I noticed that my sourdough wasn't bubbling as much as usual when I went to make my sourdough rye for Purple Porch last week. I went ahead with the process and ended up with five pounds of soggy wet rye flour that wasn't going anywhere!
I spread it out on a jelly roll pan and baked it for the chickens and dogs, then started the long task of making more. I finely ground more organic rye berries and mixed a cup of the flour with a cup of water. (If you are going to try this, don't use city water, as it has some stuff in it that will prevent the sourdough from forming.)
I beat it for a minute or two, then threw in six big, fat organic grapes, unwashed. I wanted that bloom on the skin of the grape - that's yeast! I covered the bowl with cheesecloth so that any yeast floating around in the kitchen would make it into the dough, but the bugs wouldn't.
Last time I made sourdough, which was three or four years ago, it failed on the first try, then took nearly a week to get going. This was bubbling within three days. I fished out the grapes and then added a couple of tablespoons of rye flour each day for three days, beating it well after each addition.
This morning, I used all but enough for another starter to make rye bread. It looks beautiful!! I wonder if the old sourdough was wearing out and I just didn't realize it. I won't know until the bread is baked tomorrow if it is as good as the old batch was. Sure hope so!!
Monday, November 18, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
Food and health
I've been thinking about food and health. We all have our opinions - low carb, low fat, grass fed meat, raw milk, no dairy, vegetarian, vegan - the list goes on and on. And everyone can find plenty of "data" to back up their opinions. Dr. Weston A. Price (my food guru) studied long lived peoples all over the world, and something that stood out was that healthy indigenous peoples ate copious amounts of fat (no polyunsaturated fat), raw milk and fermented food /soaked grains. And when these healthy people were introduced to our Western diet, full of sugar and processed foods, they became ill. So it sounds like a pretty resounding endorsement for upping our fat intake and cutting out sugar, both of which I have done.
However (and isn't there always a "however"?), even though this old body just can't tolerate sugar and carbohydrates in general, I know people who can, who remain slim in spite of indulging in potatoes and apples, who don't suffer from depression after eating a couple of cookies, who don't have to use lettuce in place of bread when making a sandwich, and who don't make their pizza dough out of shredded cheese and eggs. (Yup, I do that, and it is REALLY good.)
I know one woman who couldn't wait to get out of her household as a teenager so she wouldn't be forced to eat meat anymore; can't stand it, hasn't eaten a bite of it since leaving for college. She is slim, energetic and healthy. So there you have it. No single magic bullet so far as food and health are concerned.
I'm thinking, "Perhaps it is something else altogether." Are there other reasons, such as the Western lifestyle that goes with the Western diet? I was in the bookstore perusing cookbooks. And I was thinking of how many famous cooks live to a ripe old age.
What do/did they have in common? They ate well. The ingredients were good, the methods of cooking were good, and the end result was a feast for the eyes and the nose as well as the taste buds. And they were doing what they loved - including loving to eat.
The age-old question "Do you eat to live or live to eat?" seems to imply, at least to me, that perhaps some of us, such as I, are too focused on food, that the healthiest among us just eat when hungry, when it is time, and eat what is available in the fridge and cupboard.
I am rethinking that attitude of mine - perhaps it is the "live to eat" part that is the most important. I love to cook. I love to shop for food. I am so delighted that I work at the Farmers Market in South Bend, and belong to Purple Porch, and live on a certified organic farm so that I can eat my own grass fed meat, drink raw milk, make my own cheese, eat eggs from free range chickens. Food is a daily delight in my life.
Yup, I live to eat, and I think perhaps that is a good thing! And I love what I do to earn my living - very much associated with food. Now it is time to cook another great breakfast - bacon from Berkshire pigs raised right here on organic feed, eggs collected yesterday from my friends the hens, a cup of espresso, and some thick and luscious kefir made from raw milk from cows I am looking at.
Bon appetit.
However (and isn't there always a "however"?), even though this old body just can't tolerate sugar and carbohydrates in general, I know people who can, who remain slim in spite of indulging in potatoes and apples, who don't suffer from depression after eating a couple of cookies, who don't have to use lettuce in place of bread when making a sandwich, and who don't make their pizza dough out of shredded cheese and eggs. (Yup, I do that, and it is REALLY good.)
I know one woman who couldn't wait to get out of her household as a teenager so she wouldn't be forced to eat meat anymore; can't stand it, hasn't eaten a bite of it since leaving for college. She is slim, energetic and healthy. So there you have it. No single magic bullet so far as food and health are concerned.
