And the color of the week is Red

I find it hard to believe there is only a month of summer left.  Maybe I'm in denial.  Or its just that I keep recalling the memory of this past winter's "polar vortex/frozen hell," of which I am dead certain I can not withstand a repeat.

But I'll behave myself for now and look on the positive side.  It's mid-August and the tomatoes are in full production!  A lot of canning to be done this week...   ~A

 

 

What a pig...

I knew nothing (and still very little) about pigs.  But this year I decided to add one to the menagerie at Mon Abri, and I have to say its been a good choice so far. 

(The one on the right is just a dog that eats like a pig...)

My perception of pigs was that they are dirty and stink.  Neither is true, as I've discovered.  At least not with my pig... 

He has a stall to sleep in lined with fresh sawdust, and a kiddie-pool of clean water out in the yard to play in.  He gets out to run all over the pasture and play with the dog, and root around all over to find whatever it is that pigs find when they root around. Ocassionaly he plays in the mud.  But then he always runs back to his kiddie pool to wash off. 

He like to build himself a little "nest" to sleep in by stacking up his hay just right.  He's really quite particular about it too.  Who knew that pigs build nests?

 I used to envision them laying around in their own crap and mud all day, covered in flies, which I guess is actually what they would do, given no other choice. But no, not my piggy! He found a good home ; )



See how clean and shiny he is?

Rabbit, the other white meat...

A fresh bagged bunny for the freezer



(that's a kidney peeking out from underneath, which will become the dog's treat...)

I started raising rabbits for meat recently.  The three breeding does are New Zealand, and the buck is a Flemish Giant.  The offspring from this crossing these two breeds make really nice meat rabbits.  Mostly white meat, but very tender and ready to butcher at around 10-12 weeks. 

Roasted bunny with apples, onion and carrots

One roasted rabbit goes a long way.  Dinner for two the first night, along with roasted vegetables.  Lunches for two the next day from the leftovers.  A sandwich the next morning for my breakfast, and anything left that I can pull from the bones tonight will go into some sort of soup. Quite a few meals from one young bunny!

Roasted bunny with roasted carrot, mushroom and new potatoes

Bunny sandwich on homemade bread with tomato, lettuce and mayo

To me, the rabbits taste somewhat similar to a cross between chicken and pork, leaning more toward the side of chicken in texture.  This also makes them extremely versatile when it comes to using them in recipes.  The possibilities are endless!  Do you have a favorite rabbit recipe?  I'd love to know how other people like to cook with them. Have a lovely day ~ A

Want to make Goat Milk Mozzarella?

It's EASY!

 

As many of you already know, after my goat lost her baby, I decided to milk her from that point on and discover what ways I could come up with to use the milk.  One of my new favorite things to do with it (a newly learned skill of mine) is to make cheese.  Chiba is not really a milking-type goat, but she gives around a quart a day, which is quite enough for my use.  The recipe I used this past weekend yielded a lovely mozzarella cheese, of which I can't wait to try out on some homemade pizza sometime this week.  Here is the recipe and tutorial video on you tube if you'd like to give it a go.  I used fresh, raw and unpasteurized goat milk, but tips are given in the video on how to use store-bought milk as well.  Have fun with it and I love to hear how it turns out for you!  Enjoy ~A

Cutting curds

Draining off the whey

Finished and ready to enjoy!

Farm Happenings

Summer is rolling right along here on the farm.  Beans, Peas, lettuce and hot peppers are all producing great, and the goat keeps filling up the milk containers for delicious cheese and miscellaneous cooking needs.  The garlic should be ready for harvesting this weekend or next, and then I will replant that area with lettuce and Brussels sprouts (and maybe a zucchini plant?).

Also this weekend I plant to walk down the pond at the back of the property and see whether the elderberries are ripening yet.  I have to try making some elderberry wine this year after reading about all the good medicinal and health benefits of it.  And because I love wine : )

Speaking of wine, a have a few gallons in the basement that will need to be racked this weekend, and fresh water solution has to be put into the air locks as well. 

I might be picking up the baby pig that I ordered for September's pig roast, but I think waiting another week would be wise, in the hope that it is weaned enough and won't die on me.  Speaking of dying, I lost five turkey poults in the last 24 hours, most likely due to ingesting mold spores, and that is all I can figure it was because they were showing signs of neurological problems right before they died.  I hate turkeys.  I think I've given up on them for now.  I swear they all try their hardest to die in some way or another. 

