tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55961579062717102582023-11-30T17:12:17.727-08:00Cluck Wild HomesteadNicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-45481859547408686542015-03-03T17:56:00.001-08:002015-03-03T17:56:19.882-08:00Our First Hatch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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You guys. We hatched our very first set of chicks via an incubator! And the moms and dad were from OUR farm which to me makes it even more special. I know, I know, I'm probably overly excited about this but I don't care. We've had a broody hatch out a single chick and that was pretty fun but this is so different. To be so involved in the process was absolutely fascinating. Waiting and waiting was such torture but Sunday evening when I went in to check on the temps in the incubator and saw that first little pip made it SO worth it. I can't even put into words how excited I was. I could have stayed up all night staring at the incubator. I'd read that it can take anywhere from one hour to twenty four hours for a chick to fully hatch out so reluctantly I went on to bed.<br />
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Look what was waiting for me when I woke up the next morning!<br />
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My goal was to produce wee little Olive Egger chicks. In the incubator I set one blue egg from this lady, my EE Hazel.<br />
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And six green eggs from my two Olive Egger girls, Nutmeg<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Esmé.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Esmés egg is on the left, and Nutmegs is on the right.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; text-align: left;"> </span></div>
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And here's the proud papa. Handsome, eh?</div>
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Our first generation Olive Egger, Dandelion. She definitely takes after her beautiful mama. I just can't get over how pretty she is!</div>
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Basil, the first to hatch and one of four second generation Olive Eggers.<br />
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The whole gang freshly hatched and mostly fluffed out. Absolute perfection.</div>
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I'm ALREADY collecting eggs for another hatch. This incubator thing is addictive!</div>
Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-24468125777764647012015-02-19T08:30:00.001-08:002015-02-19T08:34:58.045-08:00Catching Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Hey there! I've been away for a while and thought I'd catch you guys up on what's going on with the farm. </div>
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We moved! While our farm in Missouri was absolutely beautiful, it was far away from our family and friends. It was certainly an adventure but we realized where we needed to be. So we bought a new place just outside of our hometown, packed up the animals and headed West! We haven't put our old place on the market yet but we'll eventually get around to it. We're slackers. </div>
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We had to rush like crazy to get all the fencing put in for the dogs, goats, and chickens. We had a two day window to do so and we were pooped at the end of it all. </div>
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They were pretty pleased with their new digs. The chickens immediately went to work eating, and the goats destroying everything they could. They're helpful like that.</div>
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We lost about half of our flock in Missouri to foxes and coyotes. So right away we got to work replenishing. We found a nearby breeder and picked up pretty much my 'what dreams are made of' wishlist of chickens: two Welsummers, one French Black Copper Marans, one French Blue Copper Marans, one Lavender Orpington, one black Ameracauna, and this fabulous little girl, a Chocolate Orpington bantam whom we lovingly named Truffle. She does the best 'Truffle Shuffle' in all the land. She may be small but she ain't skerd of nuthin'!</div>
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The cats took over the house.</div>
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I decided I wanted an incubator. I planned on just getting a small inexpensive one to hatch out a few chicks here and there. Turns out, all the small inexpensive ones are pretty much crap. Ultimately I splurged on the Brinsea Mini Advance because during my research I never found a negative review of it. Twelve days to go until hatch day. The anticipation is KILLING ME. In it are three speckled olive eggs from my girls Esme, three green eggs from Nutmeg, and one pretty blue egg from Hazel, one of our Easter Eggers. This picture doesn't do the color of the eggs justice, they're really a sight to behold. The father is a Black Copper Marans. The offspring should lay some totally gorgeous eggs.</div>
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Here's one of Esmes eggs sans bloom. See? Told ya they were pretty!</div>
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We got chicks! I ordered various breeds from a hatchery back in November and had been counting down the days until their arrival. This is by far my friendliest batch of chicks. </div>
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Marmalade would roost on me all day long if I let her. </div>
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Cherry and I started a six gallon batch of mead. I haven't made wine in eons, and I don't really know why. It's so much fun to make, and especially drink!</div>
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Up until a week ago this has been a very mild winter. Most days hovered around 40 degrees F. So naturally I got the gardening bug, ordered seeds, and excitedly began planning it.</div>
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I started my seeds on time, and was just sure Spring was around the corner. I can deal with winter if it's like this!</div>
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Then it happened. Snow. Negative temperatures. And the forecast for the next ten days isn't looking so great. It's as if winter decided to cram four months of winter into a two week period. Bitch.</div>
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But hey, I guess as long as I'm pulling these beauties out of the nesting box everyday, I'll be a happy girl. Spring will shove winter out of the limelight soon enough.</div>
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Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-82252755047753954202015-02-18T18:34:00.001-08:002015-02-18T18:43:16.145-08:00Let's Make Chèvre!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've had dairy goats for a little over a year now. In that time not only have I discovered the most amazing, mischievous little companions, but also that um, goat milk is like the best thing ever. And goat cheese? Fahgetaboutit. C<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">hèvre is smooth, creamy and has just enough bite to let you know you're eating something kinda fancy. But if you're reading my blog, you probably currently have chicken poop on your shoes so that oughta balance that fancy right out. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vgdOQffOESDXcnNlaV0xxXwjOfjJKhyOfTHmeOlW_vnada_Xdx26sbLgXlyZ2GNqWbwl-UWx2SjBdS8qmAHfnwPO8AWLRDFAxGnfHaOY4EJVrpyvnI6EN4viIgVe6qQrZ0EEPTQWFE0N/s1600/letsmakechevre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vgdOQffOESDXcnNlaV0xxXwjOfjJKhyOfTHmeOlW_vnada_Xdx26sbLgXlyZ2GNqWbwl-UWx2SjBdS8qmAHfnwPO8AWLRDFAxGnfHaOY4EJVrpyvnI6EN4viIgVe6qQrZ0EEPTQWFE0N/s1600/letsmakechevre.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Ingredients:</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 Gallon Goat Milk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 Packet C<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">hèvre Starter Culture</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Cheese Salt (Optional)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Herbs and Spices (Optional)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Equipment:</u></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Large Pot</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wooden Spoon</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cheese Thermometer</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cheesecloth</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Pour goat milk into the large pot and warm over medium heat to 86 degrees F. If it's fresh, you may actually have to let it cool down. I don't have any goats in milk at the moment so I use frozen and it takes a while to melt and heat up. Sprinkle the </span><span style="background-color: white;">c</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">hèvre starter culture over the warm milk and let rehydrate for two minutes. Do not stir.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cover the pot full of warm milk and let sit undisturbed at room temperature for 12-18 hours. Ladle curds into your cheesecloth lined colander and allow to drain for 4-8 hours. You can nix the colander all together and hang the cheesecloth to drain but I find using the handles of a colander to suspend over a deep bowl easiest to work with. If you don't have a thousand animals in the house like we do, you could just let it drain sitting in your kitchen sink.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ba-bam! Congratulations, you just made a super fancy sounding cheese. Now tell everyone you know and impress the heck out of them. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">To shape into balls or logs, chill the cheese for a couple of hours first - shaping will be much easier. Pictured clockwise from upper left is plain salted</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">, rosemary garlic, cinnamon pecan, and lastly (and my absolute favorite) tomato basil. Get creative with flavor combinations,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">almost everything pairs well with </span>C<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">hèvre.</span></span></div>
Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-80037769761661825892015-02-17T08:06:00.000-08:002015-02-17T08:06:18.644-08:00Watering Can Garden Art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm with you, I'm ready for spring. This cold, snow, and ice business is for the birds. Not my birds though, they hate it too. We accumulated 6-8 inches of snow Sunday night and my chickens refuse to leave their coop. I can't say I blame them, I wouldn't want my bare tootsies in the snow either! Here in Southern Illinois we've been teased with warm weather a few times, then we're quickly reminded that it is in fact still winter. Boo. So I'm getting some pretty serious cabin fever and I'm longing to get my hands in my garden. We've moved to a whole new farm since my last post back in August, so I have lots of planning, constructing, and decorating to get done. I like a cute garden, can you blame me?<br />
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I was perusing the back alleys of Pinterest when I found a picture of a watering can turned garden art. Too cute! The post didn't come with detailed instructions (really neither does mine), but I figured it out. And I know you can, too!<br />
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I didn't have a metal watering can lying around so I did have to purchase one from our local feed store. No biggy. But I did have wire and a necklace I've never once worn hanging out in the house. I took the necklace apart and got to work. Working with the wire, I fed it through the holes of the watering can into the water reservoir and attached a bead at each end, making sure to twist the wire tight to secure the bead. Then I pulled the wire back through the watering spout until I met resistance. I then attached a bead onto the free strand of wire about every inch. You can make each bead closer or further apart, depending on your supply. I twisted the wire underneath each added bead to secure it in place. To finish a strand I would simply wrap the wire around the end bead and twist to close like you would a bread tie.<br />
