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On these cold days I sometimes just have random thoughts - yeah I'm sure that if they had a diagnosis when I was growing up I would have been "ADH....oooooo shiny!".... but they didn't so I don't have a label.... Joe just sits and shakes his head at me 1/2 the time.
So - I was supposed to be on vacation down in St Thomas this past week..... by myself...... on a beach...... in the sun..... and 70+ degree weather.... that didn't happen as life changes and things happen. Instead I spent the last week watching baby goats be born, then die and then more born and survive. If I hadn't been here - the loss rate might have been higher or it might have been lower - who knows what will happen when the temps are in the single digits! So I was meant to be home and that I can deal with (but I still wish it was warmer).
Another thought was that a person can only do so much. Though it seems to a lot of people that I do everything... I know what my limits are and I know when to quit (at least some of the time)....but then at the same time I am always up for a new challenge - which seems to always come (remember the oooooo shiny aspect of my character). I drop one thing and move right into something else.... something new.... something.... well - SHINY ;)
Patience. Yes, I seem to have a lot more lately.... strange how it's just come over me the last year. This doesn't mean I don't yell.... but I believe it takes longer for me to get there.
Food. This one was an eye-opener for me. It started with a book report on "The Whole Soy Story" (which I did finish but I haven't written my report yet).... though the book didn't say that soy itself was the evil but the processing - it made me look at what I bring into my house a little closer. I'm not perfect about food - but I'm getting better I believe every day. I can slowly introduce stuff to my family - to the groans and whining from Joe that comes along with it ;) But, as what happened with our eggs, it took Joe over a year to actually admit that our eggs tasted better than anything he had tried before - so maybe it will be that way with food. Same with the kids and food - they have been fed a pretty Standard American Diet for years...it takes adjustments and it take them learning about real food and how to decide what they want.
So as you see - I am a great random thinker :) All that took place in a couple of minutes when I finally got a shower so I no longer smelled like our goats....
Monday, January 24, 2011
I made this for dinner last night and there is none left (I was actually hoping for some leftovers but I guess it was good!)
2lbs ground beef
2 cloves garlic minced
1 medium onion minced
1 can tomato paste
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup beef broth
salt & pepper to taste
Brown the meat with the onion & garlic. While browning - mix together the rest of the ingredients. Add the mix to the browned meat and stir. Add more broth if needed (if it's too thick). Cover and cook for 20 minutes
Make enough rice for your family.
Serve meat over the rice.
This served 6 last night for dinner.
Well, we might get a cow or 2! I am seriously excited about this. I always get excited when we get a new animal and start a new adventure - but I am really dreaming of this one.
Why?
MILK - ok 5 kids drink a lot of milk. I refuse to buy the cheap brands and $6/gallon can really cut into my budget if they decide to drink a lot. Raw is definitely better from cows I know and handle on a daily basis. We love our goat milk - but we always seem to need more and always run out.
CREAM - I think that one speaks for itself. Unlike goat milk (which is super rich and yummy) cow's milk is not naturally homogenized so it separates. That means I can just skim the cream right off the top. What can become of this fat yumminess? BUTTER!!! Yep - I love fresh butter.
Oh - the honey? Well that won't happen right now. I am personally allergic to honey bee stings and don't risk want to risk it. I find it annoying because I like honey :) However we have a nice friend who keeps giving us some and we may talk them into putting and managing a hive or 2 on the property.
Back to the cows - I think everyone needs to see a cow close up, especially "city kids and adults". They are actually really cute!
Off to dream of the cows again.....
So my new juicer came in yesterday. Being new to juicing - honestly it scares me. Questions pop into my head... "Will I like the taste of the juice?", "Do I have time?", "Too messy?"
Things like that which I am sure that everyone else goes through as well.
So I had an older Juiceman Jr and tried it. Ok - I was a whimp - I did only apple juice and well I don't think you can go wrong with just apple juice. However, it didn't have a big enough opening so I was cutting the apple into little pieces.... talk about a pain! Now I needed something within the budget of the gift cards I was given on Christmas. Thank goodness for Amazon!
I got this one:
Hamilton Beach 67650 Big Mouth Pro Juice Extractor
Now - make sure you look at the Amazon price which is $59 vs the $94! Plus I paid $49 from Amazon (so watch for specials!)
It's amazing that we start planning now for spring and summer. The seed catalogs filled our mailbox this past week and over the weekend we went through "What do you want?"....
Now for veggies we try to keep it simple YET interesting. Such as finding an orange sweet bell pepper. Yep that was not easy to find a big one. We could find red, green, "white", and even purple -- but me being difficult chose orange. I like to add orange to my foods as I think it makes it more interesting (a green on green salad is just boring). Purple might be interesting - but for some reason purple also can scare people off - no idea why but it can.
Do I want a yellow tomato? No I do not. I don't like the looks of them. Frankly - I make most of my tomatoes into sauce - and yellow tomato sauce just doesn't look appetizing to me at ALL.
Beans - I want the flat italian green beans..... simple and straight forward. I freeze these (ok last year was a complete waste because of time - but we are planning better this year) since I'm not a big fan of canned beans - but I might try some dilly beans this year as well :)
Cucumbers - pickles and salads. Nothing is better than a cold cucumber salad on a hot day. Then there are the pickles - well I think that says it all there.
Squash - yellow and green and we are set to go.
Herbs - basil, dill, rosemary, chives, cilantro - those are my staples
Then we move onto the animals.
We already have butchering dates set up for the entire 2011 year starting in February when we will say a final goodbye to our breeding stock of Large Black pigs. Sad but much needed moment in our lives. I love my pigs - but she hasn't gotten pregnant the last 4 times she's gone into heat. PLUS the babies take a year to grow to butchering size.
Over 1000 baby chicks have been ordered as well for us to butcher! That doesn't include the ducks we will be trying.
We bought goats to butcher and also for breeding so that starts now actually (if they would be nice enough to give birth).
Then we may be in for a new adventure with COWS! That's right - I am talking Joe into getting a dairy cow that is only 36-40" at the shoulder so that the kids can walk around with them as well and you can see them close up. Fingers crossed this will work - but we shall see......
Onto more planning :)