I was late getting out to milk on Saturday morning. Kev and I didn't get home until 1:20am and then dh woke with a start at 6am asking, "How did THAT happen?" He always panics a bit when he wakes up so late and the sun is shining so brightly. He's normally out of bed by 2:30am. Most people's eyes widen at the thought of getting up so early.
But you know, it's not that hard to get up at 2:30am when you go to bed at 6 or 7pm. And when you repeatedly get up at 2:30am, it's easy to go to bed at 6 or 7pm. You are ready for bed by that time, trust me.
Even though we "slept in" we were dragging from lack of sleep, I got less than five hours and it's pretty hard for me to cope on so few hours. We lolly-gagged around and finally made our way out to milk. Since it had rained very hard on Friday night, I figured there would be millions upon millions of flies, especially since it is The Time of the Flies.
Amazingly, there were only two or three flies hanging around and they didn't even harrass me or the girls while I milked. The previous day I'd forgotten some milk in a plastic bucket and it smelled delicious. No really. Raw milk doesn't go rotten or putrid like pasteurized or homogenized milk. I remember the first time I soured milk on purpose. I was afraid I was going to get food poisoning and be sick for days. But if you think about it, what's yogurt? Simply soured milk, the only difference is specific bacteria is added to turn the milk into yogurt.
So I decided to try a new experiment. Usually when the urge strikes to make yogurt and/or soured milk, I get out my yogurt maker. A time or two I've put a gallon of milk on the dryer which sits outside on the back porch, to let it sour. After it curdles, I strain it and it makes the most fantastic cream cheese.
My new experiment was to try making yogurt without using the yogurt maker. I strained the milk, mixed in some Fage (the MOST delicious yogurt and given to us free) for starter and set it on the dryer which is outside on the porch.
Twelve hours later, the yogurt was not yet yogurt. I think it wasn't hot enough out. Although my yogurt maker stays at a constant 125°F, yogurt can be made at a lower temperature. In fact, making it at a lower temperature creates a more nutritious product, especially when you start out with raw milk.
In the picture above, the jar on the right holds the yogurt, the jar on the left is plain milk.
Fermented foods are an important component to our diets as they provide friendly bacteria which helps our digestive systems to work effectively.
The big rage seems to be fiber, fiber, fiber. While fiber is important, it can wreak havoc on your digestive system and cause major problems if you get too much of it. Sometimes the problem is not a need for fiber, but for fermented foods, especially if you take antibiotics. Foods which will add friendly bacteria to your digestive system, and help your body get all the nutrients it can from the foods you eat. Of course, that depends on if the food you eat has nutritional content. If you're living off Pop Tarts, McDoubles and slushees, you are probably starving in a nutritional sense. Sometimes I think it's pretty fantastic how our bodies can survive on the foods we ingest.
The next morning, Sunday, I checked my concoctions. The yogurt was indeed yogurt, and the sour milk had separated into curds and whey.
I strained out the whey and gave it to the chickens, and was left with what looked to be sour cream. A little bit lumpy, but it had a delicious and rich salty taste, nonetheless. I used some of it to make homemade ranch dressing along with some of my homemade yogurt and it just made the taste. 
I'm glad my experiment worked out!
DISCLAIMER: Now remember, do NOT try this with store bought milk that has been pasteurized and homogenized. It will not sour naturally, because all of the natural bacteria that causes it to sour and taste delicious has been killed. Homogenized and pasteurized store bought milk WILL turn putrid and nasty, and if you could get past the stink and slime to ingest it you would undoubtedly become very sick.
Until next time.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Making Soured Milk
Labels: Nourishing Traditions, recipes, The Flies
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Make Your Own Vanilla
Labels: Nourishing Traditions
I discovered about a couple of years ago that the most popular brand of vanilla, McCormick's Pure Vanilla Extract contains corn syrup. The ingredients listed are vanilla bean extractives in water, alcohol (35%), and corn syrup.
I was actually surprised to find that pure vanilla extract contained water and corn syrup.
I am on a mailing list for the cookbook Nourishing Traditions, and last year they were talking about making one's own vanilla.
So last year, on January 20th to be exact, I started my first bottle of vanilla. We are just getting down to the last few ounces and I started a new bottle yesterday.
Here's how I do it.
Buy a bottle of vodka. I buy the cheapest one I can find. I found a 750ml bottle on sale for $5.99. 750ml converts to 3 cups. I ordered my vanilla beans from eBay. I still have a bunch left from last year. I'm trying to find my order so I can see how much they cost so I can figure out how much it costs to make 3 cups of vanilla. I'm thinking $10 and I used about 1/6th to make vanilla last year.
The bottle on the right is last year's bottle, the bottle on the left is my new bottle. It takes about one month to turn into vanilla.
Now I'm going outside to help build the new maternity ward.
Until next time.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
How I Like My Oatmeal
Labels: Nourishing Traditions, recipes
I talked with my mom this morning about the insect in the oatmeal incident... she laughed as I told her how we'd been standing there, it plopped into the pan, she shushed me, scooped it out and boiled it a bit longer... She didn't remember it happening, but she's cool like that. She realizes she might not remember every incident and never denies my memories. Anyway, here's how I like oatmeal.
I like to "season" my oatmeal with butter, maple syrup, cream and today I had one medjool date chopped into small pieces.
