Princess' Second Pregnancy

Princess should be my first cow to calve this spring and her udder is starting to fill in.  She is due March the 8th.  Last year when she gave us a bull calf, she was completely miserable for the last four weeks of her pregnancy and carried the baby differently than she is carrying this calf.  Perhaps it is another bull calf only smaller this year or just maybe she will give us an  heifer!  (Once can always dream, right?)

Princess was the first heifer born here to our dairy herd after a run of six bulls in a row.  She has always been completely spoiled and doesn't realize that she is not at least part human.  I have plans to let her retire right here on the farm when she is too old to produce babies anymore.  She is registered as a Foundation Pure Miniature and is 40 inches tall. 

Random

Reeses is 3/4 Mini Jersey (100% Jersey) and oh so cute!

Random information from a blogger who post randomly posts!  That pretty much describes my blog over the last year or more.  It's not that I don't love blogging because the truth is, I love to write.  I have just found myself either too busy or too tired in the past year to keep up with my blog as I would like.  I also find that since I am actively updating our farming Facebook page, to post the same information here seems redundant.  In addition, I have not bee able to give time to keeping up with the blogs of others and I think that this might be true for a lot of folks.  I sometimes wonder if blogging will go the way of the annual Christmas Letter.  There was a time when I looked forward to receiving Christmas Letters and sending one of my own.  Now I find that because of email, facebook and other means of instant communication, the Christmas Letter seems kind of archaic.  Yet, I feel drawn to continue on with the blog even though it might be sporadic and the topics might be so random that they discourage followers.  I enjoy looking back at the stats on my blog and seeing that many people are still discovering and using my Cottage Cheese recipe among others.  I also enjoy it when the stats show a high volume of traffic to one of my informational posts about the animals that we are raising.  If nothing else, I guess the blog will serve as some sort of journal for my daughter someday and she can look back and read about our farming and other ventures even after we are gone. 

Just a random update on what is going on here on the farm and in our lives:

The winter has been very mild and pleasant for the most part.  The warmer temps mean that we have had rain rather than snow and this had left us with a lot of mud to deal with.  For the first time ever, I have had to deal with chronic mastitis in a cow and that has not been fun.  I think the mud and the fact she insists on laying in the slop rather than the clean shelter has something to do with it.  We did everything we could think of to remedy the situation.  We had her milk cultured and it did not show anything terrible (like staph).  We changed inflations, changed vacuum pumps, made sure our equipment was thoroughly cleaned after each milking and began hand stripping.  We would get her cleared up and it would come back again.  Very frustrating and also meant that we were dumping milk making things tight around here on the milk supply.  Thankfully, she seems to be cleared up now and we are hoping she stays that way but are not holding our breath.  Should she come back with mastitis again, we are going to dry her off and put her in with the beef herd. 

In addition to the mastitis issues, we also had a cow that either has not bred back or slipped a calf.  Tori is a Mini Jersey and she slipped her first calf at seven months gestation.  We thought she was bred back and due in February only to find she is open.  I have had her vet checked and blood work run and there does not seem to be any known reason why she is not able to conceive/carry a calf.   We are going to give her about a year and if she doesn't conceive, then we will just have to butcher her.  It's heartbreaking and a big financial loss but it is part of farming. 

Upcoming news includes the fact that we should be receiving 100 Speckled Sussex chicks at the end of this coming week or beginning of next week.  After having a variety of birds over the years, I have finally settled on the Speckled Sussex as being my favorite.  I love their size, their productivity and their temperament.  I am ordering 25 roosters to fatten and butcher and the rest will be hens.  I need to totally replace my flock as all my other birds are between 2-5 years of age. 

It looks like all my goat does are bred to our new buck (who has a very nice temperament) and we should be having kids in May.  I know a lot of folks like to have their goats kid earlier but I am looking forward to having kids when the weather is warm and I don't have to worry about bringing them inside or keeping them warm. 

We had our very first beef calf of the year born today and should have many more in the coming weeks and months.  Four of our Jersey girls will be calving in March and I will have my hands full with new babies and mommas who will be back in production and need to be milked twice a day. 

Mike is gearing up to plant the garden and looking forward to that as gardening is his passion.  (I prefer to take care of the animals.)

I think that news pretty much gets us up to date and I would love to be able to promise that I will make frequent updates here to my blog, but as much as I want to do that, the truth is the posts will probably continue to be sporadic.............................and random. 

Rosie turned a year old this month.  I will be breeding her later in the summer.  She is a Foundation Pure Miniature and well under 40 inches. 

Project Guatemala

A mother and her children at Hope of Life feeding center near Zacapa, Guatemala.

