Dehydrated Honeysuckle and Homemade Ice Cream

Happy Memorial Day, everyone! I must begin by saying thank you to all those who serve or have served and their families. Thank you for your sacrifices!

We accomplished much this weekend. A new area of pasture is nearly fenced in for the goats and the horse (with the bonus effect of keeping the chickens out of our garden). I have to give all credit for this one to my parents. I was out long enough to hold a post for a few seconds and take some pictures, but then I had to call it quits.

Be sure to enlist the help of your trusty canine companions when fencing.

Why, you ask? I was stung by a bee the day before yesterday. I had finished putting up the milk and was back down at the barn when a bee stung the inside of my ankle for seemingly no reason. It left behind its stinger (which was a first for me) so I hobbled quickly to the house. Being the big baby that I am, I found my mom and said, "I need you to get the stinger out of my leg!" I don't think we fully succeeded. Mom finally got the venom sac off, and I removed part of the stinger, but I believe a small amount stayed embedded. I guess my body will expel it like a splinter, or perhaps my ankle will never be useful again. We'll see.

I saw some blackberry action while I was hobbling around outside.

I thought that maybe the sting wouldn't be so bad. It appeared to be a normal welt the first day. Yesterday, however, my ankle swelled almost double the size of my other ankle and became painful, particularly when walking or standing. So there was no fencing help to be had from me. As I type this, my ankle looks like a pregnant woman's who has been eating straight salt. But I always try to remind myself in frustrating situations like these, "if this is the worst thing you have to deal with today, you're one of the lucky ones." And it's true.

This little patch of garden is coming along nicely as well.

I managed, pre-sting, to collect a fair amount of honeysuckle blossoms (though not as many as I needed) for dehydrating.

I have a couple of projects in mind if I can collect enough blossoms before the vines stop blooming. Honeysuckle has long been a favorite of mine. Smelling it on the breeze is one of the best parts of summer. Unfortunately, the dehydrated flowers don't seem to have much of a smell, but they retained their color beautifully.

If you try this at home, be aware that the blossoms are very delicate. It takes a very short time in the dehydrator for them to be done. Also cut off the little green nibs at the bottom of the blossom before dehydrating.

I also made homemade ice cream in our new ice-less ice cream machine. Neither rain nor sleet nor sting of bee shall keep me from my ice cream! I adapted a simple recipe from Deborah Niemann of Antiquity Oaks. Her original recipe calls for one quart of Nigerian Dwarf milk, 2/3 cup pure maple syrup, and four egg yolks. I don't have enough ND milk on hand, so I subbed our raw cows milk (which we buy - no cows here...yet), and I also added the scrapings from the inside of a vanilla bean and a dash of our homemade vodka vanilla extract.

Nigerian Dwarf milk is super high in butterfat. Their average is 6-7% butterfat. Compare that to an average of 3-4% for standard dairy goats, 4.9% for Jersey cows, and 2.5-3.6% for Holsteins. With this in mind, in the future I would replace a portion of milk with straight cream when making the recipe with cow's milk, just to achieve that smoother, creamier texture. I also found that I added a bit too much vanilla, giving it an "artificial" flavor -- even though there is nothing artificial about it! I will also change my technique. Deborah's original recipe calls for simply whisking everything together and bringing to a boil, but I found that some of my yolks curdled and I had to strain the mixture before chilling. That might have been because I used refrigerated eggs; most of the time, those of us with chickens don't bother to refrigerate our eggs unless they're being sold.

Here's the modified recipe:

1 quart milk, Nigerian Dwarf preferred -- consider substituting some milk with cream when making it with other types of milk
2/3 cup pure maple syrup (go for grade B for the best nutritional value!)
4 egg yolks
Pinch of salt (I prefer Himalayan Pink or Celtic)
Scrapings of one vanilla bean, if desired

Combine milk, vanilla bean, and maple syrup in saucepan on stove and heat slowly. Don't allow it to boil yet. Temper your egg yolks by adding a small amount of the warmed mixture to them and stirring thoroughly. Slowly whisk yolks into main mixture and then bring slowly to boil, stirring frequently and not allowing to stick. When cool, pour off through a strainer and chill for at least a few hours (this will keep your ice cream barrel colder longer. If you use an ice and rock salt mixer, you may omit this step in a pinch, but it will take longer to become ice cream nonetheless). Follow your ice cream maker's instructions for preparing. I prefer to stick my finished ice cream in the freezer to allow it to thicken even more before eating.

The ice cream will taste like maple syrup - which is a good thing if you asked me! - but you can substitute other sweeteners if you're not a fan. Honey would be another natural option, but would have a milder flavor. You can experiment with toppings and add-ins. I plan to swap out the maple syrup for honey and infuse a cinnamon stick into the base next time I make it...and maybe the time after that I will pour in homemade cajeta as it mixes. Yum. :)

Announcing Our New Newsletter!

Announcement! I have started a newsletter for the friends and customers of the farm. The current one, which I just sent out yesterday, can be seen here (though if you've been following along here or on Facebook, it doesn't contain anything you don't already know): http://eepurl.com/Vf2tz

The newsletter is going to be sent out a few times a year. A schedule hasn't been determined yet, but it won't be more frequently than once a month at most. The purpose of the newsletter is to update our friends and customers on the important goings-on of the farm as well as new products we may have available (soap should be restocked fully in time for the holiday purchasing season, hint hint). I wanted to start the newsletter as a more personal way to connect. Posts on Facebook and the blog are easily missed; if you don't look at just the right time you may not see them. A newsletter, on the other hand, is sent directly to your inbox and can't be missed as easily. I also feel the a newsletter provides a more personal touch. I know exactly who the email is sent to, whereas here or on Facebook I could be talking to anyone or no one. Perhaps it is only in my mind, but I feel like I'm engaging in a conversation when I write a newsletter. When I write a blog post or Facebook update, I always feel that there is the potential for conversation but never know for sure if anyone is seeing it.