I'm thinking, "Perhaps it is something else altogether." Are there other reasons, such as the Western lifestyle that goes with the Western diet? I was in the bookstore perusing cookbooks. And I was thinking of how many famous cooks live to a ripe old age.
- James Beard - died at 82, and he ate plenty of bread!
- Julia Child - died at 92, and ate plenty of butter
- François Massialot - died at 77 in the 18th century, French chef and cookbook author
- Georges Auguste Escoffier - died at 88 in the 20th century
- Prosper Montagne - died at 83 in 1948, author of Larousse gastronomique
- Jacques Pépin - 77 and still going strong
What do/did they have in common? They ate well. The ingredients were good, the methods of cooking were good, and the end result was a feast for the eyes and the nose as well as the taste buds. And they were doing what they loved - including loving to eat.
The age-old question "Do you eat to live or live to eat?" seems to imply, at least to me, that perhaps some of us, such as I, are too focused on food, that the healthiest among us just eat when hungry, when it is time, and eat what is available in the fridge and cupboard.
I am rethinking that attitude of mine - perhaps it is the "live to eat" part that is the most important. I love to cook. I love to shop for food. I am so delighted that I work at the Farmers Market in South Bend, and belong to Purple Porch, and live on a certified organic farm so that I can eat my own grass fed meat, drink raw milk, make my own cheese, eat eggs from free range chickens. Food is a daily delight in my life.
Yup, I live to eat, and I think perhaps that is a good thing! And I love what I do to earn my living - very much associated with food. Now it is time to cook another great breakfast - bacon from Berkshire pigs raised right here on organic feed, eggs collected yesterday from my friends the hens, a cup of espresso, and some thick and luscious kefir made from raw milk from cows I am looking at.
Bon appetit.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Rest in peace . . .
Clay usually makes sure that Susie is in the Moop at night, but he must have been in a hurry last night. She hides underneath, and I often have to reach under for her or chase her out with the handle of the broom rake.
This morning, there were a few remaining bits of her under the truck.
I am very sad. She was a beautiful pullet, and my favorite of all the chicks born this year.
This morning, there were a few remaining bits of her under the truck.
I am very sad. She was a beautiful pullet, and my favorite of all the chicks born this year.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
The chicks are growing up!
Goldie and the Twins have been on their own since Goldie went back to the flock. We have been putting them in a tote with a lid and carrying them from their nest in the water tank in the old barn to the Moop each night, trying to get them used to being with the flock. The hens are not very nice to them. When they hop out of the Moop in the morning, their mission is to find a place in the fence that they can squeeze through, and still being small enough, they find one. Then they run around outside the chicken run all day, free from the pecking and abuse of the older hens. Then the cycle starts over again, and we haul them back to the Moop the next evening.
Late yesterday afternoon, I opened up the gate into the chicken run and closed all of the doors into the old barn, hoping that the chicks would go into the Moop on their own, since access to their nest was blocked. Then at dusk I sneaked out to the Moop to see what was happening.
Little Susie was in the Moop! Such a smart little girl!! The Twins were bedded down under the Moop, and it took Clay and me working at it a few minutes to get them both out and put inside the Moop, but we got it done. We will do the same thing tonight and hope for the best.
Another batch of chicks is on its way to being part of the larger flock. :)
Late yesterday afternoon, I opened up the gate into the chicken run and closed all of the doors into the old barn, hoping that the chicks would go into the Moop on their own, since access to their nest was blocked. Then at dusk I sneaked out to the Moop to see what was happening.
Little Susie was in the Moop! Such a smart little girl!! The Twins were bedded down under the Moop, and it took Clay and me working at it a few minutes to get them both out and put inside the Moop, but we got it done. We will do the same thing tonight and hope for the best.
Another batch of chicks is on its way to being part of the larger flock. :)
Friday, October 4, 2013
Fridays off - it's like summer vacation, only in the fall!
The Farmers Market in South Bend is open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, year round. I look forward to being there. It is a great place to be three days a week. However . . .
April through September, we are open on Fridays as well. That extra day seems to push it from a pleasure to a job, if you know what I mean!
On Tuesday and Thursday, Annemarie, whose mother has the booth next to me, opens for me and works at my booth until I come in with the raw milk and market baskets at about 11:00 am. But on Fridays, Annemarie is not there. Having your booth open on Friday is voluntary, so many are empty.