Having been able to reach the goals of providing a deep water well to provide clean water for the village of Manzanotal in 2011 and money for cleft palate surgeries for Rosie in 2012 due to the generous support of so many, I don't feel that we can stop there.  After recently returning from my second trip to Guatemala, my heart burns with a desire to help these people further and I know that funding projects will become a life long venture for me.  I hope that others will share the passion to help the beautiful people of Guatemala and join me in these projects.  With or without the support of others, I will push forward to do what I can do.  In keeping with these broader  and long term goals, I have changed the name of my other blog to Joshua's Well & Project Guatemala.  Please join me on that blog where I will attempt to post a photo a day to share information about the people I came in contact with while visiting Guatemala.  I hope to share not only the needs but also the stories of success, life and hope. 

Helping does not necessarily mean that one has to provide money for projects.  There are many ways to help.  The most helpful act of all is to pray.  Maybe a photo will touch your heart and you will feel drawn to a particular baby, child, or adult.  Maybe an elderly person's photo will grab your heart.  You may not know their name, but you can pray for them just the same by thinking of them and asking God to somehow intervene in their lives.  You can also help by sharing the information that is presented on the blog and directing others to the site.  As we network, there are people who want to help but just need to know of the needs.  You never know what might happen when you share with a friend who shares with another.  Raising awareness is as important as actually donating money.  In addition to the revamped blog site, I have also changed my Rosie FaceBook page to make it Project Guatemala so that I can continue to share projects over time.  Please like this page and share it with your FaceBook friends!  Facebook can be a valuable tool for sharing information and reaching well beyond your scope of friends as people share the stories, photos and needs.    Keeping the people of Guatemala in your heart, thoughts and prayers and sharing the needs with others as well as donating to specific projects if you feel led and have the means are ways that we can make a difference in the lives of others. 

Thanks to all who have already made a difference. 

CrockPot Chicken and Dumplings (Reviewed and Updated September 24, 2023)

For me, homemade chicken and dumplings begin with 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. Perhaps you raise your own meat birds and that's fantastic.  We have raised them on occasion, but I find it is something I am happy to pay someone else to do.  

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

I then make at least two meals out of the bird.  I use the beautiful, white, breast meat to make one meal, such as the  Chicken Casserole recipe found at this link.   Or, we will sometimes use the breast meat for sandwiches or chicken salad.

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

To make the chicken and dumplings, I do the following:

After deboning, put the chicken and the broth back in the crock pot.  While the broth is coming back up to temperature, make the dumplings.  Use a spoon to drop them into the hot broth or roll them between your hands to make a uniform-sized dumpling for a prettier presentation.

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, 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

This recipe can also be made in a regular stock pot.  After you have dropped your dumplings into the broth, cover and let cook on low for about 30 minutes.  Remove the lid for the last 5-10 minutes to let the dumplings dry a bit on top if you like.  

Enjoy!

Pie Crusts Recipes, Apple Pie, Rhubarb Pie and Blueberry Pie (Updated July 6, 2022)

Single Crust

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

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup leaf lard

4-5 Tablespoons ice-cold water (You may have to use more or less of this.  Always put one Tablespoon in at a time so that you do not get your crust too wet.)

NOTE:  Put several ice cubes in your water to make it as cold as you can get it.  This will help the crust roll out better and make the crust flakier.  Trust me, it makes a difference!  But do not let pieces of the ice fall into your crust or you will have little pockets of sticky dough as you try to roll it out.  

Double Crust

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (Not self-rising)

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup leaf lard

8-10 Tablespoons ice-cold water (You may have to use more than this.  Always mix water in one Tablespoon at a time so that you do not get your crust too wet.)



Sift together flour and salt. Measure lard and using your hands work the lard into the mixture until you have pea-sized pieces of lard throughout and create a crumbly mixture like what is in the photo. Make a "well" or hole in the center of the flour mixture and add a small amount of very cold water (1 TBS at a time) 

Work the flour mixture into the water until the mixture is damp enough to stick together but not wet. You do this by adding a bit of water into the well and then mixing in a bit of the flour mixture, working your dry flour in from the sides.  (The water measurement is just an estimate.  Weather, humidity, etc. affects how much water you will need to get the right consistency with your crust.)  Making crust is truly a learned art and may take several tries before one is able to master the art.    Form dough into a ball by pressing gently together with your hands and then using the ball pick up the extra flour and pieces of dough along the edges of the bowl.  If your flour mixture is too dry it will not pick up the pieces around the edges but if it is too wet, the crust will stick when you get ready to roll it out.   Do not knead and do not overhandle.  Overhandling will cause your crust to become tough and flat.  

