T. Cupp Miniatures

CrockPot Chicken and Dumplings

2012-01-06T20:18:00.001-05:00

Homemade chicken and dumplings for me starts with a pastured chicken. I happen to have some pastured chicken in the freezer that was raised by our friends, Brian and Coleen, over at Poplar Ridge Farm. Although chicken and dumplings can be made with "store bought" chicken, there is just something special about the taste of homegrown poultry!

I thaw my bird and then let it cook for at least 12 hours (sometimes longer) in the CrockPot until it completely falls apart. The broth from a bird that has been cooked for such a long time is especially nutritious! I always cook the bird with salt and pepper.

I then make at least two meals out of the bird. I use the beautiful, white, breast meat to make Chicken Casserole a lot of times. I find it's a well received and tasty dish to take to social potlucks or to take to family/friends when I want to share a dish. Or, we will use the breast meat for sandwiches or chicken salad sometimes.

I use the dark meat that I pull away from the bone for a hearty broth for either my chicken and dumplings or for chicken noodle soup.

So, after deboning the chicken I put the chicken and the broth back in the crock pot and let it get good and hot. Then, I make the dumplings and either drop them into the hot broth or roll them between my hands to make uniform size dumplings when I want my dish to look especially pretty.

I put the lid on the CrockPot and leave the dumplings to cook. (I usually add the dumplings a couple of hours before we are ready to eat.) A few minutes before it's time to eat, I remove the lid to the CrockPot and let the dumplings dry a little on top.

I use the following recipe for my dumplings:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup lard

2/3 cup milk

Enjoy!

Fantastic Pumpkin Bread

2011-12-30T11:46:00.000-05:00

1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin (I use homegrown pumpkin or cushaw)
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts optional
1/2 cup raisins optional

(Note: If using store bought pumpkin add 1/2 cup water)

In a large small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda cinnamon, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin, oil, and water. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in walnuts and raisins if desired.

Pour into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan. (I grease with coconut oil) Bake at 350° for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yield: 1 loaf (16 slices).

This bread is moist and delicious and just gets better with age! It also freezes well.

Pie Crust made from Leaf Lard

2011-12-30T11:16:00.000-05:00

Single Crust

1 1/4 cups flour (Do not use self-rising!)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup leaf lard

4-5 Tablespoons cold water (you may have to use more than this)

Double Crust

2 1/4 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup leaf lard

8-10 Tablespoons cold water (you may have to use more than this)

Sift together flour and salt. "Cut" in room temperature lard until pieces are pea size. Make a hole in the center of flour mixture and add a small amount of very cold water (1 TBS at a time) Mixing flour mixture into the water until the mixter is damp enough to stick together but not wet. (You may have to use more than the recommended amount but you don't want your mixture too become too wet or sticky.) Form dough into a ball. Do not knead and do not over handle.

On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to flatten dough. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle about 12 inches in diameter.

Fold crust in half and place in center of pie plate. Unfold. Trim edges and crimp or press down with a fork along edges of pie crust.

For pre-baked shell: prick bottom and sides of pastry with a fork. Cover with foil and bake for eight minutes. Remove foil and bake for five more minutes (or until golden) at 450 degrees.

Note: I am not an expert at making pie crusts, but it has been my experience from knowledge passed down to me from my grandmother that the less the crust is handled, the more light and flakey it will be. The goal is to roll the dough out once. Using lard instead of shortening also makes a flakier pie crust.

Winner of the AMJA Registered Bull Raffle

2011-12-24T06:13:00.000-05:00

Photo Courtesy of Career Attraction

It's Christmas Eve and that means it's time to announce the winner of the raffle for Jim Dandy, an American Miniature Jersey Association registered, nine month old bull calf!

Thank you to everyone who contributed towards the raffle! So many people contributed asking to not even be entered in the drawing. Donations were given in amounts of $50 -$400 dollars and a total of $1200 was raised to help Rosie in Guatemala with her cleft palate surgeries. We are currently only $800 shy of having the total amount needed for all of Rosie's surgeries and I just want to thank each one who has contributed from the bottom of my heart. Rosie has already had her first surgery and is doing well.

I wrote the names of each entry on paper of equal size and folded the paper into fourths and dropped the names in a bowl. I then asked my husband who is not familiar with the contestants to reach in and pull a name out for me. The name drawn as the winner for the bull is

MELISSA UTTERBACK LEWIS

Congratulations, Melissa! I have never met Melissa but do know that her family operates a small farm in Red House, West Virginia. You can view her facebook page here.

In the event that Melissa has changed her mind about wanting the bull calf or is unable to follow through with the terms posted for accepting him, I did pick a second name from the bowl to be our runner up. If for any reason Melissa is not able to take the calf or meet the terms associated with the drawing, the runner up will be given the opportunity to get him. The second name drawn from the bowl was Tonya Harmon. Tonya also has a facebook page at this link.

Merry Christmas Everyone and thank you so much for your donations!

AMJA REGISTERED BULL RAFFLE & ESSAY FOR FREE TICKET

2011-12-22T10:03:00.002-05:00

Picture courtesy of Rankopedia

I posted a few weeks back that I was offering an AMJA registered bull calf to the winner of our drawing in exchange for $50 donations to World Help for Rosie's surgeries. You can read more about the bull calf and the raffle at this link.

The drawing will be on Christmas Eve and the cut off for accepting money towards the drawing is midnight December 23rd. (We will continue to accept donations towards the Rosie Project until all of the needs are met. We currently need $1200 more to have the total $6500 needed for her surgeries. And the good news is she has already received her first surgery!)

Included in the drawing were a few "free tickets" that were donated by individuals who did not want to be considered for the drawing themselves. To date, I have only had one individual write to me to be considered for the free tickets. (I have four available.)

I wanted to share with you all the essay that was contributed for the free ticket and a chance at winning Jim Dandy:

Tammy-
If you would consider us for one of the “unwanted” raffle tickets I would greatly appreciate it.

Having the opportunity for a bull like Jim Dandy would make huge difference in our little farm. I’ve always wanted to jump into jerseys head first but due to financial constraints can never afford to buy our dream. We’re well prepared to care for our herd, just the initial investment makes it just out of reach for us. We are trying our best to create a down to earth environment to raise children and educate others. I get so much satisfaction out of seeing my friends’ children interact with our farm animals. We’ve decided that we’re just about ready for kids, I’m just trying to get the farm in line. I want to be able to raise my children to know the meaning and value of every animal-whether they are to be eaten or to provide products for consumption. We are steadily improving our farm. In 2011, we’ve turned a great deal of junk into working equipment. We’re now raising all of our own hay on my great grandparents’ home place and bringing it home to our little farm. We have big plans to add pigs next year if everything falls into place. Things are coming together-it is hard to believe at this point, but it is finally happening. Just this week we found my great grandparents old Surge vacuum pump and are starting to restore it. Life is coming together on a shoestring budget. The value of living local is taking hold. To be able to have our own bull would be a dream come true. When I first saw your photos of Dave I was in love. The thought of having a bull like him was unimaginable, I never realized that an opportunity might really exist. I’ve tried to locate a bull to lease for breeding my girls with no luck. Jim Dandy would alleviate all of my worries about getting my girls settled, and help shape our calves to be the size a jersey is supposed to be!

My farm is also my haven from a very stressful career. Some days just coming home to the routine of the farm is good medicine. As an animal control officer I spend each day dealing with peoples lack of respect and care for animals. I’ve tried to use my animals to educate as many people as possible. My horses have been used in training for other animal control officers. I hope to be able to do the same with my cows (and eventually pigs). Lack of experience is the main obstacle that animal control officers overcome. Most want to help, but have no prior experience with livestock. The more complete my farm becomes, the more it benefits local officers and therefore local animals. Several officers have expressed interest in coming down for some hands on experience and I look forward to having them! Even if they only take home one small piece of information it will be a better chance for them to make a difference. I’ve also made arrangements with some of my college professors to have field trips out to the farm. One of my cows has a field trip of her own coming up-she is going to a local school for show and tell for history class!

I wish we were in a position to be able to make a financial contribution to the Rosie fund. What you’ve done for her is amazing and I love to follow your posts about her.

Thanks for taking the time to consider us!

Tonya

*********************************************************************

We have received $800 to date on the bull raffle to be contributed to the fund for Rosie. (This has already been sent in to World Help.) The following is a list of individuals that have entered into the drawing:

Ann

Joelle

Jodi

Liz

Janene

Tonya

Melissa

I am expecting a few more donations in the mail and those names will be included in this list and in the raffle. If you do not see your name on this list and you have mailed me a check, please let me know. I can include your name and contingent upon receiving your check that has been postmarked before the date of the drawing, we can go ahead and add your name to the hat!

Good luck to everyone!

*One minor correction on the information about Jim Dandy: I went off my memory and did not look at his registration when I posted. Upon reviewing his registration information, he is actually nine months old. He is going to make someone a great bull! *

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

2011-12-09T13:54:00.000-05:00

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1-1/2 cups warm water (110° to 115°)

1-1/4 cups canned pumpkin

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons salt

2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the pumpkin, butter, sugar, eggs, salt and whole wheat flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough all-purpose flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into three portions. Roll each portion into a 12-in. circle; cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges from the wide end and place pointed side down 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Curve ends to form crescents.

Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes. Remove to wire racks. Yield: 3 dozen.

Recipe Courtesy of Taste of Home.

Meet Abraham

2011-12-08T15:01:00.000-05:00

Photo courtesy of Awee Farm

Abraham is our new, Miniature Nubian buck. He is a flashy boy and seems to have a great disposition. I have seen his offspring and they are gorgeous. And yes, he does throw spots! Looking forward to kids in May!

Registered with the Miniature Dairy Goat Association
Sire's Sire: Springs Run Taliesin
Sire: Awee Farm Topaz
Sire's Dam: Awee Farm Precious Jewel

Dam's Sire: Tiny Blessings King Barnabus
Dam: The Awee Farm Rachael
Dam's Dam: Merrythought Farm Laura

Tri colored, brown with black and white spots, white ears, crown, muzzle.

Please Help Me Win $1000 for Rosie!!!!

2011-12-01T09:56:00.000-05:00

All who have facebook accounts, you can help me win $1000 to help with Rosie's Surgeries!

There is a very kind man named Matt McMillan who lives in Missouri. He owns a company called Alarm Security located in St. Louis as well as in a moderate size town very near where my parents live, Farmington, MO. I was directed to his facebook page several months ago when a friend of mine was trying to win a contest that Matt was sponsoring. From what I have read about Matt, he has not always had an easy life and when he was younger, did not have a lot of money. He feels that he has been blessed in his business and seeks to be a blessing to others. He is currently running a contest on his facebook page that I have entered and the winner receives $1000 for their favorite charity to give a child a better Christmas. I have entered World Help and The Rosie Project. (If you are not familiar with the Rosie Project, this is a fund that was started to raise money for a baby I met while in Guatemala who needs cleft palate surgeries.)

It can be a little confusing, but here is what I need you to do to help me win this contest and get the money for Rosie. I need you to go to the Alarm Security Facebook page. To do so, please click on this link. I need you to "like" Alarm Security's page.

Then, I need for you to go to the most recent contest that he has posted. This is what it says:

$1,000 ALARM SECURITY CHARITY EVENT! There are so many kids that won’t get any Christmas presents this year. As a “less-fortunate” child myself, I understand this very much so. God’s blessed me as an adult and blessed my company as well. So, what Children’s Christmas Charity means the most to you? Post that charity here along with why they need the $1,000 prize. The comment with the most likes wins! No limit on comments! Ends tomorrow at 6pm CST. –Matt McMillen, Founder of Alarm Security

Beneath this post, you will see many comments from people telling about their charity. Look for my comment (Tammy Renee' Holbrook Cupp). I believe it is comment # 26 if you count down. I need you to then "like" my comment.

That's it! Two simple clicks and you can possibly help me win $1000 for Rosie's surgeries! The contest ends today (December 1, 2011 CST). Please don't delay and please share with your friends!

A big thank you to everyone willing to help!

And, if anyone is in the St. Louis area, please support Alarm Security and Matt McMillan. He deserves your business!

Please help Rosie!

Chance to win a Six Month Old AMJA Mini Jersey Bull

2011-11-11T21:36:00.003-05:00

T. Cupp Miniature's Jim Dandy is six months old and registered with the American Miniature Jersey Association as Foundation Pure. His dam is registered at 40 inches and his sire is under 42 inches. The following is a photo of his sire, Cape Fear Dave.

The following is a photo of his dam, Tanglewood Mayfield

The dam is a cow that exemplifies true longevity in a dairy cow. She is 13 years old and still has a very nice udder and continues to exhibit great overall condition even after many years of producing calves and milk. These are the types of genetics one wants to propogate within their herd.

I am going to sell raffle tickets for $50 each for a chance to win this awesome bull calf and all the proceeds will go to World Help for the Rosie Project. Rosie is a baby I met while I was in Guatemala who is in need of a series of cleft palate/cleft lip surgeries. The cost of these surgeries is $6500 and we currently have raised around $3600. If you would like for your name to be entered into the drawing for Jim Dandy, please send a $50 payment to me. You can make out checks to World Help and your gift will be tax deductible but donations must be mailed directly to me so that I can put your name in the drawing. (I will then forward the money on to World Help.)

My address is as follows:

Tammy Renee' Cupp
1103 Quick's Mill Rd.
Staunton, VA 24401

Winner of the calf must make arrangements to pick up the calf or have the calf shipped at their own expense. Any vet fees and paperwork necessary to get the calf ready to ship over state lines is also the responsibility of the winner. In the event the first name drawn declines, we will draw again. Calf must be picked up/shipped no later than January 15th, 2012.

We will accept donations for a chance to win Jim Dandy up until December 23rd, 2011. Our drawing and the winner of the calf will be announced on December 24th, 2011.

There is one more twist to this raffle. Several folks are buying tickets who have generously given up their chance of winning in order that someone else might have a chance at owning Jim Dandy. If you are unable to contribute to the raffle but would still like a chance at winning the calf, you may send me an message telling me what owning this calf would mean to you and why you would appreciate the opportunity to be included in this raffle. I will choose up to four names to be included in the drawing from these short essays.

PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU ARE CHOSEN TO BE IN THE DRAWING AND WIN THE CALF YOU ARE STILL RESPONSIBLE FOR TRANSPORTATION/SHIPPING CHARGES AND VET FEES ASSOCIATED WITH SHIPPING A CALF ACROSS STATE LINES .

In the event the winner of the calf fails to pick him up by the designated date, another name will be drawn.

Please share with your friends and family and let's raise as much money as we can for Rosie! My desire is to have the total amount for her surgeries by the end December 31st!

Miniature Jersey Bull For Sale

2011-11-11T21:14:00.000-05:00

I have owned Cape Fear Dave since he was three months old. He is a Native Pure American Miniature Jersey Association registered bull. He is under 42 inches in height and has an excellent disposition. He was dam raised and has a healthy respect for humans while being easy to manage. Davie will be three years old in March and eligible for his permanent registration. I am asking $2000 for Davie. This price includes his AMJA registration and his health certificate to be transported across state lines. The following photos are examples of the calves that Davie has sired:

Isaiah (owned by IdleBrink Farms)

Photo Courtesy of Marion Kanour

Rosie

Jim Dandy:

Prince Charming

Zach

Stormy

Eating Real Food, Living a Healthy Lifestyle & Maintaining a Healthy Weight ~Guest Post

2011-10-27T22:28:00.000-04:00

I am so pleased to be able to share the following guest post with you all from Joelle. Joelle is a personal friend of mine who is living a healthy active life and eating real food. Let Joelle tell you in her own words about her "food journey":

If you were to ask me to describe the largest part of my adult life in one word, that word would be: FOOD. Sweet or spicy, hot or cold, salty or savory, as long as it was tasty and dripping with calories, I was a happy camper. I loved to cook it, eat it, feed it to other people. I was a full-out food addict.

That wasn't the case as a kid. I can recall at least once getting spanked for not finishing the food on my plate. I picked at my meals, only eating the bits I liked, and stayed at the dinner table long past everyone else trying to gulp down enough cold undesirables to be excused. I ate the meat out of my sandwiches, ate peanut butter or cream cheese off a spoon instead of on bread, and drank as much milk as I could, sometimes making an entire meal out of the glorious white liquid. I was skinny enough those years to make my German grandmother shake her head and pass me more goulasch; at that great age where you're all elbows and knees, and I loved nothing more than to spend hours outdoors running and playing with my sister.

But like all good things, childhood ended and so did my thin-as-a-rail figure. I'm not exactly sure WHY I started eating the way I did, but somewhere in my early teens I began to eat anything and everything I could get my hands on, as much as I could eat; and so began my slow but steady rise to chubbyhood. I'm sure puberty had something to do with it all, and for about a decade that youthful metabolism allowed for such extravagance. But illness, stress of the adult working world, and just plain aging began to take their toll. Clothes that I loved to wear began to collect dust in the closet, and newer versions, ever larger, took their place. Denial is a powerful force, but eventually it began to sink in: I was getting fat. Not just chubby or full-figured, but 30 pounds overweight and gaining steadily.

This was a problem. Not even counting the self-esteem issues that grew along with my waistline, there were health issues to consider: weight-related diabetes and heart disease run in my family. I am a registered nurse and am deeply aware of the ravages of diabetes; I work with dialysis patients who have lost their kidney function entirely, mostly due to the long-term effects of diabetes. I did NOT want to go that route. I know all the statistics about obesity and heart disease - heck, I'd taught them to thousands of patients over the years, while treating those very problems Yet I found myself returning to the fridge time and again, munching, snacking, driven by a constant need and desire to feed. Dieting efforts were brief and depressing; each time I failed, I recalled memories of my own mother counting calories, drinking diet soda for decades, endlessly trying to lose and never ever succeeding. I was going to end up right in that same rut; to be honest, actually, I was already there.

I want to clarify that I did not eat badly by most standards. Several years ago I decided to ditch city life and dragged a couple of friends along on this crazy adventure in which we purchased a small hobby farm and learned to raise our own food. I baked my own bread, made my own spaghetti sauce, and rarely ate take-out. Sure, I had a sweet tooth, but I also ate lots of potatoes and home-raised meat, though vegetables were not my favorite and usually consisted of corn or green beans. I try to avoid processed food as much as possible; slow changes, but they add up over time. Yet still, at this point in my life I was sick and getting fat. Food was my life, it was the first thing on my mind and I thought about it all day. I cooked and I ate; everything else was incidental.

I had finally given up on the idea of ever fitting into my favorite clothes again, resigned to quietly fattening for the rest of my life, when an article in a magazine caught my notice. I read a lot - city girls don't last long on a farm without a LOT of researching! - and the boast that eggs and bacon can make you not only healthier but skinnier too was an offer too good to refuse. As I read about the idea of low-carb diets, things began to click in my head. Despite the fact that the information went completely counter to modern nutritional wisdom, here was a diet that made sense to me: not a fad of torture and deprivation, but the idea of deeply and richly feeding your body's nutritional needs with dense, tasty, satisfying foods so that your system doesn't constantly drive you to eat eat eat.

