Little Miss Muffett

Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey.

Along came a spider
And sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet away!

I experienced an ignominious failure on Monday. I had 4 lovely gallons of fresh raw goat milk that I was going to make into a 4 pound wheel of Farmhouse Cheddar cheese. There comes, in the procedure, a time when I heat the curds and whey up to 100 degrees F. and then set it in a sink full of 100 degree water for 30 minutes. I was busy and forgot to do that step! I just poured it all into the lined colander. And then I realized what I had done! For the first time in a long time, I was really quite mad at myself.

So, now I'm stuck with a whole bunch of softish curd. I salted it and am storing it in the refrigerator in a bowl, covered, awaiting inspiration as to what I can do with all of that. It is still a raw milk product. Sigh....

Here is my first effort:



Curd Bread

2.5 cups very warm water
1 Tablespoon instant yeast
2 cups of the curds - not packed down
2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons goat butter
2 Tablespoons raw honey
1 1/2 cups sprouted wheat flour (because that's all I had.)
Unbleached flour (sufficient to make a nice kneadable dough.)

Put the yeast in your bread bowl. Add the water, then add everything else and stir well. Knead on floured surface for 10 minutes. Place in buttered bowl and allow to raise until double in bulk. Punch down, form into two loaves. Place loaves in sprayed bread pans. Allow to rise in warm place until nice and springy. Bake in pre-heated 350 degree F. oven for 55 minutes. Cool loaves on wire rack.

As I've said before, I cook mainly by "method" and not exact recipes. So, if you would like to re-create this bread, don't be put off by the esoteric ingredient list. See ~

"Raw honey" - think, what sweetener do I have on hand? Use it!
"Goat butter" - good grief. Just use some regular butter.
"sprouted wheat flour" - of course this does make a difference, but you could substitute some whole wheat flour and still have some nice bread.
"Curds" - substitute drained cottage cheese.

This bread is really delicious, and I used some of it this morning to make French toast. Very nice!

How to Preserve fresh Genovese Basil

I have never tried companion planting before. I grew my own Genovese basil transplants this year and so had quite a few and decided to plant them next to tomato plants, as I had heard that is a good combination. It must be. I've never had such glorious basil before! The basil is on the left next to the tomato plant.



I went out this afternoon and cut a basketful of the fresh basil.



Then I removed the leaves from the stems, washed them well and gave them a few spins in the salad spinner.



Next I chopped them in the food processor and put them into a quart jar.



Finally, I covered them with apple cider vinegar and put a lid on the jar.



If my house was cooler, I'd just let it sit in a cupboard, but the house gets pretty hot this time of year, so I will store it in the refrigerator. When I want basil for cooking (pesto, spaghetti sauce, pizza, soup, roast, chicken.. etc.) I can just retrieve what I need and it will be like having fresh basil all year!

Little Miss Muffet

Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey.

Along came a spider
And sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet away!

I experienced and ignominious failure on Monday. I had 4 lovely gallons of fresh raw goat milk that I was going to make into a 4 pound wheel of Farmhouse Cheddar cheese. There comes, in the procedure, a time when I heat the curds and whey up to 100 degrees F. and then set it in a sink full of 100 degree water for 30 minutes. I was busy and forgot to do that step! I just poured it all into the lined colander. And then I realized what I had done! For the first time in a long time, I was really quite mad at myself.

So, now I'm stuck with a whole bunch of softish curd. I salted it and am storing it in the refrigerator in a bowl, covered, awaiting inspiration as to what I can do with all of that. It is still a raw milk product. Sigh....

Here is my first effort:



Curd Bread

2.5 cups very warm water
1 Tablespoon instant yeast
2 cups of the curds - not packed down
2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons goat butter
2 Tablespoons raw honey
1 1/2 cups sprouted wheat flour (because that's all I had.)
Unbleached flour (sufficient to make a nice kneadable dough.)

Put the yeast in your bread bowl. Add the water, then add everything else and stir well. Knead on floured surface for 10 minutes. Place in buttered bowl and allow to raise until double in bulk. Punch down, form into two loaves. Place loaves in sprayed bread pans. Allow to rise in warm place until nice and springy. Bake in pre-heated 350 degree F. oven for 55 minutes. Cool loaves on wire rack.

As I've said before, I cook mainly by "method" and not exact recipes. So, if you would like to re-create this bread, don't be put off by the esoteric ingredient list. See ~

"Raw honey" - think, what sweetener do I have on hand? Use it!
"Goat butter" - good grief. Just use some regular butter.
"sprouted wheat flour" - of course this does make a difference, but you could substitute some whole wheat flour and still have some nice bread.
"Curds" - substitute drained cottage cheese.

This bread is really delicious, and I used some of it this morning to make French toast. Very nice!

Remember the Egyptian onions?

Earlier this Spring, I posted about Egyptian (walking) onions. Here is how they look now.



Each plant is topped with a cluster of little "sets". Eventually, they will fall over and the sets will take root. Yesterday, on a whim, I ate one raw when I was out there. It was really quite nice! So, I decided an experiment is in order.



Some mustard seeds..



2 bay leaves...



The "sets" all cleaned...



I also added some peppercorns, but do not have a photo here. I put all of these things in a jar with a rubber seal and wire bale and covered the contents well with a brine made of 1.5 Tablespoons salt and 1 quart water.



I went out and found some wild grape leaves and washed them carefully.



I put them in the jar and put 2 clean stones on top. I will let it set on the counter until it starts to get cloudy and a little bubbly, and then transfer it to the fridge for 6 weeks. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Who are ewe?

My friend that gave me all the chicken feet and her husband had to leave town for a few days, so I am taking care of the livestock at her place. When I get done with our goat chores, then I go and take care of her sheep, goats, chickens, pigeons, turkeys, cats and dogs!

Imagine my surprise and pleasure, this morning, when I arrived at her barn to find this newborn little ewe lamb! She and the momma are doing just fine. It is delightful to see them together. Sheep are gentle creatures. The Biblical references to the difference between sheep and goats is quite apt.

Sometimes I just play.

It was a beautiful cool morning so I went out along the fields near here and picked black raspberries. It makes me feel like a little girl playing.

Summertime at Grandma's

Our oldest granddaughter came and stayed with us for a whole week! She was a great help in the garden and with the goats. Now back to real life and weeding the potatoes today. I am sure I'll be sharing something else with you soon.