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Voila! See? Super simple stuff and it makes for a delightful, whimsical piece of garden art!Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-61406496632606114252014-08-19T17:38:00.001-07:002014-08-19T17:40:35.358-07:00Zesty Pickled Cauliflower<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS1mG2DYIT8aA2cSIaxro8bJBO9cFHTEDCWnotT7w9PCce0HVD8uSMh3lH61LoJpNAdpEQvrS6nBraFT3BLGjU6YOK9VNKB1Z5BVHDZORzjW2yyphG_SZhiQEFgxBwNkCv9rFuTX8Wdi9I/s1600/zestypickledcauliflower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS1mG2DYIT8aA2cSIaxro8bJBO9cFHTEDCWnotT7w9PCce0HVD8uSMh3lH61LoJpNAdpEQvrS6nBraFT3BLGjU6YOK9VNKB1Z5BVHDZORzjW2yyphG_SZhiQEFgxBwNkCv9rFuTX8Wdi9I/s1600/zestypickledcauliflower.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<u>Spicy Pickled Cauliflower</u><br />
makes about eight pints<br />
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3 lbs cauliflower, divided into small florets (about two heads)<br />
4 C. Water<br />
4 C. White Vinegar<br />
1/4 C. Pickling Salt<br />
2 Bell Peppers, sliced and divided into eight portions<br />
5 Jalapenos, sliced and divided into eight portions<br />
8 Garlic Cloves<br />
4 tsp. Mustard Seed<br />
2 tsp. Peppercorns<br />
2 tsp. Ground Cumin<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">Prepare canner, jars, and lids. Combine water, vinegar, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt. Reduce heat to low and keep hot until ready to use. Into each jar put one clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp. mustard seed, 1/4 tsp. peppercorns, and 1/4 tsp. ground cumin. Pack cauliflower and a portion each of jalapenos and bell peppers into each jar, remove air bubbles, wipe rim. Center lid on jars and screw down bands to fingertip tight. Process jars for fifteen minutes. Turn off heat, remove lid, and allow jars to sit in the water for an additional five minutes. Cool, label, and store.</span>Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-6254542949903414622014-08-19T17:15:00.000-07:002014-08-20T06:35:09.372-07:00Pickled OkraMy husband can easily eat two pints of pickled okra in one sitting. He loves the stuff. I had never even heard of pickled okra before he and I got together. The first time I tried pickled okra was during Christmas dinner at his grandma's house. At first I was unsure. It was so different from the only other way I'd ever had okra - fried. I like to try things at least twice before I decide whether I like it or not, so I ate another crunchy little pickled okra pod. That was all it took for my taste buds to decide these things are seriously awesome.<br />
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<u>Pickled Okra</u><br />
makes about eight pints<br />
<br />
7 lbs small okra pods, trimmed<br />
4 C. Water<br />
4 C. White Vinegar<br />
4 Tbsp. Pickling Salt<br />
4 tsp. Dill Seed<br />
8 Garlic Cloves<br />
2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes<br />
2 tsp. Ball Pickle Crisp<br />
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Prepare canner, jars, and lids. Combine water, vinegar, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt. Reduce heat to low and keep hot until ready to use. Into each jar put one clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp. dill seed, 1/4 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes, and 1/8 tsp. Ball Pickle Crisp. Pack okra pods into jars, remove air bubbles, wipe rim. Center lid on jars and screw down bands to fingertip tight. Process jars for fifteen minutes. Turn off heat, remove lid, and allow jars to sit in the water for an additional five minutes. Cool, label, and store.Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-30036776647534615002014-06-10T11:35:00.000-07:002014-06-16T06:04:11.763-07:00Simple Homemade Goat Cheese<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We've had two goats in milk for almost two day now. I'm getting over half a gallon a day. On paper it doesn't sound like much, but only two days in, I can see that I'm going to be swimming in goat milk by the end of the week. I drink a lot of milk, but not half a gallon per day! One thing I was looking forward to when getting mama goat in milk (aside from drinking the delicious milk) was making<i> cheese.</i> Good thing, too, cuz we have plenty of milk to spare for making various dairy products. And lemme tell ya, not only is goat milk delicious, but so is the cheese. This cheese tastes like mozzarella to me, so I can definitely see us using it on pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and anywhere else mozzarella would be tasty. Which to me is pretty much on anything. And best of all, it's ridiculously simple to make - only two ingredients required and can be made in twenty minutes!<br />
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First things first, you need to get yourself a really cute goat in milk. Or go with the less fun options - maybe a friend has some goats in milk, or you can even purchase goat milk from the store. I personally vote that you get a goat, but I'm biased.<br />
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Now, gather your ingredients, and supplies:<br />
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- 1/2 Gal. of goat milk (you can double the recipe if you have more milk, just be sure to double the vinegar)<br />
- 1/4 C. White Wine Vinegar, White Vinegar, or Apple Cider Vinegar<br />
....yes, just two ingredients!<br />
- Optional, herbs to flavor<br />
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*Update: I've now used both white wine vinegar, and white distilled vinegar. White wine vinegar creates a firmer, more crumbly cheese (good for salads), while white distilled seems to create a softer, more spreadable cheese (excellent for toasted bread). Not sure why this is, if anyone has the answer, I'd be glad to hear it! :)<br />
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- Large Pot<br />
- Wooden Spoon<br />
- Colander<br />
- Cheese Cloth<br />
- Cooking Thermometer<br />
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Pour milk into the pot, and heat on medium heat until the milk reaches 185 degrees, stirring constantly to prevent burning. It took about ten minutes for mine to reach 185 degrees.<br />
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Stir in vinegar, and remove from heat. The milk will curdle within a few seconds. Allow curdled milk to rest for five minutes. Meanwhile, line your colander with the cheese cloth.<br />
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Pour the curds into the cheesecloth lined colander. You can place a bowl underneath the colander to catch the whey if you wish to save it to use in cooking.<br />
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Squeeze the excess moisture from the cheese - careful, it's hot! You can leave as little or as much liquid in your cheese as you like. I squeezed as much liquid out as I could, which resulted in a drier cheese.<br />
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Crumble cheese up in a bowl.<br />
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Add herbs. I used basil, and garlic salt.<br />
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I used a small bowl as a mold, but almost anything solid with four sides would work - be creative! I pressed the cheese down using my hands, then really packed it in using the bottom of a spice jar. The tighter you pack it, the more solid of a cheese you'll get.<br />
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Voila! This cheese is so wonderful, and easy to make. I have cheese making supplies, such as citric acid, and rennet tablets but something about just being able to use milk, and vinegar sounded awesome to me. It's so simple, and turned out beautifully. I will be making this cheese again, and again, and again. And the combinations of flavorings, and herbs are truly endless. Tomorrow I'll be making goat cheese with lavender and honey. Yum!<br />
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Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-32052842553973030672014-06-09T13:18:00.000-07:002014-06-09T13:50:44.954-07:00Mulberry Jam & Goat Milk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I need to get a move on things. I realized this morning that by this time last year, my canning adventures were well under way. I had already canned Blueberry Muffin Jam, Strawberry Jam, Strawberry Black Pepper Jam, Strawberry Mint Black Pepper Jam, and Peach Jam. I've pretty much had blinders on the last couple of weeks as we've been finishing up various projects here on the farm. We moved and expanded the goat yard (putting up fencing is really hard work in case anyone was wondering), converting one of our two barn overhangs into the new chicken coop, and gutting the old chicken coop to serve as the new goat house. It may not sound like much, but with just the two of us to do the work, my husband and I have been working our tails off. We had to get everything done by last Saturday night, as we were picking up three new dairy goats bright and early Sunday morning. I am SO pleased with these three new goats. They come from excellent milk lines, are stand trained (they're ever so patient with my newby milk maid hands), and well mannered. They are incredibly sweet, and snuggly.<br />
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Gingerbread (left), Butterscotch (Center), and Moon Pie (right).<br />
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Two of the new goats just freshened and are giving a quart to a quart and a half a day, and the third is a two month old doeling. We've never such a young doeling before, and I'm about to die of all the cute.<br />
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Two weeks ago, we drove two hours to pick up a goat in milk that we found on craigslist. We didn't find out until we got there that she had been running with several bucks, and may or may not be pregnant. Against my better judgement (and not wanting to waste such a long time on the road), we brought her home. She was almost impossible to milk. We didn't have a milk stand at the time (obviously a huge mistake that I'm laughing at myself for), and she wasn't familiar with the whole milking process (contrary to what we had been told by the previous owners, grrr). She kicked, and screamed, and kicked some more. After half an hour of struggling with her, we finally got about half a cup of milk out of her. Sigh. The milk was okay, but had a bit of a goaty taste to it. I can eat or drink just about anything, especially if its something I've worked so hard to obtain, so you better believe I used it!<br />
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Until we brought these girls home yesterday, I thought that was just how goat milk tasted; okay, but not up to snuff with cow milk. It turns out that goat milk sans buck scent is seriously incredible. I just polished off a pint of the stuff while writing this post. It's sweet, creamy heaven in a glass.<br />
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This morning as I was letting the chickens out of their new coop to free range around the farm, I looked over to see one of our many mulberry trees loaded with black, shiny berries. Oh my word. I grabbed a bucket, and began picking. While I was picking, the chickens discovered I had picked an entire bowlful of mulberries 'just for them'. </div>
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I picked what I could reach, then laid down an old king sized sheet underneath the tree, and shook the branches like a mad woman! Good thing I don't have any neighbors... it looked a little like I was humping the air, and hanging onto the branches for balance.<br />
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The ducks got wind that there were mulberries to be had, and left their beloved pond to come get some.<br />
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Otis was very impressed with my harvest. He's pretty much the best cat ever. </div>
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I ended up with five and a half cups of delicious berries destined for jam.</div>