No only that, I was attracted to the emphasis on eating Real Food: eating local, seasonal food raised as naturally as possible. Returning to the old food wisdom of cooking with butter and eating your meat, of believing that good food could be tasty too; not pumped full of chemicals and stripped of all natural fats and flavors like much of today's "healthy" offerings. Looking at the end result of fifty years of current nutritional guidelines - heart disease claiming ever greater numbers of us, diabetes and obesity a raging epidemic that's beginning to encroach into the lives of even our children - really makes one start to wonder if we got it wrong somewhere; or at least that you can't be risking much to try something different, even something as different as practically reversing all "rules" of healthy eating.

So I tried it. Out went the sodas, bread, pasta, even my beloved - homegrown! - potatoes. In came the bacon, eggs, sausage, steaks, pork, chicken, tuna and cheese. It took a few days for my carb-driven system to get over the lack-of-sugar shock, and another few weeks before it no longer felt weird to not have all my usual starchy side dishes with meals. But as I stuck to the diet, a funny thing started to happen; my taste changed. Vegetables, long disdained in my household, gained new respect. I began to cherish every bite of those nutritional gems; broccoli dipped in garlic butter became a quick favorite and great alternative to garlic bread. When I did occasionally reach for the carbs, I found a bite or two was enough to make me put it back; it was either too sweet or just not as tasty as I remembered. The real food - vegetables grown in my own garden, milk from my own cows, fruits grown locally and meats raised on grass - took on a totally different level of awesome. The subtleties of real nourishment quickly relegated the fleeting pleasures of instant-gratification carbs and processed foods to the bottom of my food ladder. Sure I still enjoy junk food once in a while; but as a treat, not a staple.

And as far as weight loss went, at first it wasn't anything dramatic: I only lost about 7lbs the first 2 weeks. Then I lost 2lbs the next week. And the next week. And the next week. And EVERY week, like clockwork. For the first time in my life, the scale was consistently moving DOWN; and I was eating amazing food, rich with fat and nutrients, I was feeling more energy and well-being than I had in years. My appetite dropped; it didn't take 3 helpings of everything to fill me up any more. In fact, sometimes I missed entire meals simply because I forgot about them. The weight was falling off of me as if by magic, without even resorting to rigorous exercise.

It wasn't magic of course; it was simply getting my body to do what it was designed to do. By drastically reducing my highly processed carb intake and returning to a more natural diet high in healthy fats and proteins, I basically rebooted my metabolism to do what it should: break down fat as well as build it. The magic was simply in the awesome design of our bodies, and the miracle of giving it the right tools to do what it already knew how to do.

Now I'm not a trained nutritionist, nor am I a doctor. I would never recommend a single diet approach for everyone; everyone is unique and different people have different needs. Additionally, I would never claim that a simple change in diet can solve all health problems; bodies do sometimes just plain break, and need medical intervention to return to health. I've been on that side of health care, and I have nothing but respect for what modern science can do.

But I can tell you this: sometimes what we "know" to be true is just plain not correct. Maybe it's misinformation or misinterpretation of the information, but science doesn't always get it right. Sometimes old wisdom is worth a second glance; sometimes they knew more back then than we know right now. I can tell you that changing my diet - getting away from modern food and dietary wisdom and returning to old-timey ways - changed my life and health for the better. I am fitting into clothes I thought would never again see the light of day. I have lost 28 pounds and 4 dress sizes. I am more active, more energetic, and more respectful than ever at the simple but profound process of nourishing oneself; a process we Americans tend to view as a right rather than a privilege. And the funny thing is, I'm back where I started: picking the meat out of sandwiches, eating (homemade) peanut butter off of spoons and making a glass of milk a meal more often than not. Guess I was smarter about my eating habits back then than I thought I was!

I know most people can't - or won't! - move to the country and start milking cows. Most people will never learn to slaughter their own chickens or can gallons of spaghetti sauce made from scratch. And that's OK! If all of us became farmers society would miss out on some great stuff. But I think the simple life deserves a respectful second chance. Already our society is realizing that produce bought from local Farmer's Markets are often of better quality than the grocery stores can offer, People are staring to take notice. I for one cannot emphasize enough that changing my approach to food has changed my life for the better in so many ways. I'm glad I didn't stick to modern wisdom; I'd be on the fast-track to diabetes and heart disease, ready to take my place amongst the pill-poppers of our society.

No thanks; I'll take my garlic-butter broccoli instead, thank you very much, with a side of bacon.

Dominique Chickens

2011-10-15T15:30:00.001-04:00

We welcomed ten new Dominique hens into our flock this week. These young pullets have just started laying and hopefully will give us some eggs throughout the winter months.

Dominiques are also known as Dominickers or Pilgrim Fowl. The latter is a historical reference to the breed that originated in America with the Pilgrims. It is believed that the birds descended from chickens brought to America by the Pilgrims. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy gives the following information on their origin and history:

The Dominique chicken is recognized as America’s first chicken breed. The exact origin of the breed is unknown, although their initial creation may have involved European chicken breeds and later in its refinement, some Asian varieties. The name of “Dominique” may have come from birds that were imported from the French colony of Saint-Domingue (today known as Haiti) and which are thought to have been used as part of the development of the Dominique breed.
Barred chickens with both rose combs and single combs were somewhat common in the eastern United States as early as 1750. As interest in poultry breeding increased, attention was given to develop uniformity in chicken breeds. Early names of these fowl include Blue Spotted Hen, Old Grey Hen, Dominico, Dominic, and Dominicker. The breed was widely known on the eastern coast of the U.S. as the Dominique.

The Dominique was plentifully bred on American farms as early as the 1820’s, where these birds were a popular dual-purpose fowl. In 1871 the New York Poultry Society decided that only the rose combed Dominique would become the standard for the breed and the single combed Dominiques were relegated to and folded into the Plymouth Rock breed – popular in New England, created by crossing large, single comb Dominiques with Java chickens. Dominiques were never used commercially, and the breed was eventually eclipsed on the farm by the gradual shift to the larger “Plymouth Rocks.” In 1874 the Dominique breed was officially admitted to the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection.

The Dominique enjoyed popularity until the 1920’s at which time interest in the breed waned due to the passing of aged, long-time Dominique enthusiasts and breeders. The breed managed to survive during the Great Depression of the 1930’s due to its hardiness and ease of up-keep. By the end of World War II as industrial poultry operations began to take a foothold in the U.S., the Dominique once again experienced decline. By 1970 only 4 known flocks remained, held by: Henry Miller, Edward Uber, Robert Henderson, and Carl Gallaher. Through the effort of dedicated individuals the remaining owners were contacted and convinced to participate in a breed rescue. From 1983, following published reports on the breed by ALBC, until 2006, Dominiques steadily rose in numbers. As of 2007, it has been observed by the breed’s enthusiasts that numbers are once again beginning to decline, as old time breeders of Dominique age and are no longer involved with keeping and promoting the breed.

The Dominique is a medium-sized black and white barred (otherwise known as “cuckoo” patterned) bird. The barred plumage coloration is also referred to as hawk-colored and serves the Dominique in making the bird less conspicuous to predators. The Dominique sports a rose comb with a short upward curving spike that is characteristic to this breed. The males average seven pounds and the females five pounds. The Dominique’s tightly arranged plumage, combined with the low profile of the rose comb, make this breed more resistant to frostbite than many other breeds of fowl. Dominiques are also known to adapt well to hot and humid climates. Historically the close feathering of this breed not only protected the birds in cold weather, but provided ample material for the pillows and featherbeds of their owners.

They are considered a dual purpose bird, raised for both their meat and the eggs that they lay. (The birds weigh approximately 6-8 pounds when mature and lay between 230-275 eggs a year) In recent decades as the Cornish and Cornish X birds have set a new standard for meat birds and birds such as the Leghorn and Sex Link chickens have set a standard for egg producing birds, the Dominiques have been rejected. At one time, they almost became extinct, but thanks to recent interest in heritage birds, they have made a come back and are no longer on the critically endangered list but are now listed on the "watch" list with the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

Often confused with Barred Rocks, Dominiques are in fact different. The Dominique has a rose comb and the Barred Rocks have a single comb.

Rose Comb

Single Comb

(Illustrations courtesy of University of Illinois Extension)

Dominique photo courtesy of Harvest of History

Barred Rock photo courtesy of Wikipedia
The Barred Rock has a more distinctive barred pattern in their plummage than the Dominiques.

Dominique hens are an easy going bird, good foragers, and tend to be good mothers. They are a welcome addition to our flock!

Turkey Talk

2011-10-06T12:21:00.001-04:00

The subject of my blog post today will be turkeys. While I admit it would be better suited to save a turkey post until the month of November, I am just a little bit excited and couldn't wait!

I have been trying to include a new species to the farm each year. (Last year it was the hogs.) This year I just about let time slip completely away from me before I added the new farm members.

I have been wanting to raise turkeys for some time but have been intimidated because I have heard they are hard to start. I was able to find two juvenile turkeys and brought them home being told they were Royal Palms. It didn't take me long to realize that they didn't look exactly like Royal Palms. While their conformation said they were Royal Palm, their coloration spoke differently.

A friend saw a photo of the turkeys today and asked me if they were "Calico". I had never heard of a Calico Turkey before and began to do some research which led to some very interesting information. Upon seeing photos of other Calico Turkeys (also known as Sweetgrass Turkeys or Ronquière if the turkey is known to be of more ancient heritage), I am pretty sure the two I have are Calico Turkeys.

I took the following information from Porter's Rare Heritage Turkeys:

In 1996 a few tricolored birds appeared out of a Heritage Bronze flock in Big Timber, MT, at Sweetgrass Farms. These birds had a heavily marked royal palm pattern with chestnut red. The name Sweetgrass was put on this strain of tricolors.

The Sweetgrass genotype is (b1b1cgcg) Black winged bronze based with Oregon Gray (aka Palm genes) They breed 100% true to color/pattern.

The Ronquière is obviously an ancient breed of turkey and quite interesting (although the American counterpart is not so ancient). I found information on this breed from the Association for Promotion of Belgian Poultry Breeds.

Origin : The Ronquières is a very ancient native turkey breed of which the first evidence goes back to the sixteenth century, only a few decades after the discovery of the turkey in America by the Spaniards. This breed owns its name to the village of Ronquières nearby Brussels where this turkey was bred on a large scale since the eighteenth century. However at that time this breed was already kept in every part of Belgium. The two World Wars almost eradicated this turkey. Only the ermine variety knew to survive in Germany by the name ‘Cröllwitzer’. It was only at the beginning of the nineties that by coincidence an authentical very small breeding stock of other Ronquières varieties was recovered in the Campine region of Belgium. Meanwhile all the original varieties of the breed have been bred back from this breeding stock without any crossings with other breeds.

Characteristics : The Ronquières is not a heavy turkey and doesn’t produce a large quantity of meat but its meat is of very high quality. The Ronquières exceeds every other turkey breed by its vitality and its fertility. The hatching results are remarkably high compared to other breeds. The hens lay very good a brood easily. They are very good sitters and excellent mothers. The poults grow up without any problems.

Appearance : The Ronquières is a primitive light turkey of which the toms weigh 9 to 10 kilos and the hens 4 to 5 kilos. The head is remarkably bluish and has only few carunculs. The beak is bone-white with a bluish base. The shanks and toes are always white. The plumage always shows a number of breed-specific characteristics that are present in every variety (except the white). The primaries are always darker than the secondaries and show a typical ‘stippling’. The quills are always pale in color. All the other feathers tend to show ‘penciled’ markings (like the dark Brahma) and a very fine white edging follows the black edging of each feather.

Varieties : The Ronquières is the only turkey breed with more varieties, no less than five. Besides the self-white, there is the ermine which shows a fine black edging on each feather, and the yellow-shoulder which is identical to the ermine except for the brownish yellow path on the shoulders and the saddle region. The fawn has a yellow-fawn groundcolor with a very fine almost invisible black edging and the partridge has a grayish brown groundcolor with a heavily contrasting penciling. The toms of this variety are much darker than the hens. Very remarkable is that the poults of all these varieties hatch with near white down.

Several of these ancient varieties are known under another name in different countries. In Germany they have the Cröllwitzer (ermine) and Krefelder (partridge), in France the Tricoloré du Colorado (yellow-shoulder) and in the U.S the Royal Palm (ermine) and Sweetgrass (yellow-shoulder). All these varieties are quit recent and none of them already over 100 years old. All the Ronquières varieties are much older and were pictured in very old photographs and paintings. The oldest painting with a Ronquières turkey goes back to Antwerp in 1566 !

‘The Four Elements: Fire.
A Kitchen Scene with Christ in the House of Martha and Mary in the Background’
1570
Joachim Beuckelaer
(active 1560 to 1574)

Photo courtesy of Period Food Link.

Do we have the Calico breed of Turkey? I will let you be the judge.

Regardless of what we have, we are enjoying Tom and Henny very much and plan to allow them to breed and hopefully hatch out some of their eggs in the spring.

Whole Wheat Cupcakes & Sour Cream Icing

2011-10-03T15:58:00.002-04:00

Well, it is a cupcake recipe that I used.........but altered with the end result being more like muffins than cupcakes. After all, when you are using whole wheat flour that you have made from locally grown wheat berries, you are not going to get the look and feel of a regular cupcake. What you will get is a delicious dessert that is much better for you than one using refined, white flour!

Pumpkin & Spice Whole Wheat Cupcakes

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar (or your sweetner of choice)

2 eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup pumpkin puree (or cushaw)

1.Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F Grease 24 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners. Sift together the flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

2.Beat 1/2 cup of butter & brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Stir in the buttermilk and pumpkin puree after the last egg. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups.

3.Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Turned out moist and delicious!

I made one turn of cupcakes and then made three "mini" loaves of bread with the remaining mixture.

The sour cream "icing" is really more like a spread because I did not want to use confectioner's sugar which would make it stiff. However, I was very pleased with the taste and it actually reminds me of the spreads I use to eat on warm bread at the restaurant, Liberty Station, in Bedford, VA. On a warm "cupcake" muffin it was absolutely divine!

Sour Cream Icing (Spread)

4 oz of homemade, cultured, thick sour cream
a pinch of salt
1/4 tsp real vanilla
a dash of cinnamon
5 Tablespoons of local, raw honey

Mix thoroughly and enjoy!

Note: Because of the thinner consistency of the sour cream "icing", I chose to not put it on the cupcakes but rather set it out and allow individuals to apply before eating.

Two Weeks Until Bidding is Closed on Vida!!!!

2011-10-02T05:58:00.000-04:00

Photo of Vida with new mixed breed calf.

We are down to the final two weeks of bidding. Bidding will be closed at Midnight on October 16th. All proceeds from the sale of Vida will go to help pay for cleft palate surgeries for Rosie, a baby I met while in Guatemala. We can arrange that payment be made directly to World Help which means not only will you get the calf, but your donation will be tax deductible. See original post for up to date information on bids.

Local Ingredients and Fabulous Friday Night Pizza

2011-09-30T21:52:00.000-04:00

I was very fortunate to be able to buy some locally grown wheat from some friends of ours, Brian and Coleen. (Coleen's blog is Polar Ridge Farm and located at this link. Check it out as I know you will really enjoy it!)

Tonight I used the wheat to make homemade pizza and boy was it delicious! I also used honey that some friends picked up for me in Nelson County and raw Jersey milk and butter to make the crust. The crust was very filling without being "heavy" and had a wonderful flavor. I only ate two pieces but I am stuffed! You can find my recipe for the crust on a previous blog post by clicking on this link.

The pizza was topped with sausage from our very own hogs and onions from our garden as well as fresh Mozzarella cheese made from milk from our Jersey cows.

I don't bake a lot in the summer because I don't want to heat up the house, but there was a chill in the air tonight and it felt good to be in the kitchen!

Photos of Rosie and I

2011-09-29T20:43:00.000-04:00

Next to Princess, Rosie is the most loving calf I have had born here. She is just naturally friendly and affectionate. She is more like a puppy dog than a calf. My daughter was around this afternoon and I told her to grab the camera and take some photos of Rosie and I together.

Captions Anyone?

2011-09-28T15:01:00.002-04:00

Here are a few fun photos. I am sure you all can come up with some fun captions. Feel free to leave comments in the comments section!

Photo # 1 ~ Princess

Photo #2 ~ Apple

Photo # 3 ~ S'Mores

Photo #4 ~: Tori and Emmy

Photo #5 ~ Emmy

The Ebb and Flow of Milk Production

2011-09-27T12:15:00.001-04:00

We are not a commercial dairy. We do not have a scientifically proven feeding program that assures we get maximum production from our cows. Frankly, we don't want it that way. We prefer that our animals graze, and although we do supplement with a small amount of grain to help them maintain body condition, we do not push them for production. What this means as far as the quantity of milk is concerned, is that in the spring when the grass is lush, green and plentiful, is when cows produce the most milk. In the fall, when the grass begins to die back, the production begins to fall. Of course, we then switch over to hay, but the cows simply do better grazing on green grass.

Other factors contribute to the milk production as well. One such factor is the stage of lactation for a particular cow. As a cow gets further and further into their lactation, their milk production will drop. Currently, my cows are basically split into two groups: spring calvers and fall calvers. I do have a few stragglers that calved in summer. (And I won't have any calves born October - January.)

Another factor in the amount of milk we have is share milking. I am very adamant about letting the calves be dam raised. I believe this is how nature intended for things to be, and unlike many dairies (commercial, organic, micro, raw dairies and many family cow owners alike), I leave my calves with their dams for at least three months. This greatly affects the amount of milk that I am able to gather for human consumption. If I have a higher producing cow, then I may be able to get a gallon or two per milking over and above what the calf is taking. However, most of my cows are bred to be low producers and by the time the calf is several weeks old, they are taking all of the milk. When the calf is about two months old, I begin separating them from their dams during the day, milking the the cow in the evening, then putting the cow and calf back together for the night. This means the calf has approximately 12 hours to nurse and can continue to grow into a healthy, young bovine on their momma's milk.

The biggest factor of all to the decrease in available milk is, of course, the fact that the cows are "dried off" two months ahead of calving to give their bodies a break and allow them to prepare for the new baby.

This "ebb and flow" of milk production can lead to some stressful moments when I either have too much milk or not enough, but all in all it works out and I am able to hold to my ideals and principles. So many times, I take for granted that folks just understand why things are the way they are, until I stop to think about the fact that most people would not have any reason to know. Hopefully, this post will be educational for those who did not have a reason to know before.

Random Photos

2011-09-26T21:26:00.000-04:00

Rosie is almost eight months old now. She is spoiled rotten.

Vida loves the camera.

Rosie

Tom the Turkey

Angel Food Cake

2011-09-24T21:05:00.000-04:00

I made another round of Pumpkin (Cushaw) Custard today and had the egg whites left over from the other day when I made the recipe as well as from today. So, I decided to make an Angel Food cake. As far as I can remember, this is the first time I have ever made an Angel Food cake. I like to keep the recipes that I use here on my blog because I use this rather than using a cook book! When my internet goes out, I am lost! I have to dig out my old cook books and follow along the old fashioned way!

