Double Trouble

Some of you that are on facebook may have already seen this picture.  What you may not know is that these two boys are always getting into trouble around here.  Their poor behavior is only redeemed by the fact that they have their sweet moments, those times they crawl onto our laps and cuddle.

Sir Charles (on the right) is the ring leader, Couvu is the follower.

We added a new member to the farm yesterday so I have been spending more time than usual out at the barn to get her settled in.

 

Sir Charles has decided that he will be part of the welcoming committee, only problem is that his idea of welcome is to hide in the hay mow and scare her.

 Can you see him peeking out from the hay mow?

 This is him reaching out to "pat" the new goat......maybe he is just trying to shake hands.

Our animals never cease to bring a smile to my face.  Now to keep the little monster out of the hay mow.  Any ideas?

Sourdough Saga

Just what is "real" sourdough anyways?  It's definitely not the sourdough you find at the local grocery store.

Merriam Webster's defines it as:

 a type of dough that is allowed to ferment before it is baked and that has a slightly sour taste.

It is so much more than that folks. It is life giving, nutrient rich, and so so yummy.  Sourdough has to be made with a "mother".  You actually catch yeast from your environment (or order a starter over the internet) and use it as the leavening agent in your bread.  "Real" sourdough only has four ingredients. Starter, water, flour,  and salt. If you add yeast, you cheated and it doesn't count :-) Sourdough is slow food.  It takes a few days to make.  Don't be scared, the total amount of time you spend on it is small; the return is huge.

We had been grinding our own flour and making bread to avoid the " extras" in store bought bread. I know it has been better for us, but recently though my studies at Vintage Remedies I was introduced to the history of bread and some new and interesting ideas.  

One thing Jessie Hawkins says in her book, The Vintage Remedies Guide to Bread, is that 53% to 75% of our ancestors daily caloric intake was bread.  It provided them with many vital minerals and nutrients that their bodies needed to function.  What?  Really?  She goes on the discuss why our breads are so different today and why our breads today are causing Celiac and Gluten intolerance as well as a myriad of other health issues.

After reading her book I realized that the best bread for our family was sourdough.  Up until this point I could only get a couple of brave souls to eat my sourdough bread.  Something about it being "heavy" and "too sour" etc.  The challenge was on.  I was going to make sourdough that the family would eat (and that looked good) by the end of summer or die trying. I have literally made 25 plus loaves of bread this summer.   I have by no means arrived, but the family eats it and likes it.  I still can't make a boule without it flattening out on the pan so I rise and bake it in loaf pans. This works better for sandwiches anyways.

I will share a few things I have learned along the way.  Feel free to contact me and add anything you know that may be helpful for future loaves......I'm still perfecting it.

This my friends is Raisin' Acres Farm sourdough starter.  Did you know that different regions have different flavors of sourdough depending on the strain of yeast that is caught? Ever heard of San Francisco sourdough bread? Since this strain was caught here on the farm, it has been named for the place. If you start one, you get to name it yourself. You can look up how to start a starter for more specifics.  I'm not always picky on measurements so I did not follow instructions to get this.

I started with 2 tablespoons organic whole wheat pastry flour and 3 tablespoon filtered water.  Every day I added more flour and water, never adding more flour than the "base amount". The water and flour was 50-50 the first few days and 50-40 later. To get your starter going more quickly you can add ingredients 12 hours apart to feed the yeasts.  It took a good week to get the yeast colony built up to where I was getting good bubbling.  The other way you can tell it is ready is it has a fresh smell to it.


I have learned a few things about starters along the way.  It is better to have a "more liquid" starter in the beginning of the process, as you build it up you back off on the water to a thicker consistency.  This has seemed to help build the yeast for a better rise in my bread.

To get a couple of tablespoons of starter ready for bread, it takes a couple of days of feeding the starter twice a day.  My recipe calls for roughly 3/4 cup of starter and I make a double batch so I need to go from 2 tbsp to 1 1/2 cups.

• I started weighing all my ingredients after I read that there is a big difference in measurements. 