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This recipe was adapted from the Ball Book of Home Preserving.<br />
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<u>Mulberry Jam</u><br />
makes 4 half pints<br />
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3 C. Crushed Mulberries (I leave the little stems on, but feel free to take them out)<br />
2 C. Granulated Sugar<br />
1/2 C. Lemon Juice<br />
3 T. Ball Low Sugar Pectin<br />
1/4 tsp. Butter (optional, it reduces foaming while the jam is cooking).<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">Prepare jars, and lids. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">Combine mulberries, lemon juice, and butter in a 6- or 8-quart saucepan. Whisk in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that can not be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly. Add</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"> entire measure of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"> hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight. Process</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"> in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove lid and let stand in canner for additional 5 minutes. Remove jars, cool, and store.</span></div>
Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-47979054098354528612014-05-19T13:53:00.001-07:002014-05-19T13:54:03.539-07:00Farm Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's been a while since I've posted. I haven't posted much in general in the last few months. Forgive me, it's a busy time of year, ya know. There are way more chores, and work to be done now that the weather is nice. I love it! I can say with utmost certainty that farm livin' is the life for me. </div>
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Marmalade, out and about on the farm, looking for an afternoon snack.</div>
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Speaking of chickens (as always), the weekend before last, we gave the coop a fresh coat of paint. Random tip for anyone out there considering the same: get a paint sprayer! Something that would have taken us two days to do, took my husband twenty minutes. And it was HOT that day, so we were happy to get it done quickly.</div>
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Afterward, we cooled off by taking a dip in the pond. I'm not gonna lie, it took my husband a good twenty minutes of coaxing to get me to step foot in the water, and an additional twenty to get waste deep. The water felt so good on that hot day, but I'm a little more than freaked out by the thought of water snakes, and snapping turtles. Really though, can you blame me!?</div>
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Our little girls are out free-ranging in the big world now. Two months old, and growing!<br />
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We have several Easter Eggers, and Olive Eggers, but I just couldn't wait another two months to get a blue egg. I'm impatient, okay? So I found a woman that had six pullets for sale (two blue egg layers in the mix). Though Priscilla here (a Silver Laced Wyandotte) lays a brown egg, she's pretty and very inquisitive; so she came home with me, too.<br />
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Whilst mowing the lawn back by the chicken coop one day last week, I spotted a very large bed of asparagus. Then quickly squealed with delight like a little girl. I love, love, love asparagus. It takes so long to establish, and with all the other stuff going on, I just didn't mess with planting any this year. This was a wonderful and tasty surprise that we enjoyed for dinner that night.<br />
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My fifty foot row of yard long beans have sprouted.<br />
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I planted a fifty foot row of three different types of cucumbers. I'm especially excited for the Mexican Sour Gherkins.<br />
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Three fifty foot rows of tomatoes went in a couple weeks ago. Seventy-two tomato plants in total. Can you say mega-super-ultra canning fun this summer?</div>
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This morning I spotted the first tomato bloom. Ripe, juicy, garden fresh heirloom tomatoes; need I say more?<br />
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The garden so far. Right now it just looks like a somewhat tilled patch of dirt, but I promise there are plants in there! This weekend we'll be expanding the garden to make room for pumpkins, watermelon, and winter squash.<br />
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The fruit trees have long since lost their blooms, and now have tiny fruit. Peaches are one of my favorite fruits to preserve. Luckily it appears our peach tree will give us a good harvest this summer.<br />
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Good thing I make wine, otherwise I don't know what I'd do with all of the grapes we're going to get. I'm gonna be a wine making (and drinking) fool. You won't hear me complaining! You may not hear me at all; I may be off by myself, tipsy, and happily rolling around in the grass.<br />
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"Can I have some of those grapes you were talking about?" Broomhilda, you have something on your, uh... never mind.<br />
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And finally, my favorite chore of the day: collecting fresh, beautiful eggs. It just doesn't get any better than farm life, folks.<br />
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Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-47733373751359813362014-05-05T13:58:00.001-07:002014-05-05T14:01:53.707-07:00Rhubarb Strawberry Jam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's gorgeous outside. A little on the hot side dare I say, but I'm not complaining - I'll take eighty five degrees over thirty degrees any day.<br />
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We put the majority of the garden in over the last two weekends. We had planned on having a 60'x100' garden, but due to this being our first spring here and not knowing the quality of the ground, we ended up having to move the garden from the original plotted spot to a slightly smaller area in the pasture. The people that lived here before us kept horses, so the pasture closest to the barn is nice and fertilized. We put in seventy-two heirloom tomatoes, thirty heirloom peppers, a fifty foot row of summer squash, a fifty foot row of green beans, and a fifty food row of cucumbers. We use t-posts, and twine to support the tomatoes, and climbing vines. It's worked wonders for us so far. Sometime in the next week I need to plant the pumpkins, winter squash, watermelon, eggplant, corn, and garden berries. This will be my first year growing garden berries (garden huckleberries, and ground cherries), and I'm pretty excited to grow something that will give me fruit the first year. Eventually I'll add on to our little orchard, but I'm so darn impatient when it comes to fruit trees. I like quick results!<br />
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As a young 'un, I remember my granny and grandpa growing rhubarb in their garden. As an adult, I faintly remembered the smell of the freshly picked rhubarb, but the taste has been long gone. From what I gather, my granny was a pro when it came to strawberry rhubarb pies. She passed away when I was eight, and that was the last I saw or heard of rhubarb until this spring. I kinda forgot about it to be honest. I love gardening and growing new things, but never thought about planting my own rhubarb. I'm always more focused on tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and green beans when spring rolls around. You can imagine how delightfully surprised I was to find a rhubarb plant emerging from the ground when spring finally sprung a few weeks ago. Not wanting that beautiful red stalked veggie/fruit to go to waste, I knew it'd be my first canning project of the year.<br />
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Once I cut the stalks, and got a whiff of that sweet, apple-y, citrus-y aroma, I was totally bummed that I just had the one plant - though I should consider myself lucky! I ended up with three cups of chopped rhubarb, and knew that'd be just enough for a batch of tasty jam. Though the Ball Book of Home Preserving has a rhubarb BBQ sauce that I can't wait to try, should someone be sweet enough to throw some more rhubarb my way.<br />
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This recipe is adapted from the Ball Book of Home Preserving as I prefer using Ball's Low Sugar Pectin.<br />
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<u>Rhubarb Strawberry Jam</u><br />
makes 4 to 5 half pints<br />
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3 C. Chopped Rhubarb<br />
3 C. Chopped Strawberries<br />
2 1/2 C. Granulated Sugar<br />
1/3 C. Lemon Juice<br />
1/4 tsp. Butter<br />
1 pkg. or 3 Tbsp. Ball Low Sugar Pectin<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">Prepare jars, and lids. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;">Combine rhubarb, strawberries, butter, and lemon juice in a 6- or 8-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in pectin. Over high heat, bring mixture to a full rolling boil that can not be stirred down, stirring constantly. Add</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"> entire measure of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute. Remove from heat. Ladle</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"> hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight. Process</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.600000381469727px;"> in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove lid and let stand in canner for additional 5 minutes. Remove jars, cool, and store.</span><br />
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It's so good. I can't believe I lost so many precious years with rhubarb. Never again, sweet, delicious, rhubarb.... never again.<br />
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Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-25306689428866667572014-04-09T13:12:00.000-07:002014-04-09T16:38:17.713-07:00Farm In Bloom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Last week I moved the ducks down to the pond. And they haven't left. Seriously, they are refusing to go back to the coop. I didn't have much time to spend with them while they were 'growing up' (they're two months old now, and pretty much fully grown, its insane), so they aren't the tamest of creatures. I mean, they know I'm the woman that brings them food, but they're not tripping over themselves to snuggle in my lap. Which isn't a biggie, I enjoy having ducks on the pond so we'll always have a handful, but I doubt we'll be raising a ton of them over the years. If they start gettin' busy makin' babies (fingers crossed!), we've talked about processing ducks for meat in the future. But lets not talk about all that business... instead, look at how majestic they look floating on the pond! And who can blame them for not wanting to leave? They have a peaceful little pond all to themselves, complete with a mountain view. Lucky ducks.</div>
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Fishies! Feed them, and they will come. They remind me of the dogs when they hear me open something up that has a wrapper. We have several large catfish in here as well. I actually had to pull a frighteningly large, dead one out of the pond last week. My guess is that he froze during the winter, and died. He was pretty decomposed. Smelled great.<br />
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Our fruit trees are blooming. It seems that the whole farm is blooming really. Things are coming to life, and its just gorgeous. Nature leaves me in awe every spring. Each seemingly more beautiful than the last. I was going to add to our little orchard this spring, but I'm gonna wait and see what we have first. Based on the shape of the tree, and the pink bloom, I think this first one is a cherry tree. Fingers crossed!<br />
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I discovered a random patch of rhubarb in the yard. Its in the strangest place too, back by the chicken coop. I know nothing about growing rhubarb, so my plan is to just check on it every once in a while and hope for the best. Strawberry rhubarb jam, perhaps?<br />