Original Recipe Yield 1 - 10 inch cake

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups cake flour

1 3/4 cups white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups egg whites

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

1.Beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks, and then add cream of tartar, vanilla extract, and almond extract.

2.Sift together flour, sugar, and salt. Repeat five times.

3.Gently combine the egg whites with the dry ingredients, and then pour into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan.

4.Place cake pan in a cold oven. Turn the oven on; set it to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Cook for about one hour, or until cake is golden brown.

5.Invert cake, and allow it to cool in the pan. When thoroughly cooled, remove from pan.

Angel Food Cake recipe taken from allrecipes.com

First Day of Autumn And The Last Calf Of The Year

2011-09-24T15:09:00.000-04:00

The first day of autumn brought us somewhat of a surprise. Although we knew that Midnight was due to calve in either September or October, her udder and ligaments did not give us any indication that the birth would be soon. What a suprise when I noticed her standing in the field with her calf who was already nursing. When he finished nursing, he began running circles around his momma. He is a cute little guy that I named "Mutt" due to his being 1/4 Angus 1/4 Hostein and 1/2 Mini Jersey.

We had three different bulls represented in our calves this year. One bull calf was sired by our Angus bull and one heifer was sired by the registered, standard bull Braveheart. Out of the eight calves sired by my Mini Jersey bull, Davie, three were heifers and five were bulls giving us a total of four heifers and six bull calves this year. Not a bad year.

Cushaw Sweet Bread and Cushaw Custard Recipes

2011-09-23T15:50:00.000-04:00

I last posted information on the whimsical Cushaw, a veggie that is as fun to look at as it is to eat! This post I wanted to share with you the recipes I used to make a sweet bread from the Cushaw as well as an excellent custard recipe.

Pumpkin Wheat Honey Muffins from allrecipes.com was fairly adaptable to the use of the cushaw in place of the pumpkin. Most recipes the cushaw can be substituted for pumpkin. I did find this recipe to need some additional flour. I doubled the recipe and made a pan of muffins but they were not stiff enough. I then added some flour to the remaining mixture and the mini loaves of cushaw bread I baked turned out very nice. So, my point is that you may have to adjust this recipe a bit. I have not tweaked it.

Pumpkin (Cushaw) Wheat Honey Muffins

Ingredients

1/2 cup raisins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan, or line with paper liners. Place the raisins in a cup, and add enough hot water to cover. Let stand for a few minutes to plump.

2.In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center, and put in eggs, pumpkin, oil and honey. Mix just until the dry ingredients are absorbed. Drain excess water from raisins, and stir in along with the walnuts. Spoon into muffin cups so they are about 2/3 full.

3.Bake for 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan before removing from cups.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 263
Total Fat: 13g
Cholesterol: 35mg Powered by ESHA Nutrient Database

I was very excited to find the next recipe. It originally came from Nourished Kitchens and includes fresh, from the farm ingredients. What a thrill to have it turn out perfectly for me. Mike and I age it all practically in one sitting. What was left over, I ate for breakfast the next morning!

From Food Renegade here is the recipe:

Pumpkin Custard Recipe (My version was Cushaw)

•the puree of 1 pie pumpkin, about 2 cups
•9 pastured egg yolks, beaten

•2 cups of heavy cream (preferably from grass-fed cows) (where to find raw cream)

•1/2 cup sucanat or rapadura (naturally evaporated cane sugar) (where to find natural sweeteners)

•1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

•1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

•1 tsp vanilla extract

•dash of sea salt

The How-To

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Whisk all the ingredients together until creamy.

3. Heat pumpkin mixture over a double-boiler (or make do with a glass bowl over a sauce pan containing 2 inches of boiling water) and stir continuously until thick enough to coat a wooden spoon.

4. Pour into a baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes up clean. Serve hot! (Note: I like to eat it cold!)

I did not have a double boiler so here is my "redneck version" of a double boiler. It worked great!

The only change I made in the recipe was because I do not have plastic handles on the pot I was using, I set the whole thing in the oven. I remember my grandmother making custard and putting the dish inside another dish and pouring boiling water all around it. This was my version, straight from the stove top to the oven.

The final product looked like this:

ENJOY!!!!

Be sure to let me know if you try these recipes!

Cushaws

2011-09-21T19:54:00.000-04:00

Cushaw!!!!

Before you are tempted to shout out "Bless you" let me tell you that the Cushaw is nothing to sneeze at!

I admit, before I married Mike, I had not a clue what a cushaw might be. In case there are others who are unsure, I have copied the following information from Ark of Taste:

Ark of Taste/Slow Food USA describes it as follows:

Green-striped Cushaw
cucurbita mixta
a.k.a Tennessee Sweet Potato Squash - a rare, valuable heirloom of Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi

The green-striped cushaw (cucurbita mixta) is technically a winter squash though in the American South, it also produces a spring harvest. A crookneck squash from the family Cucurbitaceae, fruits average 10 to 20 pounds, grow to be 12 to 18 inches long, and are roughly 10 inches in diameter at the bowl. The skin is whitish-green with mottled green stripes.

The flesh is light-yellow; it is mild and slightly sweet in flavor; meaty in texture and fibrous. It is sometimes called cushaw pumpkin and is often substituted for the standard, orange, jack-o-lantern pumpkin in pie-making. The cushaw has a green summer squash flavor and scent to it. It has a smoky-ness in taste and is moist without being wet. It is used for both savory and sweet dishes and is great for northern climates because it provides vitamin C for the winter and stores very well. In some Native cultures, the seeds are toasted for snacks or ground and made into sauces and moles. The flowers are stuffed and/or fried. Sometimes the flesh of the fruit is used for livestock feed.
The green-striped cushaw grows in the southern and southwestern United States. According to Gary Nabhan, “It’s a squash that came pre-historically, north from the tropics into what is the United States today.” In her book, Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations, the author Lois Ellen Frank writes that squash, including the green-striped cushaw squash, was one of the most important New World crops. The green-striped cushaw is believed to have been domesticated in Mesoamerica sometime between 7000 and 3000 B.C. Its significance endures, she writes: “One of the most popular squash amongst the Hopi is the green-striped cushaw, which is grown each year from seeds of earlier crops.” Frank also cites the Akimiel O’odham and the Tohono O’odham, whose homeland stretches from Phoenix, Arizona, to east central Sonora, Mexico, as cushaw growers. The land is some of the hottest and driest in North America; cushaw, a heat-hardy plant, is grown there with the summer rain.

In addition to the plant’s tolerance for heat, the green-striped cushaw’s large, vigorous vines are resistant to the squash vine borer, which kills other squash and pumpkin plants that aren’t protected with pesticides. This quality may account for the green-striped cushaw’s longevity—natives could count on it when other species didn’t survive. The green-striped cushaw is also noteworthy for its fortitude after harvesting: it can be stored for up to four months.

The green-striped cushaw is not necessarily in imminent danger of extinction. It remains a central ingredient to the culinary cultures of peoples beyond the southwestern Native Americans. Making cushaw butter is a family tradition in Tennessee, and all around Appalachia cooks prefer to use cushaws in their pumpkin pies.

There is a long Louisiana Creole tradition of similarly sweetening the squash for use in pies and turnovers; sometimes it is simply eaten warm, straight from the pot. The Picayune Original Creole Cookbook, originally published in 1900, contains a recipe for pumpkin pie, or “Tarte de Citrouille”; the first line reads, “Use the delicate Cushaws for this recipe.” In his encyclopedia of Louisiana cooking traditions, the chef John Folse says that old Creole and Cajun cooks call the spiced and sweetened cushaw by the name Juirdmon.

Lolis Elie, a New Orleans writer, fondly remembers the cushaw pies that his grandmother made from harvests in Maringouin, Louisiana; he finds a worthy substitute in the cushaw pies that Francis Chauvin sells at a farmers’ market in New Orleans (before his death in 2004, Chauvin’s husband grew the cushaws she used for her pies), but Elie laments that the squash is otherwise difficult to come by. “You get the impression that the few farmers who actually grow cushaw don’t expect to sell many of them. When I see them, I tend to buy several at a time for fear that I might not see them again,” he writes in a 2006 article published in the Times-Picayune.

Gary Nabhan backs up Lolis Elie’s lament about the difficulty of obtaining grown cushaws with his own observation: “It’s not that the fruit can’t be found; it’s that they are being produced in such small numbers that it seems unlikely that future generations of farmers will find it worthwhile to cultivate them.”

In summary, the green-striped cushaw can be tasty if prepared with care; it is preferred by many cooks in the American South over the standard pumpkin for use in pumpkin pie. It is a hardy plant, one that tolerates heat and resists the deadly vine borer; it can be grown easily in vegetable gardens, and it can be stored for an unusually long time. While the green-striped cushaw is not endangered per se, it tends to be grown in small batches, often for private use, and is not widely available in retail markets. It is a prized foodstuff in various culinary cultures, including to some southwest Native Americans, to the southern Appalachians, and to the Louisiana Creoles and Italians.

This is by far the most delightful of the pumpkin family, and the way the Creoles like it best is to quarter it and cook it in the rind, after removing the seeds. Put in oven and bake till it may be pierced with a fork. Serve it in the rind, with butter on top.

Another way: Peel and cut into small pieces and steam till quite done. Do not add water as it contains quite enough. Mash and salt and pepper, and flavor with sugar, nutmeg or cinnamon.

Stir in a lump of butter, and serve.

I prepared a Cushaw today and used it in several recipes and have plenty left over for future use. I thought I would share with you the steps I used and a couple of the recipes. Basically, you can use cushaws in place of pumpkins in recipes.

First, I cut the Cushaw in half.

I then took out as many of the seeds as I could with my hands and then scraped the insides with a spoon.

I covered two large cookie sheets with aluminum foil and placed the cushaw with the cut side down on the cookie sheets. I baked the cushaws in a preheated 350 degree oven.

The meat in the scooped out portion of the cushaw cooked much faster than the "tail" portion so I took the cushaw out of the oven, scooped out the meat that was cooked, cut the tail off and put it back in the oven to cook some more. (CAUTION: VERY HOT! BE CAREFUL!!!)

I used a metal ice cream scoop to remove the meat from the outer rind.

The final step was to run the cushaw meat through the food processor. At this point, your cushaw is ready to be used in any recipe in which you would normally use pumpkin!

UPDATE ON THE ROSIE PROJECT

2011-09-19T13:41:00.001-04:00

Vida, the Jersey heifer up for auction to raise money for a baby in Guatemala who needs cleft palate surgeries.

I apologize for being negligent with this blog. I had anticipated getting a fresh start with the fall and keeping everyone up to date on farm happenings as well as posting a lot of photos. However, we had some changes with our internet service and are currently learning to live without service other than through my smart phone. That keeps me from posting here regularly. Today, I am at the library for a bit and thought I would update on the Rosie Project.

Currently, the highest bid on the calf we are auctioning to raise money for this project is at $800. Thank you so much to those who have bid. We have just shy of one month left on the auction.

In addition, with donations that have come to me and money that I have been able to save, we currently have $1200 set aside for this project. I have not yet checked with World Help to see what monies have come in directly to them, but will check with them soon.

I have also received a message from the two different families who were selling animals and donating toward the Rosie project with their proceeds. The one family has successfully sold their bull and heifers and the other family has sold one of their gilts. We are so thankful to these families for sacrificing to help Rosie.

Thank you to everyone who has donated, prayed, and/or shared the Rosie project with others! Rosie's life will be changed forever because so many people have fallen in love with her and wish to give her a better life.

If you would like to donate directly to World Help for this project, please click here to go the their web page.

Percentage Miniature Jersey Bull In North Carolina~Part of proceeds to go to Rosie Project

2011-09-03T11:25:00.001-04:00

A military family in North Carolina has a percentage Miniature Jersey bull that they would like to sell and donate a portion of the money to the Rosie Project. Information follows:

Eddie is a 75% mini jersey bull (the other 25% is standard jersey). His sire is Son of Fat Louie. Naturally polled. He has a great disposition and is easy to handle. He's currently 17 months old. He's halter and lead trained. Loaded easily when moved.

$600.. OR BRING RIGHT OFFER!

In addition, they have two percentage miniature heifers that they would sell along with the bull.

If you are interested, let me know and I will put you in touch with the seller.

THESE ANIMALS HAVE BEEN SOLD! THANK YOU! 9/19/2011

Red Wattle Pigs for Sale in Texas~ Proceeds to benefit the Rosie Project

2011-08-31T15:43:00.002-04:00

People are coming together to think of ways to raise money for sweet, little Rosie. I have been contacted by a dear family who lives in Texas who have three Red Wattle pigs they want to sell and donate the proceeds to the Rosie Project.

Kristi writes:

This project is near and dear to the hearts of my family as there are 6 adopted children from Guatemala with us. Two are my brothers and 4 are nieces & nephews.

My parents would like to help Rosie by offering 3 registered RW piglets for sale. 2 gilts, 1 boar. They were born in January. They're offered for sale at $250/ea. All proceeds will go to Tammy for little Rosie. Delivery is available.

Contact Number is 936-254-3361.

Kristi and family, I can't thank you enough for the sacrifice that you are making to help Rosie.

ONE GUILT HAS BEEN SOLD!

Update on the Rosie Project

2011-08-26T16:46:00.001-04:00

I received confirmation from WorldHelp today that they are able to receive donations for the cleft palate surgeries for Rosie. (Please see prior posts for information on this project.)

To contribute directly to World Help, send a check to the following address and be sure to write on the check and include a note that this is for the Rosie Project. When sent in this manner, all the money will go directly towards Rosie's surgeries. In the event someone should step forward and contribute the full amount for her surgery, any monies already collected or additional monies will go towards cleft palate surgeries for another child in need.

World Help
P.O. Box 501
Forest, VA 24551

I have also started a Rosie project facebook page. If you do contribute directly to World Help, I would love it if you would send me a message or post on the Facebook page about your contribution so we can track the progress as it happens. If you wish to remain anonymous but are willing for us to post your information, then please let me know and I will not mention you by name. If you don't want to be "noticed" at all, I completely honor and respect that decision as well.

If you wish to send contributions directly to me, you can do so by sending them to the following address:

Tammy Cupp
1103 Quick's Mill Rd.
Staunton, VA 24401

Donations made directly to World Help are tax deductible.

Most of all, we covet your thoughts and prayers.

Thank you so much!

Tammy

Edited 9/31: World Help has now made it possible to donate directly online. Go here to donate.

New Photo of Vida

2011-08-25T10:13:00.001-04:00

New Photo of Vida taken with my camera phone this morning. I am auctioning Vida to raise money to help pay for cleft palate surgeries for a baby in Guatemala. Please see previous post for details!

I am also working with World Help to hopefully set up a way to make donations directly to them for the surgeries. Otherwise, if anyone is interested in sending a donation, you can get in touch with me and I will send you my address.

I know not everyone is able to contribute and others may have projects/ministries that they are already supporting. We would covet your thoughts and prayers and love to have you share the information with others. You never know when someone might see Rosie's story and feel that participating in this project would be a blessing to them and to her.

Thank you and may you feel God's blessings upon you.

Online Auction of a Registered Jersey Heifer for Charity

2011-08-22T14:57:00.008-04:00

I recently made a trip to Guatemala and while I was there I met a beautiful little girl named Rosie. Rosie is about four months old and always happy and smiling. She has big, beautiful, dark eyes and thick, dark hair that I loved to run my fingers through. I fell in love with little Rosie and although her smile is already gorgeous, I would love to be able to help her get the surgeries she needs to correct the cleft palate with which she was born. The cost of the surgeries (three of them) will be $6500. I have already saved $500 toward this goal but I have a long way to go yet.

As I was contemplating how to help Rosie, it came to me that there was a very special little heifer calf that was born on a special day that was meant to help.

Before going to Guatemala, my small registered Jersey cow gave birth to a heifer calf on the 16th of July. The 16th is a significant day for me because my son, Joshua, passed away on the 16th. Each month, when the 16th of the month comes around, I can either choose to focus on the positive or I can choose to let the day get me down. On July 16th, when the little heifer calf was born, I chose to see her birth as a blessing and I rejoiced in the joy of the day in spite of the pain. I wanted to name the calf a Spanish name in honor of my upcoming trip to Guatemala. My focus this year has been on life. Back in January I decided that rather than have a New Year's resolution, I would have a word that I would focus on for the year. I thought that the word life, translated into Spanish would be a wonderful name for my new heifer calf born exactly 34 months to the day after my son passed away.

When I named my calf La Vida, I did not realize that the mission we would be visiting in Guatemala was named Esperanza de Vida. In English this means "Hope of Life". How fitting that my new heifer calf was named Vida and the mission was named Esperanza de Vida!

In contemplating what I could do for Rosie and in thinking about this gift that had been given to me right before my trip, I came to the conclusion that La Vida was on loan to me for a short time so that I could sell her and use the money to help Rosie.

As those of you know who have followed my blog for a long time, or who know me personally, I don't sell heifer calves. I keep them and raise them up as replacement heifers for my herd. I have never been able to part with one of my babies. However, Rosie's surgery is much more important than my keeping Vida and I know this is how it was meant to be.

So, what I am going to do is offer Vida up for bid. Since I have never done something like this before, I will do my best to make this go as smoothly as possible and present all the information for those interested, but if I miss anything, don't hesitate to ask for clarification.

I started with a minimum bid of $450 and have already had a bid of $500. The bidding will be in increments of $25. I will take bids now until the 16th of October 2011. At that time, she will be 3 months old and I will take her off her momma and begin weaning her. Depending on how well she does, she should be weaned by the first of November or so.

Price will include health certificate for any out of state buyers. She will be up to date on vaccinations and will have her horns removed. Buyers will be responsible for their own shipping and transportation costs. Buyer will be responsible to pick up and pay for heifer no later than the middle of November or the heifer will be sold to the next highest bidder.

The dam is registered as Aspen Grove Drake Hershey and the sire is Keystone Duke Braveheart. Heifer will be registered with the American Jersey Cattle Association.

The dam is an easy keeper and a sweet girl. She was sold to me because she was too small to fit in with the herd, being shorter and more petite than the rest of the herd. The dam gives about four gallons of milk a day on a grass based feeding program. She is fed a small amount of grain in the stanchion while being milked. Dam has a very nice udder.

I will take bids either by comments to this post, or by email, or on my facebook page.

Thank you for your consideration and I would love if you would share this post with everyone you can. My goal is to make as much money as possible from this sale in order to help Rosie get the surgeries she needs.
I will update here from time to time so that folks know where the bidding is currently.

If you would like more information on my trip to Guatemala, you can watch this video or you can view my trip blog.