It takes some foresight to make oatmeal as I presoak the oats with kefir, to reduce the phytic acid. I also add in some whole wheat flour as it is supposed to help the process along.
Here is the recipe from Nourishing Traditions
Breakfast Porridge
1 cup oats, rolled or cracked
1 cup warm water + 2 tablespoons kefir (or you could use whey, yogurt, or buttermilk)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup water
*1 Tablespoon freshly ground whole wheat flour
For highest benefits and best assimilation, porridge should be soaked overnight or even longer. Once soaked, oatmeal cooks up in less than 5 minutes—truly a fast food. (Note: Those with severe milk allergies can use lemon juice or vinegar in place of whey, yoghurt, kefir
or buttermilk.)
Mix oats with warm water mixture, cover and leave in a warm place for at least 7 hours and as long as 24 hours. Bring an additional 1 cup of water to a boil with sea salt. Add soaked oats, reduce heat, cover and simmer several minutes. Serve with plenty of butter or cream and a natural sweetener like Rapadura, date sugar, maple syrup, maple sugar or raw honey.
*Amanda Rose from Rebuilding From Depression suggests that oats are low in phytase, the enzyme that breaks down phytic acid. Adding the whole wheat flour will help to break down the phytic acid. Read more on Amanda Rose's site: Rebuild From Depression - click on chapter 13 excerpt.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Public School Breakfasts
Labels: Just Stuff, Memory Lane, Nourishing Traditions
When I was growing up during the 70s, we were poor and eligible for the free meals at school. I don't really remember eating breakfast at school though. I remember the 3 pound margarine bowls of oatmeal that my mom used to serve us. I sure hated oatmeal when I was growing up. It didn't help that one day a balloon tick (I kid you not!) that had walked up the wall and onto the ceiling fell into the pot and my mom made the decision to just remove it and feed the oatmeal to the family anyway. Hey, we were poor and she did boil it for several minutes after removing the offending insect. She must have had half a gallon of oatmeal there, worth at least a quarter, and it was probably being served within moments of our having to leave the house... so it was either feed the oatmeal to the children or send them out the door with nothing in their bellies. She would put a good 2 inches of oatmeal in each bowl. I could never gag that much down so I always had much less, like maybe half a cup's worth. I would take a bite and then drink cold water to wash it down. I was never much of a breakfast person to begin with, thanks to Romy, my nemesis in the 2nd grade. She tortured me daily and pretty soon I had a nervous sick stomachache every single day of school. The daily sick stomachache lasted until I was almost twenty years old, when a coworker told me about chewable Pepto-Bismol which helped me to get over having the stomachache every single day (one of the rare times over the counter medication has actually worked for me).
Eventually I learned how to make oatmeal so that it actually tasted good. And I love oatmeal today, although I prepare it the NT way to reduce the phytic acid (click on chapter 13's excerpt), it still doesn't provide me with enough nutrition and I find myself STARVING within an hour. It's so annoying it's not even worth eating it.
Dh also was poor growing up and eligible for the free meals. He says they served oatmeal, scrambled eggs, and french toast, to name a few.
I had to call one of our local schools yesterday and didn't have the phone number handy so I googled the school name. Found their website and their number within moments. I gave them a call and while they had me waiting on hold I looked around on their site. I was surprised to see how bad the breakfast menu is. Churro? Isn't that considered a dessert? Well, I guess it's a donut of sorts, a Mexican donut... and of course donuts are considered highly appropriate breakfast fare. When I look at this menu I don't see even one meal that I could eat and not be ravenously hungry within an hour due to the lack of protein, sugar and high carbohydrate content. Maybe the "Sunrise Sandwich" if it's like an Egg McMuffin, and has an egg in it. I thought we were supposed to be fueling children to learn. Not to have low blood sugar drops. If this is what most children eat, it's no wonder so many children are being diagnosed with ADD and ADHD. I'd be unable to concentrate, if my first sustaining meal for the day was sugary and full of carbs. Now don't get me wrong, I've admitted here that I love carbs more than my own mother, but even I know when I have to avoid them.
Unfortunately, lunch isn't much better. Free choice, and imagine that your child doesn't have rock solid nutrition values and can withstand peer pressure. It's like a fast food buffet straight from the frozen food section. Teriyaki Dippers, pizza, Shrimp Poppers, Stuffed Crust Pizza, Cheeseburger, Jumbo Corn Dog, Chicken Nuggets. OH, this month there was a turkey dinner, with no corresponding choice of pizza. Maybe some kid didn't want turkey that day. Too bad, you say? I'm sorry but that's how it should be on other days, too.
I'm really, really glad I didn't put my children through the public school system.
Until next time.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Liver and Onions and Red Bell Peppers and Mushrooms and and and
Labels: Nourishing Traditions
We got back a LOT of liver from our steer. Even though dh and I took vows that we'd NEVER have the stuff in our home, not buy it, nor cook it or EVER, EVER eat it... since I've been trying to do Nourishing Traditions I keep thinking I should learn to like it. I told dh a few weeks back, "What if we had more energy the next day after eating it?" Because we notice how we feel the next day after eating a pile of pasta (spaghetti is a real killer of energy the day after) or other similar negative nutrient foods.
So yesterday he started some thawing, and after it was thawed I squeezed some lemons (four small ones) and put the liver into the lemon juice which Sally Fallon says will draw out toxins and firm up the texture of the liver. You're only supposed to soak it for a few hours, but we ended up letting it go (refrigerated) until today.