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Hope you laid a pretty egg for me today Clover.<br />
Clover: "So <i>you're</i> the egg thief!? How <i>dare</i> you!"<br />
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The little ones are ten weeks old now. They're getting so big, and sassy.<br />
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My pride and joy: my tomato plants. After a few years of unsuccessful attempts at growing plants from seed, this year I finally got it right. And you know what the secret is? Fluorescent lamps. If you live in a colder climate in which you have to start seeds indoors in late February/Early March, you must have grow lights to have strong, healthy plants. I fought it for so long because I didn't want to spend the money, but boy, oh boy was it worth it. I just moved them out to the greenhouse yesterday because the temps have been in the high fifteens/low sixties. These twenty beauties, and their fifty-two tomato sisters will be going in the ground in two weeks, and need to be slowly hardened off to the outdoors.<br />
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Thank sweet baby jesus, my peas are finally coming up. Three weeks ago I planted a packet each of snow peas, sugar snap peas, and shell peas in the ground. The next day it snowed. The weather went from sunny, mid sixties, to overcast and mid forties for the following week and a half. So I was quite annoyed, and worried my little peas would rot in the ground. This row of sprouting peas I found over the weekend was a sight for sore eyes. I'm relieved!<br />
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I've never been much of a flower kinda girl, but apparently the folks who used to live here really enjoyed them. We have daffodils, hyacinth, and rose bushes all over the yard. They're quite beautiful, they smell heavenly, and just might convert me over to the flower loving dark side. I'm dying to see what other surprises are waiting to spring up all over our property. I'm crossing my fingers for some honeysuckle, elderberry, and wild blackberry bushes. I hear wild wines calling my name.<br />
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<br />Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-74677867975161287812014-04-08T08:22:00.000-07:002014-04-08T08:32:06.461-07:00Two Ingredient Energy Bars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's HERE, it's finally here! What you may ask? GARDENING SEASON. I've been waiting all winter for this very time of year. If you're a gardener, goat keeper, or chicken keeper like myself - you need all the energy you can get. These bars are not only energizing thanks to the natural sugars in the dried fruits, but also filling thanks to the healthy fat in the nuts. These bars would also be excellent to take along on a hike, foraging for wild edibles such as dandelions, or mushrooms, or whilst simply enjoying nature. They're super simple to make - just TWO ingredients, and you probably have them in your pantry right now. So get to work whipping these together, then get outside and enjoy the sunshine.<br />
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<u><b>Two Ingredient Energy Bars</b></u><br />
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1 C. Dried Fruit (Prunes, Apricots, Cherries, Blueberries, etc)<br />
1 C. Nuts/Seeds (Walnuts, Pistachios, Sunflower Seeds, etc)<br />
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Combine dried fruit, and nuts in a food processor. I used one cup of prunes, and a 1 cup combination of pistachios, and walnuts. Feel free to play around with this recipe by combining different fruits, and nuts. You can also double, or triple this recipe. As long as there are equal parts of fruit, and nuts, ya can't go wrong. Process for a few minutes, until nuts break down, and mixture becomes sticky.<br />
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Dump out onto wax paper, form into a ball, and flatten out to your preference using your hands, or a rolling pin. I used my hands 'cuz I'm lazy like that. You can make the bars as thick, or thin as you like.<br />
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Refrigerate for thirty minutes. Cut into bars, and enjoy. All this fruity, nutty, healthy goodness - they are delicious, no joke. I would imagine these bars can be kept in the fridge for quite a long time, given that they are made of foods that have a long shelf life themselves. The bars can also be frozen for longer storage if you want to make up a super-sized batch.<br />
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Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-79576112281400526042014-03-13T17:56:00.001-07:002014-03-13T18:04:39.644-07:00Honey Wheat Poppyseed Bagels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday on our way to work, my husband and I stopped to grab a couple of breakfast sandwiches from McD's. I know I know, its not healthy, but we were hungry and in a hurry so it got the job done. While eating his steak breakfast bagel (who eats steak for breakfast?? oh yeah, <i>my</i> husband), he professed his love for bagels. I never buy bagels at the store 'cuz I'm a toast kinda girl, but I thought, why haven't I made bagels yet? They seems simple enough, and as everyone knows, homemade is always best. I whipped up this recipe, and I ain't lookin' back. Homemade bagels are DA BOMB. These bagels are slightly sweetened from the honey, but you could totally leave the honey out of the recipe and use these as sandwich buns. In fact, that's a dandy idea for dinner tomorrow!<br />
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<u>Honey Wheat Poppyseed Bagels</u><br />
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1 tsp. Fast Rise Yeast<br />
1 1/2 C. Warm Water<br />
1 tsp. Salt<br />
1/4 C. Honey<br />
2 1/2 C. All Purpose Flour<br />
1 C. Whole Wheat Flour<br />
2 tsp. Poppyseed<br />
1 Egg<br />
1 Tbsp. Water<br />
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In a large bowl, combine yeast, salt, honey, and water. Let sit for five minutes to allow the yeast to bloom, and become frothy. Begin adding flour, one cup at a time, stirring until the dough becomes too difficult to easily stir. Add more flour as necessary, and begin kneading. The flour is approximate, you may require a little more, or a little less. The dough is done once its smooth, elastic, and not sticky to the touch. Place dough in a greased bowl, and cover with saran wrap. Let rise for one hour, or until doubled in size. Once doubled, sprinkle dough with a little flour, and punch down. Re-cover with saran wrap, and let rise for another twenty minutes.<br />
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Put a half full pot of water on the stove to boil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Divide dough into eight pieces. Roll dough into balls, and poke hole through each ball with your finger, gently stretching until the hole in the center is around a half inch. Gently drop bagels into boiling water, and boil two minutes on each side. Remove bagels from boiling water with a slotted spoon, and place onto a greased cookie sheet. Whisk egg, and water. Lightly brush each bagel with egg mixture. Bake for thirty minutes. Cool on a wire rack, and enjoy with some cream cheese, and jam! :)Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-35430962042473426722014-03-11T14:25:00.005-07:002014-03-11T14:32:06.024-07:00Fear the ChickenI am Daisy, the giant Barred Rock. Fear me, tiny human!<br />
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Wait, is my microphone on?</div>
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Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-87474706193104719662014-03-10T11:38:00.001-07:002014-03-10T12:01:35.241-07:00Almost Spring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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While Saturday wasn't exactly picture perfect weather - it was chilly, and rainy - Sunday was perfect! Yesterday was a warm, sunny, almost spring day. Spring<i> is</i> only TEN DAYS away, afterall. We spent the entire day outside, doing chores, and watching the animals enjoy the weather.<br />
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First of all, let me say that if you ever decide to get ducklings, do it when its warm enough to put them outside soon after you bring them home. The mess they make while indoors is insane. Holy moly. I was changing their bedding out every other day, and it was STILL a wet, poopy mess at all times inside their brooder. They were soaking through their wooden brooder box, and that moisture got onto the floor, which in turn jacked up a spot in our new flooring. I tried brooding them in the bath tub, and within twenty minutes, they had poop flung four feet up the shower walls. Frankly I don't know how they accomplished such a feat - they're still pretty small! I was impressed, but out of options on where to brood them indoors.<br />
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I did a little research on Back Yard Chickens to find out when I could move them outside. Most people insisted on waiting for temps in the 80's during the day, and 60's at night before putting ducklings outside, and to not even think about it until they're twelve weeks old.... No freakin' way could I wait that long. I couldn't accept that, so I kept digging, and found a few people that said they put theirs outside with a heat lamp even when it was only 20 degrees at night. That was all I needed to move their stinky, but cute little butts outside!<br />
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Last weekend my husband and I blocked off a small portion of our 10'x20' chicken coop with chicken wire for the little girls to live in while the big girls get used to the idea of having new birds in their territory. Adding small chickens in with big chickens is a recipe for disaster. Chickens take their pecking order VERY seriously, and it can result in death for the little ones. We put the ducklings in the 'nursery' coop, with their food, water, and a heat lamp. And ya know what? They did great! In all seriousness, they're happier outside than they were in their brooder. They're cleaner from having more room to run around instead of walking back and forth through poop in their small brooder. In the last four days since I've put them outside, their feather growth rate has doubled. They've started QUACKING at four weeks old - is that normal? Either way, its ADORABLE.<br />
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Inside our house, our seven week old chicks were still in their brooder. I knew once we moved the eleven chicks out to the nursery coop with the ducklings, space would be a little cramped. It would be a while before I could move the chicks, and ducklings into the big coop, and I didn't want to keep them cooped up that whole time. So we threw together a little 10'x10' yard for the little ones to play in, eat bugs, and soak up some sunshine. They can fly, just not over the fence <i>yet</i>.<br />
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And they did lots of playing, eating, and roosting on feet. Winnifred is an Easter Egger, with the puffiest cheeks of all the girls. Easter Eggers are known for their puffy cheeks - its kind of a big deal for her.<br />
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Grizelda is the only non buff and black EE that we have right now. She has green eyes, blue and white feathers, with a few random smudges of brown. That's the fun of ordering Easter Eggers - you never know what you're gonna get!</div>
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A sample picture from Grizelda's glamour shots.</div>
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When I ordered my first batch of chicks in January, I had never heard of Cochins. They looked fluffy, and friendly though, so I added two Blue Cochins to my order. I can't say enough good things about them. They are so sweet, and so, so SO soft. They are literally little balls of snuggly fluff.<br />
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See, I <i>told</i> you they were doing great as outside ducklings!</div>