Additional information received today (8-29) from the Vetrinarian from whom I bought Vida's dam regarding the sire of the heifer calf being auctioned:

Tammy, For those who are interested in La Vida, the sire, Keystone Duke Braveheart was just tested genomically (DNA test) and the results place him in the top 10 bulls currently being marketed. He will be going to Genex to be collected and marketed. La Vida should be a nice purchase for the winning bidder.

BIDDING HISTORY
Updated 8-22-2011 with a bid from Helen for $600.00 (8-22-2011)

Updated at 6:49 pm (same day) with a bid from Marion for $625.

Updated 8-2-2011 with a bid of $ 650 from Deanna

Updated 8-2-2011 with a bid of $675 from Dr. Parks

Updated 8-3-2011 with a bid of $700 from Deanna
Bid of $725 from Dr. Parks
$800 fromDeanna
Updated 10-2-2011 with a bid of $825 from Dr. Parks
Updated 10-2-2011 at 5 PM with a bid of $1000 from Deanna.

New Blog

2011-08-04T14:57:00.000-04:00

I am considering retiring this blog. It seems I just can't come up with the time or the posts like I use to. I am not going to make any decisions on that just yet, as I would like to see what the fall brings and if I can return to this blog.

In the mean time, for those who are interested, I have started a new blog sharing photos, stories, and my thoughts regarding my recent trip to Guatemala and the well that we were blessed to be able to provide (through the generous gifts of many)in memory of my son Joshua.

If you would like to follow the new blog, you can do so by clicking on the link Joshua's Well.

Thank you to all who have faithfully followed me here, some of you for several years. For farm updates, until I am able to make a decision on the blog, you can join us on facebook.

Tammy

Fresh Salsa Recipe

2011-07-14T14:22:00.001-04:00

•3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
•2 small cloves garlic, minced
•3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeds removed, chopped
•2 hot chile peppers, Serrano or Jalapeno, finely chopped
•2 to 3 tablespoons minced cilantro
•1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons lime juice (or you can use whey left over from making cheese for a lacto fermented salsa)
•salt and pepper to taste

Mix and chill before serving.

Note: I do not seed and peel my tomatoes. I just chop them up and use them as is.

If you want a milder salsa, you can leave out the peppers.

Update on Joshua's Well

2011-04-29T11:21:00.000-04:00

An Update on Joshua's Well:

My Guatemala trip is just round the corner in July! I am getting so excited! Not only has enough money come in to provide for a deep water well, but we have close to $2000 over and above that amount that will be designated to a specific need. (We are trying to determine where there is the greatest need and give towards whatever that might be.) My heart is continually blessed knowing that so many people have given sacrificially to make Joshua's memorial and Joshua's Well a reality. Working towards this memorial has done so much to help give me focus and help me as I walk through this valley of grief. The grief never goes away, but becomes a constant companion with which one learns how to coexist and live. Now as I focus on these final months before the trip, there are a number of items that I can take along with me to give to the orphans or to the elderly that are in need in the rural areas of Guatemala. I know there are many needs right here with in the US and if your heart is telling you to contribute to other needs and not to this specific needs of the folks in Guatemala, then follow your heart. However, I wanted to list some of the items that would be useful to take along on the trip and distrubute to those in need in Guatemala, in case anyone feels led to contribute.

o Candy for the kids

o Small toys/stuffed animals/balls

o Hair ties for girls

o Underwear for children

o Kitchen towels for the kitchen workers

o infant/baby clothing, especially Onesies (Rescue Center)

o infant/baby toys (Rescue Center)

o burp cloths, bibs, etc. (Rescue Center)

o children's clothing and shoes, all sizes (Orphanage)

o lotions, soaps, toothbrushes, etc. (Elderly Home)

My heart is full and hurting for those all over the world who are in need, including those in our own country, especially after the devastating tornadoes in the south. So, search your heart and decide where it is you are to help and follow your heart. Maybe your calling is just to give your neighbor a hug. Whatever it is, I pray you are blessed in your giving.

Much love,

Tammy

Baby Number Seven

2011-03-26T21:57:00.000-04:00

Baby Number Seven arrived today and it's another bull calf. I was disappointed as I really wanted a heifer calf out of this cow, However, I could not be too upset because the calf is adorable and momma and baby are doing great.

Mayfield is my 13 year old Miniature Jersey and last year she lost her calf after a difficult delivery when it was born dead (a heifer, of course). I saw Mayfield pushing and ran out to the field to assist her if she needed it but no help was necessary. It was a text book delivery and the calf jumped up and began nursing within a half hour of being born. This makes cow number ten for me to milk, and when I am milking by myself, it takes me about three hours per milking to milk and feed. My days begin around 6 am and usually don't end until around 11 pm.

We have a month before another calf is due, but I have three goats that are expecting babies in April. All three are first fresheners.

New Life: Mayfield and Baby Bull Calf

Rosie

Prince Charming

Mayfield's Calf (not yet named) and Emmy's Calf, Zach.

Chip and Stormy

Mason

Baby Number Six

2011-03-25T21:57:00.000-04:00

Emmy, a registered standard Jersey, calved on Tuesday, the 22nd with a bull calf sired by our Mini Jersey bull. I named him Zachariah and call him Zach.

I am now milking nine cows.

Moon over the Blue Ridge..............

2011-03-19T20:15:00.000-04:00

From NPR:

Get outside if you can Saturday evening and look up. Something that only happens a couple times in most people's lives should be putting on a pretty good show (and we can all use a break from the news of late).

As NASA's Science News explains, a "super moon" will be dominating the sky.

Basically, there's a fairly rare happy coincidence: a full moon just as our lunar neighbor's orbit brings it as close to Earth as it gets.

So the moon will appear much larger than normal, especially when it's close to the horizon and what NASA calls the "moon illusion" sort of tricks our eyes into making it seem especially big.

At NationalGeographic.com, astronomer Geza Gyuk of the Adler Planetarium in Chicago says the super moon will be visible "pretty much any time during the night." But he recommends that we "look for the full moon as it rises above the eastern horizon as the sun sets below the western horizon — it will be a beautiful and inspiring sight."

Scrumptious Saturday ~ Sausage Stuffing Balls

2011-03-19T15:36:00.000-04:00

So, I found this handy, free application for my Android phone. It is from Allrecipes.com and allows a person to make a few choices as to what they are looking for in a recipe (such as type of meat or other recipe, how long you want to spend cooking it, and whther you want a main course, salad, appetizer, etc.) I can actually plan meals while I am milking cows by using this application on my phone. ;-) This morning I was looking for something to take to a church dinner tomorrow and found a recipe I thought looked really good for meatballs made from pork sausage and stove top stuffing. I don't eat it often, but I am crazy about stove top stuffing. So, I figured this recipe would be very tasty. I wasn't disappointed. Of course, I had to sample them...................and sample them.................and then sample them some more!

Sausauge Stuffing Balls

Ingredients

1/2 cup herb-seasoned dry bread stuffing mix

3/4 cup hot water

1 pound ground pork sausage

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1 egg, beaten

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2.In a medium bowl, mix herb-seasoned dry bread stuffing mix with hot water. Gradually mix in pork until blended with the stuffing mix. Stir in onion, celery, egg and baking powder.

3.Shape the mixture into 1 inch balls. Place the balls on a large baking sheet, cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven 15 minutes.

4.Remove foil. Raise oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking 25 minutes, until golden brown.

Taken from Allrecipes.

Baby #5

2011-03-15T09:27:00.000-04:00

Mason Dixon a bull calf out of Dixie

New Babies

2011-03-13T21:53:00.000-04:00

Or, why I have not had time to blog:

Sugar's calf, Chip Angus/Jersey/Dutch Belted Cross

Edy's (Riveview Rhonda) calf, Rosie. Foundation Mini.

Liza's calf, Stormy. 3/4 Mini Jersey 1/8th Charolais and 1/8th Angus

Princess' calf, Prince Charming. Foundation Miniature Jersey.

Simply Sunday in Photos

2011-02-27T08:22:00.000-05:00

Prince Charming

Rosie

Spencer was jealous and wanted his picture taken as well.

Scrumptious Saturday ~ Fried Mozzarella

2011-02-26T15:57:00.000-05:00

My poor husband always wants to know if I have to take pictures of everything we eat. The answer, of course, is mostly yes. ;-)

We had fried Mozzarella last night and I thought I would share my method here with you all. I absolutely love fried Mozzarella. I believe I could eat it every day and never tire of it. I do limit myself, however, to every once in a while instead of daily!

First you must start with homemade Mozzarella. If you need a recipe for homemade Mozzarella, I highly recommend this one.

After slicing your pre-made Mozzarella, then you want to dip it in some slightly beaten eggs. Eggs that come from free range or pastured hens are the very best.

The next step is to roll the egg coated cheese in Italian bread crumbs. You can use the store bought variety, or you can make your own bread crumbs and season with Italian seasonings. I used the store bought kind.

If you like, you can repeat by rolling the cheese in the eggs and then the bread crumbs again.

It is best if you take your Mozzarella, at this point, and put it in the freezer. By freezing the coated cheese, you will have more success in keeping more crumbs on the cheese and less in the bottom of your pan.

When you get ready to cook your Mozzarella, heat your grease and then drop the cheese in the pan. I like to use coconut oil for frying my Mozzarella. Cook on one side and then turn over and cook on the other side. When the cheese starts melting out of the sides, you know that it is ready!

You can also bake the breaded Mozzarella.

It is very messy and leaves a pan that can be hard to clean but so worth it!

Enjoy!

Friday's Feature Farmer and Misc.

2011-02-25T13:34:00.000-05:00

Friday's Featured Farmer is conspicuously missing from my blog today. That is because I have no more volunteers to write a guest post for me. If you have been intending to do so and have not, you can still send me your entry and I will be happy to post it on a future Friday. For all of those who have taken the time to contribute, I want to thank you. I have enjoyed reading your stories as I know others have as well.

It's also very evident that I have completely dropped the ball on keeping up with my blog on a daily basis. Dare I strive to do weekly updates? It's a thought, but I don't know that I will even keep up with that commitment. I am a writer, nonecessarily a good one, but a writer at heart. To fully express myself, I need to write it out. Writing is a release for me and a way that I can express myself. I do not speak half as well as I write because the thoughts and words get jumbled in my head. But when I write, they just flow. However, as much as I want to have the time to contribute to my blog, I am finding that the increasing demands of my ever growing farming commitments is taking most of my time. So, I am afraid posts will be "hit and miss" for a while.

I do try to keep my facebook page updated throughout the day. It's easy for me to post a sentence or two from my phone if nothing else. But, for those who don't have a facebook account and don't follow my farm page, I will try to recap the last week or two.

Little Rosie was born on February 3rd. She is an AMJA registered Mini. The birth itself went very well. In fact, I had gone out to check on her dam, Edy, and knew she would calve soon but thought she would wait until morning. I went to bed and the next morning I glanced in the barn and saw Edy lying down next to Princess in the stall. I started to leave and noticed that Edy's udder looked full and I thought to myself that she would calve soon. Again, I started to leave the barn only to see a little, red head peeking out between Edy and Princess. The morning was a cold one and Little Rose was tucked between the two adult bovines and warm and safe. She was completely dried off and had already been on her feet.

On Saturday, February 5th, Sugar calved. I blogged about that here.

On Sunday, February 6th, we had a downed cow in the beef herd. It was an old Hereford cow, Doris, who is somewhat of a pet. Mike was able to get the hip lift and get her up. We think she is getting close to 20 years old. She is 18 or 19 at least.

On the 16th, Princess calved. Princess was the first Jersey heifer born on our farm over two years ago and her birth was a particular blessing to me. She broke the "bull curse" that we had for several years and she brought me a lot of joy after my son's death. The birth of Princess' calf went well. She calved without assistance. However, all of the drama began shortly after. Princess did not finish cleaning her little guy off. I found him a couple hours later when we went out to milk and he was cold and had not nursed. We tried to get him to nurse but momma was having no part of it and baby was too weak and did not have the agressive nature to get up and get it. We worked and worked and got a little bit of hand-milked colostrum down him. At one point, I had to drip the clostrum in his mouth slowly. I could feel his strength returning as he began to try to suck and then the sucking got stronger. Eventually we were able to get him to nurse but momma still was not a willing participant. We had to tie her up and restrain her every time he needed to eat. Finally after four days of this, Princess got the picture and started allowing him to nurse.

The very same day that Princess calved, Tori aborted her calf. She was seven months along and aborted a perfect little bull calf. Tori did come into milk and so we began milking her as well. It was so sad listening to her cry over her aborted baby.

So, within a week's time we had three heifers to train to milk. Tori is the only one who has been particularly sweet. Princess and Sugar have given us a fit with kicking and being stubborn. Things are starting to settle down now, although we are still dealing with some kicking.

We have had a total of nine calves born in the beef herd and we did have one that did not make it at birth. We have several heifers give birth in the beef herd and they have been a bit reluctant to take their babies, but with time and persistence, they have all accepted their babies.

Mike and I are both getting over colds/virus/illness that has been plaguing us since Christmas. Always healthy and not needing to resort to antibiotics in the last four or five years, I kept resisting going to the doctor, but finally gave in. We are much better now and I am looking forward to another five or more years without being sick! (Hopefully)

ButterCupp was found to be open (not bred) and we had to make the decision to cull her. I did not want to take her to the stock yards and wanted a humane ending for her life. So, we loaded her onto the trailer which she did sweetly and willingly and took her to the butcher. The meat is being donated to the local Food Bank so that even in death, she will provide nourishment for those in need. It was a sad day and the first time I have had to cull one of my Jersey girls. Sweet ButterCupp will always be remembered and loved.

Elsie, is going back to her original home. Elsie came to us not quite two months ago. Her former owners missed her so much and decided that they would take her back and use her for breeding purposes rather than milk her. While we will miss her, it will free up some much needed space for us here and we are happy that she will be reunited with those who love her and raised her.

The saddest and most difficult part of the last week has been the death of a friend's wife. The friend is a dairy farmer and the wife was helping her own farming father hitch up a plow to a tractor at the family farm. In a terrible accident in which the tractor rolled backwards, she was run over and killed. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with this family who has suffered this loss.

So, as you can see, the last few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotional ups and downs.

Friday's Featured Farmer ~ Joanne in Minnesota

2011-02-18T04:05:00.002-05:00

For years I have struggled against calling myself a 'farmer.' I'm sure if I went down to the local cafe and told one of the old seed-capped gentlemen that I was a farmer, he would crinkle his brows and frown at me and my claim. In this day and age in Minnesota, being a 'farmer' means growing corn, beans or wheat. If not crops, then being a 'farmer' means hundreds if not thousands of holsteins, angus, leghorns or chester whites. 'Farmer' means tractors, semis, grain bins and elevators. Lots of dollars and lots of land.

I have none of these things. Actually, I do have three white leghorns in my chicken coop. But I don't think the ten-eggs-a-day that they (and our other mixed-breed hens) provide qualify as a major egg-producing operation. Particularly in the fall when it drops down to three-eggs-a-day if we're lucky. So how, then, can I call myself a farmer?

I think farming is more about the 'why' than the 'how many.' It's more than how many acres you till, or how many rumens you feed, or how many engines you run. Farming is about how your heart leaps into your throat in the spring when the snow melts and the dark, cool earth bares itself to the sun. It's how you rejoice in the slime and blood covering your arms when you welcome a newly born calf, lamb or kid into the world. It's how you measure the passage of time by sunlight and temperature and gestations, rather than by months or weeks or holidays.

I do all of these things. So, that's how I can call myself a farmer.

Of course, I still wouldn't go into the local cafe and say all this outloud to the crowd of old-timers gathered there. I may be a farmer, but I'm not crazy. Not that kind of crazy, at least.

Our family lives on fourteen acres in the prairie of western Minnesota. We moved out here eight years ago from St. Paul, where my husband and I had been raised in very non-farming suburbia. Our house and farm were built in 1912. The original big red barn collapsed around 1980; we have built a modest pole shed in its place. The original hog barn, chicken coop and granary still stand.

We have five angora goats in our pole shed, and thirty chickens in our coop. We have a large garden, growing larger by the year as I get a handle on the weed problems that plague us. We try to use organic methods and local, organic feed as much as we can. We eat the eggs ourselves and so far have kept all the mohair from the goats. This summer we will start selling veges and homemade soaps at the farmers market, our first branching into the world of official farm revenue.

Our three sons help us out, as well as a ten- and seven- and five-year old can. Owen is mastering the techniques of pushing a heavily laden wheel barrow. Graham is learning the difference between weeds and seedlings in the garden. And Benjamin is learning how best to scoop grain from the storage bin into the chicken feeder. I don't force them to help--I want them to learn to love the farm on their own, not because I told them they had to. Farming is hard work, and learning to love hard work is a skill that comes later in life. Resentment is something you can learn at any age. They all love harvest time, though -- pulling tomatoes from the fine, digging potato from the soil, collecting eggs from the nest. Who wouldn't love that?

I do a lot of food preservation--canning, freezing, and a bit of dehydrating. We probably have five years' worth of jams and jellies and applesauce in our basement pantry. I am still learning how to eat more locally and seasonally, though. It is an ongoing process, like most things on this farm. And I am still learning how to juggle all of this, all of this farming stuff, while maintaining an off-farm job and putting three boys through school and balancing a tight budget. Every year we try new things; some of them work, and some of them don't. We are learning. We are farming.

And it's people like Tammy, the lovely host of this blog, who make farming so joyful -- she has such a wonderful heart, so willing to share her experiences and her love. Thank you Tammy! And thanks to all of the other farmers who have told their tale here on Fridays. Thank the heavens for the internet, where we are all neighbors and help eachother as needed. I have enjoyed reading about all of you, you are all inspirations to me. Happy farming!

********************************

Thank you so much for your delightful post, Joanne!

Joanne hosts a lovely blog called 14 Acres that you can access through this link.

Drop Biscuits

2011-02-13T16:12:00.000-05:00

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening (I use lard or butter)

2/3 cup milk (raw milk)

1 egg (free range, of course)

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk milk and egg. Stir into crumb mixture just until moistened.

Drop by heaping spoonfuls 2 in. apart onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

Sugar Calved!

2011-02-13T04:47:00.000-05:00

Without repeating the story of Sugar ( you can read the post, I Am A Gambler, at this link), let me just say that it was a joy and a blessing to welcome her new little bull calf into the world yesterday. He was sired by an Angus bull and is quite a big boy. He has a white tip on his tail, a white spot on his belly and a white ring around one ankle paying tribute to the tiny bit of Dutch Belted blood in his pedigree.

We milked Sugar by hand yesterday evening and she did very well coming into the stanchion. She never hesitated. She is a great mother, seems very relaxed, has been very calm around us and other than kicking a bit while being milked, seems to be doing great. It's great when stories have a happy ending and for Sugar, and for us, this is just the beginning instead of what could have very well been the end for her. I am glad we gave her a chance. I am glad I followed my gut.

Friday's Featured Farmer~ Marion in Afton, Virginia

2011-02-11T14:21:00.000-05:00

Marion and I became friends almost instantly when we met the first time. We just had a connection through our animals and through our similar beliefs on different levels. When I received a copy of Marion's sermon for last Sunday, I asked her if I could use it for my Friday's Featured Farmer post and she graciously allowed me to do so. Read it, and I think you will see why.