On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to flatten the dough. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle about 12 inches in diameter.  (You can use your pie plate to measure how wide you need your circle.) 

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

For the pre-baked shell: prick the bottom and sides of the 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.

For a double pie crust with filling, fold your bottom crust and place it in the center of the pie plate with edges overlapping the pie plate.  Fill the crust with your fruit or another filling.  Roll out the top crust as previously described, and fold in half place in the center of the pie plate.  Unfold and cut off extra dough around the edge of the pie plate.  If you are using a fork to mash down the edges (like many of our grandmothers did with homemade pies), you can cut very close to the edge of the pie plate and then poke air holes in the top pie crust so that it can vent.  (If it doesn't vent, your filling will bubble out around the edges and make a mess.)  If you want to get fancy and make fluted edges or use a knife to cut designs in the top crust you can do that instead of using the fork.  

Note: It has been my experience from knowledge passed down to me from my grandmother that the less the crust is handled, the lighter and flakier it will be. The goal is to roll the dough out once.  Every time you take your crust up and start over, your crust becomes tough.  

Lard & Butter Pie Crust

4 c. all-purpose flour (Not Self Rising)

1 heaping tsp. salt

1 cup lard

1/2 cup butter

1/2 c. ice cold water



Place the four cups of flour in a bowl.  Mix in your salt.  Mix lard and butter together and then using your fingers, gently mix the lard/butter mixture into the flour/salt mixture. This will produce a crumbly mix as shown in the photo.

 Next, create a well or hole in the center of your flour and lard mixture and pour in a small amount of water. 





Work the flour gently into the ice-cold water.  You want the flour mixture to be damp and to start sticking together, but you don't want it to be soaking wet.  Continue to add water a little at a time and work in the flour until all the flour is damp.  It's very important to not work or handle the dough any more than you have to.  The less it is handled and worked the flakier the pie crust will be.  In fact, my goal is always to only have to roll the dough out once.  If the dough sticks and you have to roll it out again, you compromise the quality of the crust. 

Divide your dough in half and roll out one section at a time.  Line the bottom of your pie plate with the crust, put in your filling, roll out the top crust, and place it on top of your filling.  You then can crimp the edges with a fork or make fancy fluted edges.   Don't forget to slit or poke holes in the top with a fork so that the pie can vent as it cooks.  

Apple Pie

For this particular pie, I used this apple pie filling.   However, you can use fresh apples as well.  To make apple pie using fresh apples, I peel and slice the apples and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, and about 3 Tablespoons of flour. Stir to coat the apples with flour,, cinnamon and sugar.   Fill the bottom crust with your apple pie filling or fresh apple mixture,  put a few pats of butter on top,  put the top crust on the pie, and bake.  I bake at 375 degrees until the crust is nicely browned.  

Blueberry Pie

Using fresh blueberries, I made a deep dish pie using about four cups of berries.  I added about 1 cup of sugar as the berries I was using were very sweet and tasty.  If your berries are tart, you may have to use more sugar.  I used a product called Clear Jell from Hoosier Hill Farms to thicken my berries.  I mixed approximately 1/4 cup of the Clear Jell with 3/4 cup of cold water and then mixed this in with the sugar and berries.  The pie thickens as it cooks.  Another way of making the filling is to cook your berries and sugar first and when they start to boil, you can add a cornstarch mixture made with 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and just enough cold water to make a smooth, pourable liquid.  As you pour this into your boiling berries stir vigorously until thick and then remove from heat immediately.  Because your berries have been pre-cooked, they are not going to have the whole berry look.  In addition, your filling may begin to bubble up and out of your pie crust before the crust is brown.  The Clear Jell helps you avoid this ugly mess!  One could also coat the sugared berries with about 3 Tablespoons of flour before baking but flour often makes a cloudy filling.  The Clear Jell definitely makes the prettiest filling.  Depending on how many berries you use, you may have to use more or less of the Clear Jell.  When in doubt, look up the instructions for the Clear Jell provided by the distributor.  I have a terrible habit of "eyeballing" and "winging" things.  Mostly with experience, my methods work out for me, but occasionally I make a total mess of things!  It's very difficult for me to share these "by sight and feel" recipes with others!  So bare with me!  

Rhubarb Pie

5 Cups of Sliced Rhubarb
1 1/4 Cups of Sugar
5 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour
Cinnamon to taste if desired (about 1/4 teaspoon)

Mix sugar, flour, and cinnamon together then toss rhubarb in the mixture until rhubarb is thoroughly coated.  Pour into the bottom pie crust.  Dot with butter if desired (about 1 o 1 1/2 Tablespoons).  I made rhubarb pie in this post and used a pie bird just for fun.  

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

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

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.