Chicama Run Family Farm

So it's been awhile since I have blogged - I post on facebook all the time just because it's there and I can do it from my phone - it's SOOOO easy!

Alright, we had a wonderful summer - but let's get on with what's going on now.

We currently are waiting on goats to give birth.  I have a monitor stuck in the barn so I can see in the morning - yet we still have to go out there.  This week would be a WONDERFUL week for them to decide to "pop" since I see it will be warmer this weekend.

Our family is now 7.  We are in the process of adopting the 2 oldest ones (15 & turning 17 this week)... and we have a cute little monster child of the age 4.  She joined us back in June and it has been an adventure!  I'm trying to work on getting our family eating better without always shocking them (such as saying "SURPRISE that's LIVER!).... so I am slowly just removing stuff from the house.  Not all at once - but the local food pantry is getting some extra stuff from us this year just because I don't want it in the house.

Some of the things I am working on integrating - actual bone broth - my next project is beef broth (I really hated buying it over the holidays), cooking from scratch - I know that sounds daunting but I want to make it simple yet healthy.....no more microwave - did you know that 95% of the nutrients from certain veggies are killed by sticking them in the microwave?  tea..... simple huh?  I had my 1st cup of coffee Christmas eve morning in over 2 months... I wanted a hot chocolate substitute - plus I was trying to rev myself up to start cooking....tea would have been better.  I have an excellent selection of teas on my counter now!  less otc meds - with the teas I am helping boost the immune systems of the kids and hopefully we will see results.... I have made some salves and such (one is for my 11 year old's eczema which can get really bad over the winter so fingers crossed it will work!)....little to no high fructose corn syrup.... fermented veggies and drinks (coconut water kefir is on the counter now).

Another goal is to work on a cookbook to release by next Christmas of my trials etc that average "non-cooks" can actually do without taking a cooking course!  That is the #1 comment I get from people - "I don't know how to cook...." well guess what?  I don't either - but I can read and yes I make a lot of ooops dinners especially when trying to adapt some of these recipes I have for decent grass-fed meats.... but if I can do it, I think anyone can!  Just ask my mom about me and cooking :)  It was never something I wanted to do - now I am at a point of needing to and starting to enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would.

Here's to 2011!

This question is asked a lot of us and the simple answer is COST.

Right now we pay $9 per 50lb bag of chicken feed - that's when we buy 2 tons at a time.  We over winter our chickens - and so we need to cover the cost of feeding them in January & February when some days we get only 2 eggs.  So by our calculations we can pay for their feed and such by charging the $4 per dozen.  The feed we get is non-GMO and made in MD and we can live with that (though we do try to keep as much in VA as possible)...

Now - the current price for a 50 lb bag of organic feed is $23.50.

See the price difference?

We did try really hard to be organic when we first started with chickens and we had only 50 birds.  We spent over $450 in one month and egg production dropped like a rock.  They wouldn't eat it!

Goat feed is the same - we use a locally grown and processed feed and pay $18 per 80 lbs.  Organic feed - $24.00.  Ok not as big a difference (except for the 30 pounds) - but now I need to pay shipping on top of that.

We don't give our animals anything that we don't recognize.  I have been known to stop a certain feed or never give it if they put something in it.  There is a sheep feed out there that has something in it which helps the rumen which is great.... but they don't call it medicated and that's a medicine in my opinion.

I wasn't able to find ANY de-wormer that I would ever want in my dairy goats.... so I'm using an herbal de-wormer - safe and natural!

Hope this explains a little bit :)

That gives your kids 30+ pro-biotic cultures and THEY LIKE IT!?

With so many problems today with kids drinking sodas and pretty much "crap" - this summer I have the solution... my kids will be drinking the water kefir or kombucha only (or homemade lemonade - but I can do THAT with kefir!)

I'm up to making 1 gallon every couple of days of each (I like it to ferment 48 hours at least).

I just made it with Dole's 100% (or as close as possible) Mango, Pineapple juice and it is really good!  I use 2 cups in just under a gallon of water kefir.  It makes 8 bottles which is ok - but I seriously need to be able to make more as my kids will go through this in a heart beat on a hot day!

I have started using some raw agave sweetener in it which works well.  I picked that up at Costco for $7.99 for 2 larger bottles.  I also skimp and use just plain regular sugar if I'm in a bind and that works.  I also add in a piece of Kombu when I am making it to help get the minerals out of that as well.

My current recipe for a 1/2 gallon jar:

3/4 cup - 1 cup of sugar (I use less when using the agave)
1/8 tsp aluminum free baking soda
water
piece of an egg shell (calcium) - washed
about a 2 inch piece of kombu (seaweed)
water
& of course the grains
Let sit for 24-36 hours!

Perfect every time so far!!

