eating "local," and guinea fowl

when I'm outside, my dear Franklin stays by my side. He's a Bourbon Red Turkey tom.


This time of year is my favorite, when whatever I gather, dictates what we have for supper. Don't get anymore "local" than this, great for my soul.


Farm fresh [goat] cheese with whatever seasonings I mix in.


fresh eggs

blue-lake beans

squash

cooking it up

I'm sitting down and Gabbi in my lap.

Caliente

Our three dogs - 16yr old Henry, and Irish Terriers Brawn, and Blissi

pure trouble

at 5:45AM this morning, the post office called to say the guinea's had arrived. I'm guessing they are 3 days old today.

their brooder is in the hay loft

32 pearl guinea's. Guinea fowl are good for eating bugs.

stay tuned to see how they grow up

blackberries, cheese, & apples

the view of the blackberries


We were hiking around the 30 acres and found some blackberries.

See what my snack is tonight?

dear little Gabbi always likes to snuggle next to SweetPea

whenever I get a new hardback book, the first thing I do is remove the cover, can't stand the cover sliding around, the texture of the book itself is what I like

then I put on an address label and the date I recieved it

when I left for work this morning, I had a cheesecloth of goat cheese hanging over the sink

while walking up to the blackberries and apple trees, I noticed the dried remains of one of our Cuckoo Marans.

Mike collecting some apples

Are y'all familiar with these bags? I just read about 'em today. Sure would like to get some. The cheese book I'm reading recommended them over plastic wrap, storing cheese.

Product Overview
Reynolds Cut-Rite Wax Paper Bags are the perfect size for sandwiches and snacks of pretzels, chips and cookies, etc. (bag size: 7 13/16" x 6" x 2 3/4") Great for crushing crackers, cookies or dry cereal. Use as a mitt for greasing pans with butter or shortening. In the microwave, they are ideal for warming muffins, bagels, rolls and biscuits. Also keeps food moist when defrosting and helps prevent spatters so oven stays

clean.

daisy of a day

When I got home from work, the goat girls plus Sundance and I went for a little hike. They like walking the roads with me for a little ways then they are afraid to go any further. Although they venture a little more each day.

SweetPea and Gabbi aren't scared though, they'd follow me anywhere.

We checked on the garden, it was looking good, we got a little rain last night.

Franklin followed us for a bit then he decided he needed to get back to his girls.

I stop to catch my breath, steeper than it looks, and the girls like to munch.

Sundance is back in with the girls for a while, when we put he and Deetz in with the other boys, Sundance wouldn't stop crying, he really missed his Mama and 1/2 sister SweetPea. Deetz got along just fine though.

Just FYI - I read recently that the meat goat industry is the fastest-growing animal industry in the United States. I've never tried goat meat but would like to.

Got a zucchini blossom recipe for ya`-

8 zucchini blossoms
1 small log mild goat cheese
1 modest bunch fresh basil
2 eggs (from happy chickens)
1 cup breadcrumbs
sea salt and black pepper

butter or olive oil
Pick the yellow flowers when they’re the length of your finger, and stuff them with a mixture of goat cheese and chopped basil. Don’t get greedy, or the tender flowers will tear. Twist the open end of the blossom so it makes a sealed pouch, dip each one in egg, and roll in a bowl of breadcrumbs, sea salt, and pepper. Sautee the blossoms in a tablespoon of melted butter or oil over medium heat, turning until they brown. Serve ‘em hot.

Our Does and Farmers Market

We shall live in the shade of the
Graceful doe and, living there, shall be
Sustained. We shall walk through
Darkness by her light, with never-
Ending joy.
David Onkinerah - 16th century Salonika

Clara. We have her 2006 daughter June, 2008 granddaughter SweetPea, and 2009 great-grandaughter Gabbi.
I don't know who our herd queen is. If it's Clara, she's not very dominating.


Clara has a good udder.


Clara's 2009 daughter CoCo


Clara's 2009 daughter TootleLu

Caliente (not related to the others)

blue-eyed June, may be our herd queen, she's physically the largest, real serious about her food.

June's 2009 daughter Gypsy

June's 2008 daughter SweetPea

SweetPea's 2009 daughter Gabbi. SweetPea had a C-section and doesn't realize that she had a daughter. We bottle feed Gabbi. SweetPea actually had two daughters but one died just after birth.

**************************************************
Some random photo's from today's High Country Farmers Market. We sold all our eggs again, been doing quite well.

Mango's don't grow up here but this couple has a farm in Florida and transports them here. These are 'Keitt' a Florida selection which has become one of the world’s most outstanding mangos. Excellent eating quality, disease resistance, productivity, and ripening time are some of the features of this four to five pound goliath.

The gal on the left, Holly, has been helping explain goat cheesemaking to me, has been a big help. I really enjoy our group of vendors.

The large item below is jackfruit - jackfruit is something of an acquired taste, but it is very popular in many parts of the world. The sweet yellow flesh around the seeds is about 3–5 mm thick and has a taste similar to that of pineapple, but milder and less juicy.

the goat is the cow of the poor

sums up our budget

Ironically, the poor man's cow produces some of the world's most expensive cheeses. Even in France, which produces more than two thirds of all the goat cheeses, they are generally regarded as luxury cheeses. Still, nowhere in the world are the prices of goat cheeses as high as they are in the United States.

On the farms, women made delicate fresh cheeses at home. Yet since such cheeses didn't transport well, they were eaten almost exclusively by the farmers, their family, and neighbors.

Our 7 Nigerian Dwarf Dairy boys below-

Buck MilkDud


Buckling Cahoot


Buckling Sundance with blue eyes


Buckling Deetz

Wether SugarPop

Wether Cubby

Wether Boones

faisselle

excerpt from Goat Song by Brad Kessler

I rolled one cake in chopped chives and the other in coarse-ground pepper. A fresh unsalted chevre curd, only hours after it has been drained, is called in France a faisselle after the cups it is drained in. A faiselle is not considered yet a cheese: it's more like a mascarpone but lighter, fresher, and more subtle. A faisselle sits in a cup surrounded by its own whey to keep it moist. You can do anything with it- eat it straight for dessert, mince chives or mint on it, serve it with fruit and berries. A true farmstead faisselle--made from raw milk, and only hours old--is difficult to find, even in small village markets in France. In North America, a faisselle simply can't be bought or sold, as its goats milk must UNpasterized.

The chevre was so delicious we closed our eyes when we ate it, something between solid and liquid, and as such--sublime.

new buck pasture

Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats

MilkDud is proud of his new home. He and 6 males have moved from the dog kennel over to a fenced, woodsy area.


Sundance is excited. They have lots of rock to jump on.


From their barn stall, they exit out the rear of the barn. Cahoot, Cubby, and Boones.


The plank leads out to the apple tree. Oh, they love the apple tree. Wethers - Boones and Cubby.

Cahoot, SugarPop, and Dud under a large poplar tree.

I finished reading
Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, A Short History of Herding, and the Art of Making Cheese by Brad Kessler
awesome. romanticised goat cheese.

Now I'm starting

My Small Country Living by Jeannine McMullen