Then I made a big mess of fried onions, red bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, and mushrooms. Dh took the first bite and promptly spit it out, aiming for the garbage but missed. Hee. I've been trying to eat liver for the past year or two so I was able to keep my bite in my mouth and actually swallow it. Gulp. Ds2 took a bite of the liver all by itself and he too spit his out.
However, with a bit of the fried veggies, it wasn't too bad! I think I ate about four ounces of liver. My stomach's been messing with me today. I feel bloated, which usually means I've been eating too much junk. White flour and sugar, namely. Earlier today I drank some apple cider vinegar in water to help my digestion.
I actually cleaned my desk off and I am getting more things in my filing cabinet. I'm proud of myself! I got done early today with washing and folding the clothes and putting them away. It was hard to get going on the housework, but I turned on tobyMac and that helped a lot.
Until next time.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Basket Case
Labels: Nourishing Traditions, Sick
I'm still sick. My asthma has been giving me a LOT of trouble. I am sure if I called my allergy/asthma specialist he would prescribe prednisone, which I abhor.
I figured out something. Every time I start feeling the tiniest bit better physically, I start trying to get the house cleaned up again. (I also considered the thought that maybe I really AM allergic to housework?) So today being my only day off, I decided I can't do anything. I did clean out the truck this morning, and go through 3 months worth of mail.
I seem to get sick physically every time I get an emotional crisis. Last Sunday our herd sire was sick with a condition that is sometimes fatal. I was very upset and crying over that. He recovered and we will make sure to treat for that condition. I found out that the Ammonium Chloride for which I paid $16.00 for a pound, can be bought on the Internet for $1.60 per pound. Great.
Thursday was very emotional for me at work. I've been basically railroaded into changing an area of the way our agency runs from manual to electronic. The person doing the manual thing doesn't want to switch to electronic and threatened to quit. It is scary for me to confront this person but I had to. I was very nervous and upset after the big scene. Later, this person came back to my office and apologized, but I was still very emotionally disturbed by it. I WAS feeling better on Thursday morning, but then I felt worse on Friday morning. Another emotional crisis = sicker. I don't think I'm just imagining things.
Then Friday morning I discovered that a website I worked on to customize for dozens if not hundreds of hours had been deleted from the webserver. I am positive it wasn't intentional, but the person who downgraded the website has been out of town and so I was freaking out worrying about that. This is not just a site that belongs to someone else. It belonged to a few ladies and we all sold items from this site. However, everyone is now wanting to drop out, but I want to keep the site and keep selling my things. Just very emotionally distraught again. Finally my friend got back to me and she's been out of town. She is going to see what she can do to help me get the site restored and into my name. So that helped me feel better, but the emotional stress. I have been crying about it since Friday, several times. I'm sure being sick isn't helping me feel any more positive about anything.
I was away from home most of Friday. Ds2's appointment was at 9am, once again frustratingly inconclusive. His legs hurt and we have ruled out blood clots and poor circulation. This is the third doctor he's seen for his legs hurting, only each and every doctor instead of listening to ds2's complaints of leg pain chose to concentrate on the sores on his shins. Which do not itch or hurt him, and are not on his calves, thighs or anywhere else on his body. This doctor was a hematologist and thinks it's strictly a "growing person" thing combined with ds2 being a "big boy". He suggested ds2 continue to get plenty of exercise and do what he's been doing to continue to lose weight. Once ds2 and I got home, dh and I took off again for town, to pick up the "shred" and run errands and grocery shop. So I was gone from home from 8:30am to about 5:30pm. Yesterday (Saturday) we left home for the big city (dh helping one of his coworkers with his evaporative cooler) and were gone from about 9am to 6pm.
One neat thing yesterday. Costco had a really nice drill on sale for $29.97. It is cordless and comes with two battery packs. It was $34.97 on March 31 and Costco gave us the difference back. We actually bought a second one, because dh will be using his for work and we need a drill for around the house.
So today I have tried to do as little as possible. I did nap from 10am to 1pm. I'm wheezing a lot, even though I'm using my Flovent medication twice daily on schedule I'm still having to use my rescue inhaler several times a day. Since I'm sick, it's to be expected that my asthma is acting up. The last thing I need to do is take prednisone, which I'm pretty sure being a steroid depresses the immune system (which Flovent is a corticosteroid, so probably has the same immune system depressing feature) At least now I'm not coughing up thick green phlegm. I'm taking fenugreek as an expectorant, the herbal version. I'm also taking grapefruit seed extract, vitamin C and The Grapefruit Remedy (a family recipe used for 35 years). I am feeling better, but I'm still sick. I'm starting to wonder if this is going to be the story of my life from now on. I have known people that get sick again and again and again and again. And have to take off work every couple weeks for being sick. But that isn't me and has NEVER been me.
I haven't been doing Nourishing Traditions hardly at all. My health has declined since falling away from many of the traditional foods. I did make my kefir last night for the first time in a couple of weeks. Poor grains, in the fridge starving for new milk. I should go check on them now.
I haven't done our taxes for this year. I think I'm going to file an extension as there is no way humanly possible for me to get them done within the next week. No time.