*****************************************************************************

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany; February 6, 2011

The Rev. Marion E. Kanour; Trinity Episcopal Church, Boonsboro

“Jesus said, ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.’” --an excerpt from Matthew 5:13-20

There is a long-standing debate about the use of this salt metaphor. It appears in both Matthew and Luke. Some scholars say the authors know salt can’t lose its saltiness—so the metaphor is actually saying, “Remember who you are! You follow Christ. You’re baptized—marked as Christ’s own forever. That’s part of you now, so be the person you’re called to be.” But other scholars say that’s a post-modern perspective that doesn’t take into account the reality of Jesus’ day. Yes, sodium chloride is a stable compound that, in pure form, doesn’t lose its saltiness. But the salt of Jesus’ day wasn’t, for the most part, pure. It was harvested from salt marshes and salt seas and was often sold without being cleaned. As the organic matter containing the salt was removed, that matter was “thrown underfoot”, since it had “lost its saltiness”, since literally the salt had been taken from it. In that case, the metaphor could be saying, “Don’t stray from the essence of what it means to follow Christ. You’ll be of no value to the movement. How can we change the world, if you lose your faith?” Or to quote the other metaphor in today’s gospel reading, “How can we change the world, if you hide your light so no one can see it?” So, one interpretation says, “It’s within you, part of you, can never be separated from you, so act congruently!” The other perspective says, “It’s your choice: follow him or not; but if you don’t follow him you’re wasting your life. Be salty and let your light shine!”

So, does it matter which interpretation you choose? Who cares whether it’s nature or nurture? Does it matter whether the soul incarnates hard-wired to love or is it enough to be able to choose love? Do you believe a mystical transformation takes place at baptism, changing the nature of the baptized so that they are truly Christ’s own forever? Or is baptism simply an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace that we’re free to leave behind without damage to our souls? In others words: are we really free to choose our destiny or does it only seem that way? Does it matter? Aren’t we just going to try to live our lives the best way we can regardless of whether salt can lose its saltiness? Probably. And so, what’s the best way to live our lives? Salty, with our lights shining so all can see, says today’s gospel. Is that true?

Elizabeth VanDeventer of Davis Creek Farm in Nelson County believes it is. She showed me that to me again this past Thursday, as together we took our steer, Elmer, to the meat processing facility in Monroe. He was a companion cow for his cousin, Elsie and was a wonderful protector for Elsie’s calf, Beau. Elsie and Beau are now both at a small, caring dairy farm in Staunton, Virginia. We get milk from there each week, so know first-hand, the loving attention that herd receives. We’re at peace with the destinies of Elsie and Beau. But, then came the hard reality—the destiny for which Elmer, as a steer, had always been headed.

They say never name anything you intend to eat. I say they’re wrong. We loved Elmer for 3 ½ years as fully as we love any of our animals. We really knew Elmer and found joy in his being. But, as a result of letting ourselves love him, it was hard to load him on the trailer. Hard to drive to Monroe. Hard to leave him there with his water and hay, knowing that in the morning, though his end would be quick, he would nonetheless be gone from us. It was because of Elizabeth VanDeventer that the experience, though difficult, will stand as one of the most transformative experiences of my life.

Elizabeth has a large farm in Nelson County where she has a herd of beef cattle. They’re grass-fed, humanely-treated and loved by Elizabeth, her husband, Tim, and their three small boys. Each cow in their large herd has a name. And, in time, each steer will go to the meat processing facility to provide income for their family and food for their grateful customers. Elizabeth has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from UNC, Chapel Hill. She has observed farming practices in this country, in France and in Africa and in the process of observing, she was, herself, transformed. She came to realize what native Americans have long known: show care and gratitude to the animal who gives its life for you and you and the animal will both be blessed. No feed lots. No emotional distancing to save yourself from pain. But a willingness to love as fully and openly as possible.

I’d tried to prepare myself for Thursday evening’s event. I talked with Elmer during the day and he let me scratch him behind his ears, nudging me for more attention as I turned to fill his water trough and give him more hay. But when Elizabeth pulled up in her truck and we stood together in the pasture hitching our trailer to her Ford 350, I could feel my anxiety building. Elizabeth noticed and said with calm reassurance, “We’re going to do this together. Put yourself into the work. Don’t think about what you’re doing. Instead, put your heart into it. It’ll help you and it’ll help Elmer.”

It took two hours to load him into the trailer. Each time I grew frustrated or impatient, Elizabeth would say, “We have all night to do this. Let Elmer take his time. You’ve loved him all his life; don’t stop loving him now.” And so, we’d re-group and try a different approach to help Elmer decide to take that step up into the trailer. When at last I truly relaxed and connected with Elmer, instead of connecting with my impatience to be done with it, I suddenly felt a deep gratitude for the animal and gently touched him saying, “Thank you, Elmer.” And then the gentle giant calmly stepped into the trailer. Elizabeth smiled knowingly. I wept.

The drive to the facility was long and by the time we arrived it was very late and cold. There were no other animals present. Late night arrivals simply load the animal into a holding area and early the next morning the animal meets its fate. Elmer wouldn’t leave the trailer. The holding pen was clean, the area well-lighted and there were smells of hay and a nearby cow herd to comfort him. But Elmer was taking his time. Again my impatience surfaced. Again Elizabeth cautioned me saying, “Don’t stop loving him. Honor him even now.” And as I relaxed and spoke gently to him, Elmer lumbered from the trailer into the pen. I thought my heart would break, because now had come the moment I most dreaded—the goodbye. We gave Elmer water and hay. Then Elizabeth took me aside and said, “Give me some time with him and then you come and give him your blessing.” She stood with him for about 20 minutes and then nodded for me to come. I blessed him as I bless all animals on St. Francis Day…and then said goodbye.

I realize not everyone will insist on buying food from farms that treat their animals in the way Elizabeth does. But we will never buy feedlot beef again. I know, first-hand, the difference humane treatment makes in the life of the cow and in the souls of those caring for the cows. It is, I believe, part of what it means to keep your salt salty and to let your light shine. It ‘s how we change the world from a place where animals are viewed as commodities to a place where all God’s creatures are honored.

It can be hard to love, hard to stay salty, hard to let our lights shine when in so doing we make ourselves vulnerable to pain. But without love, all is lost…and we but clanging cymbals. Jesus knew that. So do we. May we choose love as often as we are able. Amen.

Elmer, Beau and Elsie in the following photo:

Uncle Elmer watching over Beau

T. Cupp's Waverly Rose

2011-02-08T15:36:00.001-05:00

Edy (Riverview Rhonda) had a heifer calf on February 3rd. I have owned Edy for five years and this is the first heifer calf she has given me. From what I can tell from her past history, this is the first heifer she has ever given birth to. Momm and baby are doing well.

Scrumptious Saturday ~ Pork Tenderloin

2011-02-05T10:47:00.001-05:00

We had the most delicious pork tenderloin for supper last night. The tenderloin came from our humanely raised hogs and was tender and juicy.

Simple but oh so good recipe for baked tenderloin:

Italian bread crumbs
coconut oil

Put coconut oil into bread crumbs and then press onto both sides of tenderloin. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes (or until there is no longer any pink in the center of the meat).

Enjoy!!!

Friday's Featured Farmer~Tammy at East River Farm in Virginia

2011-02-04T12:15:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone,

I want to first thank Tammy for allowing us to be a featured guest farm on her blog. I appreciate all her time and energy and she has been a great resource in my many times of need.

Our farm is called East River Farm. We are located in beautiful Bluefield, VA. Our farm is on the East River Mountain and we are at an elevation of about 3000 feet. The Mountain continues to ascend behind our house another 1500 feet. My husband, Harry, and I were married on March 21, 2008 right here on the East River Mountain. We rode our horses back up to the spot that he had presented me with a beautiful engagement ring and had our immediate family and friends around us. The wedding was very beautiful, simple, and a moment in my life I will never forget.

Here on our farm we have tried to branch out from fresh eggs, produce, and plants. We now have five Miniature Jersey cows and make several herd shares available to clients from our raw milk. We both come from farming families and it seemed only natural and right to put our time and energy into something we loved so much. My mother's family came from the Shenandoah National Park area and Harry's from Burkes Garden. Our jersey girls took me a little by surprise when I discovered just how smart, loving, and truly a joy they are to be around. I look forward to going out to be with them in the early morning and then again in the evening after a long day at work. It is just a super way to start and end my day. Harry does all the milking. He has a gentle nature and the cows are happy and chew their cud while he is busy filling the bucket with beautiful, white, liquid nourishment. I think my kids get tired of hearing how "raw milk" does the body good. They have deiced that I have empty nest syndrome and that is why I have gotten so into our cows. I send them pictures all the time!

Our little farm is never dull and there is always something to do. At the end of the day even the dogs are tired and can not wait to go to bed. It is filled with love though and we share it all, the work, the rewards, the ups and the downs. My life is blessed and I appreciate all that the far has given me in simple rewards and pleasures.

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Thank you so much for this wonderful post, Tammy! My apologies for not getting it on here sooner!

Friday's Featured Farmer~ Elizabeth in Australia

2011-01-28T09:36:00.004-05:00

Find out why this particular guest blogger is close to my heart!

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Six thirty always comes too soon. I jolt awake abruptly. The alarm didn’t go off again. Yet, by some instinct I still wake up in time. I roll out of bed, heave on my boots and drudge out to feed the animals, ignoring the urge to ingest coffee straight into my blood stream. Feeding comes first. As soon as I hear the little voices squawking, barking, and naying, my spirits lift. Alice, the black lab, runs around me in circles, making sure I don’t forget her in the flurry of activity. The horses move to the gate anxiously awaiting their carrots and hay, while the ducks and chickens can hardly contain their excitement, stomping on each other and pressing their beaks through the holes in the coop. It’s hard to believe that just days ago, I was navigating through Sydney- sleeping in late, sipping lattes and resisting the urge to spend all my savings on vintage dresses.

Oh right, I’m Elizabeth by the way. Tammy’s little sister. I’m a….hmm…I guess I’m a journalism major turned English teacher and vagabond who sometimes likes to dabble in creative projects. Gross. Does anyone else find it utterly disgusting when having to describe yourself? Basically, I just finished a year teaching English in Jeju, a beautiful little island in South Korea, and am now backpacking through Australia and New Zealand. I’ve resolved to spend my 20s exploring as much of this massive world as possible, taking bits and pieces of information from the people and experiences I encounter along the way, hoping that eventually all my worldly knowledge will fall perfectly into place…sometime in my 30s of course.

And that’s where the home stay comes into play. I want to learn more about what people are doing around the world to become more sustainable, and why it’s important to them. I also really need a refresher course. While growing up I was raised in a home where we grew our own vegetables (in the summer my brother and I were completely in charge of our garden from planting to harvesting), I’ve forgotten a lot. So, for two weeks I’ve traded in the city life for a homestay in tiny Bargo, Australia, for a more cultural/environmental experience. That, and I really needed a free place to stay for a couple weeks. Kidding…kind of…

I found my family, Suzanna and Craig, on Help X, a website that links backpackers with hosts who are looking for an extra set of hands. Suzanna hails from the UK and was bitten by the traveling bug at an early age. She ended up in Australia where she met Craig. They fell in love, started a family, and so the story goes. Suzanna and Craig are actually new to the agricultural scene as they only moved out of the city less than two years ago. They wanted to try to create a sustainable life, and to raise their two boys (Harrison-3 years and Hugo-5 weeks) in a more rural environment. Suzanna hopes to one day become self sufficient enough to where she can provide for her community, but for now she’s trying her best to be satisfied with the fresh veggies and eggs that make their way into her kitchen.

Suzanna and Craig live on about 15 acres of land. They’ve cultivated it from being dry and barren to rich and productive, but it’s still a work in progress. The couple lead a hectic life raising two little boys while both working. It's impressive to see how much they’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time, but Suzanna wouldn’t have it any other way. “I love to be outside working and doing projects,” she says.“ In fact, even when I was pregnant and about to pop I was still out in the garden or tending to the animals.” As a result, her newborn won’t go to sleep unless he’s wildly rocked about. “He’s just so used to being moved about while I was outside,” she says. It will be interesting to see how this family progresses in the future. Hopefully Suzanna and Craig will be able to instill the agricultural knowledge they're obtaining to their boys, who will pass it on to their children and so on.

Maybe I’m being naively optimistic, but I don’t think my generation is as ignorant to farming and growing organically as many are led to believe. Many of us our generally interested and concerned about the food we put into our bodies, and this motivation stems far deeper than being seen as trendy and oh so cool. We also now have the ability to blend the resources of technology with agriculture. Don’t know what vegetables are in season? Google it. Want to know how to make your own cheese? Scour the web for a blog. There’s an abundant of instant information at our fingertips. Yet, there’s something to be said about going back to the basics: leaving our computer screens, books and documentaries behind and getting some dirt lodged underneath our fingernails.

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Thank you, Elizabeth!

Jalapeno Cheese Spread

2011-01-27T16:18:00.001-05:00

Jalapenos from the garden

Vinegar Cheese

Blend with Mayo and other seasonings

Yummy Cheese spread!

More information here.

Instead of cottage cheese, you can use vinegar cheese or lactic cheese as well.

Photos of Udder Development In a Heifer

2011-01-27T15:46:00.001-05:00

3 Months

5 Months

8 Months

9 Months

Birth

Note: There were 13 days between the time of birth and the previous photo.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-26T10:38:00.001-05:00

Friday's Featured Farmer~Charlotte VanGenechten from Canada

2011-01-21T13:22:00.002-05:00

This week our featured farmer is Charlotte who lives and farms in Canada. Thank you so much, Charlotte, for contributing to our Friday's Featured Farmer series!

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When we first moved to this farm I knew I wanted a cow. I wanted a milking cow even though I didn't really know what that would entail. Although I grew up on a farm and we did usually have a cow to milk, it was almost always my mother who did those chores. As an adult I was used to handling horses as a professional trainer but always boarded them and lived in town. Now we were on this farm and I wanted a cow...now!! I didn't want just any cow though, (OK at first I did until DH's cooler mind prevailed) I wanted something special. Thats when I learned about Dexter's; 'The little cow with a big future."

We bought 4 cows the first year and a Bull...

Then we bought a surge milker, built a stanchion and I began to teach my cows to milk.

Flossy and Roxy became very good milk cows but now I had to do something with the extra milk. Thats when I learned the magic of cheesemaking. I have been a raw milk cheese fanatic ever since.

I have learned to make all sorts of cheeses and since there are so many different kinds to make, I am still learning more! Of course I will never stop learning about the magic of cheese.

The legal climate in Canada does not allow the sale of raw milk or cheese so of course I had to become an activist for the raw milk and real food movement in Canada.

Of course we raise other critters here; pastured eggs and meat birds, the occasional pig and we had sheep and lambs for a while, but the Dexter's are our main focus and the source of the most fun. We are a mostly grass based, organic farm striving for sustainability.

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Bonus: Lucy's Story

This story goes back a few years before we moved here. According to lore our neighbour, when loading cattle to ship to market, had 6 of them break loose. They were able to corral 4 of them but a bull and cow headed for the swamp and out of site. This swamp is extremely thick and encompasses a very large expanse of land. A year later they (the farmers in the area) shot the bull after he broke into a dairy farm and bred a couple of those cows.

We came here 3 yrs ago and that winter I found rather large bovine tracks outside the barn where we kept our 2 cows. I inquired of the neighbour whether he had been missing a cow and that's when I learned the story of the wild cow. Farmers had hunted her since her escape to no avail.

That first summer, we fenced off 15 acres and our herd grew. We never saw the wild one that summer or winter even though we already had a bull. That next spring saw Charlotte's web farm with 3 yearling bulls and our herd bull Dreamland Samson.

One morning Gerard woke me just before dawn because he was sure he saw some cattle in the yard. I quickly dressed and ran out to the barn yard where I found all my cows but NONE of the bulls! Finding tracks that led from our house yard to a side pasture the horses used, It was foggy and dawn was just breaking when I spotted them in a huddle in the middle of the pasture. I had fetched a bucket of grain and shook it and called them. Something huge was in the middle and she lifted her head and bolted-4 bulls in tow-3 yearling's of which had already been sold but not yet delivered. Since I was too injured at the time to give chase, Gerard lit after them through the fence, into a corn field and up the hill towards the ridge and yup, into her lair-that big mennacing swamp.

Arriving back at the house we both lamented about the money we had just lost and the futility of pursuit. Gerard had to go to work so I got in the truck to see if the owner of the wild cow could help do something. His son shrugged and said; "O-she's back is she?" No help there. Not knowing what else to do but sit and wait, I made the cows stay yarded up. They seemed a bit perturbed about the loss of their bulls and bawled most of the morning. Around 10 am I could hear one of the yearling's bawling in our house yard and ran out to get him in. He seemed tired of his ordeal and I was quickly able to get him stalled up. Scanning the horizon though yielded not a trace of the others.

My sister decided to come out at this point to see if we could get up to the ridge and spot them. When she arrived just after noon, lo and behold there were the other 3 walking the fence on the North side of the property. We quickly walked down and lifted the fence to let them back in. Our herd bull bellowed a lot but ran promptly back to where his own cows were yarded. Nobody was any worse for wear and that cow never showed up at our property again to my knowledge.

Last fall we walked over the ridge and into the swamp to see if she was still around. She certainly was with tracks and fresh manure everywhere under cover of those cedars. We even saw her running deep into the swamp, always keeping swamp-side to us.

Gerard tried to hunt her all fall, salivating at the thought of all that corn/grass fed Angus beef. Alas, I don't think he would like me blogging at his being out-smarted by a cow!

Part Two:

This winter was very, very dry, meaning very little snow cover and when spring arrived there wasn't the usual rain to come with it. (feels funny saying that now when it's raining cats and dogs and turtles out there!) The lack of moisture didn't help the grass get it's usual start and our herd had grown to 19! The conditions were ripe for a breach of containment since the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. (and breach they did almost daily!) The usual culprits are the 3 yearling heifers and sometimes the new 2010 calves. It doesn't make for good neighbour relations when your cattle are wondering around in someones corn/soy fields. So the girls got themselves quarantined in the barn. They will be off to be bred by another bull this week and hopefully once pregnant they will not wander so much.

The constant breech of containment was taking a toll on us and we sold 5 cattle to lessen the pressure on the pastures. That was hard, making the choice of who had to go but you can't just collect cattle and they multiply! Now we had things under control! For a whole week, nothing strayed.