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Clockwise from left: Blanche (Leghorn), Esme (OE), Hazel (EE), Morning Glory (Blue Cochin), and Grizelda (EE).</div>
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In my defense, the water <i>was</i> clean :)<br />
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Our Black Copper Marans, Nutmeg, and one of the Olive Eggers, Andora the black eyed devil chick (no really, she's a bully!)</div>
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After giving the chicks some recess time in the yard, we started on wood for next winter. My husband cut, and chopped, and I carried it up to the barn. There's security knowing that no matter what kind of crazy, power outage inducing weather we have next winter, we'll always have heat from our wood stove.</div>
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We finished off the day by spending time with the goat girls. I took a bunch of pictures of them running, and jumping. In classic fashion, they were all blurry. I'm still getting the hang of this camera. And here's the thing about playful goats: they ain't got time for pictures.<br />
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Unless they think you have gingersnaps, then they're all up in your face.<br />
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And even if you claim that you don't have gingersnaps, they'll climb right up your legs to check your pockets.... just to be sure.<br />
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And just when I thought we could retire back to the house and get some rest, and relaxation in, I'm greeted with this. Mr. Attitude: 'And where have you been??'<br />
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Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-35764713466873194132014-02-24T16:21:00.002-08:002014-02-24T16:28:10.466-08:00Lucky They Let Us Live Here<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sure, we pay all the bills, and do all the chores, but let's face it - it's really up to<i> them </i>whether we get to live here<i>. </i>The dogs, the cats, the goats, and especially the chickens, they KNOW they're in control. Today, they've decided to take over the front porch. They're chickens, and they do whatever the 'cluck' they want. Hens gone wild.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXEajLlxdQgQUL7J_QAk6k3G2dhNQYfEg_DXCRdd9cIYgREqG27se3LeiDDISt1KHn7XIfuGy7Bbx_rE6KUKy_L6UFvbS0f8OZ93YcBATwDtFr2-ZgZgTmPrqAo3sifzJIAnwWH5R-f9_/s1600/IMG_2125%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXEajLlxdQgQUL7J_QAk6k3G2dhNQYfEg_DXCRdd9cIYgREqG27se3LeiDDISt1KHn7XIfuGy7Bbx_rE6KUKy_L6UFvbS0f8OZ93YcBATwDtFr2-ZgZgTmPrqAo3sifzJIAnwWH5R-f9_/s1600/IMG_2125%5B1%5D.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a><br />
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But if they know whats good for them, they'll stay out of the raspberry patch when there are actual berries in there. I've got plans for all of those raspberries, Clover! You better not eat them!</div>
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Speaking of homegrown food, there are broccoli seedlings in the greenhouse!</div>
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Remember <a href="http://cluckwildhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/02/we-welcome-quackshire-family.html">The Quackshire Family</a>? When it warms up, this will be their new playground. I'm dreaming of a warm summer day when we stroll outside to see six beautiful duckies floating peacefully on the pond. Hopefully one day, there will be babies following <i>my</i> babies. But I'm getting ahead of myself - for now, they're still covered in yellow fuzz, peeping up a storm, and making a mess in their brooder. </div>
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My new wind chimes make beautiful music. No country home is complete without wind chimes.<br />
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The Sunday before last we cut down several trees to make posts for an enormous backyard dog-fence. On Saturday we buried the posts, and put up the fence (holy sore arms). Lucky for us we had experts on hand to oversee the project, and gobble up any unearthed worms.</div>
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Our fence! Its even more beautiful than I imagined. I'm so proud of what we made together - from cutting down trees, hauling logs from the woods up to the yard on our shoulders, to digging countless two-foot deep holes, and what do ya know? A fence! We used random scraps of wood for a make-shift door, so it's only temporary, but it works for the moment. I'm well aware that the logs won't last near as long as pressure treated lumber, but these posts were free, and I like free. I also love the look, its so rustic. The fence our goats are in right now was here when we bought the house, and it too was constructed with raw wood. It looks rather old, and is still very sturdy. If I couldn't be considered a homesteader before, I'm definitely one now!<br />
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Success!<br />
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<br />Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-32216592018247862162014-02-20T08:46:00.002-08:002014-02-20T09:14:51.851-08:00DIY Farm Sign Using Any Font<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our new place has tons of random pieces of wood lying around in the barn. I knew once I stacked them up that they'd be getting a few coats of paint, some distressing, and would adorn random places throughout our farm. I've made a few wooden hand painted signs before, but drawing out the lettering myself takes FOREVER. I draw it out on the sign, realize its off center, or crooked... then I have to erase all of my hard work. Total bummer. The idea struck me the other day to try something a little different, and it worked out perfectly!<br />
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<u>Supplies Needed:</u><br />
Piece of Wood, cut to size<br />
Sawtooth Picture Hanger<br />
Acrylic Paint (I used Indoor and sealed it with a clear coat)<br />
Wax<br />
Sand Paper<br />
Clear Coat Spray Paint (I used Rustoleum)<br />
Printer<br />
Printer Paper<br />
Paint Brushes<br />
Pen<br />
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Apply a dark coat of paint only around the edges of the board, and wherever you want the dark paint to show through in the distressing. One coat should do. Once dry, coat painted edges of wood (and any other areas you painted dark) with a thin layer of wax. Apply two coats of light colored paint on entire board, drying in between. Using sandpaper, sand down edges of board, and any other wax coated areas until the darker paint shows through. Continue distressing until you get your desired effect.<br />
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Now for the exciting part - the lettering!<br />
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I downloaded a few fonts I liked, measured the piece of wood I was using, and how big of an area I wanted the lettering to cover, and printed out the words and my chicken symbol sized accordingly. To save my beloved black ink, I printed in a light pink color. Cut the words out, and place them wherever you want the wording to go on your sign. Applying pressure, trace over the words - you'll notice there will be an indent where you were tracing.<br />
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To make it easier to see when painting, outline the indent of your letters or symbols with your pen.<br />
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Finally, paint the outlined letters and symbols. I did two coats of black paint for the letters. Then finished off the entire sign with a coat of clear coat, and attached a sawtooth picture hanger to the back . How easy was that?!<br />
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Have fun making a sign for <i>everything</i> in your yard! :)Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-57294050806452593182014-02-18T17:23:00.002-08:002014-02-18T17:30:13.046-08:00Philly Cheesesteak PastaBelieve me when I tell you that this is one of the best dishes I've ever made IN MY LIFE. Its incredible. Seriously. I had planned on making <a href="http://cluckwildhomestead.blogspot.com/2013/12/simple-beef-stroganoff.html">beef stroganoff</a>, but used up all of my cream of mushroom soup on last nights chicken and dumplings (I'll post that recipe soon). So I had ground steak, I had mushrooms, I had plenty of onions, and I had green peppers that I knew I wanted to use in tonights dinner. Hmm, what to make? Of course, philly cheesesteaks came to mind. But I wanted pasta. What a conundrum. So I did what I always do when I'm about to make something amazing - I poured myself a glass of wine, and started tossing stuff together. A dash of this. A pinch of that - and voila! Philly Cheesesteak Pasta was born. I will be making this approximately once a week for the rest of my life. My god.<br />
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<u><b>Philly Cheeseteak Pasta</b></u><br />
1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil<br />
1 Large Onion, sliced thinly<br />
1 Large Green Pepper, sliced thinly<br />
1 Tsp. Seasoned Salt<br />
1 Tsp. Garlic Powder<br />
1/2 Tsp. Ground Black Pepper<br />
1 Pkg White Mushroom, sliced<br />
1 Lb. Ground Steak, or Ground Beef<br />
1 Lb. Pasta, cooked to al dente, and drained<br />
1/2 C. Beef Broth<br />
1 C. Shredded Mozzarella<br />
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In a large skillet over medium-high heat, combine olive oil, onion, green pepper, season salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Saute over medium-high heat until tender. Add sliced mushrooms. Cook an additional five minutes. Transfer to a bowl. In the same skillet, cook ground steak, or beef until done. Drain if necessary. Combine cooked veggies to ground beef. Add beef broth, and stir. Add beef/veggie mixture to cooked, and drained pasta. Add cheese. Stir until melted. Serve, and enjoy!<br />
<br />Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-85291813112823040032014-02-15T19:14:00.000-08:002014-02-15T19:53:55.431-08:00We Welcome The Quackshire Family<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In some very exciting, and surprise news - we have ducklings! Yesterday on our way home from work, my husband took a different, and very long route home... all to get me my last in a series of Valentines Day presents. Other women may want flowers, or jewelry for Valentines Day, but my husband knows me better. He knows that a blackberry bush, or a box of ducklings is the way to this girls heart. I'm calling them 'The Quackshire Family' until I figure out the boys from the girls. </div>
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I've never raised ducklings before, so this will be an entirely new experience for me. I couldn't be more excited! They're SO CUTE. </div>
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My husband and I took them into the bathroom today, laid down a towel, gave them a bowl of water, and they went WILD. How many ducklings can fit into a dog food bowl? </div>
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After about fifteen minutes of making an absolute mess, the ducklings were flat tuckered out. We tucked them back in their brooder, and went off to do farmer business - measure for a fence! We've been here three months, and one of the absolute musts for this spring is installing a fence for the dogs. Our dogs are wanderers, and believe me, there's plenty of acreage to wander off into - over one hundred acres of woods surround our house. Not to mention the hawks, coyotes, wild dogs, and from what I've read, even mountain lions that roam/fly around these parts. The last thing I want to do is wrestle a mountain lion in the dark over a Chiweenie. Don't worry, I don't like to kill things, so if it happens I'll go easy on the mountain lion. </div>
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Juju, and Otis had a long afternoon of eating, and pooping. They took a much needed nap. </div>
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It's been a month or so since I've made a batch of soap. Which is crazy - I love making soap! For reasons unknown (maybe it was that second jug of coffee?) I had an unusual burst of energy for a Saturday afternoon, and started a batch of soap. Wanna learn how to make your own <i>homemade soap</i>? I thought so! Find my easy to follow tutorial <a href="http://cluckwildhomestead.blogspot.com/2013/12/how-to-make-soap.html">here</a>.<br />