Since I was with dh yesterday, I did get a chance to work on the knit baby sweater. That is one true thing about being out with dh when he's working on side jobs. I at least get to sit around and do nothing for the most part. Otherwise I would have been home feeling compelled to tidy up the house. I got about half of one of the front sides done. I ordered another of the Yarn Harlot's books, Knitting Rules, it arrived by mail and I've been reading that in the past few days. It made me want to knit more. I already want to knit more, but there is no time for that at all on Monday through Thursday.
I hope I'm feeling well soon. In the meantime, my dh is the Energizer Bunny and keeps going and going and going. He needs only four hours of sleep each night and drinks coffee and eats whatever he wants. He never gets sick and never gains a pound. I have also discovered drinking even four ounces of coffee affects my immune system (caffeine stresses out the adrenals) I wish my body was a little bit more like his. Today he finished fixing my toilet (fixed the handle which I didn't have the muscle to finish -- some little chain thing you have to snap into the plastic part of the handle and I could not do it -- and adjusted the float so it flushes properly now), has been cleaning off the porch, built a new bee box (our old one was warped beyond recognition) and I don't know what all else he's done today. We would still like to have bees, but have not ordered them for about three years. Dh is hoping a swarm finds our bee box. Or maybe I should post on Freecycle and Craig's list like a friend of mine has done.
Until next time.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Shine Your Sink
Labels: FlyLady, Nourishing Traditions
All right, I'm going to break down and try doing FlyLady. I should say try doing FlyLady again. I tried her years ago when she first started out. Prior to that, when ds1 was an infant, I tried getting organized with The Sidetracked Home Executives aka The Slob Sisters.
That hasn't worked yet. I've been trying on and off for the past 19 years. I have pretty much given up that I'll ever be organized.
But a couple of friends of mine have had success with FlyLady (my sister also loves FlyLady, but you know how that "my sibling does it, so I certainly am not going to" thing goes?). So I am going to give FlyLady another try. The first thing she says to do is shine your sink. So I actually got up and went and did that.
The thing about my sink... it's such a mess...
The spout is broken away from the connection, so we have learned to deal with the spout being floppy. Being that the water turns on and off with the one handle which is connected to the spout, you have to hold onto the spout and then turn it on with the handle. The faucet was replaced not very long ago, maybe six months or at least less than a year. It was a Walmart special for about $40.
When we moved in here, dh took out the original sink, which was one of the normal ones that are very shallow and we took our nice deep one from our last home. Traded them out. I guess dh didn't use the sink connectors which holds the sink in place. I have a packet of them sitting right here, which I had hoped to connect by now. Apparently it's a really awkward job to complete because you have to lie under the sink. So the entire sink is always shifting around in its slot. That means lots of nasty crap gets under the rim of the sink and when it shifts, then there is that nastiness exposed. I really must get those sink connectors in place, but that means I'd have to find the plumber's putty first. You put plumber's putty under the sink rim.
Then the cabinet doors on the front. One side fell completely off. I don't know why or how.
I have company coming over this morning, in less than two hours. I am panicked because it is such a mess outside. With dh being out of town for the past five and a half weeks, things have only gotten worse. The dogs decided to tear up an old couch we have and there is fluff everywhere. It looks like it snowed big billowy puffs all over the yard.
I did warn the people coming. Sometimes I think that's the worst thing to do, because then they are focused on it. If I just act nonchalant, then they can't say anything. People *ALWAYS* say don't worry about it, our place is a mess, too. But then they are freaked out to see how messy this place is. I should snap a picture or two, but would rather not incriminate myself.
Anyway, now's as good a time as any to make New Year's Resolutions, which I NEVER make because I can never follow through.
But these are the two I am going to make for this year:
Now, out to tidy up in the yard as much as I can. Please God, don't let them need to use the bathroom for they aren't coming inside the house.
Until next time.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Two Bread Things I Learned Today
Labels: Nourishing Traditions
First off, I decided to try converting my favorite banana bread recipe... I have always known that quick breads should be made with pastry flour, and I just received my food coop order which included pastry wheat berries. Only as usual, when the idea struck me, it was night already and I don't like to grind flour indoors due to the flour dust and noise. And I don't want to grind outside once it's night. Just too noisy.
Anyway, I took out my cook book, La Leche League's _Whole Foods for the Whole Family_ and noticed that I had made a note to myself (years and years ago) to not use pastry flour because the bread came out too soggy. Nowadays I'd just add less liquids to fix that. At any rate, when I saw that I'd made a note to myself years ago to use regular flour vs. pastry, I thought I'd just go ahead and try it.
Bad idea. I did wonder how I was going to mix the bananas, maple syrup, oil, etc., into the glutenous ball of soaked flour... but I figured it would eventually mix in. It wouldn't. I put it in my KitchenAid on high speed using the whisk... all that did was break the soaked flour down into little globs. I ended up fishing through the batter with my fingers, feeling each little bit and pulling out all the flour globs. I put all the globs into my blender and blended them. I didn't want to pour the entire batter into the blender, because I like to leave my bananas mashed and in little clumps.
I also decided to add an extra 1/2 teaspoon baking soda since the batter had been mixed so much. I always try to mix my banana bread quickly and only as much as needed to thoroughly mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients, then pop it into the oven. Obviously soaking the flour first changes that.
The banana bread actually turned out, but I want to try making it with pastry flour next time.