• I switched from trying to make a 100% ground ww bread to mixing in ww pastry flour, kamut, and spelt. From what I have read in my studies, it's not so much the flour as it is the chemical process that happens from the slow rise time that creates the nutrition.

• I found out that whole wheat takes longer to absorb the water added.  What's the big deal?  I incorporate all the ingredients and let the dough sit for 15minutes or so before mixing and kneading.  That way I don't add too much flour and have a dryer dough.~Sourdough does better if it is wetter than traditional yeast breads.
  
  
  

• I found a better way to "knead" the bread.....I don't like kneading....If you have made sourdough you know what I mean when I say it is sticky and hard to knead. The process is called "folding".  You basically do initial mix, let sit, mix thoroughly then let sit for an hour.  After the hour (I do 30 minute intervals) dump dough out and stretch it out in a square and fold it in on itself.  Repeat 3-4 times. Every  time you do that it should be more stretchy and pliable.

So far that is all I have learned but it has helped.  I mix my bread up in the afternoon, work it though the folding process and refrigerate overnight.  I get it out the next day and let it rise, punch down, rise, and bake.  The more time it rises the more sour it gets but the more time it rises the better the chemical changes occur that make it good for you.  Trial and error will help you find the best balance for you and your family.  I cannot let it rise as long as I would like or I would have rebellion on my hands.  I will just have to be happy that they are eating it now.

Do you have any suggestions or comments?  Do you have a sourdough saga to share?

Let's Talk Soap

We make soap here.  For a few years I wanted to make homemade soap but was afraid to handle the lye used to make cold process soaps. A friend that made soap graciously offered for me to come over and make some with her.  Since then we have been trying all kinds.  It can be a lot of fun coming up with new ideas and trying them out. In keeping with our philosophy about natural ingredients, we only use essential oils and botanicals in our soaps including 100% of the liquid portion being Goats milk from our hard working girls in the barnyard. We only make soap the cold process way...not hot process and not melt and pour. I guess because melt and pour isn't as creative and the cold process way works and I haven't been interested in learning another way, yet.

What is Cold Process?  It is close to the process our great grandmother's used when making soap on the homestead.  Instead of using wood ash we use lye and instead of saving the leftover grease from cooking we have many choices of oil to use.

Here is a definition of Cold process from The Soap Queen site:

 COLD PROCESS: Cold Process soapmaking is the act of mixing fixed oils (common oils include Olive, Coconut and Palm) with an alkali (Sodium Hydroxide or Lye). The result is a chemical process called saponification, where the composition of the oils change with the help of the lye to create a bar of soap. One of the main benefits of cold process soapmaking is having complete control over ingredients. Depending on the ingredients you use, cold process soapmaking typically yields a long-lasting bar of soap. A downfall is that due to the chemical process, there are serious safety considerations to take into account and not all fragrance oils, essential oils, and colorants survive in cold process, thus limiting design options. Plus, patience is a virtue as this process involves a 4-6 week curing time.

People are concerned when they see that lye is used in soap making.  If you  had chemistry class in high school you will remember that when you mix a base with an acid, you form a neutral. This is exactly what happens in the soap making reaction. The base (lye) mixes with the acid (oil or fat) to form a neutral (the soap). So during the saponification  process the lye is converted and becomes inert in the bar of soap.  Actually this reaction produces glycerin which is wonderful, moisturizing, and mild on your skin.

Soap can be used after a few days since the saponification process is complete but it will not be very hard and will not last long unless it is allowed to cure for 4-6 weeks. The longer the bar cures, the harder it will become due to the liquids evaporating.  The harder the bar, the longer it lasts.  Next time you purchase homemade soap you might want to ask how long it has been curing so you know whether to go home a use it or let it sit for a little longer. 

I take the trimming from our soap and re-batch them to make what is called a hand-milled soap.  I put the in a crockpot with a little water and warm them up enough to pour them into soap mold. Let it cool and cut bars.




 This is a container with the trimmings.








I'm glad I finally got the courage to make soap, our family will never go back to the chemical ladden soap in the soap aisle. We have soaps for sale on our website at www.raisinacresfarm.com if you don't have time to make your own.  If you have been on the fence, you can do it. If you do it you (and your skin) will never be the same again.