I'm not talking about their attitudes at all (though - I know why they call the baby goats "kids" - they are no different than humans!).... but with their milk production.

Well the kids are thrilled with the water kefir drinks mixed with a fruit juice.  Who am I to argue with kids drinking something that has more healthy bacteria in it than a cup of yogurt!?

So today I mixed up more..... it will go in the fridge tomorrow morning and be ready by tomorrow evening to start drinking.  My experiment of the week was to put milk kefir grains into juice and let it ferment.  SUPER FIZZY this morning!  I went ahead and bottled it and stuck them straight in the fridge.  I think I let them sit a day too long as those are a little strong - but it was my first super fizzy one that I have made.  Interesting!  So I'm doing it again.... just won't let it sit that long and today I put it in 100% grape juice.  It's not organic - but it was on sale and for an experiment, I'll try it out.  Next will be apple juice once my milk kefir grains multiply again (another day or so).

If you see my kids drinking out of what LOOKS like beer bottles - ummmm..... I used what we had to bottle these drinks up.  I bought some bottles.... but I really need to get these sodas going and bottled - so I'm using Joe's beer bottles.  We are working on getting beer that I can at least peel the label off of - unfortunately we can't do that with Corona - and that didn't occur to me until later..... so we'll have to deal with that a little bit.

This weekend I'll be making yogurt and possibly some more cheese....the yogurt is a new culture (villi I think) where I can leave it at "room temp" over night and it gets really thick - so I'll try it out.

Today Joe is getting everything ready and starting to plan strawberries - which will be ready next year to pick.  We have 500 plants to get in the ground and there just isn't enough time in the day some weeks - then when it rains we can't usually do garden work either because it just becomes a mud-pit.

Off to milk the goats so they stop yelling at me!!

What does it mean to "east seasonally"?  It means that tomatoes are NOT grown year round in Virginia unless there is a hot-house involved.  Sorry - you will not be able to get tomatoes, cucumbers, and other yummies just yet at the market.  What is in season then?  Think cold stuff - lettuce, cabbage, asparagus, things like that.

So we have the Nubian dairy goats now.  I'm milking 1 of them.... last night the one that we thought wasn't due until April 16th decided to have triplets..... and later this morning I head out to go and get the 3rd one who we left there because she was so close to giving birth we didn't want to move her (she had the baby the day after we left - good call!!)....

Right now with just milking the 1 goat we are getting almost 1 gallon of milk per day.  We have 1 official "goat herd share" member (we just started and are really working on that) - but that's only 1/2 gallon gone per week!!  Then we have a couple of people pick up a quart here or there throughout the week.

I made 1 GALLON of yogurt the day we got back.  I made it in my Excalibur Dehydrator (very cool machine BTW) and I used Stonyfield Farms organic plain yogurt as a starter.  I'm getting Viilli starter to try making it on the counter without a machine - I'll let you know how that works out!  We've made cheese, Paneer, which is just a plain white cheese which will take on the taste of what you put in it - plus you just use white vinegar so it's pretty darn simple.  That can be used as a meat replacer as well!

Now, thanks to my friend, I have milk kefir grains going - dang.... people weren't kidding when they said they multiply like crazy!!!  We might be offering these by the weekend at the rate they are going!

Then we are freezing some of the milk for later use - things like bottle babies, dry season for the goats, etc.

What am I learning through all this?  It's actually amazing.  I feel like I am going into a completely different world to be honest.  For the past 4 years we've sat on the edges, we offer incredible meat (I'm allowed to say that because I still get amazed when I don't even have to drain my ground PORK) but what about eating healthier and taking it to another level?

I'm learning right now about "Lacto-fermentation".  Am I an expert on it?  No way!!  I'm wading through it - and honestly I can't wait to make sauerkraut with some cabbage soon! Or pickle some carrots.  

Then - I'm working on building up everyone's "pro-biotic" level.  Alexis was diagnosed with probable Lyme's Disease.  I did choose to put her on the anti-biotics for it because I have seen what can happen if you "let it go" - serious changes in the person.  So, I let her drink water kefir.  This drink is SOOO simple and it's replacing my personal soda fixation.  Plus - I spent the money on the grains... and now I let nature do it's thing and I don't need to keep buying soda!  1 glass gives her some serious pro-biotic kick.  Since I know you will ask - here is my recipe:

2 quarts water (we have a well and it's really good water)
Water Kefir Grains (purchased from http://www.culturesforhealth.com)
1/2 cup Dehydrated Cane Sugar (organic stuff - found even at Giant or Bloom)

Let sit for 24 hours - then drain.  I then add 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 1 TBSP Bee Pollen to the water.  Tastes like Lemonade!!

There is a ton about this stuff and ways to go about it.  I'm working up to making 1 gallon per day and letting everyone in the family drink it as they want.