On Monday Gerard started back to work and I let little Shaylee out in the small paddock with Roxy the milker and Ruben the little steer. She was out there all day so I wasn't worried that she would try the fence. When Gerard came home though......he was mad as heck because he saw a black dot in the neighbour's soy field. Off we went through the fields to capture the rascal. When we got close enough I saw it was a little heifer. Damn! How could Shaylee get this far away since last I checked on her. We chased her through the fence and the cows and horse chased her back through. I ran for grain but the cattle didn't want it they wanted to check out Shaylee....sheesh she had only been in the barn a few days, why were they so fussy over her. I was able to sneak up and grab her back leg and Gerard got a rope on her. Mind you, he is MAAAADDDDD!! And yelling at me-and we are dragging this heifer up the hill towards the barn. As we push and drag her, I notice her neck and shoulders are mangy and her ear is ripped up somewhat....and she is thin!! How could that have happened in an hour??? We physically drag her into the barn and she is with the other calves now. Looking outside I see another black calf on the lawn. "O! NO!" "Sambo must have somehow jumped through the barn window!" I cry in despair, running to chase him in. But-but-he is smaller than he was this morning....My mind is getting confused....I've just entered 'The Twilite Zone' It's not Sambo-it's Shaylee! WHAT? NO! "GERARD" I scream...."That's not our calf!!" He comes running out of the barn......'What?" "it's not our calf..." I repeat. The heifer we dragged up the hill is a dead ringer for Shaylee but it wasn't Shaylee.

Just the weekend before our neighbour came over to inform us that our heifers had been spotted in that field. During the course of the conversation he let it be known that they had shot the 'wild' cow from a distance. He said she had a calf at her side. This is the calf. A little Angus/Dexter cross. How long it took for the mother to die, I have no idea. How long before this little heifer left her dead mother? How did she escape the coyotes? She is weak, thin and covered in 'rain rot' but once she learned what was in that calf bottle she gulped it all down. I have been nursing her wounds and feeding her 3 times a day. Today is day 3 and her eyes are bright and she is bouncing and playing. What a miracle!! What a miracle for Lucy! (Loosy)

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Interested in finding out more about Dexter cattle? Charlotte hosts a facbook page just for you at the Canadian Dexter Cattle page.

Friday's Featured Farmer ~ Jimmy Holbrook in North Georgia

2011-01-14T09:18:00.000-05:00

Today's featured farmer is someone very special to me. It is submitted by my brother, Jimmy Holbrook.
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Growing up on a farm is the best education any young person can have. You learn about biology, math, history, the facts of life and so many practical lessons. You learn spiritual things about life and death and that everything is but for a season. It is sad to think how many untold thousands of people in America today have no real concept about farming, when our nation was founded by people who not only farmed, but had a passion for farming.

The farm we grew up on was a commercial chicken operation and even though I don’t particularly like that model for raising chickens, I am thankful for the lessons I learned and for the experience that it gave me. The farm was a chick raising facility that raised newly hatched chicks up to pullet size. They were all supposed to be sexed to be pullets, but a few hundred cockerels would get mixed in. They were supposed to be destroyed, but I would buy them for 10 cents apiece and raise them to butchering size. I got the feed by sweeping between the cages in the commercial house where the feed spilled out of the automatic feeders. It was a great learning experience.

Some of my best memories in life are times I spent with my dad at the hog barn and even hog killing times. I never could stand the killing part of it, still don’t like it. However, once the hog was dead I had no problem jumping in there and butchering and it is something (minus the slaughter part) that I still enjoy. The memories of sitting in an old milking parlor converted into a hog house waiting for pigs to be born are indelible in my memory.
Dad would also help out on the dairy farm next to us. While I wasn’t old enough to actually do anything, the sights and smells of the dairy barn and the cows giving milk is something I will never forget.

My wife, Kellie was raised on a farm in Dayton, Tennessee where her dad still farms, running about 200 head of cows. She was driving tractors and the hay truck long before she could even reach the peddles. I couldn’t imagine doing what we do in the produce business or radio business without her. I love working with my wife, especially around our farm. She gives me motivation, encouragement and support and even if I don’t admit enough…a lot of good ideas.

Today, my wife and I have the privilege of working the land that once belonged to my great uncles and great grandfather. The old “home” place where my dad and his brothers and sisters were raised. Sometimes walking across the field picking up the rocks that seem to “grow” on Lookout Mountain makes me think about how many times my kin folks have done the exact same thing for the past eighty years or so.

Lookout Mountain is an unusual place. Geologists say that it isn’t really a “mountain” but rather a “plateau.” The land is rocky in many places, but there are ridges on the mountain that have excellent sandy soil. We are blessed to have some very good sandy soil that is excellent for raising many different things. I have talked with geologist from the University of Georgia and Auburn University that say that Lookout Mountain and her “sister” Mountain – Sand Mountain - can not really be explained or classified neatly like the Blue Ridge Mountains or the Cumberland Plateau.

The two parallel mountains run about ninety miles through Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. Sand Mountain is probably more suited for agriculture on a larger scale than Lookout Mountain, but over the years everything from orchards and cotton fields along with potatoes and corn have been grown on Lookout Mountain. Sadly, there aren’t many working “farms” left on Lookout Mountain.
We have about 35 acres, of which only about 12-15 is tillable. We have a few cows and keep pigs – mainly for our own use and raise a good many chickens. We plant about five acres of produce every year which we market through our own produce store in Summerville, Georgia – the county seat about 18 miles away. We also purchase produce from other people in the area and from Chattanooga. We strive to get as locally grown products as we can.

The idea for the produce store came about a couple of years ago when I got on the local radio station that we own and told people we had extra green beans and potatoes for sale. The response was good, so we took half of the building that our radio station is in and converted it into a small produce store. We have had a learning curve about the produce business and we still have a lot to learn, but both of us really enjoy the business.

Even if we didn’t have the produce store, we would still raise a large garden. There is something that is “bred” into a person who was raised the way we were that gives great satisfaction knowing that the food you put on the table is food you raised. There is no satisfaction that is any greater than cabinets full of canned produce and meat in the freezer raised in a human and safe way.

I am always amazed to hear people say “it cost so much more to raise a garden than it does to just go the store and buy it.” Yes, seed is expensive and there is a lot of time and back breaking work involved, but the return is great on so many levels. I know of people who plant gardens and still spend hundreds of dollars a month on groceries. We average maybe $25 per week at the grocery store, and that is sometimes every two weeks. If a person is planting a garden and not saving money then something is wrong somewhere.

Our goal is to someday be able to be totally self-sufficient, but with running a radio station, tractor business and the produce store, time is sometimes, somewhat limited.

Willie Nelson had a song called “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys”….well being a history lover my heroes have always been farmers. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Robert E. Lee and Harry Truman are just of few of America’s greatest that had a love for farming. These are some of my favorite quotes and one short story:

“I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture, its breed of useful animals, and other branches of a husbandman's cares.” – George Washington

“No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden.” Thomas Jefferson

“I shall devote my life now to training young men to do their duty in life” Robert E. Lee in his inaugural address to Washington University (now Washington and Lee University). Lee helped to develop one of the first colleges of agriculture in the United States and is responsible for the semester hour system being introduced.

“Happiness is a state of mind. A farmhand, if he has an ample living, can be just as happy as a millionaire with homes in Maine and Florida.” Harry S. Truman

There is a story that when Harry Truman was speaking at a Grange convention in Kansas City, Mrs. Truman and a friend were in the audience. Truman in his speech said, “I grew up on a farm and one thing I know—farming means manure, manure, manure, and more manure.”

At this, Mrs. Truman’s friend whispered to her, “Bess, why on earth don’t you get Harry to say fertilizer?”

“Good Lord, Helen,” replied Mrs. Truman, “You have no idea how many years it has taken me to get him to say manure.”

One final thought. God created man to till the ground and to be a good steward of this earth. The highest praise a man could be given is that he did the best with what God gave him. That is my prayer for my life and for my place here on Lookout Mountain.

Lookout Mountain grown watermelons.

Hoop House

White Christmas on Lookout Mountain - 2010

Kellie cleaning the chicken house

Canned taters, grapes and chow chow

Lookout Mountain grown potatoes

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Thank you, Jimmy, for taking time to submit this post for your sister's blog!

You can check out Jimmy's radio station and actually hear him on there most mornings at the following link. The radio station also has a Facebook fan page at this link.

Jimmy and his business partner's have a Facebook page for their Tractor/Equpment business and you can access that page at this link.

This & That Thursday ~ It Ain't Pretty!

2011-01-13T13:19:00.000-05:00

The great folks on my facebook farm page have convinced me to share photos of our milking parlor. I laugh when I call it a milking parlor because it's nothing fancy. In fact, the reason I am writing this post is because I referred to it as "redneck" and several folks wanted to know more about it. I tease, but the truth is, it is was a wonderful idea implemented by my dear husband and I am very thankful for my little parlor. When we started out milking, we were milking in a run-in. So, this has been definite progress for us. It's also proof that you can get by on a budget! ;-)

It all started when we got a phone call from a young man who at the time worked at a garage. He called to tell Mike that they had towed in a truck with a box trailer with a blown engine and the owners would let it go for $500 for parts. Mike and his dad went down to see it and came up with the idea of taking the box off the trailer and setting it up as a milking parlor, which they did. Then, Mike turned around and sold the truck for parts (without the trailer) for $500. So, this is my "free" milking parlor! These photos were taken when we first set it up. It has been well used now and instead of the roll up door, I have glass doors! Talk about fancy! It took a little adjustment for the cows to learn to walk through the glass doors and back out, but it also means I can shut the door when the weather is bad, keeping the wind, rain and snow from blowing in. The glass doors were also recycled.

The photo below shows the inside of the trailer. The vacuum pump sits up on a shelf. The pump was made in the 1950's and still works well (knock-on-wood) and runs our Surge milking machine. Mike and his dad hooked up electricity in the trailer so that we could run the Surge. The metal stanchion came out of the old dairy barn at the other farm and is also recycled.

The boards on the floor in this photo are for the Minis to stand on so we can get the milker under them. The strap is part of the trailer but we use it when we have a cow that wants to wiggle. We put it around their legs up by their hips and tie it to the stanchion bar. This keeps them from backing up while we are trying to milk them. Usually after a few days, we don't have to use the strap anymore.

The wood floor is slick when wet. We keep a bucket of sawdust handy to throw on the floor when it becomes wet. What would be ideal is to have rubber mats for them to walk in on so that it isn't so slick when wet. If we don't do something different about a milking parlor, I would like to paint the inside, seal the floor, but rubber mats down and put shelves up. We keep our feed inside this trailer and inside metal garbage cans. The cows would have to get through the gate, through the door and lift the lids off the trash cans to get to the feed. This helps eliminate possible problems of a cow getting into the grain on accident and bloating.

And there it is! I told you it wasn't pretty! ;-)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-12T13:35:00.001-05:00

Some Like It Raw

2011-01-10T10:25:00.000-05:00

Simply Sunday

2011-01-09T09:12:00.000-05:00

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friday's Featured Farmer~A Double Feature Especially For The Goat Lovers!

2011-01-07T09:25:00.000-05:00

After a two week break for the holidays, Friday's Featured Farmer is back with a double feature!

Debbie is a friend on our Facebook Farm page and she sent me the cutest story that I wanted to share with you all. Thanks Debbie for sharing!

Our first goat

My name is Delilah and my family and I currently own 2 Nigerian Dwarf goats and are expecting babies this spring. But before the Dwarfs, we have owned several different full-sized dairy and meat breeds, made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot about goats. One of our more humorous goat ventures was the time when we bought our first goat.

When we finally moved to a place with enough land for farm animals, we decided that we wanted to get a dairy goat or two. Nothing fancy, just healthy animals that would produce enough milk for our family. We knew almost nothing about goats, so we read "Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats" front to back several times, as well as the goat and dairy sections of Carla Emery's "The Encyclopedia of Country Living". We bought a milk bucket, and had a space in the barn all cleared out and bedded down with straw.

After months of watching in the papers and on bulletin boards, we still hadn't found any dairy goats for sale, so we decided we'd try the local livestock auction.

One Friday morning we all got up and got ready (and this was no easy matter because at the time we had a 2-year-old and a 10-month-old, besides myself, then 11, and my sister, who was 9) and headed to the stockyard.

When we got there, we could only see a few goats down in the pens on the floor, and people weren't allowed down on the floor to look at the animals. (probably a good idea, judging by the size of some of the bulls in the pens down there!) So we went back outside and around to a pen of goats that could be seen from the parking lot. There were a couple of bucks in the pen, and several little white does with cute brown floppy ears. One of the little does came right up to us and let us pet her, and we decided right then that this was the one we would buy. We were SO excited that we had finally found a nubian doe!

In the auction room, there were signs that said "Yellow tag=bred, Green tag=mother with baby..." etc. Well, our goat's tag was yellow, so we started wondering if she was maybe a miniature nubian and was bred. So then we got REALLY excited!

We watched the animals be sold, waiting very impatiently for "our goat" to come through the ring. Finally, they brought her in, and we bought her for $35.00

We went to the office and got our receipt, then around to the holding pens to retreive our little goat. We slipped a lead around her neck and brought her to the back of our van which we had covered with plastic for the occasion. The trip home was relatively uneventful other than a few passersby exclaiming upon realizing that "there's a GOAT in that car!" After we got home was when the action started, as immediately after being placed on solid ground, our little goat urinated... FROM THE MIDDLE OF ITS BELLY! This led to frantic searching of goat books, checking the goat over multiple times, and many repititions of "but I didn't... see... anything 'back there'..." We had purchased, not a nubian doe, but a 3-month-old boer wether!

Furthermore, after discovering this, I then recalled the man who was selling the goat saying something about a wether and thinking he was talking about the weather...

I guess you learn something new every day, huh?

So we sold the little goat to our Grandparents to clear brush off their land and decided that next time we'd look before we bought.

************************************************************************
And today's Featured Farmer is Hannah Young from Oklahoma:

My name is Hannah and I am the 1st of 5 kids. Me and my family live out in Northeast Oklahoma, away from the city thankfully! Here’s a little more about us….

For as long as I can remember, we’ve been “City Folk”. I’ve lived in California since I was 6 years old (now I’m 16). When Suriyah, my friend (GoodGoats) got her goats in 2004, that was very interesting to me! In about 2007, when we would go to visit her and her family, I would watch how she milked, of course at that time, it was just for fun!

Anyway, after being in Southern California for about 9 years, my family and I decided to pick up and move out of California. We chose Oklahoma as our new homeland! About 5 months after we decided to move to OK, we were on the road! To make a long story short, we arrived in OK, and lodged in a rental cabin on the river. There, we stayed until 6 months later, God provided 7 acres of land, out in the country for us! It was hard work cleaning up the property and burning brush, but we got it done!

When that was pretty much done, I started to get serious about getting into dairy goats. When we would go over to the Fishes house (GoodGoats), Suriyah would teach me hands on, how to milk the goats. My dad built a goat barn, pen and milk stand. About 6 months after moving into our property (2009), I bought my first 2 dairy goats. I was SO excited! All of my hard research had finally paid off and I was livin’ the “farmy” life.

We now have 12 dairy goats and 1 LaMancha buck. I mainly raise registered LaMancha goats, but we do have some Nubian and Alpine does. This year is gonna be a bigger one than last year, since I’ll be kidding out 5 does instead of 1 :) Of course, we are still “newbies” at this goat stuff.

I’m kinda the “goat girl” of the family, but my Sister and the rest of my family do help out a bunch. We also have Californian meat rabbits, chickens, dogs, barn cats and a garden…even in the fall & winter!

We have 5 does due in late winter/early spring of this year. We’re taking numbers for people who would like to get on the waiting list for 2011 kids.

I hope you liked reading about our “micro” farm! I have a blog where I write updates on our ranch here.

Give your cow a Kiss!

2011-01-06T10:02:00.000-05:00

Anyone that knows me knows that I love my animals and yes, I have been known to kiss my cows. In fact, I kiss them quite often. I will never forget the time that I had bent down to give my cow a smooch right on the nose only to look up an see a visitor standing there watching me. I am sure he thought I had lost my mind, but fact is, my animals are just such a huge part of my life that it seems perfectly natural for me to show them affection. Princess, one of my heifers, will actually lift her nose up to me so that I will kiss it.

While I don't expect everyone to kiss their cows, a lot can be said for how we handle these wonderful creatures. They do respond to our affections and our care. Here are a couple of articles from reputable sources on this subject:

BEHAVE

Behavioral Education for Human, Animal, Vegetation,& Ecosystem Management

Should you kiss your cow goodnight?
Ben Bartlett, DVM
Extension Dairy Agent

Upper Peninsula, Michigan

If you were "married" to your cows, would they be filing for divorce? I am sure there are times when you have wanted out of the cow business, but have you ever considered your cows' perspective? If you have read any farm magazines or listened to the news in the last 6 months, it's obvious that both the public and the dairy industry are very interested in animal welfare. Given the current increase in concern for cow comfort and improved animal handling techniques, I thought it would be interesting to "eavesdrop" on some cow conversations. Are your cows thinking positive things about their current state of affairs or are they thinking "divorce?"

(Disclaimer: The following comments may not reflect your cows' opinions. Your best bet would be to ask them yourself.)

As we pick up the conversation of Bossie and Bessie, Bos and Bes for short, Bos says:

"I am so stressed out! The new milker, Sammy, is driving me up a wall, literally. I am not eating right, getting my needed rest, and I'm scared to death to get into the parlor with him."

Bes says: "Well the stress is not all in your head. Jeff Rushen from Quebec did research and found that your milk production could be down 10% if Sammy was in the parlor and he doesn't even have to be doing the milking1. What's worse is that Sammy has us all on edge. Have you noticed how milking is taking longer? We are all stepping around and kicking off the milking machines more often. To make the situation worse, the owner is getting uptight because milking is taking longer, and now she is doing more yelling. Ed Pajor of Purdue found that yelling is as aversive to cattle as using a hot shot2. It sure has gotten more stressful around here."

Bos replies, "What I can't believe is that Sammy is supposed to be a college-trained milker! He doesn't know anything about working around us cows. You would think the owner would put all new employees through a training program for animal handling. People should notice that we have our eyes on the sides of our face and we can see over 300 degrees but have really poor depth perception."

"Yeah," says Bes, "Why can't they just give us a second or so to look over where we are going and not be in such a hurry all the time? It was OK for the owner to slow down when she got bifocals, but we are supposed to run everywhere even if we can't see our feet."

"My pet peeve is the noise. Sammy is always yelling and hollering," says Bos. "He can't wait a few seconds for me to walk into the parlor. He gets right behind me where I can't see him and starts screaming and pushing. And then he is surprised when he gets kicked. I don't think Sammy appreciates being tailgated by another car when he is driving."

Bes chimes in, "No one ever tells us anything. I just hate it when things are new or novel and people won't give us time to sort it out. How are we supposed to know if it's dangerous or going to hurt us? People should know that cows are creatures of habit and a new gate, a coat hanging on the fence, or anything new takes us a few positive experiences to be comfortable with it."