Second thing I learned. This is regarding yeast bread. I have been soaking my flour overnight, using 1 cup water and 4 tablespoons kefir. I decided to soak this batch for 24 hours. This loaf was extremely sour. So I will probably refrain from soaking more than 12 hours. This loaf was a flop. The only saving grace is it will work excellently for Zucchini Custard Casserole. I could also soak it with kefir for the chickens. They always love kefir-soaked failed loaves of bread. :-)
I have renewed my interest in trying to avoid phytates. There is a book coming out in spring of 2007 called Rebuild from Depression and the author has put an excerpt from her chapter on phytic acid on her website. It is a very convincing excerpt, and although I've read about the problems with phytic acid, it never really sank in all that well. Basically, whole wheat flour/grains, etc., contain phytic acid. Phytic acid binds to minerals while in your intestines, moving them out of your body so that your body cannot use these minerals, especially zinc and magnesium. The very first part of her excerpt mentions the vegetarian diet and believes the absorption of these minerals could be doubled by following the soaking methods.
Until next time.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Real Men Eat Liver
Labels: crocheting, Herd Queen Productions, Memory Lane, Musing, Nourishing Traditions
My newest design over at Herd Queen Productions. Since I live with three men, I ought to know what "real" men can and should do.
I get a lot of opinions from the men I live with, just about how tough and manly they all are.
The story behind today's creativity... I thawed out the chevon liver and prepared to fry it for Monday night. I was supposed to soak it in lemon juice for several hours, to remove impurities and give the meat some texture. Only I never got around to frying the liver that evening. I asked ds2 to fry it for Tuesday's dinner, and for Wednesday's, but because I "didn't remind him" he forgot and I didn't have time.
I finally had time to fry it this morning.
You must know that I hate liver. I have hated it all my life. But according to Nourishing Traditions, organ meats are VERY good for us. So, I am trying to make myself eat it.
Note to self: Don't let chevon liver sit in lemon juice for four days before frying it.
It was not good. It was tolerable with the fried onions, but the taste was still coming through.
I asked dh to try it, and he absolutely refused. (He has tried turkey liver, and was surprised that it was not that bad tasting). He is usually a good sport and will try just about anything I come up with. And absolutely LOVES much of it, kefir for example. He LOVES it, while it makes my lips pucker due to the sourness. Even when it's mild!
Ds2 tried a bite and deemed it THE WORST thing he'd ever put into his mouth. Lucky chap. He didn't have to grow up as one of my siblings and then he'd know WORST from NOT SO BAD.
Liver in my family growing up, was HORRIBLE stuff. My mother would buy the cheapest cut, which was the mature beef liver, not the *baby* beef, which might have been good, properly cooked and served. It was my stepfather's FAVORITE meal and the side dishes were, along with the vein-ridden and dry tasting liver (sans fried onions):
- mustard greens (sans butter)
- cornbread (sans butter)
- black eyed peas (sans butter)
Found out some neat news today. My mother was married to the man for fifteen years but since she is currently unmarried, she is eligible for survivor's benefits. At the time of his death (a few weeks ago), he still owed her $25,000 in child support, and so she'll still get some compensation with the survivor's benefits.
I could never have attempted using Cafe Press with slow dialup. That is probably why I never even considered it before. But unfortunately, it feels nearly as slow as dialup with Cafe Press. They were having some site slowness problems, and it seems as if they still are. It takes better than half an hour to upload images for a new section, choosing items to sell, labeling and adding images.
Baby Sweater Update: I discovered yesterday that the 5 inches worth of sleeve I'd crocheted was missing two stitches from the foundation row. So I had to rip it out, and start over again. I'm at 6 inches now. I have to crochet even for 7.5 inches, then one sleeve is done and I'll be on to the next one.
Working with dh tomorrow, so I won't have much computer time. And I brought work home from my "real" job, so that means even less computer time. Waaahhhhhh
I was up at my regular time this morning, and was in bed late last night. I'm tired.
Until next time.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Baby Sweater Update
Labels: crocheting, Nourishing Traditions
You might want to click on the image to get a better look.
I have the back done, the left front, the right front... what's going on with that right front? Oh. Dear. Me. Something's wrong. I guess I'm going to be redoing that right front for the third fourth time. The sleeve I've barely started on, and it will have to wait until I get that right front correct. Or could it be that the left front is wrong? Apparently THIS is what happens when you ignore the pattern when it tells you to end on the "wrong side" or "right side".
I'm making my fourth trial loaf of soaked flour bread today. I've also thawed out a chevon leg roast and chevon liver, for dinner.
Until next time.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Cod Liver Oil
Labels: Nourishing Traditions
Our case of, yes, I said CASE of cod liver oil finally arrived. Actually it arrived on Friday evening, but I was fishing for something to blog about tonight and that's what I hit upon. Cod Liver Oil. We ordered our CLO from Green Pasture and each bottle cost $13.90 plus shipping. It's an investment in our health. Ds2 is now taking CLO, so that makes two of us. We liked the cinnamon flavored, and wanted to try the others. We got some orange and some arctic mint. The orange seems to be flavored with orange peel oil. Bitter. The arctic mint is funky. I like the cinnamon the best, so ds2 and I have decided to take the orange bottles first, then work on the arctic mint and save the best for last. We anticipate these twelve bottles to last close to one year. The dose is only 1 teaspoon and you get your 10,000 IUs Vitamin A as recommended by Sally Fallon in Nourishing Traditions. Cod liver oil is one of those things I vowed as a child to NEVER, EVER take as an adult. I did not care if my life depended upon it. The thing is... Green Pastures Blue Ice CLO is deodorized and so there is almost no cod liver oil taste.
