Thursday on the Homestead

 


 In the Barn
Well I woke up to snow again this morning.  I just KNOW spring will be here soon!  I was hoping we were done with the snowy stuff..  <sigh>  ..  But it does make a pretty site..  Sierra took this pic this morning…


  


I pulled out my goat sweaters and took them down to the barn to put on my babies to give them a little extra warmth….  I think they look so cute with their little sweaters on…




 


Here is the pattern for those goat sweaters if you have some little goat babies that need a little extra warmth..  http://thefamilyhomestead.com/crochetgoatsweater.htm   


In the Kitchen
I am finding that keeping up with my Nourishing Traditions food prep is getting much easier now.  I figured it would be a matter of making these steps a habit.  This is what the extra steps have looked like this week… 


On Tuesday evening I put two free range organic chickens in my big pot to make stock.  I filled it water, carrots and onions and got that simmering.  Today I will strain it and debone the meat and put the broth in the freezer.  I am making a big pot of broth about every 2 to 3 weeks.   


Yesterday I started another gallon of sauerkraut.  It has been about a week and half since I needed to make any fermented veggies.  I started out last week with one gallon of salsa and about a gallon of sauerkraut and now the kraut is almost gone.  I will probably make salsa some time towards the end of next week. 


This morning I poured a little kefir into two – two quart jars and filled them with milk.  They are sitting on the counter right now and should be done by tonight or tomorrow morning.  With the cooler temps of winter I find it takes a little longer for the kefir to culture.  I make about 3 to 4 gallons of kefir weekly.


I am still working on perfecting/refining my bread recipe.  I have not got into sourdough yet so as of now I am soaking my hard white wheat flour in water and whey and then making bread the next day.  I am almost ready to share my recipe and technique with you all.  The last batch turned out better than the first.. but I am still tweaking..  I still make my regular 6 loaves a week..  just changing the way I do it.   


I have beans cooking this morning that I set in water and whey to soak last night.  They will be made into my Nacho’s for a Crowd recipe for dinner tonight (my menu got jumbled around due to baby goats and other busyness this week).   As long as I have a menu planned it has made remembering to soak my beans much easier.  


I have lots of whey still so don’t anticipate making any more feta cheese until I run out of whey (although we ate all the feta! LOL).  I now have my mama goat in milk so soon I will be able to have my raw milk again!   


So far that is where I am at..  and still working to keep these new year goals a habit for my family’s diet.   


Oh.. one other thing I did was make Kombuca tea.  I bought the mother and made one batch and it was ok..  the lady I bought my mother from said that often the mother goes into shock during shipping and the first baby culture can be thin.. and mine was.  So I started a second batch and put the mother and the thin baby into it and now it is almost done and this baby culture looks much better!  I will be straining that out soon and trying this batch of tea.  It is a different type of drink for sure..  but not bad.  I will be posting more on this later on.   


In The Home
Aside from kitchen and food stuff going on the kids are working hard on their school books..  they want to make sure they are done by late spring and ready for some time outside in the nicer weather.  Emily is getting ready to take her first two dante tests for her college degree.  She has taken just about all her CLEPS and now moves onto dauntes.  The only frustrating part we found is that we have to drive 2 hours to the nearest college that administers dantes.  But there are not as many of them to take and she is going to try and be prepared to take 2 at a time so as to make less trips.  Leanne took her 4th GED test and has one more take next month and then she too will begin taking a few CLEP tests as she gets ready to enroll in College Plus! and start working on her degree.   


That is all from the Homestead today..  Hope some of you are seeing more spring like weather than me! 


 

Comments

  1. 82 degrees here with the windows open. Hope it moves up to you soon. Love the babies!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Paula (PaulaB52@cox.net)February 26, 2009 at 6:56 AM

    Hi, I am LOVING your site! I came to it thru a search for "lacto fermented saurkraut". I'm trying out your recipe right now, though I"m afraid the bag didn't make an "air tight seal". It seemed like some of the liquid from the cabbage was coming up around the bag. Either way, we'll see.


    I'm pretty new on this NT way of eating. I'm also in the process of growing a SCOBY for some Kombucha. We'll see about that one too. :)


    Thanks again for a great site!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have read about Kombucha and the nutritional benefits of it. I went to my local health food store to get some but they have been out. The lady told me it tasted kinda like beer. Well I finally had the opportunity to try it when I found it at a grocery store. I must say it has been 12 years since I have been saved and stopped drinking but immediately I knew that taste. I drank it down but could not believe that I used to drink beer because I must say it was not an appealing taste for me. When you make it from scratch does it taste that way? I wanted to do this but I'm not planning to go this route if it all taste like beer. I asked my husband about his beer drinking long ago days before being saved and he said he never did drink beer so I know he wouldn't drink it. Can you tell me anything about this?


    Micki

    http://www.ReflectionsofHeavenBoundMomof3.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. hi~ this is to answer the kombucha question..yes it does taste like beer, I guess it depends on how long you let it brew and how much sugar you put into it, mine tastes like beer, and I 've heard some people's taste like regular iced tea...and this question is for homesteading mom...so do you soak pinto beans also like you would soak rice?? thanks .Gaby

    ReplyDelete
  5. My Kombucha has never tasted like beer, at least not as I remember. I have found that ir I haven't drank it in awhile, I only let it brew for 2-3 days then once I get used to that I let it brew longer. I also use green tea instead of black, it tastes more like apple juice.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ahh, they are sooo sweet!


    I wanted to let you know about a contest with a chance to win one of my ebooks.

    Hurry though, it ends tomorrow!

    http://dixonhomestead.com/rachel/?p=929

    ~Candy~

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello Crystal.

    You have inspired me to read Nourishing traditions and a few other of Sally Fallons books. My Dh and I also checked out a 5 hour dvd that Sally Fallon made. I am starting slowly changing our diet. I have a double batch of beef broth cooking as I type this and coconut in the oven drying. I have never made or even tasted kefir. I have read about you using it. Do you know where I can purchase kefir grains? Thanks for everything you do. You are my hero, many times over. I have learned to truly feel blessed as a mother and wife to my family and I glean wonderful Christlike information from you regularly!

    Thanks again!

    Kim Myers

    rkmyersrus@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. I read further on your blog on how to make my own kefir and went o the link you put for leeners and I purchased some.

    THANK YOU!

    Kim Myers

    ReplyDelete

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