Bee Swarm

Not sure if you can see the picture well but this is half of one of our hives of honey bees, they decided they wanted some new digs. What an afternoon that was.  The neatest part of the whole story I wasn't able to catch with my camera. 

I was canning chicken broth and stepped outside to check on our garlic bulbs when I heard, what I thought was a large number of flies.....that was until I looked up and discovered the bees in flight. I ran into the house to tell my son who takes care of the bees.  They finally settled about 25 feet up in one of the cedar trees we have in the back yard.  Not a very convenient place to get to them.  By that time my husband and other son were rousted and we were all gathering new frames and materials needed to try and capture them. My husband was not real excited about our son climbing a ladder that high to get the swarm.  We began to pray and with in 10 minutes the bees swarmed away from the cedar and ended up on the fence post in this picture.  How cool is that?

 

This is a picture of my son dumping the  bees into their new home.  My husband was lending a helping hand, yes dressed like that!   I guess the biggest issue with a swarm is to try and get the queen without injuring her when you gather the bees.  She gives off a scent that attracts the bees to her. So if you get the queen the other bees just go where she is. Sounds easy but I'm glad it wasn't me doing the dumping.

In the following pictures the bees are being dumped in front of the hive (on a white sheet) where they are marching up the sheet and into their new home.............because the queen is in there.  In the last picture you can see only a few bees left on the sheet.

 

The bees are settled into their new home and have drawn out their comb.  They are busy making honey for winter.  We have had to feed them to get them started and are bummed about not getting much honey this year but we do have another hive. Now to prepare them for and to get them through winter.

 

Makes me think of the old adage, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch".  Such is farm life, you never know what your going to get.  Makes me appreciate the times of plenty, the times of beauty, and the times of wonder even more. Oh, and where there are losses there will be gains in other areas.



 

 

Long awaited Farm update

I just reviewed my posts to see how long it has been since I have blogged. I couldn't believe that it has been almost a year to the date.  So much has happened this last year, life has changed so much and continues to change so fast that I have to anchor myself to not get blown away by the winds whipping around me.

The major reason that I had quit blogging is because I went back to work full time to help pay tuition for three of the kids. I have now come full circle and am home full time once again, just in time to see one daughter married and moving to Memphis at the end of the month.

I can't even begin to describe the physical, emotional, or mental challenges walking through the wedding preparation.  A friend mentioned that this season is much like being pregnant...... anticipation and emotion building as the day grows near, then the desire to just get it over with and move on. Don't get me wrong here, I can't wait to see her walk down the aisle and share in her day. However, I am ready for  the new season and seeing them walk through life together.

Believe it or not, even with  the wedding, we have accomplished "normal" farm stuff this spring including goat births, pastured chickens, and a lot of garden planning and planting.  The garden is pretty much "in" as of today when I planted the sweet potatoes and some sweet corn and pumpkins. One first on the farm was Sasha our barn cat having four kittens.  They are cute running around and playing......lots of fun when the day winds down and I need to rest with a cool drink.




The kids are done with college classes until August and are able to help on the farm a bit this summer. They are doing well in school and really like learning all the new "stuff".

I am taking a Master Herbalist Course and hope to finish by next spring.  I have been making cheese and have been harvesting tons of salad greens.  We had our first batch of turnip green sauteed with garlic scapes for dinner this evening.

Life is full of surprises, life is good.

Life just exploded on us the last couple of months

Spring is normally a busy time on the farm but this year we have added some things and are having to make adjustments as our kids have graduated, started jobs, and are getting ready to go to school in the fall.  More on how Mom is doing with all this later.  For now lets look at some pictures of our spring.

 We have been making salve and tea

 Boo had her baby while Mom and Dad were here for graduation.  I will share the milking saga on another post. 

 Fishing at Burgess Falls!

 Garlic and gardening are keeping us busy.

Greenhouse is up, will have to work on details this summer.

 Can you say "Turkey"?

 Can you say future "Laying hens"?

 More babies, 'tis the season

My babies are growing up...