I did get to work a little bit on one front panel of the baby sweater today.
I am hoping to get my garden weeded tomorrow. There are millions, if not BILLIONS of baby weeds that must come out.
Until next time.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Kefir Pancakes and Crockpot Stuffed Bell Peppers
Labels: kefir, Nourishing Traditions, recipes
This morning's pancakes turned out very delicious. Apparently flour, especially whole wheat flour, needs to be soaked to neutralize the phytic acids. ["Phytic acid combines with key minerals, especially calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc and prevents their absorption in the intestinal tract. Soaking, fermenting, or sprouting the grain before cooking or baking will neutralize the phytic acid, releasing nutrients for absorption."] Anyway, it's a great way to use up extra kefir. And so simple!
Kefir Pancakes
- 2 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour
- 2 cups kefir (or you can use buttermilk or yogurt)
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
Mix flour with kefir, mix well and soak overnight (12-24 hours). Stir in other ingredients and thin to desired consistency with water. Cook on a hot, oiled griddle or in a cast-iron skillet. Serve with maple syrup and lots of butter, mmmmmmmm!!
And for dinner, I'm making one of my favorites:
Crockpot Stuffed Bell Peppers
- 3 medium bell peppers, cored
- 2 cup white rice
- 2 - 16 oz can diced tomatoes
- 4 t. chili powder
- 2 t. onion powder
- 1 t. garlic powder
- 2 t. salt
- 2 pound regular ground beef
- 1/2 lb. butter (optional, if using lean ground beef)
- 1/2 cup water (optional, if using lean ground beef)
- Mix the ground beef, canned tomatoes, rice and seasonings together. Pour the mixture into the crockpot. Stuff the raw bell peppers with the raw mixture, place the pepper tops on each and press down into the mixture already in the crockpot. Cook for 12 hours on low.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Happy Mother's Day 2006
Labels: goats, Holiday Banter, Nourishing Traditions
Tomorrow I plan to take it easy, relax, maybe knit a bit. I think I will make pancakes for breakfast so I will soak the flour overnight as per NT. Then we have organic Grade B maple syrup to pour over them, mmmm!! The only thing missing is some good sausage!
I hope all the mothers I know have a wonderful, blessed holiday surrounded by the children that love them.
Until next time.
Garlic Kefir
Labels: Nourishing Traditions
I'm not kefir's biggest fan, but I believe it is an important "superfood" which helps to populate the gut with lots of "good" bacteria. I've been trying to acquire a taste for kefir for over a year now. Kefir is one of the main reasons why I feel we are so blessed and fortunuate (no matter how much I detest hoof trims) to have a supply of fresh raw milk, because the kefir grains thrive in the raw milk. I have shared many heaping tablespoons of my kefir grains in the past year.
I have been told that kefir is the enemy of candida, and this is my main reason for trying to learn to like kefir.
I usually doctor it up in a smoothie, but this takes so much time.
A few weeks ago, on a list I'm on, someone mentioned garlic and kefir and said it was really delicious. At the time I didn't have any kefir as our milk supply was so low. But last weekend I started recovering my grains again and they are now making mild, creamy kefir again (only no matter how MILD it is, the "tart" of it still gets me).
I decided to try the garlic kefir this morning. I put 1/2 cup of kefir into a glass, and crushed a sliver of a garlic clove into the kefir, and added salt and pepper to taste. It actually tastes GOOD! I think I can get my kefir down in this way. It actually has a ranch dressing taste to it. The tartness is gone, wow!
The only thing is... I wouldn't advise it first thing in the morning when you have to go to work. Otherwise, your coworkers are going to think you ate a loaf of garlic bread for breakfast for the strong garlic smell. ;-)
Until next time.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Power Cocoa
Labels: Nourishing Traditions
I promised to share my Power Cocoa recipe, so here 'tis. This is an NT thang. Fat loading at breakfast to make one's food last longer.
1 cup raw milk
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons organic virgin coconut oil
2 egg yolks
Pour milk into a small saucepan, begin heating gently. Add cocoa, sweetener and vanilla. "Hit" with a stick blender for a few seconds. Allow to heat until a little hotter than lukewarm. Add coconut oil. Allow to melt. Blend. Add egg yolks, blend quickly. The point is to keep as many nutrients as possible by not heating the milk too much. Also, if the milk is too hot, the yolks will cook. Otherwise, you will not know the yolks are even there and they add protein and fat.
Enjoy! When I have my power cocoa for breakfast I am satisfied for a good four hours.
Until next time.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Weigh In
Labels: goats, Nourishing Traditions
All right, so I decided to see how much the little guy weighs. He is 8.4 pounds. Not too terribly big for a singleton.
You can see L peering over to the side... last night we confined the rest of the herd except for her twin daughters from last year, in a smaller area. So L had the barn to herself pretty much. This morning I let the herd into the bigger area and you can see how watchful she is toward them.
Isn't that a pretty baby? Too bad we couldn't get registration paperwork on his granddam, or he would be registerable as an American Nubian (versus Purebred) through American Dairy Goat Association. But alas, he is not, so he is most likely deemed to life as a wether. Unless someone wanted him who didn't care about him having papers. And I'm not too happy with ADGA anyway, due to their apparent pro stance on NAIS.