Anyway, the weekend looks to be nice and there is never a shortage of things to do around the farm, thankfully.  Have a lovely Friday. ~A

Hay Time

Well the day certainly started out a little panicked this morning.  I was in the barn doing the normal routine of bringing horses in from the night and feeding all the farm animals when Ezra, the buck goat, decided he wanted fed NOW and rammed down the stall door. 

Thankfully, because he had not yet eaten breakfast, he was only too happy to follow me and his bucket of food into another stall to be locked up.  Otherwise, I'm not sure how I would have gotten him in there.  He doesn't much like being handled.

Once that was done, I went on to feed Chiba (the female goat) and discovered the little bunny who had escaped the day before hanging out in her stall. So then I had to chase the little one down and lock him back up with his other bunny buddies. 

Shortly after that, the hay guy showed up to cut and bale hay, which made me smile, knowing I will save some money this year by having my own hay field cut and baled.

Happy Friday All! ~A

Farm Dogs

A (nearly) "Wordless Wednesday."



Do you think I'm cute?



How 'bout now? 

~ Love, "BiBi" the farm dog...

Lettuce Talk...

We planted a little more lettuce this year, and now I wish we'd planted even more.  More garden space is definitely going to have to be added soon, because this year I have no room for corn or pumpkins or squash. Though I will admit it may not have been necessary to plant 25 tomato plants?

But anyway, back to lettuce.  I adore salads and their versatility.  Mind you, not the creamy, blue-cheesy, topped with breaded chicken, shredded cheddar and loaded crappy crouton-type salad that you get in many restaurants and fast food joints ( I won't say which ones), but REAL salads.  The kind you pick fresh from the garden, make your own crouton and dressing, and maybe even top with a hard-boiled free-range egg and some roasted vegetables.  Those kind of salads. 

Did you know that a 100 gram (about 3.5 oz) serving of lettuce contains only 15 calories?  And 247% of your daily vitamin A requirement?

How about that its also a rich source of vitamin K, contains good amounts of folates and vitamin C, and is packed with B-complex vitamins (thiamine, B-5, riboflavin's).

Regularly consuming lettuce is known to prevent iron-deficiency anemia, and protect from cardiovascular and Alzheimer's diseases, as well as some cancers.

The darker the green or reddish the leaves, the more nutrients in each serving.  Lettuce is also a complete protein containing all eight amino acids.  Never would have guessed that one...

I bet you will look at lettuce a little differently now, won't you?

So last night for dinner I made a salad from the garden, and a little of everything else. I broiled a piece of wild salmon to go alongside, poured a glass of wine, and it was just right. 

Eat well friends ~ A

From Garden to plate!

Making Goat Cheese

We've been milking the Boer goat for a month now.  I thought it was high time to attempt making cheese.  There must be a million recipes and demonstrations on You Tube, which is where I found my recipe.  The cheese came out great, resembling mozzarella.  I highly recommend visiting You Tube and giving it a try yourself, even if you have to use cow's milk instead.  I love learning new skills, and now I have one more DIY food item to add to the list of things I can make myself, rather than having to fork over major cash at the grocery store. : )

If anyone out there has a favorite cheese making recipe they'd like to share, I'd sure be grateful! Have a lovely Wednesday!  ~A

Basic Goat Cheese Recipe

¼ C. Cider vinegar

½ Gallon fresh goat milk

Bring milk to nearly a boil (about 200-208 degrees) stirring constantly so not to scorch it, remove from heat, stir in vinegar, let sit until curd forms.  Drain curd in cheesecloth, smash apart, season accordingly (salt, herbs, etc.)Wrap in cheesecloth into cheese mold or colander and press down with all your strength.  Wrap and store in fridge.

What do you consider to be "Fast Food?"

I am often asked what kind of meals I eat since I live on a farm and grow and raise some of my own food.  Because I work away from the farm and commute all the way into the city during the work week, most things I make are what I consider "fast food."  "Fast" to me means salads, pizzas, soups, and simple grilled vegetables and such.  So I thought  I'd post a few photos from "typical" meals, so you can see what fast farm food looks like. Enjoy! ~A

 

Pizza is always fast, easy and awesome!