Around here in April

Can we safely say that spring has finally sprung?  The ornamental cherry trees are blooming, they are very beautiful.  Unfortunately they only  last a few days before they start loosing their petals and grow leaves for summer.  I like to walk out and soak up the spring energy.  You feel everything vibrating and growing if you stand still and close your eyes for a few minutes.

The chickens have been in their outside pens for a couple of weeks.  Everyone (people and chicken) is much happier for it.  Before we know it we will be putting them in the freezer!

This is a picture of the greenhouse foundation getting started.......it's really going to happen!!  We have been cultivating the gardens and planting all kinds of vegetables.  Won't be long before we get our first sun-kissed vegetable.

The front is almost wrapped up and looks really nice.  You Rock Pat and Ian!!

Happy Easter!

Hope Y'all are having a great day with your family and friends today.  May the love of Christ warm your hearts and minds today and everyday!

My grandma's Christmas cactus decided to give us a couple of blooms for Easter.

Ginger update and other miscellany

Here is the ginger I planted a few weeks ago, I am so excited that it sprouted.  Once it started it has grown very quickly every day. Now to see if I can find a place in my flower beds and get it to overwinter this year.  It is 2 feet tall right now but I have read that it can get as tall as 4 feet.  guess I might have to plant it outside for the summer just to give it the space it needs.

 Remember the seedlings I started a few weeks ago?  We have transplanted the tomatoes, cabbage, and broccoli.  The pepper seedlings got a little dried out by the wood stove and lost some leaves.  They are sprouting more but are a little behind from their dehydration.  May have to purchase extra peppers this year...will have to wait and see.

This is a tray of hand milled soap that Paige made.  The nicest scents are pearberry and lemon-calendula, IMHO of course.  Hand milled soap is nice because you can add all kinds of ingredients and not have to worry about them interacting with the lye and changing color or "seizing" the soap.

 I spent a rainy day cleaning out our pantry and organizing my herbs.  They were on four different shelves plus the floor before I began this project.  Now they are all labeled and arranged in alphabetical order for easy access when we need them.  I have been making a lot of teas lately so we are into the herbs quite often.  After I  finished, I realized it would be really nice to have the herbs in the same size jars but then I also realized that it wouldn't be practical since I use a ton of comfrey and only a tiny bit of boneset etc, etc.

Last but definitely not least is this jar of beets and pickled eggs.  This has become a springtime tradition.  I can't imagine Easter without a pickled egg.  I used what was left of a can of our pickled beets and added a touch more Bragg's ACV to cover the eggs.  These store for a couple of weeks like this and get more "pickled" with age. 

Around the farm~March 2013

Spring is right around the corner in our neck of the woods.  We have been pretty busy for a few weeks but the pace is picking up a bit.  We have a ton of projects going, babies coming to the farm or being born, gardening chores, and milk, milk, milk.  I thought you might like to see a couple of the projects we are doing this month.

 This is a row of onions, I hope they turn out as nice as my onions last year.  We are now finishing up the bags I chopped and froze.

This is Violet.  She was a surprise.  Her Momma has a way of giving birth secretly AND quickly!  We went out to the barn to check on her Momma and there she was.  We brought her in to warm her up, Bella our dog loves to be part of the action so she was helping us take care of Violet.  Violet is now capering about the barnyard (when she isn't sleeping) causing all kinds of havoc.

 Ian refinished this bench for me and surprised me by having it hanging on the porch when I came home one day.  I really, really like sitting on this bench while I watch the comings and goings around here.  The really neat thing is this bench was a gift to us when our quadruplets were born.  I was on the porch of our old house.  I have a few pictures of our kids a toddlers sitting on this bench.  Now they can't all fit on it at the same time.  Maybe I will rock a grand baby on this bench one day.  Thank Ian, you are my hero!

 Connor, the morning he picked up his 75 meat birds.

This is the new water line to the barn and front yard.  As well as a new water pump at the barn, I get new walkways and landscaping off the front porch.  Can't wait to plant!

We have been planting onions and some other cool season crops.  I ordered a few more fruit trees ans planted them.  We have been working on mulching some garden areas. We really need to get the barns cleaned out for summer but I guess that will come.