Crazy Kitchen Concoctions

Here's a rundown of my most recent (over the last few weeks) kitchen experimentations:

• I started a half-gallon jar of beet kvass. It will be sitting on my kitchen counter for the next two days. This is my first time trying it, and it was pretty easy to make. It is supposed to be a good liver/kidney tonic. It's also supposed to be tasty, but we'll see about that.
  
• I made a kefir cheesecake a couple of weeks ago, and I'm going to try another one in a week or so. I've got my kefir in a jar sitting out on the counter (my counters are quite full these days). When it has separated into whey and cheese, I will strain out the whey and have kefir cheese. Last time I made the cheesecake, it was a little dry. This time I'm going to try a no-bake recipe, which will preserve the probiotics in the kefir-cheese. It tasted pretty good the first time, and I think it will be even better the next time I try it. Did you know that cheesecake could be really good for you?
• We had eggnog on the evening we put up the Christmas tree. It turned out good, but too sweet. I guess that's what you get when you don't measure your honey but just dump it into the blender. I believe I used egg yolks, real milk, real cream, vanilla, honey, and salt. Then whipped it up in the blender. I didn't whip the egg whites to add to the mixture, so it was a little runny. Maybe if I add a few ice cubes next time it will be colder and thicker. Of course I had nutmeg on the top, too. My kids weren't too interested in the nutmeg, though.
  
• I made butter again last week, and plan to make some every few weeks when needed. It is really not that hard to do, and it's fun to see that butter rise to the top when you open up the blender. I also made it in my food processor, and it works well either way.
  
• Now that I'm making butter, we also have old-fashioned buttermilk to use up, so we have had buttermilk pancakes and biscuits lately. This is different than the buttermilk you buy at the store. That kind is cultured. We already have lots of culture(s) in our house, so I guess it's ok if our buttermilk is not.
  

Now I have to do something equally crazy. Eventually I will have to sweep the kitchen floor. I'm just waiting for that perfect moment.

As a postscript to my last post, Kansas Milkmaid has up several more good posts - Farm Crisis Part 3, and another one called "Is cheap food really cheap?"

Farm Crisis

I was just over visiting Kansas Milkmaid's blog, and she has begun a great series on the farm crisis. She begins by talking about America's descent into sickness: physically, culturally, spiritually, and intellectually. How has this happened? Here's what she says:

Americans have forgotten the God who made us, the God who brought us to greatness. God is out of the government, and man has become god. Our rebellion as a nation started with shaking our fist at work. God told us that we would work by the sweat of our brow until we returned to dust. God knew it was good for us. America’s hard working leaders have been replaced by corporate figureheads who profit off of swindling, extortion, and off of other people‘s hard work. Farmers, who work by the sweat of their brow, once comprised a majority of our nation. Now, less then two percent of Americans farm. Oh, I can hear some of you now. “Milkmaid, get a grip. This is progress.” If you think progress means higher crime rates, increased depression, increased suicide, increased abuse, increased disease, and new spinoffs of current diseases, then we are making progress.

I'm planning to follow her series closely as she writes it, and I'd encourage anyone else to do the same. This is a good synthesis of the philosophy of this Christian agrarian "back to the land" movement that at first glance sounds a little corny (maybe to some), but I have come to believe that it has very strong spiritual and moral underpinnings. So far she has written two parts: part one and part two.

Blog Sprucing

I spruced up my blog for Christmas. We put up our Christmas tree last night, so I thought I'd decorate on my blog, too. It looks fine on my browser, but I'm wondering about others. Does it look right? Or do things look "off"? Let me know in the comments. But if it doesn't look right, please make your comment nicely. Something like, "You sure worked hard sprucing up your blog! It looks great! I think the nativity graphic looks wonderful right in the middle of the page with the main content all over the place and the sidebar across the top instead of on the side where it belongs."

Organic Produce

Now that regular grocery stores are carrying more organic products, you might be wondering what produce is the best to buy if you can only get a few organic items. Buying organically can be more expensive than buying conventionally grown produce, so here's a list of conventionally grown produce that have been found to have high pesticide levels:

Fruit

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Strawberries
4. Nectarines
5. Pears
6. Cherries
7. Red Raspberries
8. Imported Grapes

Vegetables

1. Spinach
2. Bell Peppers
3. Celery
4. Potatoes
5. Hot Peppers

So these are the items you will want to buy organically if at all possible. And here's a list of items that have been tested to be fairly low in pesticide levels:

Fruits

1. Pineapples
2. Plantains
3. Mangoes
4. Bananas
5. Watermelon
6. Plums
7. Kiwi Fruit
8. Blueberries
9. Papaya
10. Grapefruit
11. Avocado

Vegetables

1. Cauliflower
2. Brussels Sprouts
3. Asparagus
4. Radishes
5. Broccoli
6. Onions
7. Okra
8. Cabbage
9. Eggplant

It's best to always buy organic and/or local produce. But when that's not possible, these are the items that will be your best bet.