Bos says "If profit margins are down, I sure don't understand some things people do. That new heifer, Betty, just calved the other day. I hear they paid $2000 for her and she had never been in a milking parlor before. Three people hollered and pushed her into the parlor and then slapped a 'can't kick' and a milker on her. Kate Breuer from Australia found heifers that were hit or rushed into and out of a parlor produced 3 pounds less milk per day compared to more gently handled heifers3. Betty is so afraid that I don't think she will last even one whole lactation. She is so afraid of people that she slipped and fell three times when they sorted her out for a post-calving check. It's sad, a great heifer with all that potential and people don't have time to make her first experience in a parlor a positive one."

"Bes, if you could talk to dairymen, what would you tell them?" asked Bos.

Bes replied "The first thing would be, handling cows more gently will make them more milk and more money. Hemsworth from Australia did a study with 14 dairy farms and measured fearfulness in cows. He found that 30% to 50% of the variance in milk production between farms could be explained by the level of fear shown by the cows to humans4. Seabrook found in a study of 12 very similar farms that a change in stockman could change production by over 1250 pounds of milk per cow per year5. Gentle handling pays."

Bos asked, "That's great for the dairyman but what about us? How can dairymen do things 'more gently'?"

Bes replied, "We could tell dairymen lots of things but they are so busy they will just forget. Gentle cattle handling boils down to having knowledge of cow behavior, practicing good handling skills, and having and maintaining adequate facilities. Cows see and hear differently than people. We are prey animals and people are predators to us. We need to learn not to fear humans. Hollering, hitting, and doing things in a hurry only increase our fear of humans. Cows are creatures of habit. If only people would give us a kind word and a gentle stroke when we are calves and treat us with understanding and respect. We do pay the bills after all, we could work as a team. Gentle handling can benefit both the dairymen and cows."

Cows don't need a kiss goodnight. If dairymen and their helpers would just remember, Slow and Quiet, it would be a great first step to building a better relationship. It could also decrease the divorce rate.

References:

(1) Rushen J., de Passille. A.M.B., and Musksgaard,L. 1997; J. Dairy Sci.80(Suppl.1):202
(2) Pajor, E. A.,Rushen,J.,& de Passille,A.M.B.; 2000; Applied Animal Behavior Sci., 69:89-102

(3) Roenfeldt, S.;2001, Dairy Herd Mang. September, 2001, page 34

(4) Hemsworth, P. H., Price, E.O., & Borgwardt, R.,. 1996 Applied Animal Behavior Sci.,50:43-56

(5) Seabrook, M.F.; 1984, The Veterinary Record, 115:84-87.

*****************************************************************

REDUCING FEAR IMPROVES MILK PRODUCTION

Temple Grandin

Colorado State University

People have known for a long time that rough handling and stress is detrimental to dairy

cattle. Over 100 years ago, W. D. Hoard, founder of Hoard's Dairyman, wrote that

people working with dairy cows should have patience and kindness. He knew that rough

treatment lessened the flow of milk. Jack Albright, professor emeritus at Purdue

University, likewise stated that tame dairy cows willing to approach people will give

more milk. Despite these well-known facts, people have forgotten Hoard's and Albright's

message.

Over time, researchers have used statistical methods to document the damaging effects

rough handling causes. In fact, shocking a cow or hitting her can reduce milk yield by 10

percent. Cows that are fearful of people are less productive, documents Australian Paul

Hemsworth. Fearfulness was determined by the degree of restlessness the cow

displayed when a person was close to her during milking. Cows that avoided people

and became restless when a person was nearby had lower milk production. Still further,

observations at a large dairy indicated that tame cows gave more milk.

Fear memory formation...

What makes a cow fearful of people? Animals have excellent memories for both good

and bad experiences. Research on the brain by Joseph LeDoux at New York University

shows that animals can experience fear memories that cannot be erased. These fear

memories are located in a part of the brain called the amygdala which is the lower more

primitive part of the brain under the cortex.

Fear memories are permanent. Back in the times when cows were wild animals, they

would be more likely to be eaten by predators if they forgot where they had encountered

a lion. Over time, animals can learn to override a fear memory and become less fearful

of the place where a scary experience occurred. But they can only override the fear

memory it can never be erased. The emphasis has to be on preventing fear memories.

Cows and other animals tend to develop fear memories which are linked to either bad

places or prominent objects. Animals are most likely to become fearful of a specific

place or of a person wearing a certain type of clothing associated with a painful or scary

experience.

It would be very detrimental for milk production if a cow becomes afraid of the milking

parlor. It is essential that a heifer's first experience in the milking parlor is a good

experience. First experiences make a big impression on animals. If a heifer falls down

or is shocked with an electric prod the first time she enters the parlor she may develop a

fear memory that is associated with the parlor.

(Photo of my daughter, Alissa, loving on Emmy.)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-05T09:18:00.002-05:00

Peace On Earth

2010-12-25T19:59:00.003-05:00

The Story Behind is taken from this link.

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"

by Tom Stewart

December 20, 2001

One of America's best known poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), contributed to the wealth of carols sung each Christmas season, when he composed the words to "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" on December 25th 1864. The carol was originally a poem, "Christmas Bells," containing seven stanzas. Two stanzas were omitted, which contained references to the American Civil War, thus giving us the carol in its present form. The poem gave birth to the carol, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," and the remaining five stanzas were slightly rearranged in 1872 by John Baptiste Calkin (1827-1905), who also gave us the memorable tune. When Longfellow penned the words to his poem, America was still months away from Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9th 1865; and, his poem reflected the prior years of the war's despair, while ending with a confident hope of triumphant peace

As with any composition that touches the heart of the hearer, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" flowed from the experience of Longfellow-- involving the tragic death of his wife Fanny and the crippling injury of his son Charles from war wounds. Henry married Frances Appleton on July 13th 1843, and they settled down in the historic Craigie House overlooking the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They were blessed with the birth of their first child, Charles, on June 9th 1844, and eventually, the Longfellow household numbered five children-- Charles, Ernest, Alice, Edith, and Allegra. Alice, the Longfellows' third child and first daughter, was delivered, while her mother was under the anesthetic influence of ether-- the first in North America.

Tragedy struck both the nation and the Longfellow family in 1861. Confederate Gen. Pierre G. T. Beauregard fired the opening salvos of the American Civil War on April 12th, and Fanny Longfellow was fatally burned in an accident in the library of Craigie House on July 10th. The day before the accident, Fanny Longfellow recorded in her journal: "We are all sighing for the good sea breeze instead of this stifling land one filled with dust. Poor Allegra is very droopy with heat, and Edie has to get her hair in a net to free her neck from the weight." After trimming some of seven year old Edith's beautiful curls, Fanny decided to preserve the clippings in sealing wax. Melting a bar of sealing wax with a candle, a few drops fell unnoticed upon her dress. The longed for sea breeze gusted through the window, igniting the light material of Fanny's dress-- immediately wrapping her in flames. In her attempt to protect Edith and Allegra, she ran to Henry's study in the next room, where Henry frantically attempted to extinguish the flames with a nearby, but undersized throw rug. Failing to stop the fire with the rug, he tried to smother the flames by throwing his arms around Frances-- severely burning his face, arms, and hands. Fanny Longfellow died the next morning. Too ill from his burns and grief, Henry did not attend her funeral. (Incidentally, the trademark full beard of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow arose from his inability to shave after this tragedy.)

The first Christmas after Fanny's death, Longfellow wrote, "How inexpressibly sad are all holidays." A year after the incident, he wrote, "I can make no record of these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday God will give me peace." Longfellow's journal entry for December 25th 1862 reads: "'A merry Christmas' say the children, but that is no more for me." Almost a year later, Longfellow received word that his oldest son Charles, a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac, had been severely wounded with a bullet passing under his shoulder blades and taking off one of the spinal processes. The Christmas of 1863 was silent in Longfellow's journal. Finally, on Christmas Day of 1864, he wrote the words of the poem, "Christmas Bells." The reelection of Abraham Lincoln or the possible end of the terrible war may have been the occasion for the poem. Lt. Charles Longfellow did not die that Christmas, but lived. So, contrary to popular belief, the occasion of writing that much loved Christmas carol was not due to Charles' death.

Longfellow's Christmas bells loudly proclaimed, "God is not dead." Even more, the bells announced, "Nor doth He sleep." God's Truth, Power, and Justice are affirmed, when Longfellow wrote: "The wrong shall fail, the right prevail." The message that the Living God is a God of Peace is proclaimed in the close of the carol: "Of peace on Earth, good will to men."

Christmas Bells"

(The original poem, complete with all seven stanzas)

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black accursed mouth

The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;

"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men!"

And here are the words to the Casting Crowns Version:

I heard the bells on Christmas day

Their old familiar carols play

And mild and sweet their songs repeat

Of peace on earth good will to men

And the bells are ringing

Like a choir they're singing

In my heart I hear them

Peace on earth, good will to men

And in despair I bowed my head

There is no peace on earth I said

For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men

But the bells are ringing

Like a choir singing

Does anybody hear them?

Peace on earth, good will to men

Then rang the bells more loud and deep

God is not dead, nor doth He sleep

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on earth, good will to men

Then ringing singing on its way

The world revolved from night to day

A voice, a chime, a chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good will to men

And the bells they're ringing

Like a choir they're singing

And with our hearts we'll hear them

Peace on earth, good will to men

Do you hear the bells they're ringing?

The life the angels singing

Open up your heart and hear them

Peace on earth, good will to men

Peace on earth, Peace on earth

Peace on earth, Good will to men

Another Simple Homemade Gift Idea

2010-12-24T11:36:00.000-05:00

We have a couple of neighbors we like to give simple, homemade gifts to during the holidays. Along with one of our calendars, I put together a little stocking of canned goodies. I made these stockings and had them on hand for just such an occasion!

The first thing I did was put a small jar of peach jam in the toe of the stocking.

Next a quart jar of apple sauce went right in and fit perfectly!

Simple, homemade, local an from the heart

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T15:12:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from our home to yours. May you know the love of Christ in your heart not only during the Christmas season, but all year long.

Thank you for your friendship, your love, and your support over this past year.

Luke 2 (The Message)

The Birth of Jesus

About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.

There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."

At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises:

Glory to God in the heavenly heights,

Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.

Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!

(Photo courtesy of Wikepedia)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-22T09:15:00.000-05:00

Quick, I need a gift!

2010-12-21T14:24:00.000-05:00

Mike called me and said he was on his way to the house to pick up something to take to a bereaved family. I didn't have anything baked and wondered what to do. I grabbed a basket out of the yard sale/donation pile in the basement, Then, I ran to the sewing room and grabbed a piece of material and put it in the bottom of the basket. The next stop was to the "cellar" where I picked up some of the canned goods that I had made this summer. While it isn't the fanciest gift in the world, there is something comforting about home canned food and the gift took me less than five minutes to put together.

PS I have since ironed my table cloth! ;-)

Miscellaneous Monday ~ Nobody's Perfect

2010-12-20T09:58:00.001-05:00

Have you been striving hard to make changes in your diet and to eat more healthy food? As you struggle along making good choices, do you sometimes make a bad choice? Have you ever had someone point out to you your faults and be quick to tell you what you are NOT doing right? Do you eat healthy, real food for the most part but sometimes slip and eat a piece of homemade pie that has been cooked with refined sugar and/or processed flour? Do you sometimes read the blogs of other "foodies" and something they say makes you feel like you just could never measure up, so why even try?

I think we can all relate to the questions above. The truth is, there are folks "out there" who make us feel intimidated or "belittled" by their apparant perfection. Some of these folks even like to "lord over us" and insist how evil we are because we are not as organic as they are, or because we sometimes don't eat "real" food, or because we just don't have our act together as they do.

I hope I don't ever come across that way in this blog, on my facebook page, or in person. I love to try to help others by sharing things that I have learned, but I hope that never comes across as being proud, arrogant, or pretending that I have all the answers. I think specifically about my choice to not eat factory farmed meat. I do share that with you all here because it is important to me. However, for the record, I want my readers to know that I consider this a personal choice and I do not expect everyone else to be as burdened about this issue as I am. I also do not condemn or judge those folks who do not follow the same guidelines in choosing the meat that they eat. However, I do post from time to time on this subject because I know that there are folks who just are not aware of where their meat comes from and rather than make uninformed choices, I would like to see folks make informed choices.

I have been trying to formulate a blog on this subject for some time now and just was not able to completely get it together. To my rescue, The Nourished Life: Real Tradition Food and Natural Living wrote a post that says more eloquently what I have wanted to say.

I quote from their post:

I’ve been noticing some disturbing comments in the online world of real food. They don’t occur often, but I’ve seen a few of them recently, and I have to say it doesn’t sit right with me. Here’s an example of one comment I ran across:

"In my opinion, you have to be all or nothing about natural health."

This kind of comment will generally make someone feel immediately defensive or utterly discouraged. In my opinion, this way of thinking really gets in the way of making progress in the world of real food and natural living. The moment we start pushing people with this kind of dogma is the moment we alienate ourselves from anyone who would have considered listening to us.

Once you get into the all-or-nothing mentality, you lose perspective and start trying to achieve perfection. This kind of thinking will trap you in one of two ways: either you’ll become an ego-maniac who fiercely denies the possibility of having flaws or being wrong, or you’ll become incredibly discouraged and just give up altogether. Frankly, neither of these outcomes is a good thing. So the only solution is to throw the all-or-nothing mentality right out the window!

Being healthy is not all or nothing. Life is not all or nothing. Nobody’s that perfect. Nobody can actually do it all. And that’s perfectly fine. We don’t need to do it all, we just need to do all we can - whatever that means at any given moment.

This blog is about bridging the gap between real food and real people. And real people mess up. A lot. Some days we’ll feel like super heroes that can conquer any obstacle that besets us. Other days we might feel like wallowing in a well of self-pity (and a carton of ice cream if we’re really feeling down). The point is you are going to mess up sometimes. You’re going to eat that brownie when you’re trying to go sugar free. You’re going to miss that morning jog. You’re going to go to bed late and miss out on some much-needed sleep. It’s going to happen.

My point is not that we should be cynical pessimists or give up on trying, but that we should embrace the fact that nobody - not us or anyone else - is perfect. This adage pretty much sums it up:

"It’s not how often you fall down, but how quickly you get back up."

So don’t sit around beating yourself up about every time you fall down - just hop back up and try again. That’s how all successful people do it. Successful people aren't extraordinarily flawless--they get where they want to go because they just keep trying no matter how many times they get it wrong.

You can find this article here.

You might also like to follow The Nourished Life on Facebook.

Joshua's Well

2010-12-18T14:24:00.002-05:00

Although there was a time when I wrote here on this blog of my son's death and the subsequent feelings of pain and grief that I feel from losing him, I made the choice to make public my grief blog and write there instead of combining such personal feelings here with my farm blog. I felt that this would give me more freedom to express myself in both blogs and that it would help folks not feel uncomfortable about visiting the farm blog. At this time, I am going to digress from these self imposed rules and post here about the memorial that we are trying to raise to honor my son's memory. This memorial will be a tremendous undertaking and will only happen in it's entirety if a number of people get involved. If you read the following information and you feel the need to run in the opposite direction because you don't want to have anything to do with it, have no fear. I am aware that most folks will not be able to help nor would they have any reason if they did not know Joshua personally. Do not feel pressured. Just consider that you are being presented with an opportunity to help and if you do not wish to help, then no one will ever be the wiser. Unless you wish to let me know that you have contributed, I will never know who did and who did not because the donations will be anonymous to the family.

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I received a telephone call from Josh and Alissa's paternal grandmother this week. We talked for a few minutes and then she began to share with me what was on her heart. As she began to share, the tears began to flow down my face. For over two years now, since Josh's death, I have searched my heart for a cause that would be a lasting tribute in memory of Josh. I have donated to various charitable organizations including Heifer International and also SHIP (Safe Harbor International Philippines) a non-profit, residential care facility for abandoned, abused, neglected and orphaned children in Baguio City, Philippines that was founded and is maintained by my good friends John and Kim Piet. While I continue to support S.H.I.P. with my donations, I have been praying about something that we could do that would specifically bear Josh's name and be a lasting tribute to his memory. Josh's grandmother provided me with exactly the project for which I have been searching.

Dick and Kay Hall (Josh and Alissa's grandparents) went on a trip this past year to Guatemala where among other things, they spent time in the poverty stricken villages as well as in the orphanages. They were working hand and hand with an organization called Cause Life. In these villages, there is a serious lack of clean water, which is a basic necessity of life. Dick and Kay were so moved by their experiences in Guatemala that when they came home, they were touched to try to raise money for a well for a village and to have that well dedicated in memory of Joshua. In fact, the well will be named Joshua's well. I can't think of a more beautiful tribute to my precious son than to know that adults and children alike that otherwise would not have access to clean water, would be able to have life giving water from Joshua's Well.

The following news release was taken from Cause Life's Web Page and references the trip that Dick and Kay took to Guatemala:

I DO THIS FOR LOVE

We just returned from Guatemala where we took a passionate group of people for a week. They came from California, Virginia, North Carolina, Washington, and so many other places. Some were pastors, businessmen and women, politicians, and everyday people. The youngest was 9 and the oldest struggled to walk. Each of their stories was different, but every one of them shared the same desire . . . to make an eternal difference in the life of another.

Through the causelife project, they caught the vision that giving clean water is the key to providing life. I can’t tell you how excited I was that we were dedicating 5 new wells! Each well was made possible through a person, just like you, who saw a need and acted.

These wells are in villages where there has only been dirty, contaminated water. Infant mortality is 50 percent and higher in these places because of water born diseases. The conditions are deplorable and miserable. The only sound that fills the air is the sound of babies crying out from hunger and thirst.

But now these villages are experiencing a transformation. When these wells are turned on kids start laughing and playing in the water. Mothers begin filling buckets. The whole mood of the village instantly changes. It is the change that comes from hope replacing despair.

Hope of Life in Llano Verde, Guatemala has an incredible staff of dedicated people. They all come from the local villages. One of them said this week, “I don’t need things. Why am I going to have things when these children . . . they have nothing. How can I buy things when I see them die everyday? I don’t do this for money . . . I do this for love.”

These wells in Guatemala, and other parts of the world, are not a testimony to money. They are a testimony of compassion motivated to action! They are a testimony to love.

Cause Life FAQ

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The following is information taken from Cause Life's web page:

Clean water is essential for life.But more than 1 billion people in the world lack access to clean water. This causes over 2 million unsafe drinking water deaths every year, and most are children.

Every day, 6,000 children die from water-related illnesses such as diarrhea, malaria, typhoid, cholera, worms, and parasites. With each sip the number of deaths grow. This contaminated water is the only water they have ever known. And for some, it will be the only water they ever have.

The lack of clean drinking water in developing countries is the starting place of a thousand miseries. It exacerbates malnutrition, sickness, infant mortality, poverty, and illiteracy.

Their greatest need is clean water.

WATER CHANGES CHILDREN

Children’s lives become a reflection of the water they drink. When the water is contaminated, every area of their lives becomes affected. Contaminated water brings diseases from waterborne parasites and bacteria. Typhoid, dysentery, malaria, and cholera create sickness and death.

Children cannot go to school because their parents need them to fetch water. Walking for water is the most common chore that keeps children busy during the day, preventing them from attending school. Even if they have time, the high number of illnesses stops many from going to school.