Fridays are pretty dead; being late is not a big deal. I try to get there by 9:30, but I usually roll in an hour later. The lunch counter at the market is pretty awesome, and we have many regulars who are there every day, so most of my business occurs over the lunch hour. But that doesn't mean I'm not busy. It is the perfect time to dust jars on the shelve, do inventory, make shopping lists and sometimes get out from behind the booth and do a little shopping myself. Friday has its redeeming qualities.
Today is the first Friday off, and it is quite lovely! I'm playing catch-up with paperwork, and will be heading down to the soap room when I'm done with lunch. Today I need to make Belly Butter, Drummer's Hands and Organic Yarrow Cream. It will be nice to have the luxury of getting this stuff done now, instead of cramming it into my evening, or worse yet scurrying around in the morning trying to make sure the products are ready to go by the time I leave. No late arrivals on Saturday! I'm out the door by 7:00 at the latest, and it means getting up by 4:30 if I have product to make before I leave. Ugh!! But not tomorrow. I can "sleep in," alarm won't go off until about 5:45. Yup, I love my Fridays off.
April through September, we are open on Fridays as well. That extra day seems to push it from a pleasure to a job, if you know what I mean!
On Tuesday and Thursday, Annemarie, whose mother has the booth next to me, opens for me and works at my booth until I come in with the raw milk and market baskets at about 11:00 am. But on Fridays, Annemarie is not there. Having your booth open on Friday is voluntary, so many are empty.
Fridays are pretty dead; being late is not a big deal. I try to get there by 9:30, but I usually roll in an hour later. The lunch counter at the market is pretty awesome, and we have many regulars who are there every day, so most of my business occurs over the lunch hour. But that doesn't mean I'm not busy. It is the perfect time to dust jars on the shelve, do inventory, make shopping lists and sometimes get out from behind the booth and do a little shopping myself. Friday has its redeeming qualities.
Today is the first Friday off, and it is quite lovely! I'm playing catch-up with paperwork, and will be heading down to the soap room when I'm done with lunch. Today I need to make Belly Butter, Drummer's Hands and Organic Yarrow Cream. It will be nice to have the luxury of getting this stuff done now, instead of cramming it into my evening, or worse yet scurrying around in the morning trying to make sure the products are ready to go by the time I leave. No late arrivals on Saturday! I'm out the door by 7:00 at the latest, and it means getting up by 4:30 if I have product to make before I leave. Ugh!! But not tomorrow. I can "sleep in," alarm won't go off until about 5:45. Yup, I love my Fridays off.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Filling horns
Yesterday we did our semi-annual job of spreading BD-500 on the land here. It is our only fertilizer application on the pastures, other than what the dairy herd is doing naturally.
We fill horns with our own manure in the fall, then bury the horns until spring, when we dig them up for our first application. The composted manure is knocked out of about half of the horns and the rest stay underground until our fall task. We usually have 15 to 20 people here, and each person gets a bucket with about three gallons of water in it and a stick. I put a fourth cup of this horn manure into each pail, and each person gets busy creating vortices and chaos in the bucket for an hour.
At the end of the hour, we really don't care much about the manure, the remains of which have sunk to the bottom of the pail. What we do care about is the energized water, which is applied with pine boughs, cut from the trees here on the farm. That one fourth of horn manure is good for fertilizing up to one acre, a pretty amazing feat.
We did all 30 paddocks, plus my greenhouse and gardens yesterday. Oh, and the three calf pens as well. Can't forget about them!
Tina never misses this operation, but yesterday she couldn't be here. She is always the one in charge of refilling the horns for next year's applications. Well, I was saving that job for her, but Ava insisted that she and her dad could fill them. So I sent them out with spoons and instructions. They hooked up with Kristina and her two kids Keira and Dane, and before I knew it, the job was done! The kids had a ball, and it was nice to know that everything got completed in that one afternoon. Here are some pics of the kids burying the filled horns, as well as some pictures of BD-500 days past.
We fill horns with our own manure in the fall, then bury the horns until spring, when we dig them up for our first application. The composted manure is knocked out of about half of the horns and the rest stay underground until our fall task. We usually have 15 to 20 people here, and each person gets a bucket with about three gallons of water in it and a stick. I put a fourth cup of this horn manure into each pail, and each person gets busy creating vortices and chaos in the bucket for an hour.
At the end of the hour, we really don't care much about the manure, the remains of which have sunk to the bottom of the pail. What we do care about is the energized water, which is applied with pine boughs, cut from the trees here on the farm. That one fourth of horn manure is good for fertilizing up to one acre, a pretty amazing feat.
We did all 30 paddocks, plus my greenhouse and gardens yesterday. Oh, and the three calf pens as well. Can't forget about them!