 

Yes, bread is fast.  Five minutes to make, 30 minutes to bake, at your leisure.

 

Grill some of that bread you made, rub with garlic and top with fresh tomato and basil from the garden!

 

Is your Garden in?

The first small livestock sale was made at Mon Abri Farm this week.  On Tuesday a father and his two children came out to buy a New Zealand rabbit.  I sold him one of our ready-to-breed females, and he and his kids really enjoyed watching the goat being milked while they were there as well.  Later that night, one of our horse-trainer friends stopped by to pick up a horse we had been training to correct bad behavior, and in its place a young, barely broke 2 year old filly was left behind for us to finish up her training, before she is sent off to the racetrack for her new career as a racehorse.

June has arrived and the garden is starting to produce.  Radishes are coming in this week.  Really good, spicy-hot radishes.  I absolutely have to eat some every morning before I head out for the day's activities.  I'll be giving this recipe I found at Food52 a go around this evening.  Looking very forward to it, though I don't have any turnips on hand, so I will omit those and deal with it!

The potato and tomato plants are looking vibrant and healthy as well.

 Pastures are lush again, animals are happy.  At least until "fly season" starts up again...

I hope you all have a lovely Wednesday.  ~A

Goat Milk, Goats, Gardens and More...

Sadly, Chiba the goat gave birth to a still-born doe on May 13th.  On a good note, she seems to be recovering well, and is producing around two pints of milk every evening.  I've been freezing all of it with the hope of making cheese in June when my Mother and Grandmother visit.


Chiba's milk is on the right.

Around the farm, things are "greening" up nicely and the temperatures are definitely much more pleasant.  The garden is in and things are growing well.  Last weekend I bought a peach, pear, and two apple trees, bringing the total fruit trees on the farm to seven.  Can I declare I have an orchard now? 

The Buck goat was moved outside into a large pen, and the little spotted mare is his pasture mate for the time being.  They seem to get along fine. I'm hoping that being outside will settle him down a bit and he'll become less aggressive to humans.  Time will tell. 

I walked the back of the property yesterday evening, and so far the ticks do not seem to be a problem.  Maybe the harsh winter took care of few of them?



Louie, having a swim...

June is just around the corner and soon farmers will be cutting the first hay of the season.  It's one of my favorite times of the year.  June also means that if I want to have a heritage turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, I need to hatch some soon or buy some chicks.  The six eggs I have in the incubator are due to hatch yesterday or today.  So far there is no sign of anything trying to make its way out of an egg shell. I'm going to be really bummed if I can't hatch my own turkeys each year. I hope all of you are enjoying your spring and weather is good. ~A

A Warming Dinner for Chilly Spring Weather

It's been chilly this past week.  So chilly, the birdbath was actually frozen nearly solid this morning. Too chilly for a spring salad type dinner.  An on-sale pork tenderloin in the market lured me in, along with a carb-craving for pasta, and some roasted Brussels sprouts (for good-measure).  You can find the tenderloin recipe here, at Food52:  http://food52.com/recipes/20939-honey-mustard-pork-tenderloin  I'd like to try this marinade on shrimp or some other seafood in the near future.  Enjoy! ~A

For best flavor marinate the tenderloin overnight.

 



Add marinade and let it sleep overnight in the fridge

 



Once seared, wrap in foil and let it hang out a bit to absorb the juices.

Sun

This morning the farm was greeted with snow.  I refuse to give the snow any more acknowledgement and so you won't find a picture of it here.  Instead I will post photos from this past, perfect weekend of seventy degree temperatures and sun. 

On a good note, the taxes are done, and it appears there will be a little left over to throw back into the farm account to keep things going.  I hope you all have a lovely week ~ A



Chiba - Presumably still expecting (and very large)

Old Rooster

Yesterday I pulled an old rooster from the bottom of the freezer and couldn't quite decide how I should prepare it.  So I quartered it, put the wings, back and legs into the pressure cooker.  I deboned the breasts and thighs, put them through the meat grinder with a handful of salt and spices, and formed them into patties.  Then I dredged them in beaten egg and bread crumbs, and lightly fried them.  Last, I put them in a baking dish, covered them with marinara and mozzarella and baked them for 20 minutes. Chicken Parmesan!  This really was a good way to use an old rooster.  Have a lovely day.  ~A