It does not appear that L's milk has come in yet... her bag is still fairly small. Her first year of lactation she peaked at 8 pounds. Her second year, her twins were on her so we never got an accurate weight. This her third freshening. I hope she gives more than a half gallon a day this freshening. Time will tell.
Oh, and speaking of weighing... last year at my last doctor's visit, I weighed 215 pounds. Today I weighed myself since I had the scale handy just to see how much I weigh so I won't be shocked at the doctor's office next month (my next yearly appointment). I weigh 211. That is promising when you consider for the past decade I've been gaining weight every single year, sometimes 12-15 pounds each year. I'm leaning toward NT being the reason.
Until next time.
Last Buckling for April
Labels: goats, LJ, Nourishing Traditions
L finally kidded yesterday evening, on her 151st day of gestation. It took her FIVE minutes to get the little buckling out. I actually helped a little bit by pulling on one leg once I could get hold of it. My dh taped the birth, so I just verified that it did take five minutes. That is actually a long time of pushing for a goat.
I could see God's handiwork in yesterday's events. I always feel blessed when I notice His perfect timing. First, I had to pick up my food coop order, so I got permission to get off work early in the day. I got to meet an online friend who practices NT (Nourishing Traditions) and her friend, who also does some NT things. That was so cool!! I talked goats with my friend's friend, she has Nigerian Dwarves. Last night was LJ's first puppy training class, but the trainer cancelled because the wind was blowing so hard and it was so chilly out. The training sessions go on in her big fenced yard, but there was no windblock. I had to run three errands and pick up a few things from the grocery store before arriving home. I knew L was "acting funny" and probably in labor, but I was planning to go to the puppy training anyway. So it feels like God kicked up a storm, just long enough to have the trainer cancel to clear my schedule for attending L. We were in the house eating dinner within 3 hours.
I just checked on her around 2am. She seems to be doing fine. She hungrily ate whole oats and sunflower seeds last night, sucked down almost a gallon of molasses water, and ate several mouthfuls of hay. She has been so enormous, I was sure she had at LEAST two in there. So just for curiosity's sake and to learn what it feels like, after she got the "first" kid out, I tried "bumping" her, which entails putting your arms round their stomach and bumping up and letting the stomach fall. If there are more kids inside, you should feel them bouncing around inside. I felt nothing! She still looked really big last night. I had my dh also try bumping her, and he also felt nothing. If she was carrying another kid, the natural course of things is for the doe's body to continue laboring, which it did not, so I feel certain she was done. Very rarely a kid will be stuck, but I'm assuming the doe's body would continue to labor. Since she had no more labor pains, no more pushing, I believed her to be done with kidding.
Now we have only one more doe left to kid; M is due end of May/early June. We don't have an exact due date on her, as she visited her "husband" at someone else's home a few days after Christmas. She was there three days, so it could have happened any day.
I'm glad L had only one buckling. Although it is sometimes harder for a doe to birth a single kid, because singletons tend to be larger (have not gotten a weight on this boy yet), we have only increased our herd by one, and he is not registerable so will become a wether, and we wean boys around 8 weeks of age. We like to leave the doelings on their dam for 5-6 months which is usually when the dam weans them. We separate the kids from the dam overnight, milk the dam in the morning. So if she had had a doeling, we would be sharing milk with the kid for six months.
L always throws babies with that beautiful white belt. I mean, at least one baby with each kidding has the white belt. Congratulations L, he's a beautiful boy.
Until next time.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Yummy Cod Liver Oil
Labels: Nourishing Traditions
Did you think you'd ever see that adjective next to that set of words in your life? Me, either.
We were forced to take cod liver oil as children... I have one memory of trying to gag it down by pouring it over a juicy nectarine. It was never "yummy". Of course, one of the recommended daily "superfoods" with NT is cod liver oil. But it is important to take the right kind of CLO. I started out with TwinLabs CLO, but then I found out that it is derived from soy somehow. I am trying to avoid soy, so there went that brand. Carlson's has such a low amount of Vitamin A & D per dosage that you would have to take something like 14 tablespoons a day just to get in your RDA, which NT states should be minimum 10,000 IUs of Vitamin A. Some kinds of CLO have the had the vitamins removed, and then artificial forms of A & D replaced. Read more about CLO on Weston A. Price Foundation. http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/clarifications.html
Here's a newer article just published in March: http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/codliver-manufacture.html
One of my NT friends that is local (who I'm to meet today, cool!) told me she was going to buy a case of Green Pastures Blue Ice High Vitamin Cinnamon flavored CLO. She needed 9 bottles, and I bought the other 3. She tried it when it arrived and deemed it "YUMMY!"
I was skeptical... and I can't really say I would label it yummy... but it is not bad at all, and I might even say it tastes good on certain days.
I'm having my power cocoa this morning... will have to post that recipe someday soon... and I've already taken my CLO, St. John's Wort, Super B Complex. I'm trying to stave off the Perimenopause Fairy as one of my friends so kindly put it. She tried to visit last night, so I know she's right around the corner.
Until next time.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Clicker Training Day 6
Labels: dogs, LJ, Nourishing Traditions
Okay, I have to say I'm impressed. It's either the clicker training, or the dog.