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While the soap was cooking, I cracked open a jar of my favorite pickles in the whole world - my very own <a href="http://cluckwildhomestead.blogspot.com/2013/07/garlic-dill-cucumber-spears.html">Garlic Dill Cucumber Pickles</a>. Thank sweet baby jesus for canning, its a much needed reminder of the garden. Seriously winter, <i>enough</i>.<br />
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After I plopped the hot soap into its mold to cool, I remembered it was time to start a few more seeds! Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Lettuce this evening. Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplant towards the end of the month. There's a light at the end of the tunnel!<br />
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I marked my seeds with these little toothpick flags, They're not pretty, but they get the job done with black containers.<br />
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I set my soap outside to cool a little faster. What can I say? I'm impatient. Normally it takes eight hours to cool. I usually can't wait that long. I wanna slice up some beautiful bars of soap, and marvel at my handy work! Basil Mint Sage with French Green Clay on the left, and Honey Spearmint on the right. Gawgeous.<br />
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Tomorrows agenda: cut down cedar trees with the hubby to make posts for the dog fence. Chainsaw time!Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-27761392021329522742014-02-11T14:14:00.002-08:002014-02-15T10:50:34.119-08:00Raising Chicks 101<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am no expert, but I have raised a few chicks in my day. And I've learned something new with each one. My husband and I had talked about getting chicks, but until the fall of last year, we had lived in town our whole lives. Chickens in town just weren't an option - or were they? Where we lived, keeping chickens in town was 'frowned upon'. A sassy neighbor complaining about a clucking chicken would have been enough to shut the whole bootleg chicken operation down, and ruin the fun for everyone. In preparation, I read blog after blog trying to grasp the basics of chick care for myself, for years in the future when we would finally be able to have feathery hooligans running amok in the yard, giving us gorgeous egg presents every morning.</div>
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Finally after not being able to resist the adorable chicks at our local farm supply store, we threw caution to the wind. We had a fenced in yard, and decided to raise chickens in our backyard<i> in secret.</i> We purchased five barred rock chickies. We brought home our box of joy and that's when my addiction began.</div>
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I'll be honest, despite having read about chickens, I had zero idea what I was doing. The stuff I had read made it sound so complicated, and scary. Was I or was I not supposed to feed them something addition to bagged chick food? Do they need grit at a young age? Am I going to contract a crazy contagious disease?? Don't laugh, I'd maybe been around a chicken twice in my life... okay, <i>maybe</i> you can laugh. I was a newbie, and I had a long, joyous journey ahead of me. </div>
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Below is what you'll need to get started, guidelines for basic chick care, how to introduce your other animals to your chicks, and what to do to ensure a friendly flock. </div>
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<b>Brooder</b> - Almost anything can be used as a brooder: cardboard boxes, wooden crate, birdcage (what we raised our first ever batch of chicks in), child playpen, or a pet playpen (which is what we're using now). As long as it is ventilated, sturdy, and has sides tall enough to keep the little ones from escaping, it'll do just fine. Keep in mind that though they may be small at a few days old, chicks grow fast. If it won't be warm enough to put them outside for two months or so, you'll need to get a brooder big enough to accommodate older chicks. </div>
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<b>Heat </b>- Heat lamps are the least inexpensive option for heating a brooder. I think we paid $8 for ours, and purchased it at your local farm supply store. Clip the heat lamp on the side of your brooder, and make sure the bulb points away from the side of your brooder. A heat lamp in direct contact, or close contact with a surface could cause a fire. I've read several blogs about raising chicks that stated chick brooders HAD to be measured with a thermometer and kept at a certain degree at all times, and slowly lowered in temp as the chicks age. If you want to do that, great, but I never have. I judge the correct temp of the brooder, by how the chicks are dispersed. If they're ALL huddled tightly together directly underneath the brooder, the heat lamp probably needs to be lowered to raise the temp. If they're ALL out of the direct light of the heat lamp, its too hot, and the heat lamp needs to be raised up to cool off the brooder. The ideal chick disbursement in a brooder is some underneath the light, and some meandering around outside of it. We've had great success with heat lamps, and will continue to use them. </div>
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<b>Feeder/Waterer</b> - Trying to save a buck when we bought our first batch, I used shallow bowls from the kitchen. They worked, but trust me, shelling out a few bucks at your tractor supply store for actual chick feeders/waterers is soooo worth it. Our kitchen bowls sufficed, but they kicked cedar chips in them constantly, meaning I had to dump out and refill them several times a day. They also loved pooping the in the bowls. Do you want to drink out of a bowl that has poop in it? Yeah, me either. </div>
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<b>Bedding</b> - Sand, straw, hay, and pine shavings (what we prefer) are all suitable options for chick brooder bedding. I do not recommend plain newspaper solely for bedding. The chicks feet don't have much traction when they're young, and slippery newspaper or other flooring can lead to <a href="http://www.grit.com/animals/spraddle-leg-aka-splayed-leg-curled-toes-in-chickens-causes-treatements.aspx">spraddle leg</a>. I've only ever used pine shavings, and can attest that its very absorbing, and inexpensive for a large bag. </div>
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<b>Feed</b> - We've been feeding our four full grown barred rock girls basic chicken feed from the tractor supply since we got them. As chicks, they got 'chick grower' feed, and as adults, they get 'egg layer' feed. Our current batch of chicks are on the same basic chick feed, and they are growing like weeds!</div>
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<b>Vaccinations</b> - I can't really say too much on this subject, other than I do not have my chicks vaccinated. Our very first batch of chicks we bought from the tractor supply may or may not have been vaccinated, but I've chosen not to order vaccinated chicks from this point on. With basic common sense care - fresh food, clean water, clean coop, not introducing a new sickly chick into a healthy flock - outbreaks among the flock can be avoided. If you would like to vaccinate your chicks, vaccinations are available through hatcheries prior to shipping your chicks. </div>
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<b>Treats</b> - As a rule, I prefer to wait until the chicks are two weeks of age before spoiling them with treats. Maybe its crazy, but I feel they'll be better prepared to digest treats, once their tiny digestive systems are accustomed to their feed, and environment. Plus, baby chick beaks aren't exactly able to viciously tear into an apple, they're tiny! Acceptable treats for baby chicks are yogurt, apples, lettuce, hard boiled egg, strawberries, grapes, grass clippings, dandelions, squash, melon... the list goes on, and on. Things to <b>NOT</b> give baby chicks, or full grown chickens: avocados, chocolate, junk food, green potato skins, or rotten fruit. </div>
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My girls go crazy for yogurt!</div>
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Which inevitably leads to a yogurt 'stache. Uh, Grizelda.... you've got a little something on your beak.<br />
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<b>Taming</b> - Chickens are domestic animals. Unless you are mean and cold to your chicks as they grow, they aren't going to act like wild, and crazy birds when they grow up (unless they're sitting on some eggs - in which case, even the tamest of all chickens will terrify you... just kidding... maybe). However, you can do your part to ensure your beautiful girls, or boys are as tame, and sweet as they can be. If you hatched your chickies from eggs, you'll have the chance for them to imprint on you, and they might think you're their mama! If you're like me, and ordered your chicks from a hatchery, your chickies saw someone else other than you fresh out of the egg. Regardless, your time is the BEST thing you can devote to raising chicks, to ensure you have a friendly, and gentle backyard flock. I purchased a forty-inch wide puppy play pen for brooding all future batches of chicks. Its plenty big enough so that me, and eleven chicks fit comfortably in it. I spend several hours a week, sitting in the brooder with them. They are able to inspect me suspiciously (as chicks are wont to do), climb over me, hear my voice, and eat from my hand. Its a pain, my back often hurts from being hunched over, but it will be worth it in the end when I have eleven more full grown lap chickens. If you can't fit into your chick brooder, spend as much time as you can sitting outside of it, talking to them, and holding them.<br />
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Nutmeg, roosting on my leg.<br />
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<b>Death & Ailments</b> - If you order chicks from a hatchery, there will probably be one or two, or more dead on arrival. Its sad, but its part of the process. Its not the hatcheries fault, they cannot control the weather, or the postal service. Chances are they died from the stress of transit, and not from illness. A common problem of chicks is something called 'pasty butt'. Its when their vent is clogged with dried feces, and it can be deadly. To clear the feces from the vent, hold a warm wet cloth against the are to loosen the dried feces. Soak the chickies butt in warm water if absolutely necessary. Gently remove the feces - being VERY careful to not pull out fuzz, or tear the skin. When a chicken or chick sustains an injury, their brooder mates may peck at the area. Check the chicks daily for pasty butt, as it can develop overnight. I just peek around the brooder once a day as I'm refilling their water. For a more in depth look at chick ailments, and treatments, look <a href="http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2014/01/common-baby-chick-ailments-and-natural.html">here</a>.<br />
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<b>Other Pets</b> - We have four dogs, and five cats in the house. Ninety nine point nine percent of cats would kill these baby chicks in an instant. We have one cat that wouldn't lay a paw on them. We know that because we know <i>her</i>. She's a gentle little soul. Even still, we don't even allow her in the room with the chicks. Its just best to keep cats away from the chicks until they are big enough to defend themselves. Our five cats are indoor/outdoor, and they never mess with our full grown girls - they know better. Our barred rock, Daisy, is bigger than the cats are! Of our four dogs, only one would hurt the chickies, and that's our little twelve pound doxie. Our sixty pound husky mix would happily let the chicks trample all over her. She's a gentle giant. You just have to be incredibly selective, and at the ready when introducing other pets to your chicks. I would recommend keeping them on a leash the first few times you introduce them to the chicks. Judge their behavior, and if you see ANY signs of aggression - get them out of there!<br />