Here's a cool website about it: http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html

I'm planning on working on Kombucha tea as well (waiting for that stuff to come in)... so the final drink choices in the house will be: Raw Goat Milk, Milk Kefir (think thin yogurt), Water Kefir, & Kombucha tea.  Mix that with some of the healthier food choices - including organ meat - I think we'll be better for it!

Now come on Cabbage!!  GROW GROW GROW!!!!!

Lambs are jumping - kids and running themselves exhausted by the end of the day (the human and goat kind as well!) and all is good..... ok GREAT!!!

Over the next few weeks, I'm planning on doing some reviews of some books.  Since we opened our Goat Herd Share program, a lot of people have been asking about eating healthier, raw advantages/disadvantages, goat vs cow, etc etc etc.  So I am going to do some research on some of the most popular books out there about these things and let you know what I find out - which ones are worth the $$ and which ones you can bypass.

First out the door will be "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon.  This book was recommended to me by my friend from high school - Barbara who spent the day hanging out with me.  I'm still working on the book and I need to make some of the recipes before I review (my family gets to be some serious guinea pigs for this one - just don't tell them!)....

But - if you've read the reviews and heard of the book....



There's the link for the book.  It has a gorgeous cover BTW - it's not that plain black and white you see at Amazon.

Off to continue reading and opening up the farm and enjoying all that spring has to offer!

THINK AGAIN!!  It's amazing to me how competitive farmers are.  Seriously - I think when we had the computer store people were less competitive, and that's a field where you expect competition.

When I think of farmers, I think of people helping each other out when they need it, talking to each other for ideas, and just old fashioned values.  Believe it or not, this is not true.

If I have an idea and start succeeding at it, someone will try to squash it or steal it.  Such as with the raw goat milk we were selling.  It was a GREAT idea - not a huge one.... we weren't becoming a dairy by any means.... but we were supplying a need.  Legally sold as "Raw Goat Milk NOT for human consumption" - VDACS inspected our label, saw how we sold it and completely agreed we were within the LAW to do this.  We were selling a WHOPPING $24 per week.  That's right - $24 per week..... and someone went and complained causing us to either A) risk our insurance and our farm or B) just stop offering this.  We went with option B - sad huh?  Now I have been told the same person who complained and raised a fuss is offering the milk (no sorry - I won't share a name because I can be petty as well).

As of this moment, we were not accepted at the summer market in Leesburg saying we are not in compliance with their rules of how long we keep animals on the property.  I have requested details into how we are not in compliance - the meat we have saved for the market meets all their criteria - so I am at a little bit of a loss.... I can PROVE all the meat is within their guidelines, yet they say we are not.

So I'm a little at a loss..... I will have to now work doubly to promote our farm to the public to get traffic here to meet the sales that we need to do, honestly, to live here.  We count on the market sales plain and simple.

I will now ask all our faithful followers to tell everyone about us out here!!  Be on the look out for new promotions and new ideas coming forth.  Right now I think my brain just hurts :)

Plants are started in the basement, baby chicks are ordered..... and the schedule starts picking up.  It's funny how with all the snow still on the ground and now more is expected that we are expecting baby chicks and my basement has grow lights because tomatoes need to be started now.

It's honestly hard to think about warmer weather right now with snow predicted and since we are STILL unable to get to the back fields - even with a 4WD.

I honestly don't "get it"..... yesterday I brought in 2 lambs who weren't doing well and they were born just the day before.  Neither one made it through the night even with me getting up every 2 hours.

I have NEVER successfully brought in lambs and had them survive. Goats - no problem... all but 1 that I have brought in survived.

It's just exhausting when you try so hard to just to have them die.  At least I know I did everything I could to keep them alive.... but it's still sad and tiring.

It was a long night..

Someone hacked into the email posting for our blog - I apologize!!  What a pain it has been!!

I hope it's all cleared up!

Most people looked at yesterday as annoying - and I can totally agree. Flash Floods are no fun and rain can make a good hair day go bad.

Cube Steak Stroganoff
(from the original Saving Dinner cookbook)
Serves 6

6 cube steaks
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon tarragon

In skillet over medium high heat, heat 1 teaspoon oil and brown cube steaks on both sides, salting and peppering on both sides as they cook. When cooked to your liking, remove from skillet and keep warm.

In the same skillet, heat remaining oil and add onions and mushrooms cooking until wilted and all liquid is evaporated. Add chicken broth and stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for about a minute until reduced slightly. Remove pan from heat (important--your sauce will break otherwise) Add sour cream, mustard and tarragon. Salt and pepper to taste, add the beef (juice and all) and heat through. Serve.

Per Serving: 282 Calories; 17g Fat; 24g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 67mg Cholesterol; 187mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 3 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

SERVING SUGESTIONS: Serve on wide egg noodles and a spinach salad.