonder why they couldn’t find another job. That is a terrible breach of county etiquette, and the bush telegraph is almost as inexorable as the credit companies files for carrying ratings on people’s character.
City people are used to anonymity. That does not exist in the country, You are what you are and everyone know what you are for better or for worst.
Don’t know why this stuck out in my head… but I think it is a good way to get back to… make it a game of who can do more for whom.
Link to Carla Website http://www.carlaemery.com/
I had to do something with all that basil. This recipe so far is my favorite, and there is so much you can do with pesto!
Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
* note if it gets too dry, add olive oil sooner!
Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Serve with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.
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