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The main thing to remember when raising chickens, is that with a little love, anyone can do it. They require very little, and provide you with so much. Don't be afraid, be inspired! I'm so inspired by chickens, that I just ordered TWENTY SIX more - I think I need an intervention.Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-13345226767938515622014-01-27T09:44:00.000-08:002014-01-29T08:48:26.112-08:00Farmer In Training<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So much stuff has happened over the last few days. I'm talkin' some pretty fantastic stuff. Our farm is in progress, and with each new adventure, we're getting closer and closer to reaching our farm goals - one beautiful step at a time.</div>
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Two weeks ago, I ordered a fresh batch of baby chicks. They arrived four days ago, and are absolutely perfect. The hatchery I went through requires a minimum order of fifteen chicks during the winter months, so I decided on a mix of Easter Eggers, Black Copper Marans, and Olive Eggers. Knowing that I'll be collecting a basket of eggs in a rainbow of colors in a mere six to seven months makes me wanna squeal with excitement. It's ridiculous. The number one goal on my first year list of <a href="http://cluckwildhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/01/farm-goals-year-one.html">farm goals</a> is officially crossed off!</div>
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Luna loves her chickies.</div>
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In other insanely exciting news: WE HAVE GOATS! We visited a cute little goat farm earlier in the month, and picked out two beautiful baby girls. In the last two weeks, we've been getting everything ready for their much anticipated arrival on Saturday. Number four on my list of first year <a href="http://cluckwildhomestead.blogspot.com/2014/01/farm-goals-year-one.html">farm goals</a> - check! Chickens are the gateway drug into farming, and goats are the next dangerous step. </div>
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The owners of the goat farm are wonderful people, and were kind enough to deliver them to our house. Thankfully they only live ten minutes away from us, because I'm sure I'm gonna have a LOT of question in the future. They showed us how to trim hooves, how to check for worms, discussed feed with us, and taught us that the key to a goats heart is through animal crackers. Our girls were pretty suspicious of us until we gave them animal crackers, and pets - now they're glued to our legs. And to think, I was worried they wouldn't like us :P</div>
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Cupcake is a ten month old, blue eyed beauty that can't get enough of my behind-the-ear scratches, and pets.</div>
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Jellybean is a nine month old, petite, daddy's girl, and proclaimed animal cracker addict. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, san-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.25px;">♫ </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16.25px;">Everywhere her daddy went, the little goat would go</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, san-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.25px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, san-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.25px;">♫</span></div>
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Honey: "You mean you got MORE animals?! Wait... does that mean we can eat their food?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHmC9gSwogOJFqVIym7xNc4rKu3_KLIYudKc55TLj1nTFVqu5VZalqv-gov1CxT820wPIsJl5k7kJ5TGDth9NCF7oqmk8vvhNDILtZfyjLQILHaUW7W6satPW90hawYTfCKDjJDxMabrf/s1600/IMG_0631%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHmC9gSwogOJFqVIym7xNc4rKu3_KLIYudKc55TLj1nTFVqu5VZalqv-gov1CxT820wPIsJl5k7kJ5TGDth9NCF7oqmk8vvhNDILtZfyjLQILHaUW7W6satPW90hawYTfCKDjJDxMabrf/s1600/IMG_0631%5B1%5D.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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It was so beautiful out yesterday (high fifties) so my husband and I spent the entire day outside. We spent the majority of the afternoon in the goat pen, socializing with the girls. To stretch our legs, we decided to take a walk through the woods. On our way we passed these in-need-of-serious-repair, rustic raised beds. I decided they have a few more years left in them, and could be a great spot for herbs.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5faSMBNMSpl20x8CcbUJqX5le5B_byxjMH0RTeqC1XJitfLYSv7m_ozqadVic1mk2K3C2L0dMYGjbpnjeHYcu4uSfRozcoW-ENnyPtuQfTD7HGaLCmGubaeA_rMIkHo7eGvDx_j-BWEy/s1600/IMG_0731%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5faSMBNMSpl20x8CcbUJqX5le5B_byxjMH0RTeqC1XJitfLYSv7m_ozqadVic1mk2K3C2L0dMYGjbpnjeHYcu4uSfRozcoW-ENnyPtuQfTD7HGaLCmGubaeA_rMIkHo7eGvDx_j-BWEy/s1600/IMG_0731%5B1%5D.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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The view looking back, en route to the woods. I love my chickens.</div>
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Though we missed not having the dogs with us on this particular walk, it was nice to be able to take in the sights, and fresh air, rather than keeping track of five mischievous, and disaster prone doodles.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbT8xozKidBfjRMnDRkM3bIExIM_6xp4CZ0tdd9rqt8SsaorCsUCjPUcDWOWj_uh9aSx3zlTPw7YpeZulaAMlGYVOo2ahUKmkRm_7nb1AuK33Pw2Q-aMvkRPz-S4v6PW7Wzmd9Wec4xAL1/s1600/IMG_0856%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbT8xozKidBfjRMnDRkM3bIExIM_6xp4CZ0tdd9rqt8SsaorCsUCjPUcDWOWj_uh9aSx3zlTPw7YpeZulaAMlGYVOo2ahUKmkRm_7nb1AuK33Pw2Q-aMvkRPz-S4v6PW7Wzmd9Wec4xAL1/s1600/IMG_0856%5B1%5D.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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I. Can't. Wait. For. Grapes. OMG.</div>
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After a long day on the farm, at dusk we decided to unwind with a glass of wine, and a dip in the hot tub. And what to my wondering eyes did appear around the side of the house? Our orange short-hair stud muffin of a cat, O'Malley, and this GORGEOUS creature. I guess things were getting pretty serious with these two, as he decided it was finally time to bring his lady to meet the parents. She's beautiful, and a cuddler. We approve. So much so that she's welcome to live here should she choose. We love animals too much, and just can't turn away strays (if she is in fact a stray, and not a neighbors pet lioness). We shall call her Priscilla.<br />
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UPDATE: We ASSUMED the cat was a female. I've seen some beautiful male cats before, but c'mon! As fate would have it, this majestic feline turned out to be MALE - that makes four out of five male cats at our farm now. Nevertheless, we still proudly support the young love of our stud muffin, O'Malley, and his smokey quartz be-furred lover, <i>Rupert.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXOIVsdfKt8YE-B9kVe5f_MB8WMku_gpfbX5Jetchsd3jeMVMSAIUw6v80GVoCr5dkUEo4pyXqFgwG6j34mfckG6G3Eg1XNss8UF-bUlJP2eqI3_rcYH4pNEfHVZy-1LSWNNny95itKyg/s1600/Priscilla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXOIVsdfKt8YE-B9kVe5f_MB8WMku_gpfbX5Jetchsd3jeMVMSAIUw6v80GVoCr5dkUEo4pyXqFgwG6j34mfckG6G3Eg1XNss8UF-bUlJP2eqI3_rcYH4pNEfHVZy-1LSWNNny95itKyg/s1600/Priscilla.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-14918827080134313712014-01-16T16:53:00.000-08:002014-01-16T17:15:19.959-08:00Maple Oat Scones<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A shipment came in from Amazon today: a foldaway dog playpen (aka my new chick brooder), two small dog crates, one wine making book, one cheese making book, and three preserving/cookbooks. I immediately sat down and started flipping through the preserving/cookbooks, making a list of all the things I wanted to can this coming summer. Then I came to this recipe. The picture made my mouth water like crazy, so I plopped the book down on the table, and set to work to create these tasty morsels. Right out of the oven, warm and crisp, I filled one with <a href="http://cluckwildhomestead.blogspot.com/2013/06/strawberry-lavender-jam.html">strawberry lavender jam</a>.... and then I died.<br />
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Okay, obviously I didn't die, but my god was it amazing! Please make these scones. Make them now.<br />
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This recipe was adapted from Canning For A New Generation by Liana Krissoff. I halved everything in the original recipe except for the amount of eggs, because being a chicken keeper whose husband doesn't particularly like eggs, I have a ton to use up.<br />
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<b><u>Maple Oat Scones</u></b><br />
1 3/4 C. All Purpose Flour<br />
1/2 C. Whole Wheat Flour<br />
1/2 C. Old Fashioned Oats<br />
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder<br />
1 Tbsp. Sugar<br />
1 tsp. Salt<br />
1/2 C. Butter (2 sticks)<br />
1/4 C. Yogurt<br />
1/4 C. Pure Maple Syrup<br />
5 Large Eggs<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">Preheat the oven to 400° F. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">In a large bowl, combine the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt. Using your fingertips, two knives held together, or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the largest pieces are the size of peas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, maple syrup, and 4 of the eggs. Pour the mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated; do not over mix. The dough will be somewhat sticky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface. Flour your hands, then pat the dough out to ¾” to 1″ inch thick. Cut into 2 ½” inch rounds (I used a wide-mouth pint canning jar ring) and place on the greased baking sheets. Gather up leftover dough, handling it as little as possible, and pat it out to cut more rounds. If the kitchen is warm, put the baking sheets in the fridge for 30 minutes or so to firm up, so they don’t spread too much in the oven.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">In a small bowl whisk the remaining egg and brush on top of the scones. Sprinkle with oats. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating and switching the pans halfway through, until deep golden brown. Remove to wire racks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">Serve warm, with a large dollop of jam in the center. Enjoy</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">Makes 10 scones.</span>Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-60326468115879077062014-01-16T08:27:00.001-08:002014-01-16T08:29:59.574-08:00Soft Garlic Basil Breadsticks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I love making bread, but with most basic bread recipes, I find that the bread gets pretty hard the next day. I made these two days ago, and they're still super soft. I'm having a leftover breadstick as I type. I whipped them up for dinner with a pot of pasta and tangy pasta sauce I canned last summer. The secret to super soft bread? Milk, egg, and plenty of butter. My experimentation turned out wonderful, and my husband devoured these babies. Crisp on the outside, and pillow soft on the inside.<br />
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<u>Soft Garlic Basil Breadsticks</u><br />
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1 Packet Fast Rise Yeast<br />
1/2 C. Warm Water<br />
1/2 C. Warm Milk<br />
2 tsp. Sugar<br />
2 tsp. Salt<br />
1/2 C. Butter, Room Temp<br />
1 Egg<br />
1 Tbsp. Garlic Powder<br />
1 Tbsp. Crush Dried Basil<br />
3 1/2 C Flour<br />
Garlic Salt to Garnish<br />