This lack of education continues the cycle of poverty found in developing countries. Short-term solutions such as trucking in water or food are just that, short term. These quick fixes absolutely save lives, but they do not create self-sustainability. Instead, they create dependence without progress.

The root problem will always be dirty water. It is a life characterized by sickness, poverty, illiteracy, and early death. But when dirty water is replaced with clean water, everything changes.

High mortality rates drop because babies no longer suffer from parasites and diarrhea. Children are healthy enough to attend school and they have the time without long walks to a water source. Some may eventually attend a university where they will receive a higher education, bringing hope to their villages and communities

There is more food from gardens and irrigated land. Livestock is healthier and provides better meat. Families eat what they need and can sell what is left at the market.

Productivity increases, poverty decreases, and children’s lives are transformed.

WATER CHANGES HEALTH

"Don’t drink the water!"

The only times we hear those words are in travel warnings to countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. But, children living in those countries drink the water every day and they are dying from it.

A single sip of water is all it takes to be infected. A single drop of water can contain over one billion bacterial organisms. Diarrhea, malaria, typhoid, cholera, worms and parasites, and trachoma just to name a few.

All the pills in all the bottles in the world won’t help a child who drinks dirty water every day.

It is often said that the best way to treat an illness is to make sure you don’t get it in the first place. Although it almost seems too simple, the best medicine really is prevention.

Prevention can be as simple as a cup of clean water.

WATER CHANGES HUNGER

You see a starving child. You think: Food.

Yes, they need food, but what they need first is clean water. Life-giving nutrients from food cannot be absorbed because of the different diseases and parasites brought about by the contaminated water they are drinking.

In Guatemala, 44 percent of children suffer from chronic malnutrition. But it is the lack of clean water that is the main factor for this high number. It is estimated that every year 860,000 child deaths from malnutrition worldwide could be prevented by providing clean water.

Over 840 million people worldwide suffer from malnutrition. At least 799 million of those live in developing countries and 153 million are young children.

Our first thought will probably always be that we need to provide them with more food. Ending hunger will bring transformation, but providing food is not enough.

We must start with clean water. We can work on alleviating hunger through providing water.

WATER CHANGES EDUCATION

Each year in Africa, 40 billion hours are spent just on fetching water.

In sub-Saharan Africa and many other areas around the world, children must walk an average of four miles each way, every day, just to provide water for their families. This takes hours.

The consequences are tragic. Children have no time for school.

Even if they had time, the water they drink keeps them too sick to attend school.

Globally, children lose 443 million school days each year because of waterborne illnesses. And every year, 400 million children become infected with worms, which severely limits their learning potential.

But when children have access to clean water, school enrollment increases and education improves, further reducing poverty.

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The need is there and I have joined with Dick and Kay to try to raise money to dig this well for the people in Guatemala who need clean water so desperately. In doing so, I will be able to help provide a lasting memorial to my son not only through the well that bears his name, but also through each child that is given the chance of life by simply providing them with clean water.

Dick and Kay hope to travel back to Guatemala when the well is dedicated. I am hoping that Alissa will be able to make that trip as well. I am even praying, that by some miracle I would be able to find someone to take care of our animals so that Mike and I could also make that trip.

If you would like to help by donating to Joshua's Well, you can do so by sending a tax deductible donation to:

World Help

PO Box 510

Forest, VA 24502

Be sure to mark your gift as a memorial for Joshua Hall and to go towards the drilling of Joshua's Well.

If you would like to donate and prefer to do so online, you can go to causelife.org and send in your donation in this manner. Once again, be sure to mark it for the Joshua Hall memorial fund for Joshua's Well.

For those who are unable or don't feel a desire to donate, we would still appreciate your passing this information on to others who might be interested. Even if you can't send a gift, you can pray, and that would mean the world to us.

I think it is very fitting that we should do something for others in memory of my son who was always giving unselfishly of himself to help those he felt were in need.

Peace,

Tammy

Scrumptious Saturday ~ Marinated Mozzarella

2010-12-18T13:09:00.000-05:00

I found the following recipe for marinated mozzarella and had to give it a try. I made the marinated portion in a larger batch, packed the cubes of mozzarella in pint jars, and poured the marinade over the cheese in the jars. I did put these jars in the refrigerator which caused the olive oil to become thick and cloudy. I simply take a jar out and let it sit at room temp for a while before serving, allowing the olive oil to become clear again. The only thing I did differently from the recipe below is that I used peppercorns instead of ground pepper and I used our own dehydrated tomatoes from this summer's garden in lieu of the sun dried tomatoes.

So as to not waste the delicious, Italian seasoned olive oil, I simply drained the mozzarella through a strainer before serving (this also eliminated the peppercorns) and saved the oil. I can use this oil in which to dip bread, or add some to vinegar for a nice Italian dressing.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Chill: 8 hours

Yield: Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients

3 (8-oz.) blocks mozzarella cheese

1 (8.5-oz.) jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained and halved

1/2 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Garnish: flat-leaf parsley sprigs or fresh rosemary stems

Preparation

1. Cut blocks of cheese into 1-inch cubes. Arrange cheese cubes and tomato halves in an 8-inch square baking dish.

2. Whisk together 1/2 cup olive oil, chopped parsley, and next 6 ingredients; pour evenly over cheese cubes. Cover and chill at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Transfer mixture to a serving plate. Garnish with fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, or spear tomato halves and cheese cubes with short rosemary stems, if desired. Drizzle with marinade, if desired.

Southern Living, OCTOBER 2007

Friday's Featured Farmer ~ Susan in Virginia

2010-12-17T09:49:00.001-05:00

Whispering Pines Farm, Ferrum, Virginia

As for me, I believe I live in paradise, most times, except when the electricity goes off for six days, or getting up the driveway is impossible due to the snow, or keeping water to the animals when it’s freezing outside. I am about 4 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway in Southwestern Virginia, about six miles from a small town called Ferrum, Virginia, home of the Ferrum College Panthers, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival and Whispering Pines Farm (which is us!).

I grew up in the city but my favorite memories are on the farm in downstate Delaware where my aunt and uncle lived. I’ve always loved animals but never had any except a parakeet and a cat or two, until…

We moved to Virginia in the spring of 1992. We had 3 acres and a small house. LAND FOR ANIMALS!! Sure! I’d always thought about raising something, but goats were never my first thought. Started with chickens, then got tired of them and traded an incubator for my first herd of 9 pygmy goats. It went from there. I went from pygmy to angora, to pygora, to Boer, to Nubian. I fell in love with the Nubians and decided that would be the direction in which I would continue.

In addition to goats, I also sew, and people with whom I was involved, talked me into making goat flags.

With this new idea, I made new friends, among them is a lady in North Carolina who raises Nigerian dwarf goats. She heard about mini-Nubians and figured she had the Nigerian stock and I had the Nubian stock, so we should start a mini herd. This was 2002, I think. I had my first mini-Nubians in 2003 and have been raising them ever since.

In addition to the goats, we have 3 great Pyrenees guard dogs, all of which are rescues. I raised two litters of pups before I realized that these dogs need specific environments to do their jobs properly, and people were buying them as pets and not using their abilities. I decided rescue is a better way to spend my time.

We also have three cats, a rabbit, two peacocks (both rescues, believe it or not), two ducks, guineas and chickens.

Funny, my husband was raised on a farm in Ohio and couldn’t wait to get away from it. Now he’s stuck back on the farm and insists he dislikes every critter, but you should see him with the new babies in the spring. He’s done his share of mid-wife duties when I was not around, and even when I am around. He insists the only time goats are cute is when they are babies, but I think he’s full of goat pellets!

While I do milk from time to time, I don’t do it as a matter of course. However, those that I do milk have done well and I am very pleased at the Mini-Nubian breed. The size allows for older people or people without a huge amount of land to have a milker or milkers with less hassle.

When I moved to Virginia, I brought my younger son with me. A few years later, my older son moved to go to college at Ferrum College. He has gone on to become a professor there and he and his wife and my three grandchildren live about 4 miles from me. My other son is successful in computers and lives about an hour from me, so I have my family around me, too.

I guess that’s about all I can tell you. I love what I do and who I am. I am looking forward to the day when I can retire and not have to drive an hour each way to work, but when I pull into my driveway at night, I know I am where I want to be.

Thank you, Tammy, for allowing me to share!

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Thank you for sharing, Susan!

Susan has been a wonderful friend and an awesome mentor to me. When I got my first two goats, I did not have a clue what I was doing (and still don't). It's nice to know that she is always there and willing to help me out with any questions that I might have and to lend moral support! I couldn't have done it without her! I am currently leasing one of her bucks to breed my girls. Once again, I just couldn't do it without you, Susan!

Susan often has Mini Nubians for sale including does, bucks, kids and sometimes doe/kid combination packages.

You can visit Susan's web page or get in touch with her by email.

This & That Thursday ~ Making Pon Haus (otherwise known as Scrapple)

2010-12-16T12:08:00.000-05:00

When my husband told me that we would be making pon haus, I did not have a clue what he was talking about.

"What't that?", I questioned.

"What do you mean?", he replied. "You've never heard of pon haus?"

Feeling like I must have really missed out on the important things in life I quickly googled it and this is what I found:

Scrapple, also known by the Pennsylvania Dutch name pon haus, is traditionally a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and flour, often buckwheat flour, and spices. The mush is formed into a semi-solid congealed loaf, and slices of the scrapple are then panfried before serving. Scraps of meat left over from butchering, not used or sold elsewhere, were made into scrapple to avoid waste. Scrapple is best known as a regional American food of the Mid-Atlantic States (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland). Scrapple and pon haus are commonly considered an ethnic food of the Pennsylvania Dutch, including the Mennonites and Amish. Scrapple is found in supermarkets throughout the region in both fresh and frozen refrigerated cases. ~ Wikipedia

The same day we rendered lard, we also made pon haus. The first thing we had to do was get a big fire going and set the kettle with water in it over the open flame. When the water began to boil, we added the scraps of meat. We through the scraps in including bone and even included some of the organ meat.

After the meat had cooked for several hours and was beginning to fall off the bone, we removed the meat from the broth and deboned it.

Once the meat was deboned, we ran it through a grinder.

The ground pork was then placed back in the broth in the kettle and placed over the open flame once again. At this point we added salt and pepper to taste and let it all come back to a rolling boil.

Once the mixture came to a rapid boil, two people stirred while two people began adding cornmeal to the mixture. The cornmeal had to be added slowly and evenly so as not to clump. We also added a little flour from time to time.

As the cornmeal and flour was added (mostly cornmeal with very little flour) the mixture became thicker and thicker and more difficult to stir. When the experienced folks said that we had enough cornmeal, we then stirred until the mixture boiled down and became extremely thick. Stirring was not a job for the faint hearted, for if the pon haus stuck to the bottom of the kettle, it would be ruined. When the pon haus was finally decared to be the right thickness and consistency, we then removed the kettle from the fire and quickly scooped the mixture into small containers. These containers were left to set for about 24 hours until they became a small loaf.

I asked my in-laws for a recipe for ponhaus, but they said they had never used a recipe. They simply went by taste and experience. They do not add extra spices when they make it, but many folks do add additional spices. When I tasted the pon haus, in a way it reminded me of cornbread stuffing that we use to make growing up. (That recipe to be posted at a later date.) I think I would enjoy adding sage to my pon haus.

Here is a recipe I found online to make ponhause/scrapple in your kitchen at home in a smaller quantity:

HOMEMADE SCRAPPLE (Pon Haus)

MAKES TWO 9x5-INCH LOAVES

I have finally become a believer. I grew up in Pennsylvania with Scrapple, a popular breakfast meat, all around me. I just could not acquire a taste for it because of some seasoning to which I objected. Not to mention, I never really understood what was in scrapple and therefore bulked at the mushy consistency. When I started the PA Dutch recipe page, I knew I would have to make it one day and get it posted, whether or not I liked it, using scrapple fans as the judges. I found several recipes, gathered ideas from the combination and, lo and behold, the stuff is pretty good. And, much to my surprise, considerably healthier than I ever suspected. To describe it in terms you might better recognize, it is very much like fried polenta. It is mostly corn meal mixed with cooked lean meat and seasonings, poured into loaf pans and refrigerated overnight to stiffen, then sliced and fried in a little butter or oil. Every recipe I found was different in amounts, seasonings and some of the methodology. You will find some of the variations listed below.

INGREDIENTS

One 3-pound bone-in pork butt, trimmed of visible fat

4 quarts water

Salt and pepper to taste

1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons rubbed sage

1 teaspoon ground savory

1/8 teaspoon allspice (start with less)

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (start with less)

1/8 teaspoon cloves

3 cups corn meal

Place the pork and water in an 8-quart stock pot. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until pork is tender, about 2 hours. Place the meat on a large plate; reserve the stock. When the meat is cool enough to handle, remove it from the bones and discard excess fat. Chop the meat very finely; set aside. (See the Variations below for chopping methods.)

Place 2-1/2 quarts of the stock in a 5-quart pot. Add the thyme, sage, savory, allspice, nutmeg and cloves. Bring to a boil and gradually add the corn meal, stirring or whisking rapidly until it is all combined. Reduce the heat to medium or medium-low and continue to cook, stirring often, until the mixture is very thick, so that a spoon almost stands up by its own, about 15 minutes. (If it gets too thick, just add a little more of the broth and stir well.) Add the meat and stir well to combine. Reduce the heat to low and cook for an additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. After a couple minutes, taste for seasoning and adjust as desired. Scrapple must be well-seasoned or it will taste very bland when fried.

Place a piece of waxed paper into the bottom of two 9x5 loaf pans so that the ends extend over the two long sides. That will make it easier to lift the refrigerated loaf out of the pan later. Pour half the mixture into each pan. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or until chilled and solid.

To fry, remove the loaf from the pan and place on cutting surface. Slice into about 1/4 to 1/2-inch slices. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add some butter and, as soon as it melts, add the scrapple slices. It is critical with scrapple to let each side brown thoroughly before attempting to turn it over or it will stick and fall apart, so be very patient. Serve as is or, as many PA Dutchmen would do, with ketchup or apple butter.

Notes: You will have to learn, as I did, what degree of thickness to cook the corn meal. On my first attempt, it obviously was too thin because the chilled mixture did not get as stiff as expected. If that happens to you, don't panic. I was still able to slice and fry it, although it fell apart easily. You will need to play with the seasonings, tasting and adjusting until you get what you want. Many people dredge scrapple in a light coating of flour before frying. Scrapple freezes very well; just slice and wrap individually in waxed paper and then place in freezer bags. Take out as many slices as you want and fry them with or without thawing, reducing the heat slightly if frozen to allow more cooking time. Remember, everything is previously cooked so it only needs to be browned and heated through. Serve instead of bacon, ham or sausage for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Variations: Two of the recipes I used as sources were from a Jeff Smith cookbook and Grandma Born's Scrapple on my Recipes from Visitors page as submitted by William Cooper. One recipe uses pork neckbones, which I understand produces a more gelatinous texture which aids in holding the mixture together. The other uses boneless beef chuck in addition to the pork butt, but less broth to cook the corn meal. The seasonings are completely different, one using herbs and the other baking spices. Another difference is that, in one preparation you coarsely chop the meat, while in the other the meat is passed through a meat grinder. I do mine in the processor, but not too finely. So you can see that, once you start making scrapple, there are many ways to conform it to your own tastes. Since I posted this recipe, another, simpler version was submitted by Mark Voelker, called Mark's Scrapple. You might want to check that out as well.

The photo below is of our finished product. In order to eat, simply slice and fry.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-15T12:17:00.000-05:00

Tuesday Tutorial~Making Lard the Old Fashioned Way

2010-12-14T16:14:00.000-05:00

I posted previously the easy method of making lard. As promised, I wanted to dedicate a post to making lard the old fashioned way. I am indebted to my awesome husband for taking two days out of his schedule to make the lard rendering day a reality. He worked hard the day before to prep things, including getting the kettles and other items out of storage where they had been for years and hauling them out to the hunting cabin. In addition, I am filled with gratitude for my in-laws. Their willingness to not only give instruction, but to also jump in and work as hard (if not harder) than the rest of us left me once again realizing how blessed I am not only to have such a wonderful husband, but also to be a part of this wonderful family. I am deeply grateful.

The day was windy and cold, but we made it a fun day by taking a "picnic" lunch of homemade potato soup, crackers, corn bread, homemade blue berry pie and cookies. We had hot tea and coffee and a roaring fire both outdoors and inside the cabin.

The first thing one needs to make lard the old fashioned way is fat from happy pigs! (Happy pigs are pigs that have been raised humanely and allowed to be pigs!) We received the fat back from our butcher in long strip that he had tossed into a couple Rubbermaid type tubs that we had provided for him. We took that fat and sliced it into smaller pieces.

Mike's dad had gone over early and had a nice fire going. So, the next step was to take the pieces of fat and dump them into the kettle. (Don't call it a pot! I called it a pot and my father-in-law will never let me live it down! ;-) Rather than just dump all the fat in at once, we took a few pieces and allowed them to start sizzling, cooking and melting in the pot. This created just enough grease in the bottom of the kettle as to keep the fat from sticking. After the kettle was coated, two men lifted the tub of sliced fat and dumped it into the hot kettle.

(Note: Notice the long handled paddle that Mike's cousin, Dennis is holding. This was made about 70 years ago by a friend of the family specifically for stirring lard as it was being rendered. It is made of walnut.)

The next step is to simply stir and stir and stir.

We all took turns stirring the lard. We had to keep the fire going while not letting it get too hot. We stirred and stirred and stirred some more until finally the cracklins started floating to the top. (Cracklins are the little pieces of rind and meat that float to the top and are leftover after you make the lard.)

One must be careful not to overcook the lard. We were on the verge of overcooking but I tested the lard last night when I fried potatoes and it is fine. There is a fine line between "done" and "overdone", so you have to be really careful! My dad says when the cracklins start to float, then you know the lard is done!

At this point, it is time to remove the lard from the fire as you don't want it to continue to cook. Notice the hooks that the guys are using to move this big kettle. It was a lot of fun for me to see the stands, kettles, hooks, paddles, and lard press and imagine them being used over and over again in years past as my husband's family processed lard.

The next step is to run the lard and cracklins through the lard press. We lined the lard press with cotton flour cloth, poured the grease and cracklins through it, clamped it down tight and squeezed the grease out of the cracklins.

We bought the lard tins at a local farmer's cooperative. In the above photos, the tin is setting in a pan of cold water to help bring the heat down on the lard.

After we had filled two five gallon tins with lard, we moved them inside the cabin and let them set, settle, and cool down for 24 hours. My father-in-law says you don't want to disturb the lard until it has set up.

For long term storage, we will simply keep the tins of lard in a cool place.

When lard rendering was completed, we simply wiped out the kettle knowing that the grease was good seasoning to preserve the kettle, and turned it over to keep rain out and left it to cool. The next day all the equipment was gathered and stored again until the next time we have a lard rendering party.