Actually, since we have FOUR other dogs, I could try clicker training on them. I actually did bring Penny in the house and toss her treats while clicking. She has a problem with being submissive and I'm very concerned that this could become a problem in the future with LJ.
I purchased two books on the American Pit Bull Terrier; they arrived on Monday. APBTs are quite the handful of a dog to own. I had to buy goat's milk today from one of our neighbors... he was not impressed with LJ. His dog is a Border Collie with an energy level of about 10,000. That dog just runs and runs and runs and circles and yips and yaps and runs. LJ was intrigued and barking. I wasn't sure what I was seeing from LJ. Was it dog aggression? I called Laddy (the neighbor's dog) over to me and got him to settle down and stop running and dashing by LJ. LJ was just tickled to see another dog. He LOVES our other dogs.
Believe me, I can relate to the neighbor's apprehension and negative reaction. Just seven SHORT weeks ago I felt exactly the same way!! I would have no sooner chose an APBT for a pet than a rattlesnake! The APBT book I was reading this morning was saying that APBT owner's have to face this kind of negative reaction all the time, and it is vital to have a well socialized, well trained dog in order to set a good example for the breed. It is so important to socialize him, yet it is difficult finding places to take him so that he can meet lots of people, other dogs, etc. Although I have to say, hanging out at Wal-Mart seems like a good place. The one nearest to us has this waiting area where people wait for rides, or they just hang out. I would be able to introduce him to all manner of people within just a couple of hours. I need to make that a goal.
For a great deal of my life, I have tried to do the right thing, make the choices that would make everyone happy. But for some reason, I keep finding things to embrace that are so totally against popular societal norms. Like owning an APBT.
Speaking of doing the right thing and making everyone happy, and being accepted and loved... my blog is supposed to be one place where I can be honest and really be myself. So I am having a hard time sharing its existence with friends... because they are going to learn things about me that I may not have shared with them, because I am afraid they might not accept those things about me. I seem to have sets of friends that I can share certain things with. But my blog is supposed to be a place where I can share anything (within reason, of course) and that anyone can read. I chose to make my blog private, not in the public listings and I don't allow anonymous postings because all I was getting was spam.
But I digress... back to the boy, I couldn't help but fall in love with him. I explain his plight and introduction into our lives in this entry here: Chilled to the Bone.
Here was a picture of him, look how tiny he was, nestled in the crook of my arm. He weighed barely THREE pounds, TWO ounces.
Anyway, back to the clicker training. I missed doing any lessons yesterday (supposed to do two trainings minimum, three optimum). And none all day today until just a while ago this evening. He goes right to the "bed" every time (see the first lesson described in this entry Clicker Training) once I put it down, and now once I show him one time that I want him to do the "down" he does it every single time.
You know those really cool dogs that are really obedient? I've always wanted one of those dogs... I know it takes time and effort to train them, but I think it also helps if the dog is motivated and seems to figure out what you want him/her to do easily. So tomorrow night is Lesson 2. We'll see how it goes because there will be two other puppies in the class. Lesson 1 was orientation, with instructions for what to do at home for the next week. Oh and I was supposed to pick out ten things off this one list of things to introduce LJ to. One of the things we are supposed to accomplish in the next six weeks is go to 10 different people's homes. Well, I got one of those done today.
Also, LJ is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday to be neutered. That is supposed to help with aggression. I know that a lot of people think owning an APBT is really stupid, because like I said, I used to be one of those people myself (it feels almost as if God has a lot of fun peering down at me and noting how I would NEVER own an APBT and he says, "Oh yeah? Try this on for size.") I am studying up on the breed and learning the facts, and we will have to deal with things as they come. Hopefully he will never become dog aggressive, but he could one day. On the other hand... it seems to have a lot to do with your leadership over your dog. I must order The Dog Whisperer's book. Also, the APBT is normally not human aggressive and he seems to love people very much. I just have to keep up the socialization until he is two years old! Quite a task to take on, but I am willing.
My birthday is coming, one more month and I'll be 43 years old. I would love to have The Dog Whisperer book and the DVD for Season One. I can never remember what I would like to have when my birthday is on its way. Also, Mother's Day is just around the corner. I already have my mother's Mother's Day card purchased. Now I just have to get it sent on time! All of my sisters are now mothers, so I will be sending each of them a Mother's Day card.
Boy, I tell you, some days I don't get a chance to write a thing, then other days I'm here again and again. On the days I don't get a change to write, I often think of things to write about, so that's why I end up posting a bunch of things in one day.
One more thing. I have a tooth that is bothering me. :-( The last time I had a sensitive tooth, I went to my dentist and he determined that nothing was going on. So this time I'm hoping the sensitivity will go away. I have two teeth that purportedly need to have root canals. I was told this was necessary at least FIFTEEN years ago. The same fillings have inhabited those teeth all these years, with no problems. I will not have root canals done, I have decided this based on limited knowledge from the Weston A. Price Foundation. There are two links here that give information:
http://www.westonaprice.org/nutritiongreats/price.html
http://www.westonaprice.org/healthissues/holistic.html
There is also a book on why to avoid root canals, I'm trying to find it now and not sure what you are supposed to do if you need a root canal!! I also have a mouthful of amalgam! I don't see that being taken out any time soon. I will have to ask on a list I'm on for the name of that book about root canals. I told my sister not to have one, but she said she guesses she is just too vain right now to worry about her health. :-/
I really must stop now. Until next time.