Tina never misses this operation, but yesterday she couldn't be here. She is always the one in charge of refilling the horns for next year's applications. Well, I was saving that job for her, but Ava insisted that she and her dad could fill them. So I sent them out with spoons and instructions. They hooked up with Kristina and her two kids Keira and Dane, and before I knew it, the job was done! The kids had a ball, and it was nice to know that everything got completed in that one afternoon. Here are some pics of the kids burying the filled horns, as well as some pictures of BD-500 days past.
Friday, September 27, 2013
News from the farm
Things have been hectic lately. Kim is such an integral part of this farm! He got double pneumonia, spent nearly a week in the hospital, then couldn't work for several more days. He came back on light duty last week, but it was obvious that he couldn't work more than a couple of hours, then had to go home to rest. Thank goodness for Jake, a high school senior who was here every morning at 5:30 before school, to fill in for Kim in the dairy barn.
Little by little, Kim has been training Clay to do more of the work around here. Clay is really shining! He is even moving the cows from paddock to paddock now. He is also doing nearly all of my picking from the garden since Androo left. And he is picking up more duties in the greenhouse. Clay has really blossomed in his seven years here at the farm.
Goldie's three chicks are learning to go to the Moop to sleep at night. Of course, they need a little help. I put them in a tote with a lid when they bed down in the water tank in the old barn, then haul them to the Moop. Night before last, it was a little too light when Clay and I moved them, and they jumped back out of the Moop. I thought I would have to start the procedure over, but lo and behold I saw one of them jump into the Moop. I checked in the back of it, and there they were, all three of them hunkered down on the floor.
Last night, I carried them to the Moop in the tote, lifted them out one by one and set them on a roost, and they stayed! Hopefully soon they will be completely integrated into the bigger flock. I am pretty sure that Little Susie is properly named and is a pullet. The other two are a breed I am not used to, and it is a crap shoot. I can hope for some hens out of the six chicks that were born here this year. The three that hatched on June 2 should be starting to lay within a few weeks if they are pullets. I have not heard any of them crowing, so I can hope! I'm looking for those first small pullet eggs. In the chicken world, the boys are not so valuable. And since I can't bear to butcher them, I will have to sell them. I already have four roosters, and that is about enough for the size of my flock.
The calves are growing! Scrappy was born in February and is quite big. Big Ben was always big from day one, and he is keeping up with Scrappy. Eddie is a little smaller, and of course Lily is the smallest, a beautiful heifer born the latest.
My business at both Purple Porch and the South Bend Farmers Market are thriving this year in spite of the poor production in the garden. I'm still selling frozen pork from the pig project. So all in all, receipts are up quite a bit from last year. Every little bit counts!
Farming is hard work, but the rewards are great.
Little by little, Kim has been training Clay to do more of the work around here. Clay is really shining! He is even moving the cows from paddock to paddock now. He is also doing nearly all of my picking from the garden since Androo left. And he is picking up more duties in the greenhouse. Clay has really blossomed in his seven years here at the farm.
Goldie's three chicks are learning to go to the Moop to sleep at night. Of course, they need a little help. I put them in a tote with a lid when they bed down in the water tank in the old barn, then haul them to the Moop. Night before last, it was a little too light when Clay and I moved them, and they jumped back out of the Moop. I thought I would have to start the procedure over, but lo and behold I saw one of them jump into the Moop. I checked in the back of it, and there they were, all three of them hunkered down on the floor.
Last night, I carried them to the Moop in the tote, lifted them out one by one and set them on a roost, and they stayed! Hopefully soon they will be completely integrated into the bigger flock. I am pretty sure that Little Susie is properly named and is a pullet. The other two are a breed I am not used to, and it is a crap shoot. I can hope for some hens out of the six chicks that were born here this year. The three that hatched on June 2 should be starting to lay within a few weeks if they are pullets. I have not heard any of them crowing, so I can hope! I'm looking for those first small pullet eggs. In the chicken world, the boys are not so valuable. And since I can't bear to butcher them, I will have to sell them. I already have four roosters, and that is about enough for the size of my flock.
The calves are growing! Scrappy was born in February and is quite big. Big Ben was always big from day one, and he is keeping up with Scrappy. Eddie is a little smaller, and of course Lily is the smallest, a beautiful heifer born the latest.
My business at both Purple Porch and the South Bend Farmers Market are thriving this year in spite of the poor production in the garden. I'm still selling frozen pork from the pig project. So all in all, receipts are up quite a bit from last year. Every little bit counts!
Farming is hard work, but the rewards are great.
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