So if you want to be "in the know" and not miss anything important, sign up for the newsletter! You can do so by submitting your name and email in the first form on this page -http://www.tiramarfarms.com/#!contact/c15u8 or by sending me your email and letting me enter it manually. Alternatively, there is also a subscribe button in the top left corner of the newsletter itself.

If you are unsure if this newsletter is something you will enjoy, I encourage you to give it a shot -- there is no long term commitment. You can unsubscribe at any time. See you in your inbox! 

20 Happy Things

Inspired by a blog post over at Antiquity Oaks, I have decided to make a list of 20 things that make me happy (in no particular order).

1. Sunday afternoon naps

2. Polled kids -- less disbudding!

3. Time spent with family

4. Beautiful spring flowers

4.5 Which sometimes hide little critters

5. Those special animals that sneak into our hearts (even though it's hard to say goodbye)

6. Unexpected blessings

7. Watching lightning bugs

8. Writing things my heart wants to write (rather than writing for assignments)

9. Baby goats!

10. Really, baby animals of any kind

11. Perfect weather days

12. Lazy rainy days

13. Big thunderstorms -- so long as no one is hurt

14. Connecting with like-minded folk

15. Cold glasses of raw milk

16. Gardens growing

17. Shopping at farmer's markets for local goods

18. Awesome yard sale finds, like old sewing machines

19. The simple pleasure of cheesy grits

20. Finding a good movie on TV

Brownie's Twin Doelings May 9, 2014

Yesterday was a long, impatient day for me as I waited on babies. I noticed Brownie exhibiting the early signs of labor around noon or one in the afternoon. She was nesting, being vocal, getting up and down frequently, her ligaments were completely gone and her udder had gotten huge and shiny.

Brownie's ligaments hours before giving birth.

I spent the better part of my afternoon and evening camping out with her. I realized in the process that I really, really want to get a barn monitor so that I can stare at goats from the comfort of my living room! She progressed pretty slowly through the first stage, which is not unusual. I was starting to be convinced that I'd be camping out literally all night, though. I eventually drove my car down to the barn and waited in it with the window cracked so I could hear her. (My car seats are much more comfortable than a hard plastic chair or the barn floor.) It was about 8:30pm when I posted on my facebook page, "It's going to be a long night. Please send prayers and good vibes to Brownie and I; she appears to be in the early stages of labor." She had actually been in the early stages for a while, but I didn't feel like elaborating at that time. 

Brownie fixing her "nest."

It was from my car, and not long after I posted on my facebook, that I heard a loud bleat. I rushed out of my car right away, because this sounded like a "I'm getting serious" bleat. I could tell at this point that we were getting a lot closer, so I texted my mom that I needed a lantern from the house, because my phone battery was about to go dead and I couldn't keep using its flashlight app. (Did I mention my barn has no electricity?) It took her a few minutes to find a lantern with operable batteries (I should have planned that out better), but my parents got to the barn just in time. They probably hadn't been present five minutes before a bubble emerged. 

Getting a bit uncomfortable!

It was about 9:00pm when the first doe finally made her entrance to the world. I had a moment of panic as she first emerged, because I initially thought I was looking at the head of one huge single. Thankfully I was actually seeing a leg and a head and thinking that the two were just one large head. She was born with one front leg back. My mom -- who has the smallest hands in the family -- was in the process of trying to get the leg out with the nose and other leg (which is the proper position) when Brownie gave a biiig push and out she came. We had to re-position Brownie at this point, because she had gotten too close to the wall and was in danger of squishing her. I began to suction the doe's mouth and nose and rub her down with a puppy pad, but before we'd even gotten the first doe around for mom to lick, the second came shooting out like greased lightning. I opened her bag and began suctioning and drying her as well. At this point Brownie started helping, too, and licking them off. The afterbirth came right behind them, and I knew we were done. I wish I had pictures of the labor, but with no lights it just wasn't possible to get any good ones.

Finding food for the first time!

After giving me nothing but bucks her past two kiddings, Brownie finally gave me does! I was honestly surprised to find that I was lucky enough to get two does and no bucks; that's a dream come true. They are beautiful and healthy, and didn't take hardly any time to find the source of food. It always amazes me how quickly goat kids get up and know exactly what to do to get fed and get moving.

The next day.

Brownie's kids are named after desserts or chocolates, so these were christened Oreo and Cookie. Oreo was the first one out, and she is black with an almost perfect white belt. 

Oreo.

Cookie was the second and is a vary dark brown with white. She has a white goatee that looks like she spilled milk down her chin. (Her registered name will probably be "Milk n Cookies" or something similar.)

Cookie.

One will be available after they are weaned, and it will probably be Cookie. My mom is already attached to Oreo after helping her be born. 

Brownie's udder less than 24 hours after kidding.
(Word to the wise: don't use shavings in a kidding stall if you can avoid it.
Unfortunately we couldn't, because straw prices were ridiculous.)

I also have to say that I am extremely pleased with Brownie's udder and her progress in general. I have never been able to milk Brownie. She was my very first goat, and when I first bought her she was completely wild. The first time we tried to milk, my mom was helping and got her hand gashed open with Brownie's sharp back hooves. I had given up on ever milking her, but Brownie has improved so much over the time that I have had her, and I think this may be the year I finally milk her!

Moments like these remind me of why I love doing what I do.