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In a large bowl, or stand mixer bowl, combine yeast, sugar, warm milk, and warm water. Let sit for five minutes to allow yeast to activate (it will start to look foamy). Add in butter, egg, garlic powder, and basil. Then add in three cups of flour. From there add in flour as you need to get the dough smooth yet elastic - in the end, you may need to add exactly 3 1/2 C, or you may need to sprinkle in a little more to get the desired consistency. When the dough has the right amount of flour, it should no longer be super sticky, but also not tough. Transfer dough into a large bowl, oiled with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm place for around an hour, or until doubled in size.<br />
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Once the dough has risen, punch down. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Divide dough in half, then divide each half into six, making a total of twelve small balls of dough. Form each ball into a long breadstick shape, and place onto a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle unbaked breadsticks with garlic salt. Bake breadsticks for 10-12 minutes.Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-46535107305803105682014-01-07T13:33:00.003-08:002014-01-22T13:21:38.925-08:00DIY Seed Organization<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNfjCBw9xPQ7h4YXUsFRV0cOMjAtWLMrCoiC8TIanmvcTw17Qk1JAFQWSUhP3lVbw2yqZQ8tqlKGa7KU6mcTKNiXoQbJiiea-D8ujO5nf5JD0Dyf2sfOT_oJVlF1bqV9LB1b6hoRJIUqc/s1600/seedorganization.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNfjCBw9xPQ7h4YXUsFRV0cOMjAtWLMrCoiC8TIanmvcTw17Qk1JAFQWSUhP3lVbw2yqZQ8tqlKGa7KU6mcTKNiXoQbJiiea-D8ujO5nf5JD0Dyf2sfOT_oJVlF1bqV9LB1b6hoRJIUqc/s1600/seedorganization.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>
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I go a little nuts when it comes to buying seeds. I have a seed addiction. The only problem with that is before this afternoon, they were all shoved haphazardly into a large yellow envelope. When I needed to reference a particular seed packet for anything, I'd have to dig through the envelope for ten minutes. Rubber bands kept many varieties of the same vegetable together, like tomatoes, but that can damage the seeds - not to mention crinkle up, and even tear those beautiful seed packets!<br />
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<u><b>You Will Need:</b></u><br />
Square or Rectangle Basket<br />
Card Stock<br />
Scissors<br />
Pen<br />
Seed Packets<br />
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Make a list (and a doodle of a tomato) of all the categories you'll want to categorize your seeds into.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWT1OAC_DRzSiJpGN9P80erypBJj4bhrPxDfdKEOPBiqI2vzcgHB8ck1ICOm5EOXcVJaMnxSpDqjE8YpagTycsLlSDvFm1vtg-5euhstR2NvN4GAQQVupmeC9S7dYRW7WzMJe06P2hOe6/s1600/seedorganization3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWT1OAC_DRzSiJpGN9P80erypBJj4bhrPxDfdKEOPBiqI2vzcgHB8ck1ICOm5EOXcVJaMnxSpDqjE8YpagTycsLlSDvFm1vtg-5euhstR2NvN4GAQQVupmeC9S7dYRW7WzMJe06P2hOe6/s1600/seedorganization3.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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Measure and cut dividers to fit your chosen basket. Then cut tabs into dividers, alternating between left tabs, center tabs, and right tabs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfb1Q673sQxy3-eRYtnMVGpGC3qM074GQ2U7uHeefkPywg33hE7sAGAyWMF8lvoOkymrcdD0oMpwYvDH_DgVGG0pS7kLCeNLdr3gkwEX3ZOlyAuS5pg9mh2vuzAeeGbQrTi72Gz6nN-BV1/s1600/seedorganization2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfb1Q673sQxy3-eRYtnMVGpGC3qM074GQ2U7uHeefkPywg33hE7sAGAyWMF8lvoOkymrcdD0oMpwYvDH_DgVGG0pS7kLCeNLdr3gkwEX3ZOlyAuS5pg9mh2vuzAeeGbQrTi72Gz6nN-BV1/s1600/seedorganization2.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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Label dividers, and assemble your organized seed basket.<br />
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Store any extra garden supplies in the back if you have extra room - I had just enough space for some twine.Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5596157906271710258.post-20250822922359295102014-01-06T17:33:00.009-08:002014-01-07T07:32:48.246-08:00Farm Goals: Year One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRdceFiAksbaU49FTOkCaVOeT6gn1dQxMbSA3v2jjCisQ6aaJIJ67Ot35fYsG_HhcF9oEyQSRJmVKaRPTBFTHf3tFTFENQvPxNt0EHf7cxfl7ITHeYRRz5jHEyO4OiSQxi-4q6rTW9_UU/s1600/farmgoals5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRdceFiAksbaU49FTOkCaVOeT6gn1dQxMbSA3v2jjCisQ6aaJIJ67Ot35fYsG_HhcF9oEyQSRJmVKaRPTBFTHf3tFTFENQvPxNt0EHf7cxfl7ITHeYRRz5jHEyO4OiSQxi-4q6rTW9_UU/s1600/farmgoals5.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If someone had told me earlier this year that we would be buying our first home in a different state, I definitely would have questioned their sanity. Had they said it would be the farm of our dreams, I would have thought they had gotten into some bath salts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here it is, January, and we've been on our little slice of heaven for just over two months, though it seems like forever. Its as if this place was made for us. We <i>belong</i> here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is it perfect? No, but its perfect for<i> us</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our farm came with a bunch of stuff that would have otherwise been on my to-do list:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Farm House (Check!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Barn (Check!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chicken Coop (Check!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grape Vines (Check!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Established Fruit Trees (Check!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pond (Check!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pasture, Partially Fence (Check!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even still, there are so many things I want to do. I have grand plans. Grand, I tell ya!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. More Laying/Pet Chickens.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This goal is already partially accomplished. In mid-November, only two weeks after moving, I decided I wanted to raise chicks over the winter so I could collect beautiful eggs around June, as opposed to having to wait until September. That late in the year, the only thing available were hatching eggs. I've always wanted to <i>hatch</i> little chickies! So I ordered an incubator, and two dozen hatching eggs: one dozen French Copper Marans, and one dozen Easter Eggers. Unfortunately right after I placed my order, the hens at the farm I ordered the eggs from went on strike. "Hell nay, we won't lay!" The company offered to double my egg order for free if I could wait until Spring. It was a deal I couldn't pass up, French Copper Marans are certainly pricier than the average layer. So instead of raising chicks over winter, I'll have spring chicks after all. As long as I can have more chickens, I'm a happy girl.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2.</b> <b>Huge Heirloom Vegetable Garden.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been gardening for a few years now, but I definitely still consider myself a novice. With each gardening season, I learn a whole slew of new lessons in vegetable gardening. I've also graduated in size with each passing year. Last year with the biggest by far, was 600 square feet. I plan to far surpass that one with a 6,000 square foot garden this Spring. We'll can, freeze, and eat fresh, colorful heirlooms to our hearts content. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Start All Garden Plants From Seed.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last years attempt at starting all of our garden plants from seed was a total failure. I had good intentions, but a drafty window, and a cat made sure my seed babies didn't survive. I begrudgingly bought little seedlings from our local nursery. This year, I'm prepared.<i> It's going to work, </i>even if it somehow kills me.<i> </i>I've ordered over 100 packets of heirlooms seeds, my husband gave me a greenhouse for Christmas, and I have the starting dates all mapped out,(which reminds me, I need to start my kale, and onion seeds soon). I'm ready for this!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Dairy Goats.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To me, goats and chickens are the epitome of farm life. I've dreamed of having these two animals for years, but thought it would be decades before that dream would ever come true. My <a href="http://chickensintheroad.com/">favorite blog</a> made me long to have chickens and goats running around in my backyard. They're cute, most are friendly, AND the best part (duh), fresh milk. I want fresh <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">chèvre, goat milk soap, and raw milk in my refrigerator. This goal is close to being crossed off my list because... <b>we're getting two Nigerian Dwarf doelings very soon! I'm so EXCITED!!</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><b>5. Dog Fencing.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">We have five dogs, and they're all in the house... all the time. Suffice it to say, they stress me the heck out. The cats I can let out, and they'll stay on the property, or at least out of harms way. Our dogs are kinda helpless and three of them are very small. They would be an easy snack for an array of Ozark Mountain predators. So when they have to go out and potty (a thousand times a day) I have to go out with them. It's -10 degrees here today with over a foot of snow, I can't express how much fun all the potty breaks have been. It will be SO MUCH easier when we put a fence in where I can just let them out so they can go potty on their own, and I can have some time for my sanity. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><b>6. Honey Bees.</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">I love, love, love REAL honey. After having honest to goodness, local honey, the store bought clover honey just doesn't cut it. Also, honey bees will majorly benefit my vegetable garden. I plan to position the hives behind the garden, near the tree line so my garden will have ample pollination. While I want honey bees at some point, if we get them this year, great, but if they get pushed to the back burner, next year will be fine, too. At the very least, I'll be doing LOTS of research, and possibly taking a class on bee-keeping.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><b>7. More Fruit Trees.</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">I know we have a few fruit trees behind our house, I'm just not sure what kind. Two apple for sure, but the rest are a mystery. As soon as I figure out what variety they are, we'll be planting more. Persimmon, Cherry, Plum, Peach - you name it. I want every kind of jam, and wine I can make! Is that greedy?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><b>8. Butcher Our Own Meat Chickens</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">This one is pretty self explanatory. We love chicken, and we love fresh. I want to know where my meat comes from. Until their time comes, I want to give those meat chickens the best life I can; on our pretty little farm, foraging in picturesque pastures, and chasing terrified Chihuahuas. I've been reading up on it, talking to other farmers about it, I've dissected animals, and assisted in several surgeries while obtaining my degree in Veterinary Technology. I can do this! :P</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><b>9. Learn to Pressure Can.</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm hooked on water bath canning. I figure once I get the hang of it, pressure canning will be no different. I'm actually planning on taking a half-day class on preserving and canning vegetables at our local college in March. I'm sure pressure canning will be in there <i>somewhere.</i></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10. Ducks. </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have a cute little pond, we <i>need</i> cute little ducks, right? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are still SO MANY things I want to accomplish, but all in due time. Having a farm is overwhelming, but the most amazing thing I've ever done. I can't wait to see what the future holds. Now if Spring would just GET HERE.</span><br />
Nicole G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08361314155778549881noreply@blogger.com0