HT: Dr. Mercola

I Love Mitford

I've been a strictly non-fiction reader over the last 3 years or so, and I've decided that for a treat for myself, I'm going to read the entire Mitford series by Jan Karon for Christmas. I just started her first book in the series, At Home in Mitford. Let me tell you, this lady has such a sense of humor, and a wonderful way of putting serious thoughts into words. If you've never read a book by Jan Karon, you are really missing out. I don't usually think of men as being much into reading fiction, but I think even guys would love these books. After all, the main character is a 60-something man. Father Timothy Kavanagh is the Episcopal priest of a small town in the foothills of the mountains in North Carolina, and these books are all about his "adventures". Come on, don't tell me you're not interested. This is good stuff. If you don't have this book already, get yourself to the library and check it out today. Your library likely has at least half a dozen copies of this book, so there's no excuse. Can you tell I love these books? Well, I just love good writing. That's why I love these books.

Bamboo Steamers

My most recently purchased kitchen thing-a-ma-jig: 2 bamboo steamers. One large, and one small. I started out with the small, thinking it would work out fine, but it was too small. That's why I later bought the bigger one. Before, I was using one of those little metal steamers that fold up. It's adjustable so you can use it in a big pan or a small pan. But those little metal "petals" kept coming off, and it got to be a pain in the neck to use it and a pain in the you-know-where to wash it. These bamboo steamers are nifty things. I like 'em. Actually, I just like bamboo things in general. We have some bamboo spoons that are great, and some bamboo cutting boards as well. Bamboo...it's a good thing. Wait, where have I heard that before?

This Makes Me Mad

Two things:
New York City has decided that it doesn't matter whether you were male or female at birth. You can change your birth certificate to list the gender you choose.

Tour guides at the Supreme Court building in Washington D.C. tell people that the numbers one through ten listed on the stone tablet in a marble frieze (and elsewhere) are representations of the Bill of Rights, when they are quite obviously the Ten Commandments.

This is a sad, sad commentary on America. I guess outright lies are acceptable if it furthers one's agenda. When I read stuff like this, something inside me just hurts for the truth.

This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips. Jeremiah 7:28

My New Motto

God preserves His order despite our chaos. -Elizabeth Achtemeier

Miscellaneous Homestead News

We have a possible due date for Daisy, our dairy goat. March 23. So mark it on your calendars. If all went as we expect it did, we will have more cute little goat babies next March. My daughter already misses the goat milk. She greatly prefers goat milk over cow milk, but then I guess she's just used to it. I completely stopped milking Daisy a little over a week ago. I was only getting about 1-1/2 cups of milk each time I milked her, which is so little it was not really worth my time and energy.

We had a hawk visit our hens this week. Fortunately, I was outside at the time and was able to scare the thing off before it did any damage. Our egg production, which wasn't high to begin with, is down to around 1-2 eggs per day. Our "teenage" hens (hatched last May) haven't started laying yet, and with the shorter daylight hours, we're not getting enough eggs to keep our family supplied.

Ruby, our miniature jersey cow, is doing well, and I get a content feeling when I look outside and see her grazing nearby.

Our Muscovy ducks, although they did control the mosquito population this summer, got themselves into trouble. They took up residence at a neighbor's "nice" pond and proceeded to trash the place. We were not able to keep them away, so...anyone for a duck dinner? They're goin' in the freezer. Which is disappointing because the mosquito-free summer evenings this year were really nice. But we can't have them straining neighborly relationships.

I made my own butter for the first time today. It was fun, and I can't believe it took me so long to try it. Everyone wanted bread with lots of butter on it for dinner tonight. Just a reminder, butter is much better for you than margarine. If you have any margarine, you should throw it out.

I'm continuing to learn more about herbs and herbal remedies. I've recently made several of my own tinctures. I really enjoy learning all this stuff that I had no idea about before. It's great fun, and when you learn new things it makes you remember how much stuff you don't know anything about.

The results of the election were disappointing, of course, but you know, God is still in charge and He will work out His will here on earth whether the Republicans are in the majority or not. I keep telling myself that, because it has a way of helping me keep things in perspective.

Thank you for reading my blog! I'm blessed that you chose to spend time here today! Have a great weekend!

Wednesday Whimsical

From Carla's Country Living:

You just moved to Sesame Street where all the great Muppets live. But space is tight so you have to have a roommate. Which of the characters on Sesame Street or from the Muppet movies would you pick to be your roommate and why?

I pick Fozzie Bear, due to his peculiar ability to bring levity to even the most stressful situations.

Indian Summer

Well, I guess we had our Indian summer. It was Monday. I was hoping for something a little bit more substantial than a single day, but we took advantage of it while it lasted. We started the day with breakfast at our favorite pancake place, then spent the afternoon at a park in Cincinnati down by the Ohio River.

Let me just say here - the parks in Cincinnati are great. We've been to several and they are the best. It makes me feel for the people in Cincinnati who pay the taxes to build the great parks we visit, but...we did spring for a parking pass for a few bucks, so I guess we pitched in a little too!

Of course we had fun playing on the playgrounds. We laughed a lot, and the warm sun felt wonderful. The leaves were still mostly on the trees, and they were beautiful. We enjoyed watching the barges on the river. And I fully intend to count it as a day of school. Here's why:



This is a statue of the Roman hero, Cincinnatus, whom we had just read about in school a few weeks ago. Cool.